This Week In Games, September 7 - 13: A Little Game Called Destiny Gets Released, Plus NHL 15, Velocibiox, Teslagrad, Fable Anniversary, The Keep, Worlds of Magic and A Weird 90s Bible Game Called Uriel's Chasm

Written By: Tyler

Hello everybody and welcome to another addition of This Week In Games: a weekly feature I do where I tell you why "indie" is not a genre.

Every week I go onto Gamespot and find out what games are coming out this week. Then I do a little write-up about the ones of interest, and ta-da, I get lots of money (or none at all). All release dates are North American because that's where I'm from. Sorry rest of the world.


September 8

Velocibox

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Action
Gameplay: http://store.steampowered.com/app/317710/

Strap yourself in for this game. It is supposed to be incredibly difficult and the gameplay, from what I understand, is essentially running through corridors, dodging things and collecting items. It is fast and it does look hard.


September 9

Destiny

Coming Out For: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4
Genre: Greatest Game Ever, MMORPG/FPS
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUHCO-qyA1A

There's this little game that finally sees a release this week: It's called Destiny, and it's developed by Bungie. You may know Bungie from their other small franchise, Halo. If you follow games I probably don't need to sell you on Destiny but that's kind of the point of this part, so here goes:

It's a first-person shooter/MMO/RPG hybrid, that is supposed to be epic in scope. You play as one of three different classes, and there is competitive multiplayer that goes along with the normal campaign. It feels nice to shoot, it looks gorgeous, and it's Bungie... they have a good track record. Just get Destiny.



NHL 15

Coming Out For: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: Sport
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbskn16gpQE

I haven't played an NHL game since '12, but hey... hockey games have come a long way since I started playing them. This looks more realistic, feels more realistic and I'm sure any hockey fan will be able to appreciate the depth of the experience. There was a time when hockey games didn't really feel like hockey games, but now you have to use the same kind of strategy that real players would use.


September 10

Nothing on this day.


September 11

Worlds of Magic

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Strategy
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=magRrO535gY

Worlds of Magic is hitting Steam Early Access on September 11. It is a 4X strategy game with randomly generated maps and big heroes. You have to kill enemies and expand your empire. There are over 300 spells as well!


Teslagrad

Coming Out For: Wii U
Genre: Platformer
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYKEtHHyvgA

Teslagrad is a platformer coming to the Wii U. It was originally released on PC. The basic premise is that you have to explore a tower and you use things like a Teslastaff or Magnet Glove to solve the puzzles and defeat the enemies. It has a charming art style, and it looks like a lot of fun so if you're hankering for a game on Wii U -- which most Wii U owners are -- then maybe check this one out.


The Keep

Coming Out For: 3DS
Genre: First-Person Dungeon Explorer
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puDJWHvcpVQ

The Keep is a first-person dungeon crawler, and although the footage above is only Alpha, it gives you an idea of what the game has in store. It's influenced by the classic games in this genre. Explore and defeat enemies on your 3DS.


September 12

Fable Anniversary

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: RPG
Gameplay: http://store.steampowered.com/app/288470/

Are you like me and missed out on Fable? Well, if you're a PC owner, here's your chance to catch up on the first installment in the series. Everything is upgraded here, so if you want a good RPG to play, I've heard good things about the first Fable.



Uriel's Chasm

Coming Out For: PC
Genre: Platformer/Action/Adventure
Gameplay: http://store.steampowered.com/app/292630/

So.

I guess there was an unlicensed Bible game released in the 90s that I've never heard of, and Uriel's Chasm is it. It's... something. In this game you go on a quest that features the metaphysics of the KJV Bible, and you explore what God and Death means. The game seems to blend a couple genres, and the gameplay that I linked above makes it look kind of terrible and awesome at the same time. It's surely one of those games that may not actually be good but it's so insane it might be entertaining. Without getting too religious here, the Bible is pretty twisted and weird, so it needs a twisted and weird game to properly represent it.


That's it for this week people. If there was a game I missed, and you are able to pull yourself away from Destiny, then make sure to let me know in the comments below or tweet me @ArtBathednCrime. Or you could just write in the comments and say hi because it gets lonely over here. Peace out.

