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Rezrog Review

Admir Brkic
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Rezrog Review

Rezrog

Developer: Soaphog
Publisher: Kasedo Games
Format: PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 31 May 2017
Price: $9.99USD – Available Here

Overview

Rezrog seems like a game that was created only for me. Mimicking the tabletop experience while at the same time eliminating the part I avoid the most – interacting with other people. As for the rest of you, the trailer alone gives an impression of interesting art style coupled with a unique atmosphere. Surely that’s something can resonate with anyone, no matter how social or antisocial one might be. Rezrog grabbed my attention at the first sight, now we shall see if it’s good enough to hold for a bit more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CNqVMw1N9o

Story

The story goes: Somewhere in the deceptively peaceful lands of Rezrog, several travelers are brought together by a series of unfortunate events and….uh..there is a…You know what, I’ll be a good guy and spare you the rest of it, you don’t have to suffer through the same. All you need to know is that the opening intro gives you the most generic story you can think of, so just fill out the rest yourself. Maybe there is a dragon in there and you have to rescue a princess that has to eat him so she could marry a leprechaun, it doesn’t really matter. All I know is that I had to watch the same opening three times in a row to get the gist of the story since the text was moving so fast I could barely keep up. But hey, in a procedurally generated dungeon crawler story is rarely in the spotlight. The only thing that matters at the core of it is the gameplay so let’s see what’s the deal on that front.

Gameplay

Here is the good news: there’s nothing generic about how Rezrog is played. You find yourself in a comfy tavern with 7 different classes consisting of (takes a deep breath) mage, archer, paladin, rogue, warrior and a summoner. As you can assume, some of them are more fit for close ranged battle and some for attacking from a distance. There is a world map in front of us and clicking on it bring us in front of the first dungeon. The first dungeon serves as a tutorial and there’s nothing randomly generated about it. The first pickups are all the necessary weapons, items and spells for whatever class you selected. Upon entrance, we’re also greeted with a random dungeon modifier that can work in our favor or against, depending on how unlucky we are. Sometimes it’s about us earning more gold as we’re exploring or encountering 20% stronger enemies, adding more fuel to already challenging game. Speaking of a challenge, this game sure doesn’t hold back. It’s actually possible to screw up in a tutorial dungeon if you take the game lightly. What happens then, does the character die? Well no, not really. He gets taken as a prisoner in that same dungeon. Now it’s up to you to rescue him by selecting another class. You can do that as long as you have classes left. In other words, you get 7 chances at conquering a dungeon and after all your characters are imprisoned – that’s it. Party is wiped and you can only start another one then. Still, you’ll have plenty of skills and weapons and items to find through dungeons as you explore so the odds might be sometimes in your favor. Strong emphasis on sometimes. Placement of the enemies and you might be a deciding factor between life and death. Add random floor traps to the mix and it’s clear that you have to think every time before you act. Otherwise, the novelty of getting imprisoned and having to rescue your party members wears off after a while.

With that said, there is nothing wrong with making a game challenging. What I have issues with is making it challenging through layers of grind. Remember that tutorial dungeon and how imperative is to go through it for mandatory weapons and skills for your class? Yeah. So let’s say you do it on the first run, you get some items, level up, a skill or two but what happens to the rest of the party at the tavern? Here is the kicker – nothing. “But wait Admir, are you implying that….?” Yep. You have to finish that first dungeon with every class in order to get the most basic, mandatory stuff. It’s either that or keep playing with that one character until you eventually mess up and get thrown in prison. In that case, good luck rescuing your level 12 character with the rest of your level 1 party.

Visuals

Rezrog captures the tabletop feeling rather well. Your characters look like cardboard cutouts and it’s adorable watching them hop around as you move. The whole dungeon is modeled as if you’re on a board map and there are neat little details around it like d10 dices, empty soda cans and coffee cups if you zoom out. Every time you clear a room and proceed to the next one, pieces of it start falling down so looks like it’s being built right in front of you. As you open up more areas of the map, the dungeon aesthetics and enemies change so you’ll play through ones with a snowy or fiery theme. It’s a small detail but it keeps the visuals away from seeming too repetitive.

Audio

Not much here that will leave you impressed. Overall music motive does its job and fits well during the dungeon exploring. It changes slightly depending on the situation you’re in such as skipping around or being in battles. Voice acting is pretty much nonexistent, except for the occasional “oomph” and “argh” whenever your character takes a hit.

