Konami has officially announced that they are planning on releasing Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 11th in North America and October 13th in Europe. This version of the game is priced at $49.99 and offers not only Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain but also every add-on that was ever released for these games, including various weapon skins, online content, costumes, and more.
The full list of what the package will include can be found below and you can check out the official website for the game here.
Livelock is a top down shooter from Canadian indie developers Tuque Games (World War Machine). Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the human race has been physically wiped out, three robots carrying the minds of three of humanity’s best must retake the world and revive the human race. Livelock features three unique classes in both singleplayer and co-operative play.
Story
When humanity was on the brink of destruction, it uploaded the minds of its very best into the Capital Intellect robots. If everything went to plan, humanity would be able to continue again at Eden under the watchful eye of SATCOM. Things went awry when the AI designed to ensure human survival became corrupt and began working for their own purposes. In Livelock, players play one of the last remaining Capital Intellects who must reclaim the four ciphers stored around the world to save humanity.
Livelock’s story is well written and surprisingly meaty for a game its size. There is enough interesting content to drive the story forward with an overall plot that is broken up into smaller sub-plots with the different AI factions. The writing is good for the most part, though some of the Capital Intellect lines are a little cheesy and the story’s plot can be a tad predictable at times.
Gameplay
Livelock is a top down shooter with three different classes. Hex is a pro-gamer who serves as the team sharpshooter. Vanguard is a soldier class designed to go toe to toe with the robotic horde. Catalyst is the scientist who can both heal and control her own army of drones. The classes are pretty similar in early levels, which makes those levels pretty bland. As levels increase, secondary weapons, skills, and modifiers begin to unlock, which give Livelock its character. Much to my annoyance, survival mode does not grant any experience, forcing players to play campaign mode to level each character separately. Being stuck playing campaign mode over and over to level up when there is a perfectly good survival mode available makes Livelock’s long term play a bit repetitive.
The first few levels of Livelock are pretty dull. Characters only begin with their primary weapon, which has unlimited ammo, and no skills. Once the first secondary weapon and active ability becomes available after that initially boring hump, Livelock turns into an entirely different, more exciting game more akin to an action RPG in the vein of Diablo than a top down shooter. Livelock hurls plenty of different enemies, each with their own style of attacks at the player. Add in the hordes of elite mobs with special modifiers and levels become an intense game of move and shoot.
The difficulty ramps up quickly in a really satisfying way, yet the game still manages to be accessible to less skilled gamers. Death is a temporary setback in Livelock. Players get an unlimited number of lives, but completing a level with one death or less provides a very hefty score bonus at the end of the level. While there is only a single campaign and survival mode available for play, the bulk of Livelock’s replayability is the duel for old school leaderboard domination. The best Livelock players are those who can complete levels quickly while maintaining a steady chain of kills throughout.
The level design in Livelock is pretty straight forward. There are a good mix of open areas and claustrophobic tunnels in the levels. The game also strikes the right balance between survival and linear areas. Plenty of side areas are available for exploration that reward players with audio tapes and extra currency for upgrading weapons. The best part of Livelock are the boss fights. These are epic battles that often emphasize good positioning and dodging skills over brute fire power, much like raid bosses in MMORPGs.
Livelock supports both mouse/keyboard and controller on PC. The controller layout is pretty standard for a top down shooter and works very well. The mouse and keyboard on the other hand is a hit and miss. The keyboard bindings work great, but the aiming reticle with the mouse is completely off. The reticle can be off anywhere between a few degrees to almost a full 45 degrees. To play Livelock well with the mouse and keyboard, players need to rely on the character’s laser line instead of the mouse reticle, which is really awkward and takes quite some time to get used to.
Visuals
Livelock is a fine looking game. The robot design is very cool. Each robot faction has their own unique look, some which really break out of the standard sci-fi robot design. The graphics are excellent and the game is straddling the border of awesome and silly with its heavy use of physics-based destruction. Livelock’s cinematics are drawn with a comic book-esque art style, which contrasts the more realistic in game graphics nicely.
On the PC side, there are not many graphic options available. The game provides a rather vague graphic setting between “Lowest” to “Highest,” a max FPS slider, anti-aliasing, v-sync, and resolution. For some unknown reason, I could never get Livelock to start on the default monitor on my dual monitor setup.
Audio
Livelock provides a solid audio experience. The sound effects are good. The soundtrack suits the mood of the game very well and kicks in at all the right times. The voice acting is excellent for the most part. There are a few moments where Hex seems to drop his accent a little, but SATCOM’s eerie mix of a human like voice and a robotic-lack of emotion is brilliant acting.
Overall
The top-down shooter genre is a pretty bleak flood of poor games, but once in a while a pleasant surprise floats to the top. That’s exactly the best way to describe Livelock. It’s far from a perfect game. The beginning of the game is a dull slog, there is no experience to be gained in survival, and the keyboard/mouse controls are a bit wonky. Yet Livelock will win people over with its excellent production value and its incredibly enjoyable gameplay, once that initial hump is crossed.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
After Acquire finished releasing Akiba’s Beat ‘s set of Japanese character trailers XSEED Games has begun their own English subtitled series of videos and of course they are starting with the protagonist of the game, Asahi Tachibana. The company describes Asahi as a textbook NEET, which is short for “No Experience, Education, or Training.”
