Torment Tides of Numenera Release Date | Pre-orders Now Available
December 14th, 2016 – Wroclaw, Poland / inXile Entertainment and Techland Publishing have announced the release date for Torment: Tides of Numenera – February 28th, 2017.
The “Day One Edition Release Date” trailer can be viewed hereor downloaded in various languageshere.
Torment: Tides of Numenera is set one billion years in the future, using the science-fantasy setting created by pen and paper RPG luminary, Monty Cook. Players will experience a game of intricate choices and consequences with thousands of meaningful decisions that will make every playthrough unique.
The game is created and developed by inXile Entertainment, which consists of industry icon Brian Fargo and many other veteran creators of the original Planescape: Torment – one of the most critically revered cRPGs in gaming history.
Pre-orders for the Day One Edition and The Collector’s Edition are also now available. For a full list of what is contained in the Collector’s Edition along with pre-order incentives, see the official trailer here.
For more info on Torment: Tides of Numenera and the various edtions available, check out thetormentgame.com website. Torment: Tides of Numenera will be available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
About Techland
Founded in 1991, Techland is a renowned independent game developer, distributor, and publisher. The Poland based company is best known for the original Dead Island games, the Call of Juarez series, and Dying Light. Thanks to its proprietary game engine technology, Techland develops top-tier entertainment content for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, Mac OS X, Android, and iOS. Comprised of four offices in Warsaw, Wrocław, Ostrów Wielkopolski, and Vancouver, Canada, the company is committed to delivering unforgettable experiences and using the latest technology for innovative entertainment. For more information about the company, visit the official website at: http://techland.pl/
About inXile Entertainment
Founded by long-time industry veteran @BrianFargo in 2002, inXile Entertainment develops interactive entertainment software for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Following the critical and commercial success of Wasteland 2, inXile crowdfunded and is currently developing Torment: Tides of Numenera and The Bard’s Tale IV. For more information about inXile Entertainment visit: www.inxile-entertainment.com .
Torment is a trademark of inXile Entertainment. Numenera is a trademark of Monte Cook Games LLC.
All product titles, publisher names, trademarks, artwork and associated imagery are trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyright material of the respective owners. All rights reserved.
MYTHICAL ACTION ADVENTURE GAME, TROLL AND I, SET TO LAUNCH ACROSS CONSOLES AND PC ON MARCH 21, 2017
New Trailer from Maximum Games Gives First Glimpse of Unlikely Friends on a Quest for Survival
December 14, 2016 – Walnut Creek, CA – Video game publisher Maximum Games, in partnership with developer Spiral House, has today announced that its upcoming action adventure game, Troll and I, will be releasing on March 21, 2017 in North America and on March 24, 2017 in Europe for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC platforms.
Troll and I is a heroic adventure that tells the story of a teenage boy named Otto and his unlikely friendship with a massive, mythical Troll. When a ruthless hunter in search of Troll rips through Otto’s homeland, utter chaos and devastation ensues. Otto’s small Scandinavian village is destroyed, and the boy finds himself alone and on the run from the evil forces that have pervaded his once peaceful land. To his surprise, he locates and befriends the wanted beast who has taken refuge in a secret lair in the Nordic mountains. In doing so, a unique bond is formed and the friends find themselves on an epic and memorable adventure.
Players will harness the ability to switch seamlessly between both Otto and Troll as the two outcasts struggle to survive. Together, they must fight, strategize and sneak through a dangerous wilderness with a band of hunters and deadly creatures on their trail. Troll and I features a combat system that allows contrasting abilities for each character: Troll and his highly damaging attacks can crush enemies in one blow while Otto incorporates more quick and nimble moves. Troll and Otto can also cohesively act as one to fight off rivals, solve puzzles and complete missions. Each employs their own distinct presence and gameplay functionality.
Utilizing cooperative split-screen multiplayer, play locally with a friend as teamwork is absolutely pivotal to stay alive. With a dynamic duo like Otto and Troll, the local co-op feature allows for shared collaboration between two gamers, creating an experience equally captivating for both players.
Troll and I is currently in development from Spiral House and will be published by Maximum Games. The game will be available on March 21, 2017 in North America and on March 24, 2017 in Europe for the PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC platforms. This title has been rated “T for Teen” by the ESRB.
Troll and I is available to pre-order now for $49.99. Please visit http://www.trollandi.com for more pre-order and product information.
For the latest news on Troll and I, please follow the official Facebook and Twitter pages.