Fuck You Nintendo. Here Are My Thoughts On The New 3DS

Written By: Tyler

Sometimes it's hard to be a Nintendo loyalist. The Wii U had a botched launch, and they confused the hell out of more casual gamers to the point that they thought the Wii U was a Wii accessory. We're still waiting for a steady flow of Wii U games. Nintendo innovates in some ways, but then are so behind the curve in other ways, such as online gaming. Or there's the fact that in a game like Hyrule Warriors, they screw up the co-op by making one person play on the Gamepad while the other gets to play on a big screen (oh yeah, with no online co-op). There have been plenty of Nintendo blunders, both minor and major, but you get the point: Nintendo does awesome things once in a while, and once in a while they screw up. For every triumph, there seems to be a failure.

And yet I am a Nintendo fan, probably until I die. I have a love for Ninty that has been a gigantic part of my life for almost my entire life. I spent my youth playing games developed for the NES. I played these games before I even really understood what I was doing. In the immortal words of Brokeback Mountain, " I wish I knew how to quit you [Nintendo]."

My first blog post was a half-defense of the Wii U... one I still stand by. I enjoy the Wii U, and it sits firmly as my secondary console. I love the Gamepad. I love the exclusive titles I will see on the Wii U. The Playstation may be my primary console these days, but I will not go a generation without having a Nintendo console as, at least, my secondary. While I may play more Playstation, they don't have the loyalty from me that Nintendo does. No gaming company does.

After I got out of a movie last night, I had a message on Facebook from my older brother. It was a link to an article about Nintendo: more specifically, one about a new 3DS. I clicked on it cautiously. It turns out that they are releasing a 3DS with more CPU power, better 3D, more buttons, a new design, and more. It's really quite a wonderful release, and definitely moves the 3DS ahead.

The only problem is, they should have done this from the beginning. This is where I start to get angry.

The 3DS is a monster. I got one last year, and there were at least three games released on it that were among my top ten favourite games of last year. Animal Crossing: New Leaf won game of the year from me. Shin Megami Tensei 4 and Fire Emblem were high up there as well. While it doesn't see a lot of games, it certainly sees its fair share of quality games, and perhaps it isn't good for certain genres due to the limitation of only having one stick, but for things like platformers, RPGs, simulators, etc... it is wonderful.

Luckily Nintendo has decided to fix certain problems, by adding a C-Stick (among other things). Great. Why wasn't this originally in the plan for the 3DS? Or was it and they shipped an incomplete product to us originally? I am all for these upgrades, but they should have been there since the 3DS first shipped. They were painfully behind the times when they decided to only have one stick, and now they've finally decided to add one when people have already bought a fucking 3DS or even a 2DS, which came out less than a year ago.

So now we're expected to buy a new one, or potentially miss out on great games. There's a remake for Xenoblade Chronicles coming, and while I don't need it because I still own a Wii copy like a boss, that's a huge release. What other games will come out?

This shouldn't have happened halfway through its life cycle. They should have just rode the 3DS train until it was time for a new handheld, then implemented a lot of these features because unless everyone is just more understanding than myself, this is bound to create resentment.

Before anybody declares me as some whiny cunt, I'm cool with the 2DS because that was smart: release a version of the handheld without the unnecessarily 3DS shit and charge less. I'm cool with larger versions of the handheld that end up being a little more expensive. What I'm not cool with is segregating the audience by adding things that should have been there from the get-go.

This isn't an article about the confusion that the name may cause, even if that's true. This isn't an article filled with me hating on the advancements of technology. This is simply me ranting about the timing of a release like this. It isn't a money issue, because while I don't have an amazing job, I do well with buying games and consoles. I'm not being cheap, but it's stupid to expect us to buy a new one when the old one has only been out a little over three years.

Another thing that bothers me is that they are fixing something that isn't really broken. While it's true that it could benefit from a a C-Stick, more buttons, stronger technology, whatever, the 3DS is fine the way it is now. Nintendo should be focusing on the Wii U at this point, because they've already performed a magic trick with the 3DS and turned it around. It's time to concentrate on the console that has been a massive failure financially and critically.