To him, every day is Sunday, and every Sunday is a fun day.Little does he know, however, that every day is about to become Sunday for real. Caught in a temporal loop, where the day restarts as soon as it ends, Asahi is one of only a chosen few whose memories don’t reset with it. He and the rest of the group must join together in order to search Akihabara for signs of “delusions” – people’s innermost fantasies made manifest, changing the cityscape and the behavior of its citizens alike. It is the duty of this time-displaced team to infiltrate and destroy these delusions, restoring the natural order of Akiba in the vain hope that this loop may be their last.
We previously heard that both Casca and Judeau will be available as playable characters in Koei Tecmo‘s upcoming Berserk game and now the company has released a pair of short videos showing off what both of these characters are capable of once they are in combat though unlike the previous videos, they are only shown with one style.
You can check out both videos below and as for the game itself, Berserk is currently set to be released in North America and Europe sometime this fall for the PlayStation 4 at retail and digitally as well as digitally for the PS Vita and PC.
While Ubisoft revealed a PVP mode for Watch Dogs 2 at Gamescom the company also had additional footage to show off that wasn’t initially revealed to the public. That changed today when the company released a nineteen minute long gameplay walkthrough of Watch Dogs 2 that shows off various aspects of the game in what they are calling a “small slice” of the game’s large San Francisco Bay Area as the main character Marcus travels through areas such as Coit Tower and Fisherman’s Wharf.
Various mechanics such as hacking, driving mechanics, drones, and open world activities are shown off and you can check it out below. Currently Watch Dogs 2 is set to be released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 15th.
About a month and a half ago Koei Tecmo announced that they would be adding an update to Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 that would allow the game to support Sony’s upcoming PlayStation VR headset and now we know exactly when we can expect that update, as well as a bit of how it will function, thanks to a reveal by Gamer.ne.
A video demonstration, as well as some images, showing off how the VR mode in Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 will look has been revealed and in it various characters such as Kasumi, Marie Rose, and Nyotengu are given a brief showing in the game’s “Gravure Paradise” mode that will also be added in the update.
This week we have a review with an amazing score and another review with almost the lowest score possible. As well as a new trailer for the upcoming DLC for Dark Souls III and 15 minutes of gameplay for Vampyr which you must check out. That and more on CC Weekly #6.
Bandai Namco has announced that they are planning on releasing Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization in North America and Europe on November 8th where it will be available both physically and digitally for the PlayStation 4 and digitally for the PS Vita. Those who choose to pre-order the game in North America will be given a special costume pack featuring “Maid” and “Nightwear” costumes for Asuna as well as some costumes from the God Eater series while Europe will get most of these costumes plus an exclusive A4 lithography signed by Sword Art Online creator Reki Kawahara.
To go along with this announcement a few new screenshots and details have been released for Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization following the Skill Tree System that allows palyers to unlock various skills and abilities that match their fighting style as well as “cosleeping events” that allow the player to improve relationships with characters by conversing with them while lying down.
Don’t let the new work week drag you down! Cheer yourself up with ten great indie games from the Indie GalaMonday Motivation Bundle for only $2.99 USD during the first 24 hours of the sale.
For a minimum purchase price of $1.00, buyers will receive
simian.interface++ – An abstract puzzle that rewards experimentation and pattern recognition.
Sekwere – A minimalist puzzle game that challenges players to replicate a pattern on a rotating board.
Whispers – A first person horror game set in a country house filled with both jump scares and atmospheric horror.
For a minimum purchase price of $2.99 during the first 24 hours of the sale, buyers will also receive
Mustache in Hell – Officer John Mustache is now in hell and there are hordes of enemies he will need to kill before the Grim Reaper will allow him to return home.
Blasters of the Universe – A VR based first person bullet hell shooter that will have player ducking, dodging, twisting, and turning to survive.
Castle Chaos – Invite up to three friends over for a competitive local multiplayer inspired by Rampart.
Redactem – A parkour platform puzzler that gives players the ability to control time and manipulate gravity.
The Crystal Nebula – A VR experience filled with dangerous obstacles and waves of enemies that players must navigate as they hurtle through space.
The Legend: A University Story – A creepy horror set on a college campus, players will take on the role of Sergeant Thompson of the University Police Department, Officer Morrison of the Police Dispatch office, and student Ashley Tamon.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, the entire bundle is only $2.99, so head over to Indie Gala and grab your copy before the price goes up.
It has been announced that Koei Tecmo‘s Gust and Toei Animation will be teaming up for a brand new project that will be starting this fall season and they are planning on fully revealing what the project is on September 16th where the event will act as a free preview of the “big new project.”
At the moment very little is known other than the above silhouettes showing off a number of different characters though it has been announced that Akira Tsuchiya, who has worked on the Atelier and Ar Tonelico series, will be involved in this project. From the looks of things, the project will be a completely original title as none of the above silhouettes match characters previously used in Gust’s projects.