Maximum Games ranks as a top 15 global video game publisher of interactive digital entertainment spanning all genres and supporting multi-platforms. The company’s mission is to provide a proven and strong hands-on approach to publishing, marketing, and distribution. Established in 2009, the company is led by female entrepreneur Christina Seelye, a seasoned executive of digital consumer products and channel marketing. Under Seelye’s leadership, the company has been recognized with numerous awards such as “Fastest Growing Tech Company” by American Business Awards, and has made the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies for the past two years. Maximum Games has offices in both the US and UK, and continues to expand its scope of global publishing and distribution via direct reach and strategic partnerships. For more information on Maximum Games, visit the company’s website at http://www.maximumgames.com.
About Spiral House
Spiral House is a UK based developer of interactive entertainment, focused on developing for all major home entertainment consoles, mobile devices and PC, for the global market. Established in 1999 by seasoned game developers Bobby Earl and Kevin Oxland, Spiral House traditionally followed the ‘work for hire’ business model developing partner’s IP, including various AAA and handheld titles for Sony (EyePet, MotorStorm, Wipeout Pulse, Vita Pets, and Little Big Planet), Activision (PC Blur) and many others. Now developing their own IP, with the first in a line of exciting titles being ‘Troll and I’, they have built a reputation within the industry for building creative games that focus primarily on game-play, unique features with depth and originality, whilst maintaining tight controls on the development process. For more information on Spiral House, visit the developer website at http://www.spiralhouse.co.uk.
DURANGO, REVOLUTIONARY MOBILE MMO BEGINS LIMITED BETA
Innovative Sandbox Mobile MMO with Primitive Dinosaurs and Massive Player Versus Player Battles from Developers of Vindictus Opens Worldwide Limited Testing for iOS and Android
Seoul– Dec. 14, 2016 – Registered fans from around the world will be the first to roam, explore and conquer the immensely beautiful, but dangerous world of Durango, the latest sandbox massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) from NEXON Korea Corporation, subsidiary of NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO), a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games. Durango is a pioneering MMORPG with an endless number of islands, full of primitive dinosaurs awaiting player discovery. The Durangolimited beta testing will continue from now to Jan. 4, 2017. Eager Android users wishing to join the limited beta test can still register on the Durango website:https://i.nx.com/0Ux.
Developed by Eunseok Yi, developer of ‘Mabinogi’ and ‘Vindictus’ and director of What! Studio, players participating in the Durango limited beta tests will be propelled into an unknown world where dinosaurs still roam around freely. Players will get a glimpse into a beautiful, but dangerous world where survival is the number one priority. Jampacked with a fully-immersive and interactive experience, players will lead their characters as they learn to build communities, hunt, scavenge and battle to keep their clan alive in the foreign land plagued by rival clans and dinosaurs.
During this round of limited beta, MMO fans from all around the world will:
Be a pioneer in an endless open world: Endless numbers of islands in Durango‘s seamless open world awaits player discovery;
Building an empire: Players can develop their settlement from scratch with fellow players from around the world, and prosper by trading goods;
Hunt or tame dinosaurs: Learn to tame, ride or hunt down a diverse set of vicious and iconic dinosaurs;
Engage in epic clan versus clan battles: Battle against other clans to protect one’s homeland in massive clan battles;
Develop specialties with emergent crafting and skill training: Find various ways to master activities through Durango’s innovative system.
The Durango limited beta is available in the US, Europe, Australia, Canada, South America, and other select territories, excluding mainland China and Japan.
About NEXON Co. Ltd.
NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO) is a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile
games. Founded in Korea in 1994, Nexon developed one of the world’s first graphics-based
massively multiplayer online games. Nexon also pioneered the concept of microtransactions
and the free-to-play business model, setting a new standard in which play is free, and users
have the option to purchase in-game items to enhance their experience. Nexon currently
services nearly 100 titles in more than 190 countries. The Company is headquartered in Tokyo,
Japan and its shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
About WHAT! Studio
What! Studio (“What Studio”) is one of the leading development teams of NEXON Korea Corporation, led by the director Eunseok Yi, a developer of Mabinogi and Vindictus.
Fun and innovation are the core values, and their mission is to provide players with a unique and memorable experience through distinctive and sophisticated games. What Studio is currently working on their very first project, Durango, which is a challenge making themselves as true pioneers as developers; and hope the game will also inspire players to become true pioneers as well. ###
Stealth based games in general tend to be a very rare thing in today’s gaming world and titles that can balance this stealth aspect while also delivering a satisfying combat system for those who prefer a non-stealthy approach are even rarer. When Arkane Studios released Dishonored back in 2012 they pleasantly surprised fans with a supernatural powered assassin and numerous routes to tackle most challenges. Now four years later they have released Dishonored 2 but does the unique and enjoyable feeling from the first title still hold true in the sequel?