Overall

We’ve all been there. You’re playing some RPG and having fun when eventually you hit a grinding stop. For some games, it’s not a matter of “if”, rather than “when?” It’s something that comes with a package. Then we ask ourselves “is it worth it?”. Usually, it depends on a game. You measure the fun you had so far, the potential fun you’ll have once you pass that grinding hurdle and see what the result is at the end. But what can you do when you hit that wall shortly after the game starts? When the grind is so strong it almost feels like it’s a mechanic straight out of some Korean MMO. The only thing I can do in this case is to calculate the potential fun I might have, based on very little I had of it so far. And I’m still thinking, calculating.

It’s a shame, cause everything else that makes for a good dungeon crawler is spot on. The visuals, the atmosphere, even the music grown on you after a while. It is a game that I really want to enjoy but due to certain gameplay oversights, it just won’t let me. Rezrog, sorry that we have to break up so soon, but I assure you it’s not me. It’s you.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Players Will “Remember Dunkirk” With Wargaming’s Suite of WWII Action Video Games

Philip Federico
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Players Will “Remember Dunkirk” With Wargaming’s Suite of WWII Action Video Games

Wargaming and Warner Bros. have partnered in support of  Christopher Nolan’s epic action thriller “Dunkirk”

June 6, 2017 – In support of the upcoming epic action thriller Dunkirk, written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Wargaming.net has partnered with Warner Bros. to remember the seminal World War II event that inspired the motion picture. Wargaming, the world leader in free-to-play online WWII video games with a base of 180 million registered players, continues to revere history’s defining moments and the wartime vehicles that shaped their outcomes.

The evacuation, known as the “Miracle of Dunkirk,” took place from May 26th until June 4th, 1940, when hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers were trapped by advancing German forces on the beaches of Dunkirk, France. As the battle raged around them, many were transported to safety by the combined efforts of both military and civilian vessels. The history of this massive mobilization and the hopeful, personal stories of those involved will unfold in the film Dunkirk.

“We believe Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk will be an unforgettable film about one of the most momentous endeavors of World War II,” stated Erik Whiteford, Head of Marketing, Wargaming America, “and we are honored to be in a partnership with a creative endeavor that shares our passion for honoring and preserving the incredible events that define that era.”

Join Wargaming as they “Remember Dunkirk” to commemorate the 77th anniversary of this crucial turning point in WWII. “Remember Dunkirk” anniversary events and offerings are taking place across the entire slate of Wargaming’s combat video games. The action intensifies in July, as even more events come to the Wargaming “Battle Trilogy” of video games.

A series of emblems, missions and more await all who enter the battle. Join Wargaming and take to the Land, Sea and Air with World of Tanks, World of Warships and World of Warplanes.

More information can be found at: https://worldofwarships.asia/en/news/announcements/dunkirk_collaboration/

Warner Bros. Pictures’ Dunkirk arrives in theaters July 21, 2017.

 

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About Wargaming

Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles. Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that include the armored World of Tanks, the flight combat World of Warplanes, and the naval World of Warships. The three intertwined titles form a common gaming universe integrated within the portal www.wargaming.net.

As part of its multiplatform line-up, the company has introduced World of Tanks on Xbox and World of Tanks Blitz on mobiles, tablets, Windows 10 PCs and Mac OS X. Launched in 2014 and 2015, World of Tanks on Xbox introduced epic tank-on-tank battles to console gamers and offers the first cross-platform gaming experience between Xbox 360 and Xbox One. In 2016, Wargaming released World of Tanks for Sony’s PlayStation®4, continuing its console campaign.

Official website:

About Dunkirk

From filmmaker Christopher Nolan comes the epic action thriller Dunkirk. The film is being produced by Nolan and Emma Thomas, with Jake Myers serving as executive producer.

Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces.  Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.

Dunkirk features a prestigious cast, including Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy.  The ensemble cast also includes Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy and Barry Keoghan.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Syncopy Production, a film by Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk.”  Opening worldwide starting July 21, 2017, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. This film has been rated PG-13 for intense war experience and some language.