Nintendo has not lost my loyalty. I'll get one of these when they're released in North America because I love games and am weak, but I will do so begrudgingly, because at the end of the day I feel like I'm being nickel and dimed. Not that it matters how much resentment I have when I buy it, because they will still be getting my money... but that doesn't make it morally right.

A Super Time Force Ultra Review -- It's Time To... Die, And Then Be Joined By Ghosts Of Our Former Selves

Written By: Tyler
Platform Played On: PC

The indie scene has a tendency of shitting out games that look similar to this one. There is a nostalgia associated with 8-bit and 16-bit games at this point, and it often charms us into thinking a game is better than it really is. There are games that pray on our weaknesses of looking to the past, and then there are games like Super Time Force that allow us to embrace both history and the future.

In STFU -- get it? Of course you do, every site points this out -- you play as one of many soldiers, each with their own unique pros, cons and different abilities. You are part of the Super Time Force, a time-traveling military lead by Colonel Repeatski. The basic goal here is the same as most games, except with time travel: you have to save the world. Whether this means going into the future or back to the dinosaurs, you have to do it because it is your civic duty.

The story is silly. Let's just get that out of the way. It's also important to note that the game is extremely self-aware (so self-aware that it may become sentinent, if you leave it alone), so the ridiculousness of the plot only helps the experience. Throughout the game, you will be treated to the mostly clever and quirky comments of all the characters involved, as they rip on stereotypes and ride the novelty of the story as far as it can go. It's not the funniest game ever developed, but if you're anything like me it will make you chuckle a couple times, or at the very least, put a smile on your face.

The graphics are gloriously old-school. They won't appeal to some people who can only deal with modern graphics, but for those who appreciate different art styles and don't just see this particular kind as an attempt to cash-in on nostalgia, there is a lot to like here. The character models are fairly detailed, given the circumstances, and levels are alive with colour. This isn't a drab, dark game... it gleefully uses a whole arsenal of colour. There is also a lot of things going on at any given time, like bullets flying at you, enemies jumping around, four of your characters all dazzling us with their gunplay and footwork. It gets really hectic but the game never looks bad because of it... just a little confusing.

Not only that, but the levels themselves are carefully crafted. Look at the background and you will surely see something going on, which makes the world feel bigger than the 2D stages that you exist in. You can see rust on objects, splatters, the whole nine yards. Some people think that creating a game with these types of visuals is easy, but it's not. It takes a different type of skill set to truly bring this brand of pixels to life. Super Time Force clearly had a lot of attention put into not just making a game that appeals to gamers from the late 80s and early 90s.

The music helps reinforce where the roots of this game lie. You're not going to hear an orchestra as you're blasting baddies. You're going to hear all the bleeps, bloops and blomps that you would hear in an NES game. It wouldn't really make sense to do it otherwise in this case, since the game is so entrenched in where it came from, but it's reassuring to know that -- like the visuals -- there was a lot of care put into making the music good on its own. It's not Shovel Knight good in this regard, with memorable track after memorable track, but it helps aid the experience. Unfortunately, as I played, there was so much going on the screen at a time that I didn't have a lot of time to actually concentrate on the music. I had to listen to the tracks as I wrote this review.

The most important aspect of Super Time Force is the one that sets it apart from other games of its ilk. It's Contra having a baby with Braid: only it's not as fun as Contra and doesn't have the emotional depth to support its gimmick like Braid.

I'll admit that the game looked like a lot of fun when I watched videos of it. I admired Capybara's attempt to redefine/innovate the classic 2D side-scrolling shooter by introducing a feature where you can rewind time at any given point, providing you still have some rewinds left (you get 30 each level). I still admire them for this, but I think the actual execution is a little bit lacking.

What you will most likely find out quickly, if you don't already know, is that it leans more on the puzzle side of things than the action side. Sure, you jump around, shoot things, platform to different ledges, shoot more things, fight a boss, kick some ass... but perhaps more importantly is how you manage time. You will die, and you will die lots, but dying is a learning experience here rather than a penalty.

This isn't even the scary part.