Story
Set fifteen years after the events of the first game players find that Corvo Attarno, the protagonist of the first game and Emily Caldwin who has now taken on the title of Empress have helped bring Dunwall and the rest of their domain into prosperity. The problem is, those who have been questioning her rise to power have been mysteriously slain by someone that has been dubbed the “Crown Killer.” Many believe that Corvo, who is now apparently Emily’s father, has returned to his old ways of killing those who stand up against him or his daughter and things only get more dangerous when a visiting monarch delivers a bombshell.
With Emily thrown off the seat of power and her claim to the throne called into question, players must select to play as either Corvo who has had his powers drained by the overthrowing power or Emily with the character they don’t choose being imprisoned in stone. With the city of Dunwall in danger and nearly everyone an enemy, the selected character flees to discover the truth behind the mysteries surrounding them and try to reclaim what was once theirs.
In interesting fashion, players will spend most of their time away from Dunwall in Dishonored 2 as they will instead be finding themselves located in the coastal city of Carnaca and coming across a large number of interesting side characters. In fact, the actual world and the various tidbits that players learn from side conversations and various collectibles help flesh out the world far better than one would expect.
This is a plus considering the actual storyline is handled in a rather rough manner as players are given heavy dumps of information that is spread between only the bare minimum, meaning players will often feel like they are simply being told the main story rather than playing an influencing role in major events. It also doesn’t help that while Corvo and Emily will have some unique pieces of dialogue here and there, the major story scenes don’t change much between the two characters making the unique viewpoints of the story somewhat limited outside of the familiar high or low chaos routes.
Gameplay
One of the best elements of the first Dishonored was that players had numerous ways to tackle any obstacle that they came across and in Dishonored 2 the variety has been ramped up and made to feel far more natural than before. Almost every situation you come across will have a variety of ways to get around them, such as sneaking through an abandoned building you might have heard the townsfolk talking about while you were exploring, using the environment and each characters respective teleporting ability to simply bypass it, or flat out disabling or brute forcing your way through.
Players will find that these numerous routes have also been amplified thanks to the numerous tools that they have at their disposal. The weaponry has been given numerous ways that they can be upgraded to best fit your current playstyle and turn yourself into a killing machine if you so please but those who prefer a non-lethal route will find that there are now a larger pool of non-lethal attack methods and takedowns available, even giving players in open combat a chance to try and subdue their foe without killing them.
Taking the variety even further is the fact that players can choose between Corvo and Emily. Now while the story may not alter much depending on who you play as, the unique powers that both characters have make the title well worth playing through a second time. Corvo makes use of his familiar special abilities that have to be unlocked once again due to being drained and this time around many of his skills have been given extra steps that make them even more entertaining to use. Emily on the other hand offers an almost entirely new experience as she can hypnotize her foes, teleport with “Far Reach,” move incredibly stealthy with “Shadow Walk,” create a copy of herself, and even link enemies together with the “Domino” skill so that what happens to one target will happen to everyone linked up.
Each of these characters offer a variety of lethal and non-lethal ways to take on any challenge the game may throw at you and with numerous customization abilities players will be able to play through this title numerous times and still find something new as they explore the largely open environments that most of the levels are set in. This is a major plus given the fact that the enemies you face off against can be just as deadly once you are caught in the open.
Standard guards will openly attack the player and will attempt to parry, kick stun, and even flank them if they are in open combat. Since these enemies deal so much damage it does tend to be rather difficult at times with how intelligent the AI can be but thanks to the tools at your disposal, plus the options to use skills such as sprinting attacks and brutal execution methods that literally slice an enemy in half, once you get the hang of the game’s combat system every encounter outside of stealth feels just as exhilarating and rewarding as subduing or sneaking through an entire area with no one being the wiser.
That being said, players shouldn’t expect the stealth route to be as easy either as guards in this entry aren’t quite like your standard grunts. While standard tricks may work on them from time to time, they will often make various changes to their behavior that can catch a player off guard if they expect them to react the same way every time.
It is worth noting that similar to the first entry, Dishonored 2 makes use of the various Runes and Bone Charms scattered throughout the massive hub areas that make up each level stage. Hunting these down using the same method as before, a certain heart with the same haunting commentary, often takes players down interesting paths they may have missed and generally the reward for obtaining these is worth the effort though be prepared for some of these collectibles/power-ups to feel like they ended up being more trouble than they were worth.
Visuals & Audio
The change in location for Dishonored 2 comes as a pleasant one as the new city that players spend most of the game in offers the developers a chance to build a new massive area to explore and they have done this in amazing fashion. Each area feels lived in and believable with some especially noteworthy levels appearing later in the game.
Along those same lines, the actual change doesn’t feel all that different since characters are basically the same looking as the original entry though the gore level has been knocked up a notch. These character designs also damage certain emotional moments of the story as the way that their facial structures are handled hamper the expressions they are meant to make. That being said, the voice work and atmospheric noise in the game work incredibly well and help build a living world.