ESE esports secures ownership of OPL team Abyss

Philip Federico
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ESE esports secures ownership of OPL team Abyss

Riot Games Oceania announced today that ESE esports has purchased League of Legends Oceanic Pro League (OPL) team, Abyss, becoming the fourth team in the OPL to secure major investment.

ESE esports is a company of Executive Sports and Entertainment (ESE), a leading Sydney agency founded in 1998. It is owned by Rohan Sawyer, Leon Spellson and Ryan Wilson, who have over 30 years combined experience in sports and entertainment. Nathan Mathews will remain an employee of Abyss and a key member of the team.

Rohan Sawyer, Executive Director of ESE esports said:

“Esports attributes are very similar to traditional sports, fans and tribalism with commercial opportunities in sponsorship, membership and broadcast. Esports has already exploded globally and we see League of Legends and the OPL doing the same here.

“Last month we saw a first for Australian mainstream sport, with the Adelaide Crows acquiring the professional OPL team Legacy. We believe esports will be a top tier sport in Australia and with transactions like this and what we are seeing overseas it may come sooner than we anticipate.”

Daniel Ringland, Head of esports at Riot Games Oceania, said:

“It is great to have another strong group invest in an OPL esports team. With the executive team of ESE esports having strong backgrounds in professional sport, sponsorships and finance, Abyss have found an organisation that will give them a platform to develop and cultivate their talent in Split 2 and beyond. The future of the OPL has never looked brighter for teams, fans and sponsors with competition definitely going to heat up.”

ESE esports has already started working with the Abyss team as they move into Split 2 of the OPL, which starts on 10 June. Team schedules are now available on the OPL website, with Abyss’ first match against Team Regicide kicking off at 6pm on Saturday 10 June.

To find out more about the OPL, visit oce.lolesports.com.

 

 

About Riot Games

Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. Riot’s mission is to be the most player-focused company in the world.

About Oceanic Pro League

Esports is the highest level of competitive League of Legends play: professional competition on a global scale. Starting in 2015, the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) is the professional esports league in Oceania and features the top 8 esports teams in the region.

Classroom Crisis Review

K. Roberts
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Classroom Crisis Review

Classroom Crisis

Studio: Lay-duce
Publisher: Madman Entertainment
Platform: DVD (reviewed)
Release Date: May 24, 2017
Price: $59.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

Decades ago, two high school students founded a company that develops innovative rocket engines. The Kirishina Corporation found major success and has since developed into a mega-corporation, branching out into other, more profitable areas. It runs an academy on the now-habitable and colonized Mars. A special class named A-TEC, or the Advanced Technological Development Department – Educational Development Class, exists within the academy. This exclusive class is for skilled students to spend part of their day studying under a brilliant and highly-regarded engineer named Kaito Sera and the rest of it working part time for the company to develop new rocket engines. Unfortunately, Kirishina’s current CEO and his younger brother wish to dissolve A-TEC. In an effort to jettison this important part of the company and its history, they bring in their youngest brother as the new chief of A-TEC and place him as a transfer student in its class. While failing his studies in his new class, business man Nagisa Kiryu works behind-the-scenes to shut down A-TEC and even influence local politics.

Story

The new chief of A-TEC, Nagisa, is introduced as a primary antagonist. It is made very clear in the first episode alone that the students are somewhat wasteful and that this is why the higher-ups want to get rid of them. They are depicted going so far as to destroy millions of dollars of equipment in order to save Nagisa after he is kidnapped and held for ransom, a ransom that is a small percentage of the money spent on the now-destroyed equipment. The people who kidnap him are underpaid workers, and the corporate executives at Kirishina headquarters acknowledge that they could have prevented this situation by doing the right thing in the first place. This is the first time we witness a situation in which the line between good and bad becomes blurred. The exploited workers would normally be the characters one would root for in a situation like this. However, they become the bad guys and Nagisa becomes the person who deserves to be saved. This position reverses when Nagisa turns out to be the one working to put the students of A-TEC out of a job and out of an education. Much of the intrigue in watching this series comes from watching the high school students and their homeroom teacher fight against Nagisa and corporate politics while trying to work out exactly what Nagisa’s own motivations are. It would be a mistake to take everything at face value while watching Classroom Crisis, and a lot of the fun comes from figuring out who to root for and why. Nagisa is a much more dynamic character than he initially appears, and the high school students are cleverly characterised as both incredibly skilled in their fields and as high school students who still want to enjoy their youth in as normal a way as possible.