Every time you die, you can just rewind time and restart that particular area. Only something is different when you come back: the old version of you fights beside you, mimicking your own actions when you played as that particular character. What this means is that you could have a bunch of different "yous" on your screen at any given time, laying waste in a much quicker and efficient way than you would by yourself.

This is important because you only have sixty seconds per level, so you're always racing against the clock. There are ways to slow down time or add ten seconds onto the clock, but it is a very quick and stressful experience. Super Time Force aims to constantly put you on edge, with makes rewinding time a little hectic because you don't really have time to breathe.

Some will truly love that element of the game, but they contradict one another and lessened my enjoyment with the game. It's sad to admit because I am a guy who constantly gives praise to innovation because we're at the point where games that try something new should be encouraged, but I think I would have preferred if Super Time Force had less time manipulation and less Contra.

The mechanics are solid, and the game is extremely polished, but I felt myself getting frustrated more often than I had hoped. It's a pretty challenging game, but that's not my complaint. It's that this race against time spits in the face of the puzzle aspects. You may be thinking, "But Tyler, when you're rewinding time you can essentially take all the time you need in order formulate a proper plan," but that takes away from the action. Braid worked because it never shifted tones like this: it was always just a puzzler. Contra worked because it was non-stop action and required skill. Super Time Force is stuck in some kind of purgatory where sometimes it fumbles over the very mechanic that got it glowing endorsements originally.

That's not to say that the time mechanics aren't sometimes fun. Early in the game, you have to save someone, and this is an excellent usage of the core mechanic because it slows the game down and makes you solve a real puzzle, as opposed to making you just spawn different versions of yourself in order to complete a level. It was thrilling when it was used like that, but those moments are few and far between.

Super Time Force Ultra also includes bonuses that the original release did not. Namely, it has fifty challenges where the focus is on the puzzle aspect more than the shooting, for the most part. This is a little more rewarding because it's more straight forward and picks a side rather than flirting with both.

I know some people will think that I didn't enjoy the game as much as I had hoped because I suck, but that's not the case. I'm not awful at the game, but I'm not great. The problem was that I didn't feel a desire to get better because of the constant shifts between wanting to be an action game and wanting to be a puzzle game. I'm sure there is a way to make this work better than Super Time Force did, but I'm not reviewing a possibility, and as it stands, STFU is a completely solid game that can be really really frustrating.


Rating: 7.5/10
Verdict: It has its flaws, and the core mechanic of rewinding time actually makes the game stumble a bit more than it should, but it is still a fun game. We should praise it for trying something different, even if it's not something we'd prefer.

Ye Indie Game Corner Volume 5: Vessel, Killer Smileys, To Be Or Not To Be. Nice, BlamBurgers and What Botched Rescue!

Written By: Tyler

Hello and welcome everybody to another random mixture of indie games. If you're unfamiliar with me or this feature, once in a while I'll just go on a site like Gamejolt and pick a few random indie games that were released recently. Then I will play them and give a really short review on each one.


Killer Smileys
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/platformer/killer-smileys/32754/

This game has three levels, and you are that robot thing on the left of the picture above. You shoot the bees and the smileys. The twist is that you can only shoot in one direction as far as I know, which makes it kind of weird if you're walking the other way. That's not really my problem with the game though... my problem is simply that it's not much fun. You can platform if you want but it's pointless because it's better just to stand in one place and blast until everything dies.

The developer throws in a space level, but it's awkward. I got stuck on nothingness and had to jump over said nothingness.

Rating: 3/10


What Botched Rescue
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/shooter/what-botched-rescue/32701/

If you follow my blog, it's probably no shock to you that I enjoy weird games. What Botched Rescue is a weird one. I think it's about a relationship, but it seems to be about more. It's one of these strangely told games with slightly odd visuals and tone. Luckily the gameplay is fun, though simplistic. It's just basically a side-scrolling shooter, but you do lose points when you blast so you have to make sure you hit them.

My only real complaint is with how the story is told. The text in between "levels" scrolls down automatically and it makes it really hard to read, so you just have to wait for it to come back around again. Besides that though, this is a fun little romp through an interesting and strange world.