Overall
Although the story may lack a real hook to keep players enthralled outside of the standard power-grab and revenge mission, thanks to the powers and approachable options given to the player they will almost always feel like they have control over the situation though don’t expect the enemies to simply roll over for you as they are not only quite intelligent when searching but rather adept in battle. With this challenge and an amazing open feeling world to explore during missions, Dishonored 2 manages to expand upon the world and help refine the mechanics of the first entry to an even better level, making it worthwhile sequel to a game that surprised many years ago.
Maybe your criminal organization’s portfolio in Grand Theft Auto: Online needs a little diversification. As CEO of the company it’s up to you to break into new territory with the new “Import/Export” update. Players will now be able to steal high end luxury vehicles and sell them for a nice tidy profit. If sweet sweet GTA$ wasn’t enough to convince you to expand your enterprise, the update introduces a few special vehicles that can help players in future heists with guns and armour plating attached to them. These vehicles are all stored in the new vehicle warehouse buildings.
The update are introducing the following new vehicles:
Special Vehicles
BF Ramp Buggy
JoBuilt Phantom Edge
Karin Technical Aqua
Nagasaki Blazer Aqua
Brute Armored Boxville
MTL Wastelander
Imponte Ruiner 2000
Coil Rocket Voltic
Vehicles
Principe Diablous and Diablous Custom
Annis Elegy Retro Custom
Pegassi Tempesta
Ocelot Penetrator
Of course the biggest customization addition is likely the biggest one yet for Grand Theft Auto Online. Chose a nose you regret deeply? Or maybe the eye colour seemed really edgy and cool at the time. Characters can finally go under the knife and change their appearance. If you’re happy with your character’s appearance, then new stunt props are being added for Rockstar Editor’s Director mode and Play Together support for PlayStation 4 is now live. In case you needed more encouragement to start playing Grand Theft Auto Online, the game is currently the Midweek Madness sale on Steam, dropping the price down by 50%.
Finally, a new adversary mode is being added in “Import/Export.” Turf Wars pits two to four teams in a new car arena game. Players must drive over tiles to claim it from their team and the one with the most tiles wins. Of course, there’s an explosive twist to the game. The cars are armed with rockets and ammunition is scattered around the arena.
Grand Theft Auto Online “Import/Export” is now live for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The Last Guardian is developed by the same team behind ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, two critically acclaimed games with cult followings, both of which I have always wanted to try out but just never got around to. Their newest title follows a similar theme, pairing an unnamed boy and a mythical beast named Trico (who I will refer to as him in this review although a gender is not implicitly implied) on an adventure to find answers. With a 10 year development cycle that sees The Last Guardian placed amongst the greatest of video game delay legends, is it possible for this game to live up to the hype? Our full spoiler free review is below.
Story
The story of The Last Guardian plays out slowly over the course of the game as you traverse your surroundings. A voice that is heavily hinted to be your future self narrates certain moments, mostly describing the current events or how he and the beast felt at any particular moment. Beautifully composed cutscenes jolt the story forward and fill in some blanks, particularly in the strong final act, but they are rare within the 10 or so hour long adventure. While events are shown to you they are often lightly detailed, leaving a lot of the story open to your own interpretation, an ideal that goes hand in hand with all the mystery this game shrouds you in. Where are we? What is Trico? How did the boy get his markings? These are all questions I had to stop myself from spoiling before I beat the game and I am glad I waited as almost all of my burning questions were eventually answered to some degree.
The deepening bond between the boy and Trico serves as a narrative in itself and it’s one I became invested in despite not really caring for the boy in this story. The boy doesn’t really get any development in the story but I feel the reasoning for this is the developers wanting you to project yourself onto the boy so that you are the one building a relationship with Trico, hence not giving the boy a name. Rest assured that overall the story is unsettling, intriguing and emotional throughout, with enough big story moments along the way to shock you and lay down a memorable and heartfelt tale with a satisfying ending.
Gameplay
The Last Guardian is not an action game despite many retail listings, I would place it in the puzzle/platforming genre personally. The closest comparison I can make is that the entirety of the game is like one massive dungeon from a 3D Legend of Zelda game with a large focus on puzzles and some platforming. You enter a new area, take in your surroundings and figure out how to advance, whether that be pulling levers, finding barrels to feed Trico, or dragging a box to the right location to use as a ledge. That all sounds rather par for the course for a game like this and honestly a lot of it is, but The Last Guardian seldom reuses any puzzles or solutions and remains mentally stimulating enough to not become boring. Not to mention you have the lovable Trico at your side who puts a unique twist into the games challenges with his ability to reach new places and take out the suits of armour that the boy can not combat on his own for the most part.