Kaito Sera, A-TEC’s homeroom teacher, may not always come across as the ‘teacher type’, but his enthusiasm and tendency to move forward without thinking every detail of his plans through make him surprisingly endearing. Some of this series’ greatest moments are when he is allowed to shine, and while the comic relief he provides is hardly clever, it does not feel entirely unnecessary either. One of the surprising highlights is the romantic subplot. The energetic younger sister and student of Kaito, Mizuki Sera, seems to see through Nagisa and realise that he is a good person deep down. She tries her best to help Nagisa fit in and succeed academically, and the two gradually become closer to each other despite not seeming like the best match for each other. Unfortunately, where the romantic subplot, and the series itself by extension, derails is in the final episode. Mizuki’s best friend and Yuki Nagato rip-off Iris Shirasaki is a mysterious amnesiac who has little personality of her own. She is somewhat intriguing despite her poor characterisation. Disappointingly, she becomes a romantic rival to Mizuki for no legitimate reason at the very end, when no time should be wasted on something so utterly pointless. She represents one of the biggest problems with Classroom Crisis: its need to feel familiar to anime fans by employing overused tropes and introducing unoriginal plot points. Kaito may not develop much as a character, but his dedication to his students and passion for building new and better rockets provides a counterbalance for the dull characterisation of the under-developed archetypal members of his class.

‘Vice-homeroom teacher’ Angelina, who is introduced as an unnecessary foil for all of the good in Kaito’s class, is particularly problematic because she is written from a blatantly misogynistic point of view. No other character acts in such an unbelievable and unprofessional manner as she does. If her attempts at sexually seducing the younger Nagisa are to be taken seriously, there would be a love square instead of an apparent love triangle. Her character adds so little to the plot that it is better to ignore her as much as possible and simply question why she exists in a series where several younger, intelligent girls are directly shown engaging in literal rocket science.

Visuals

The animation rarely stands out, but that can be considered a positive thing in this case. It is impressive that a relatively new animation company consistently produced each episode to the same standard and did not give any indication that they were operating on a low budget. There is plenty of 3D CG imagery, especially in shots set in outer space, but it blends well with the 2D animation. The setting does not stand out, which is disappointing given that Mars has evidently been significantly terraformed, but it does not truly detract from the series as a result. There is some violence, mostly towards Nagisa and mostly from his extremely abusive and deranged older brother Yuji; this may be uncomfortable for some viewers to witness. Fan-service is basically non-existent, and the obligatory beach episode is by far one of the least contrived and most entertaining ones in anime in years. This show demonstrates the potential of relatively new studio Lay-duce; one can hope that they receive funding to produce more original anime series and hopefully more episodes of Classroom Crisis in the future.

Audio

The music is effective and appropriate throughout all 13 episodes. The opening and ending theme songs are just catchy enough to make it worth watching the 90-second credit sequences. However, they are ultimately little more than two J-pop songs introduced into the anime world because they can be and not because they necessarily should be. What stands out is the background music, composed by relative newcomer Yuuki Hayashi. There are no bland synthesizer tunes, just lively music that always enhances the atmosphere and sounds great. The voice actors all provide convincing performances as well. Nagisa Kiryu’s voice actor Yuma Uchida is adept at voicing his at-times maniacal character, and he adds a lot of depth to his character and this series overall. It is almost a shame that this series did not receive an English dub; its characters are interesting enough to make this a missed opportunity for a memorable Ocean Productions dub.

Extras

The textless opening and ending animation sequences are included on the second disc. Unfortunately, these are not subtitled, nor are they subtitled when shown in the episodes themselves. The English subtitles for each episode, which are mostly presented without any mistakes, appear to be hard-subtitles, and therefore cannot be turned off.