Rating: 8/10



BlamBurgers
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/arcade/blamburgers/32775/

The gameplay in BlamBurgers only requires using the directional pads, and enter to progress the story. You go from room to room, platforming your way to get the burger bomb things before they explode. When they drop, there's a counter that counts down from 8 and when it hits 0 it explodes, thus damaging your ship. Luckily you can just run into them and disarm them.

The game suffers from PC controls. I hate platforming on PC, but the game is actually a lot of fun. It's a simple idea, but it's tense and difficult, and the developer threw in some things each level to change it up a little bit... like things that fling you in certain directions. This variety does help keep things fresh.

Rating: 8.5/10


To be or not to be. Nice
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/adventure/to-be-or-not-to-be-nice/32744/

You in need of an epic tale while you wait for The Witcher 3? Here is your game. Okay, it's not an epic tale, but I actually had some fun with this one. Basically you just walk around, collect things and solve very basic puzzles. I quite enjoyed the numerous jokes sprinkled in, and the little touches like what your equipment is, or the choices you have in what to attack things with (I picked a "cool look"). I also really enjoyed the choice of music.

There are some minor bugs like being able to walk up a wall, but it really is minor and the developer said there wasn't time to properly test it. Having dabbled in RPG maker a little myself I know how long it can take to do things.

It's a fun little adventure game with a sense of humour.

Rating: 7/10



Vessel
Get It Here: http://gamejolt.com/games/other/vessel/29980/

Here we are with another Jack King-Spooner game, and it's about more of the same. The visuals basically consist of bombarding you with images, in a style that is very much like a short film I really liked by Peter Tscherkassky called Outer Space. It's hard on the eyes in ways, but I really just love that he does this. His games can almost always just get by on his images and the usage of music, even if he rarely includes what I call "real" gameplay.

His games mostly consist of walking a bit and then watching. He's one of the few who can consistently do this and keep me as a fan. A big fan, even.

The story in this seems more straightforward than he has done in the past, but it's incredibly effective... telling a heart-wrenching tale of a robot.

Rating: 8.5/10



That's it for this edition. There were a couple other games I was going to play but I need to go off and do something so I think five games is enough. I got pretty lucky this time, played some solid games with only one blemish.

If you want me to play your game I will! Just let me know in the comments below or message/follow me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime

Gamescom 2014, Day 4: Project Cars Bought IGN! Mario Maker Is Mario, Super Smash Bros Looks Awesome And This Just In: Evolve Still Looks Awesome. Plus More Stuff!

Written By: Tyler

Hello peoples, and welcome to another day of Gamescom 2014 and my coverage... which consists of me watching IGN streams. I'm truly a hero.

This post consists entirely on my impressions of the streams I watched for various games, and it seemed to be pretty Nintendo focused today. Unfortunately, Gamescom is coming to an end, but never fear because tomorrow I will be putting up my Gamescom Awards post where I give meaningless -- in the grand scheme of things but dammit they're important to me -- awards to developers and games that will probably never see it anyway. Let's get into this.




Project Cars -- Project Cars is a sandbox motorsports racing game coming this fall.

The demo showcased the driving, obviously, and it looked pretty. Unless I played it I couldn't really comment on how it feels, and that's pretty important in something like racing. I'm probably one of the worst people to cover racing games though because unless it's Kart racing or something like Blur that has Kart elements, I probably won't play it.

The IGN stream restarted so I didn't get to see a lot of it. Then I watched the beginning of it a second time and it restarted... again. And again. And once more for good measure. Oh wait we aren't done yet, let's repeat again. What just happened? That's right, another repeat. Oh hai Project Cars... another repeat. I'm just going to stop writing something every time it repeats because this is ridiculous. I feel like I'm in Groundhog Day. Way to go IGN.

The worst part is, Daemon Hatfield has to keep reliving his screw-up on pronouncing Germany at the beginning, over and over again, so nobody will ever forget.


Then after they finally realized that we were onto them, they took down the stream and this was the last thing we ever saw:

IGN: Brought to you by Project Cars.

IGN decided to finally show the stream, so while it wasn't live anymore, I could still watch the games in action.