The game never gets too difficult, finding a very nice balance between simplistic and challenging even though I did get stumped a couple of times. Honestly this felt like it was mostly due to some poor design choices as I would seem to have the solution worked out but the game wouldn’t let me perform said solution. A perfect example of this is when I came to this half destroyed bridge. In a couple of similar situations before Trico would easily clear that with a jump, however because the game is strictly linear and wants you to do it a certain way, Trico will just sit there and not jump. Trico not listening to you is both a part of his charm as a real beast and frustrating, more so frustrating when it’s several minutes before he finally carries out the command you have been screaming at him to perform. I love Trico but the weakest puzzle solutions in The Last Guardian involve you simply waiting for Trico to activate a large switch or jump to the next area as it makes the game extremely passive.
The voice of the future boy provides tips on how to advance if you ever get stuck for too long (or that I later found out if you meditate using the L3 button, this game does have an issue with not telling you some of these helpful commands), which was an appreciated feature in my play through as sometimes your next goal can be unclear, particularly at the beginning on the game. The hints aren’t too on the nose either, still allowing you to figure out a part of the puzzle for yourself. Unfortunately they become near useless towards the end of your adventure as when I used it later on I was just given an old irrelevant hint on an area I had long passed or a story explanation instead. Luckily Trico steps up here as your bond strengthens, often leading you to your next goal if you observe him long enough.
Now let’s dedicate an entire paragraph to how amazing Trico is. This beast is the most realistic and advanced (in terms of being believable not purely intelligence) partner AI I have seen in a game to date. The dog/cat inspirations are obvious here as Trico whimpers, growls, scratches at doors and even rolls over in puddles of waters just like a family pet. Trico has so much personality and interacts with the world incredibly naturally, even behaving well in tight environments. I couldn’t help but smile as he sat down to scratch his ears or sat at the edge of a cliff looking at the boy while he swam in the water below, only coming down when there was a barrel of food as a reward. Trico is the best part of this game hands down. His design, his actions, his story, his evolution throughout the game both physically and in his bond with the boy and his implementation into most of the gameplay puzzles is near perfect. If you don’t get attached to Trico then you might need to see a doctor to check if you have a heart.
What you might not love as much are the controls which are a bit of a mess here. Movement doesn’t feel precise as it should be and climbing or trying to jump off Trico or a rope in a particular direction can be a real task sometimes. The Last Guardian seldom requires precise movement but when it does you may find the controls lacking. Luckily the game is very forgiving with it’s checkpoint system meaning you shouldn’t have to replay anymore than 30 seconds of game time if you do die, an occurrence that was very rare for me outside of high falls caused by the controls or when an impromptu cutscene would take away control of the main character only to give it back at a really awkward time. The unchangeable obscure button layout doesn’t aid the situation and the fact that the controls constantly have to pop up in the corner of the screen to remind you of what buttons to press to perform an action is a testament to that. Having the circle button perform multiple tasks can be a pain at times, with the biggest example of this being if you’re trying to pat Trico and there are a bunch of items on the ground the boy can pick up.
The camera doesn’t help the control issue and sad to say it’s a bit of a mess as well. At times the camera does a great job capturing the perfect angle to show off the massive size of this games world, but put the camera in a small windowsill between two rooms or up against your back when Trico is nearby and you’re going to have problems. One time my screen went completely black and nothing I did got me out of it for a while leading to a small panic. The game also handles the ‘camera reset’ in a very jarring way, with a quick fade to black before it happens instead of just cutting straight to the new shot. This leads to multiple occasions where the screen repeatedly fades to black as the camera tries to adjust itself. These issues will pop up but you can get past them easily with a bit of patience.
I know I’ve probably made the controls seem absolutely awful here but I stress that they are manageable and after an hour or so you will get used to them. The game does enough right to make putting up with these technical issues worth it. The majority of the puzzles are fun and while the platforming is rather basic for most of the game, figuring the correct way to scale a tower or make it across a gap is just as satisfying as solving a puzzle, especially when Trico helps out. Gameplay isn’t The Last Guardian‘s strongest card by any means but it’s decent enough that it won’t hinder your enjoyment of everything else it brings to the table.
Graphics
The Last Guardian is beautiful. Once again Trico is the star of the show here, with the amount of visual fidelity in it’s fur, whiskers and feathers being nothing short of amazing. The way Trico fits in with the environment is technically impressive, only once did I ever notice Trico ever glitch out graphically or even clip any other objects and that was in a rather poorly designed water section. The environments are well designed and detailed outside of a couple of low quality textures, keeping a mostly monochrome colour palette that makes areas with lots of flora feel refreshing. The light cel shader applied to the game gives it a whimsical feel which suits the gameplay, story and environments perfectly. At times the light saturation effect might be applied too strong but this seems to be a distinct visual choice by the developers. The lighting is generally a high point but there are some odd times where it completely shifts tone unrealistically when entering a new area.