Overall

Classroom Crisis proves that corporate and even governmental politics can add an extraordinary level of intrigue into what would have otherwise been a dull and generic story. It does a lot to set itself apart from other sci-fi anime series; there are currently no mobile suits in operation and there are no alien races threatening to destroy humanity. The story is significantly less contrived and more engaging than most sci-fi anime series are. The majority of the students are woefully under-explored and relegated to supporting roles, yet they all feel like they actually belong there. Angelina is the only character that absolutely should not be a part of this show. Just seeing high school students, girls in particular, who are genuinely intelligent makes this series stand out. It is far more memorable than the generic nonsense that typically pervades the modern anime world.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

New Raiders of the Broken Planet Dev Diary Dives Deep into the Lore

Jamie Laike Tsui
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New Raiders of the Broken Planet Dev Diary Dives Deep into the Lore

MercurySteam released a brand new dev diary today for their upcoming asymmetrical 4 vs 1 shooter Raiders of the Broken Planet. The video takes a look at the game’s setting. The Broken Planet was discovered after an expedition to one of Saturn’s moons encountered a mysterious space ship loaded with a new power source known as Aleph. Using the new power source, bands of paramilitary organizations travelled to the Broken Planet to find and capture more of the substance.

The video also introduces Harec, an inhabitant of the Broken Planet who recruits the humans to find a way to send the humans back to Earth so they will stop waging war against the Broken Planet’s indigenous people.

The dev diary also returns to the antagonist in the Broken Planet, covering their role from both a story and gameplay perspective. The antagonist has their own adventure to complete, separate from the humans. The antagonist plays alone, but also has an army of AI NPCs for support. To be successful in the role, players need to draw from both experience playing a Raider and creativity to create new strategies with their abilities to foil the team of four raiders.

https://youtu.be/oU_lA2rVeHE

DAYBREAK GAMES REVEALS H1Z1® ELITE SERIES AND $1 MILLION GLOBAL TOURNAMENT PLANS

Philip Federico
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DAYBREAK GAMES REVEALS H1Z1® ELITE SERIES AND $1 MILLION GLOBAL TOURNAMENT PLANS

New esports circuit will focus on the best H1Z1 players around the world, debuting with solo and team tournaments at DreamHack Atlanta, July 21-23

SAN DIEGO – June 5, 2017 – Daybreak Games today announced the Elite Series, a new esports circuit focused on bringing together the top-performing players of the single-elimination, massive arena shooter H1Z1®: King of the Kill®. This professional circuit will host in-person gaming tournaments around the world, including in the North American, European, APAC (Asia-Pacific) and LATAM (Latin America) regions. Each event in the Elite Series will feature a $250,000 prize pool, for a total of $1 million in prizing.

“The Elite Series shines a spotlight on the skill and passion of our players from around the world, bringing the community closer together through online programming and in-person competition. It’s an arena for the best head-to-head H1Z1 action and will undoubtedly have viewers and players on the edge of their seat,” said Mark Tuttle, director of esports at Daybreak. “There is nothing that can match the scale or intensity of an H1Z1 tournament where everyone is dropped in together, competing amidst the mayhem to be the last one standing, and we are excited to continue to develop this new genre of esports.”  

Kicking off at DreamHack Atlanta from July 21-23, the Elite Series will debut with two nail-biting H1Z1 tournaments – one for solo players and one for 5-player teams – with a prize pool of $150,000 for the team tournament and $100,000 for the solo competition. The team competition will feature top organizations like Obey Alliance, winners of the H1Z1®: Fight for the Crown™ tournament, World Best Gaming, Denial Esports and Counter Logic Gaming. Each tournament will reserve a majority of seats for participants who qualify in preliminary rounds on-site at DreamHack Atlanta.

The Elite Series has been created to further define the massive arena shooter genre as a form of competitive play and entertainment. It both shares and advances the spirit of Daybreak’s past esports initiatives, including the primetime television spectacle of H1Z1: Fight for the Crown that aired on The CW Network earlier this year and the H1Z1 Invitational, the most watched TwitchCon program for two years running. The H1Z1 Invitational will also return to TwitchCon this October with events for both professional players and all-star streamers. Daybreak plans to announce specific details on additional Elite Series tournaments and the Invitational later this year.

For more information on the Elite Series in Atlanta, including pre-registration details for solo players and teams wishing to qualify, visit https://www.h1z1.com/king-of-the-kill/elite-series.

About H1Z1

H1Z1: King of the Kill is a single-elimination, massive arena shooter that pits 150+ battle-hardened players against each other in a robust and detailed world. Search for weapons, ammo, armor, vehicles and supplies to get a leg up on the competition and be the last one standing. To learn more, visit www.h1z1.com/king-of-the-kill, and follow the game on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch.