Evolve -- A lot has already been said about Evolve. It's got incredible looking and exciting multiplayer, and I think it's a game that will do very well for itself. The 4 vs 1, hunter vs hunted, multiplayer where the environment is also dangerous, will be a lot of fun.

I just wonder how much replay value it will actually have. I thought that the game was going to have a single-player campaign to beef it up, but it turns out that you can do the same thing offline but with AI. I don't see myself playing this mode over and over again for hours upon hours, so unless I'm missing something I think it'll be a lot of fun for a short period of time.



Ori And The Blind Forest -- In the demo for Ori, they showed off one of the abilities: bash. Basically it allows you to slingshot yourself in any direction you want and it seems to be an important mechanic in the game. Because the person playing helped design the game, he's really good at it so it's interesting to see what a pro can do once they've mastered bash.

And my Lord, Ori is a beautiful game. The environments are detailed and colourful, though the level in this particular demo has a darker atmosphere. However, that doesn't stop it from having purples, greens and blues in certain areas to lighten it up. I love the visual style in this.

It also has light RPG elements in the sense that it has a skill tree. You are able to get all the abilities in the game in one playthrough if you explore and collect all the ability points.

The end of the demo is Ori escaping from the dungeon as water gushes up. This is something used a lot in games but it was pretty terrifying to watch.

Ori should be a special game.



Splatoon -- I pre-ordered this because I generally support Wii U exclusives, and I thought the multiplayer looked interesting. My fear going in is the same as Evolve, where I don't know if there will be a lot of replay value... because if you're just playing the same one or two modes over and over it'll get boring. Apparently there will be some sort of single-player mode but they didn't really talk about it.

If you are unaware, it's a third-person multiplayer game where you have to spray the ground with your ink. It sounds silly but looks prett fun and original.

The game uses the Gamepad as a map and a way to "super jump" to your team mates. You can tap on their image and you will instantly go to them.


I really like the concept so I hope it grows into something great that offers hours of value, because as far as I know it is a full-priced game.



Bayonetta -- Next we got to see Bayonetta. No, not the second one... the version of the first that ships with Bayonetta 2.

It has Nintendo elements to it, such as a hand cannon and the Master Sword. This demo has her dressed up like Samus, Link and Peach for a while.

I dig Bayonetta and I have since it originally came out. I love its brand of third-person, insane action.  Bayonetta 2 is a no-brainer purchase for me, especially since you got two games for the price of one.



Mario Maker -- Here is a game that I'm really excited for, and I'm sure a lot of other people are too. The idea of being able to create a Mario level is an awesome one that should have been done before.

The creation tool is very inspired by Mario Paint, which just adds to it because Mario Paint was the shit. It makes me wonder why we haven't gotten a new Mario Paint, since the last one was on SNES.

In the demo we got to see some of the ways that the interface works, and it's very easy to do stuff so you won't get bogged down in useless crap. It's as easy as simply selecting things with the stylus and placing them, or shaking it to make Mario become Super Mario. Thelook of the game can change. The demo has two graphic styles; the classic style and the New Super Mario Bros. style. That's a nice touch I reckon.

My main concern is level sharing and it infuriates me that they still refuse to comment on it. This is an extremely important aspect of the game and it should be announced. It will literally be the difference between cancelling my pre-order (though now they aren't sure if its retail or digital only) or keeping it, because if you can't share it online with people and download the levels made by strangers across the world then it's not worth buying. And yes, I go on record saying that, because it doesn't matter how great the creation tool is, if you can only play it yourself or with your friends then it defeats the purpose.



Kirby And The Rainbow Curse -- Geez, more Nintendo, not that I'm complaining. Here we have a new Kirby for Wii U.

You use a temporary rainbow line to traverse the levels while collecting the stars. What this means is that you will spend a lot of time using the gamepad and drawing lines, which is great in a way because it's going to give the gamepad more of a purpose... but I don't think I'm terribly interested in a game build almost entirely around doing that.



Mario Party 10 -- I haven't played a Mario Party in years. I can't even remember the last one I played, so it's interesting for me to see where it's at now.