Those graphics obviously take a toll on performance here though, with a frame rate that fairly frequently dips below it’s 30 FPS cap, sometimes to a crawl, mostly moments where Trico is on the move or during cinematics. It’s not a game breaking issue by any stretch, but it does occur frequently enough to take a little wonder out of the games impressive visuals and can really take you out of the moment when it happens during a big story scene which sucks. This was played on a basic PS4 but if you have a PS4 Pro available to you I recommend using that as I have heard most Pro users are getting a consistent 30 FPS using the 1080p mode.
Audio
The orchestral soundtrack consists of a low number of tracks and is used sparingly in The Last Guardian, but considering the games length and theme that all works wonders here, really adding emphasis to each moment where music is applied. Whether you’re getting chased by one of those animated guards or clinging to life on the edge of a cliff the soundtrack adds a new dimension to the tension or emotion felt by the player. Discovering a wide open area for the first time with a track that compliments that new found feeling of freedom and wonder was a great memorable moment.
Outside of the music all the sound effects, the fictional language and any sound associated with Trico from his roars to his whimpers round out the games atmosphere perfectly in crystal clear quality. Top marks for the soundtrack and audio design in The Last Guardian.
Overall
I can’t say The Last Guardian was worth a 10 year wait but this is still a strong, unique experience that will appeal to gamers who have patience and can appreciate games as an art form and story telling method rather than just as entertainment. The beautiful, intriguing story paired with the gorgeous graphics, masterful audio and all the love that is put into every ounce of Trico’s being is something I hope a lot of gamers will try and then appreciate. The meat of the platforming and puzzle based game play may be rather generic outside of Trico’s involvement but it remains challenging enough to dispel boredom for the games duration. Controls, performance and minor camera issues aside, The Last Guardian is an unforgettable experience.
Steep is Ubisoft Annecy’s first foray into winter sports. The studio previously specialized in simulation before moving on to provide support for Ubisoft’s major studios in France and Montreal, now specializing in multiplayer gameplay. Steep gives players access to the open world of the Alps mountain range. Gamers will be able to traverse the mountains by ski, snowboard, wingsuit, and paraglider, seamlessly swapping between sports as they please.
Story
Steep doesn’t have much of a story and that works to the game’s benefit. Players are introduced to the world by a nameless voice who serves as the player’s promoter/manager. He provides a basic tutorial of navigating through the world of Steep and points out new locations players unlock as they gain levels in the game. The spirit of the mountains also provides some monologues in the secrets of the mountain quests, which range from decent to really cheesy. The nebulous nature of the game’s story elements fits well to the open world freedom of the game and I think trying to force in a plot would have probably been to Steep’s detriment.
Gameplay
Steep’s gameplay revolves around four extreme sports: skiing, snowboarding, paragliding, and wingsuit flying. Players can switch between all four sports or slowly plod through the snow on foot as long as they come to a full stop on the ground. The controls are solid and should be familiar to anyone who has played an extreme sports game. I think Steep is better suited for a controller over the mouse and keyboard, but either will work well enough.
One of the Steep’s biggest pitfalls is its poor tutorial. The absolute basics are explained through a few short levels and a tutorial video. Tips pop up from time to time, but there is no easy way to go back to quickly look over old tips or read up on the game’s controls. The only easily accessible option is for players to rewatch the tutorial videos, which are not the most helpful things in the world. To figure out some of the finer points of paragliding, I ended up having to rely on Google to learn how to pick up enough speed to start earning gold medals. I suspect that many players will learn these tips and tricks by doing something similar.
The entire mountain range is free for exploration. As players travel around the Alps, they can also use their binoculars to scout out new drop zones or challenges. Tons of Mountain Stories and points of interests are scattered across the map waiting to be discovered. Travelling around the mountain is very easy as players can quickly switch into mountain view to travel from place to place or restart challenges with a press of a button. One of Steep’s biggest selling point is the freedom players are given. While there are plenty of traditional challenges like races and stunt competitions to partake in, the greatest joy is simply finding a nice high spot to start from and careening down the mountain side without worrying about finding the most efficient route or pulling off mind boggling stunts. Roaming around the mountain strikes a perfect balance of relaxation and stimulation, which makes Steep one of those perfect games for enjoying a long podcast.
Steep falls a bit short for the more competitive or those who need a little more direction in their life.Scattered across the mountain are pre-made challenges in all four sports Steep offers that challenge players on things like speed and score. Additionally, players can create their own and challenge their fellow players to best their scores. I do wish there was an extra menu listing all the available challenges as digging around the mountain view for specific challenges can be a bit tough when they are all scattered across the entire map. None of the challenges are particularly ground breaking and I found myself bored after a while due to the repetitive nature.