H1Z1 was one of the best-selling games of 2016 on Steam and one of the 10 most-watched games on Twitch with more than 75 million hours of gameplay viewed on the platform last year. ESRB Rating: Rated M for Mature for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, and Suggestive Themes.

About Daybreak Game Company

Daybreak Game Company LLC is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming. Best known for blockbuster hits and franchises such as H1Z1®, DC Universe™ Online, PlanetSide®, and EverQuest®, Daybreak creates, develops, and provides compelling online entertainment for millions of gamers worldwide.

To learn more, visit www.DaybreakGames.com.

12 New Movie Posters For Transformers: The Last Knight Revealed

Jamie Laike Tsui
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12 New Movie Posters For Transformers: The Last Knight Revealed

Paramount Pictures released twelve new movie posters for Transformers: The Last Knight. The black and white images of twelve of the main cast members are stylized with an orange lens flair and a one word description of each character’s role in the film. The movie is set in the midst of an all out war between humans and Transformers. With Optimus Prime gone, Earth is sliding into chaos and humanity is on the brink of being wiped out. Bumblebee, Cade Yeager, and a band of humans must now discover the link between the Transformers and Earth in hopes of bringing peace to the world.

Transformers: The Last Knight will be the last Transformers film Michael Bay will be directing. While it is likely the franchise will continue making movies without its long time director, Bay has decided to focus his efforts on new projects. The director has only worked on two non-Transformers projects since the release of Transformers in 2007.

Transformers: The Last Knight is scheduled to arrive in Australian cinemas on June 22 and in the US on June 21.

ROCKET LEAGUE’S ‘ANNIVERSARY UPDATE’ REVEALED AT RLCS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Philip Federico
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ROCKET LEAGUE’S ‘ANNIVERSARY UPDATE’ REVEALED AT RLCS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Celebrating Two Years of Rocket League, Anniversary Update Arrives July 5

SAN DIEGO, CA – June 4, 2017 – Independent video game developer and publisher, Psyonix, creators of the sports-action hit, Rocket League, today revealed the Anniversary Update during the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Season Three World Championship in Los Angeles, CA.

Launching on July 5, the Anniversary Update features a FREE new arena named ‘Champions Field,’ a standard, modern-looking stadium that will be available in Competitive, Casual and Private matches. The update also brings the end of ‘Competitive Season 4’ and the start of ‘Competitive Season 5,’ as well as the introduction of ‘Rocket League Radio,’ which adds 18 new songs from record label, Monstercat, to the game.

Additional new content includes two new Import Battle-Cars – ‘Animus GP’ and ‘Centio V17’ – available exclusively as drops inside the new ‘Overdrive Crate,’ and for the first time ever, new customization options like ‘Engine Audio,’ ‘Goal Explosions,’ and ‘Trails’ that are a mix of FREE selections and Crate drops. New Achievements and Trophies are also planned. Look for more details regarding all content for the Anniversary Update HERE.

The ‘Anniversary Update’ launches the week of Rocket League‘s second birthday, which takes place on July 7, 2017.  Since the game’s launch in 2015, the community has grown to more than 31 million players who have played more than 1.45 billion completed matches across all platforms.

# # #
ABOUT ROCKET LEAGUE®
Winner or nominee of more than 150 “Game of the Year” awards, Rocket League is one of the most critically-acclaimed sports games of our generation. Boasting a community of more than 31 million players, Rocket League is a high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem with easy-to-understand controls and fluid, physics-driven competition. Available digitally on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC, Mac, and SteamOS via Steam, Rocket League includes more than 100 billion possible customization combinations, a fully-featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special “Mutators” that let you change the rules entirely.

To learn more about Rocket League, please visit www.RocketLeague.com, “Like” it on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter @RocketLeague for all the latest developer updates and news.

ABOUT PSYONIX
Based in San Diego, CA, Psyonix is a critically-acclaimed independent video game developer and leading experts in Unreal Engine technology. For more than 15 years, the studio has been a driving force behind some of the most successful games in the industry, including Gears of War, Mass Effect 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Bulletstorm, Unreal Tournament III, Unreal Tournament 2004, and the award-winning Sports-Action hit, Rocket League®.

Rocket League, Psyonix, and all related marks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Psyonix Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam Review

Jamie Laike Tsui
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Rising Storm 2: Vietnam Review

Rising Storm 2

Developer: Antimatter Games, Tripwire Interactive
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
Platform: Windows
Release Date: 30 May, 2017
Price: $24.99 USD – Available Here

Video Review

Overview

Tripwire Interactive’s series of realistic World War II shooters is taking a jump through time to the Vietnam War. Rising Storm 2: Vietnam pits the Northern Vietnamese forces against the United States military in tense, asymmetrical warfare. The game features large 64 player battles set on maps inspired by real life locations and over 30 authentic weapons.

Story

There is no story mode or story campaign to speak of in Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, but there is a bit of banter between soldiers in-game. The lines are a bit of a mixed bag. Some are good and contribute to the feeling of being in a film like We Were Soldiers, while others are just downright bad in a cheesy B movie sort of way.

Gameplay

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is a realistic FPS that stops just short of being a full-blown military simulator. The game’s main focus is on infantry combat, but the game also supports transport and combat helicopters on certain maps. The controls are a little more granular than the standard FPS controls. Players are able to lean left and right to get a better shooting angle, opt to throw grenades either over or underhand, adjust their rifle’s stock, and attach a bayonet. Currently, there is no native support for controllers or joysticks, so helicopters can only be controlled using a mouse and keyboard or some sort of emulated solution like the Steam Controller. Piloting using mouse and keyboard works well enough, but it is still inferior to an actual analog joystick of some sort.

The realism in Rising Storm 2: Vietnam makes for a difficult game to learn. A bullet or two is easily enough to kill a person. Cover is an absolute must, but bullets that land nearby still cause a suppression effect that emulates the sheer terror of trying to not die. The effect causes the screen to blur, making it difficult to spot enemies and lowers the overall accuracy of the player’s weapon. Tripwire Interactive lives up to their reputation of delivering games with incredibly accurate firearms. Players can only see how many magazines are in their inventory. Players can get a rough estimate of how full their magazine is by holding down the reload button to either pull back on the bolt or take out the magazine. The only way to know exactly how many rounds are left is to count, and players will soon discover that is just not realistic. Reloading a half empty magazine will either trigger a lengthy partial reload or stash the magazine at the end of the player’s magazine queue depending on the weapon. Combined with the high damage bullets, running low on ammunition becomes a terrifying situation in Rising Storm 2. Correctly deciding if and when to reload in between battles is a huge challenge as hearing the click click click of an empty rifle while pinned down will make one’s stomach plummet to the ground.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam has one of the best systems for handling firearms rested on a surface, with or without a bipod. When near a corner or a surface that a weapon can be rested on, a small icon pops up to notify players that a shouldered weapon will have no sway due its supported position. A firearm with a bipod will have a similar effect when rested against a surface, but will also have no recoil. If the ledge is slightly higher than the crouched player, then it will automatically raise the player’s height to the ledge when the weapon is shouldered. I like the fact that the system tends to error on the side of caution, allowing players to rest their weapons on more surfaces beyond the standard window sill or sandbag wall.

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is a fantastic FPS if players are willing to tough through a difficult learning curve and find a good community. Bad decisions like running out of cover without a smokescreen or poking out to fire from the same place over and over will be punished quickly. Friendly fire is almost universally enabled and the friendly GUI icon takes a split second to appear, so learning to identify each army’s uniform and silhouette at a glance is vital for surviving the game’s short and brutish firefights. The tutorials are a bit on the thin side. There are a series of YouTube videos that break down the game’s basics and some sandbox maps that let players stretch their legs and practice. Finding a good community is part of the challenge. Given the team-based nature of the game, an army that has members communicating and coordinating each other will obliterate an army that doesn’t with absolute ease. While a microphone isn’t 100% required in this game, it makes a huge difference.