Steep is not without its quirks. The game has a habit of spawning players incorrectly, whether it is facing the wrong direction, a few feet away from the spawn point, or some combination of the two. While this isn’t a big issue for snowboarding, it’s downright annoying on skis and can be deathly for paragliders and wingsuits.
We live in a social media age with services like YouTube and Twitch holding a huge chunk of the media consumed by the young, so it is no surprise that Steep is heavily invested in video sharing. In case you didn’t get the point the game has very prominent GoPro product placements in game to remind you. Players can share their favourite moments with the video editor built into the game. I found it was easy enough to use, as players can quickly look back at their run and find all the epic bits they want to keep.
Steep’s multiplayer options are good and follow the open-ended spirit of the game. Random players that are playing in the same area will appear in your game, which gives mountains a touch of life. It is easy enough to see a player in game and shoot them a quick group invite or dig through your friends list to invite some old friends into your game, with up to four people can group together and explore the Alps as a team.
Visuals
Steep is a gorgeous game. The mountain topography has been created to be both eye catching and incredibly fun to traverse. Considering the game takes place in the same geographical range, some efforts have been made to help distinguish different parts of the mountain, which pays off nicely. Though players can’t create their own characters in game, there are plenty of clothing and equipment options to choose from. It seems a little counter-intuitive to the game’s focus on freedom of choice, as much of it requires players to complete challenges to unlock them.
Audio
Steep’s soundtrack features a mix of genres that should have something of interest for everyone. While music is a highly subjective matter, I think the soundtrack is a great mix that suits the game and extreme winter sports culture well. The sound effects are good. I feel a little mixed about the voice acting. A lot of the narration voice work is excellent, but the character lines tend to get a little repetitive.
Overall
Steep isn’t for everyone. The open-ended gameplay and the repetitive nature of challenges will not win over new fans to the extreme sports genre. Additionally, those who need direction in their video games will have a hard time with Steep’s nebulous nature. The poor documentation does no favours for new players either. However, fans of extreme sports that grew up on the SSX and Tony Hawk series will likely love the modern take on the genre Steep brings to the table.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
FUNimation Entertainment has announced via social media that they have acquired the rights to the anime adaptation of Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi and will be releasing it on DVD in North America next year. The official release date has been set for March 7, 2017. It will be a box set containing seasons one and two and the OVA episodes. FUNimation has not yet confirmed if the release will be subtitled-only or if they will be producing an English dub for the series.
The original manga is released in English with the translated title The World’s Greatest First Love. It is set in the same world as Junjo Romantica. FUNimation mentioned in their announcement that this will be their first boys’ love (BL) release.
The full-size cover art for FUNimation’s upcoming box set release is featured below.
XSEED GAMES CONFIRMS LAUNCH DATE FOR FATE/EXTELLA: THE UMBRAL STAR
The Epic Battle for Ultimate Power Begins on January 17 for PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita
Torrance, Calif. — December 13, 2016 — XSEED Games, the independent-minded console publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., today announced that Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star, the highly-anticipated action title set within the much-beloved Fate universe, will release in North America on January 17, 2017 for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system. A limited run of the exclusive Noble Phantasm Edition bundle will contain a 7.5” by 6.3” hardcover art book featuring over 100 pages of high-quality artwork and backstory from Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star, a pack of sixteen collectible 3” by 5” cards depicting each of the game’s Servants, and a 24” by 17” cloth poster, all housed in a custom collectible box.
Furthermore, the digital PS4™ system version is now available for pre-order from PlayStation®Store. Pre-orders will instantly unlock an exclusive PS4™ theme, as well as the exclusive “Shackled Bride Outfit” DLC for Nero upon launch of the game. The digital “PS Vita” system game will not have a pre-order campaign, but for the first two weeks upon launch, PS Store will feature a special bundle, which will include the core Fate/EXTELLA “PS Vita” game, an exclusive “PS Vita” theme, and the exclusive “Cold-Blooded Warden” DLC outfit for Gilgamesh.
To prime fans for the upcoming launch, a new trailer previewing the many Servants taking part in the title was released today, and the product website has been made live at www.fateextella.com.
Developed by Marvelous Inc. and expanding upon the extensive Fate universe with a story from acclaimed series writer Kinoko Nasu (of Fate/stay night fame), Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star features a diverse cast of “Servants” – ancient warriors of legend and imagination, always at their Masters’ orders – who survived the Holy Grail War that took place on the Moon. In a future watched over by the all-powerful lunar super computer Moon Cell Automaton, these champions now battle for dominance over this digital realm, known as “SE.RA.PH.” This story takes place after the events described in Fate/EXTRA, and depicts the world after that previous Holy Grail War.
Players will experience the story of Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star from the independent perspectives of the three heroine Servants and face off against foes from a variety of Fate productions, including characters from Fate/EXTRA, Fate/stay night, Fate/Zero, Fate/Apocrypha and Fate/Grand Order, in fast-paced action. A new form change battle mechanic called Moon Crux debuts in this entry to match its series-first gameplay style, transforming the player-controlled Servants and granting them considerable powers that allow them to devastate enemies and take formidable challenges head-on. The game will contain the original Japanese voices with English text.
Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star is developed by Marvelous Inc. and published in North America by XSEED Games. The limited Noble Phantasm Edition has a suggested retail price of $69.99 for the PS4™ system and $59.99 for the “PS Vita” system, while the standard retail and digital editions of the game will be available for $49.99 and $39.99, respectively. This title has been rated “T for Teen” by the ESRB.
Pokémon Trading Card Game: Sun & Moon Series Revealed Today
Pokémon Trading Card Game: Sun & Moon Series Revealed Today London, UK, 13 December 2016—Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon is the latest expansion to the Pokémon Trading Card Game franchise. In this expansion, players will receive a warm welcome to the tropical Alola region and start their journey with Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio. They then have the chance to seek out the Legendary Pokémon Solgaleo-GX and Lunala-GX to witness the awesome power of a new kind of Pokémon: each Pokémon-GX brings an attack so devastating that you can use only one of them per game! Discover dozens of never-before-seen Pokémon, Alola forms of some familiar favorites, and new ways to battle in the Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moonexpansion! Key Features of the Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon expansion
More than 40 brand-new Pokémon: Many of the exotic and tropical Pokémon that Trainers have come to love in the new Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moonvideo games join the Pokémon Trading Card Game in this expansion!
New Alolan Pokémon: Regional variants of many classic Pokémon who have a new look in Alola will appear in the Pokémon TCG. Many of these Alolan Pokémon have a free attack, one they can use with no Energy attached!
Introducing Pokémon-GX: These super-powered Pokémon will have a huge impact on the game.
Legendary Pokémon: Solgaleo and Lunala, the Legendary Pokémon from thePokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon video games, join the Pokémon TCG as new Pokémon-GX.
New card design: The beauty of the Alola region is reflected in the new art and design of the Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon expansion.
Booster packs: Packs of 10 additional cards selected from the expansion will be available.
Three new theme decks: These 60-card preconstructed decks are designed to introduce players to the Pokémon TCG by enabling them to play right away.
Sun & Moon theme decks and booster packs include an in-pack code card that unlocks virtual cards from the Sun & Moon expansion for play in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online at www.pokemon.com/tcgo . The Pokémon TCG Online is also available for iPad via the App Store and Android tablets via Google Play.
The Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon expansion will be available for purchase at all participating stores at the start of 2017.
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With Emily thrown off the seat of power and her claim to the throne called into question, players must select to play as either Corvo who has had his powers drained by the overthrowing power or Emily with the character they don’t choose being imprisoned in stone. With the city of Dunwall in danger and nearly everyone an enemy, the selected character flees to discover the truth behind the mysteries surrounding them and try to reclaim what was once theirs.
This is a plus considering the actual storyline is handled in a rather rough manner as players are given heavy dumps of information that is spread between only the bare minimum, meaning players will often feel like they are simply being told the main story rather than playing an influencing role in major events. It also doesn’t help that while Corvo and Emily will have some unique pieces of dialogue here and there, the major story scenes don’t change much between the two characters making the unique viewpoints of the story somewhat limited outside of the familiar high or low chaos routes.
Players will find that these numerous routes have also been amplified thanks to the numerous tools that they have at their disposal. The weaponry has been given numerous ways that they can be upgraded to best fit your current playstyle and turn yourself into a killing machine if you so please but those who prefer a non-lethal route will find that there are now a larger pool of non-lethal attack methods and takedowns available, even giving players in open combat a chance to try and subdue their foe without killing them.
Each of these characters offer a variety of lethal and non-lethal ways to take on any challenge the game may throw at you and with numerous customization abilities players will be able to play through this title numerous times and still find something new as they explore the largely open environments that most of the levels are set in. This is a major plus given the fact that the enemies you face off against can be just as deadly once you are caught in the open.
That being said, players shouldn’t expect the stealth route to be as easy either as guards in this entry aren’t quite like your standard grunts. While standard tricks may work on them from time to time, they will often make various changes to their behavior that can catch a player off guard if they expect them to react the same way every time.
Along those same lines, the actual change doesn’t feel all that different since characters are basically the same looking as the original entry though the gore level has been knocked up a notch. These character designs also damage certain emotional moments of the story as the way that their facial structures are handled hamper the expressions they are meant to make. That being said, the voice work and atmospheric noise in the game work incredibly well and help build a living world.