Combat in Rising Storm 2 tends to focus on static battle lines in 64 player servers. Territories mode has one team on attack and one on defense, and Supremacy is a tug of war-like battle for control points. The maps usually have multiple routes with flanking options a bit limited by the lower number of available capture points. Here, Rising Storm 2’s asymmetrical design is at its most obvious. Both armies can respawn troops in their backlines, forcing players to walk their way back to reinforce the front lines. The US military players can also opt to respawn directly on their squad leader or get shuttled up to the front by a transport helicopter. The more direct nature of the US respawns puts a lot of firepower on the front lines and encourages a little more conservative play from its squad leaders. On the other hand, the northern Vietnamese squad leaders can lay tunnel exits on the map, creating a static spawn point for the entire squad until the exit is found and destroyed by the US troops. When combined with the North Vietnamese’s commander ability Ho Chi Minh Trail that shortens respawn times, a few sneaky squad leaders can create a sudden surge of troops on an weakly guarded US flank. In the greater picture, the differences between the two teams of Rising Storm 2 is not as obvious as say Left 4 Dead, but it is still enough to add an interesting twist on an FPS genre that tends to error on the side of uniformity.

Visuals

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam looks excellent, with well detailed models and solid animations. The default HUD is minimalistic, with important icons only appearing when necessary. A more detailed HUD called the tactical view can be toggled on. Rising Storm 2’s progression system is strictly cosmetic and offers a vast array of customization options to create a unique look. The maps do an excellent job of recreating the sites of legendary battles during the war.

On the technical side, the game is built on Unreal Engine 3, the same engine Tripwire Interactive used for their previous games. Rising Storm 2 is definitely on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes graphical options available for tweaking. In my testing, I did not run into any serious frame rate issues or graphical issues.

Audio

The audio experience in Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is generally very good. The soundtrack has a wonderful mix of Vietnamese and American music from the era that plays a huge role in creating the Vietnam War environment. My only wish was that the developers were able to put in more licensed tracks in the game. The sound effects are fantastic. It seems like the developers put just as much effort in creating authentic sound effects for the gunfire as they did with the actual handling of the weapons. The weakest part of the game’s audio experience is the voice acting. Although the main announcers were done by competent voice actors, some of the random filler lines spoken by in-game characters are really poorly acted and break the game’s immersive feel.

Overall

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is not for everyone. The game boasts strong controls, graphics, and audio, but the realistic gameplay leads to a high learning curve that will chase away a lot of gamers who are looking for a pick up and play FPS experience. Players will also need to put in the effort to find a community of teamplay oriented gamers who are interested in using voice communication to really get the most out of the game. Anyone who is willing to put in the effort will be rewarded with a fantastic FPS that provides an intense, large scale infantry combat experience.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

VICTORIA TAKES OUT INAUGURAL LEAGUE OF ORIGIN TITLE!

Philip Federico
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VICTORIA TAKES OUT INAUGURAL LEAGUE OF ORIGIN TITLE!

Victoria has been crowned the first ever League of Legends: League of Origin Champions, winning the best of five Final in 3-1 against New South Wales yesterday.

After placing third following Saturday’s round robins, Victoria first had to tackle New Zealand in the Semi Finals. Even after dropping the first game and running with an unusual champion select of Taric and Urgot in game two, Victoria came away with the win, beating New Zealand 2-1 in the best of three.

Victoria then faced the first placed New South Wales in the Final and the match up didn’t disappoint, with each team taking a narrow win in the first two games. The tipping point came in game three. EGym’s Rakan expertly navigated fights for New South Wales earning them an early kill lead, but Victoria’s incredible objective control saw them take game three. The final game saw Victoria consistently apply pressure in the top lane, but it was an epic team fight at Baron that secured the Championship for Victoria, with no one from New South Wales left standing.

Scoring bragging rights from the win, Victorian player Jayke ‘Jayke’ Paulsen from Avant Gaming said in his livestream interview immediately following the game:

“I think from earlier today we discovered what we were doing wrong. We needed to pick shielding champions and comfort champions. We were trying too hard before. It was easy.”

Victorian selector and OPL shoutcaster Jake ‘Spawn’ Tiberi, added:

“I’m ecstatic with the results. No matter how Victoria played, I would’ve been proud of my home team, but it’s amazing to be the first ever regional Champions of Oceania.”

If you missed League of Origin or want to relive the action, you can watch the event on Riot Games Oceania’s YouTube channel or OPL’s Twitch channel.

 

 

About Riot Games

Riot Games was established in 2006 by entrepreneurial gamers who believe that player-focused game development can result in great games. Riot’s mission is to be the most player-focused company in the world.

About Oceanic Pro League

Esports is the highest level of competitive League of Legends play: professional competition on a global scale. Starting in 2015, the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) is the professional esports league in Oceania and features the top 8 esports teams in the region.

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