The demo started with a battle with Bowser, and the player was controlling Bowser and shooting fireballs at the other players. Then it showed a mini-game where the player controlling Bowser had to tilt the gamepad to move the world and hit the other players with the rows of fireballs. We got to see a bunch of mini-games where one person controlled Bowser. It's an interesting mechanic, and it plays into the recent trend of new games in development that do this "4 vs 1" multiplayer.



Super Smash Bros Wii U -- When you play a Smash Bros you basically know what you're going to get. They can tweak and change things, but the core gameplay is fundamentally the same. That's fine because they don't milk the series at all.

I actually don't bother watching Smash Bros videos most of the time because I know what I'm going to get, so outside of learning what characters are in it... it doesn't really matter. They got my money and I know I'm going to love the game.

They talked a little bit about Mega Man, showed off a new stage that's more open than other ones, and showcased the insanity that is Smash Bros.

You can also unlock different sets of special attacks in a variety of different ways.

Gamescom 2014, Day 3 -- Hellraid, Dead Island 2 Has No Story, Shadow Realms Is Less Nerdy Than D&D And Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Has A Badass Claptrap

Written By: Tyler

Hello again people, and I hope you're enjoying Gamescom. I was occupied with a bunch of stuff today so I didn't get to stream every demo shown on IGN like I did yesterday, but I have a little bit before bed so I wanted to take a moment to give my impressions on a few of the demos shown today. I only picked the ones I was interested in, or games I never heard of. Tomorrow I will have a more complete article.



Hellraid -- Hellraid is a first-person hack n' slash game. First-person melee combat has a habit of not being that fluid, so I hope Hellraid can get it right. It'll have light RPG elements and is "somewhere in between RPG and action." It was described as Dead Island meets Elder Scrolls and I think that seems like a decent comparison.

It has three gameplay modes; mission mode, story mode and arena. Story mode is obvious, and with mission mode you basically just do missions and get points. Arena mode is just basically survival. You can play all three modes in single-player or co-op.

I don't really think Hellraid will be much, but it'll probably be okay. Since there apparently isn't a lot of RPG in this and exploration is there but not on the scale of an Elder Scrolls game, it's pretty dependent on the combat and I don't think, from this demo (and yes I know it's early), that Hellraid will deliver an exciting experience.



Dead Island 2 -- Dead Island 2 takes place in California and promises 8 player co-op gameplay. I'm going to be honest: as long as it gives me a similar experience to the first Dead Island, minus the bugs and glitches, I'm in. I am all for playing an open-world zombie game with someone.

It doesn't appear to change the formula much, but it is evolving it a little bit. Now you can do things like light the grass on fire, Far Cry style, or dual wield weapons.

Oh wait, supposedly you can't really beat the game, because it keeps going and you keep getting missions. So... there isn't a story? I don't know about this. Even though Dead Island had a stupid story, it was still something driving the game forward and this worries me. I think Dying Light will shit all over this.



Shadow Realms -- I was a little confused about this RPG. It's a more modern Fantasy Bioware game but they seem to be doing something a little different this time around.

The core gameplay is 4 vs 1 where the other players where one player is basically a Dungeon Master (Shadowlord in this game) and can take control of everything while you and your friends team-up and try to beat the missions.

It has elements of Bioware with the conversations and whatnot, but they're putting a spin on their own formula. It could be good but I don't know. I have faith in Bioware, but I'll have to wait and see when it comes to this game.



Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel -- In this demo we got to see Claptrap. I love that little bastard, so I'm down.

It starts with them putting points into his skill tree. I enjoy that he has a highfive skill where if you return it  you'll get buffs but if you don't only he does.

Aside from that, this is Borderlands and I'm okay with that. I would have preferred Borderlands 3 on more powerful hardware rather than this spin-off on last-gen (and PC), but they are doing a few new things with it so I'm up for another Borderlands adventure. They're fun with a friend.

Gamescom 2014, Day 1: News, Impressions And Other Junk

Written By: Tyler

During Gamescom I'm going to try to put up an article near the end of each day where I talk about some of the miscellaneous news that I read/watch or the video game demos that I watch. Tomorrow will have more of a focus on what I think of gameplay because IGN will start streaming and I'm going to try to watch what I can. Also, some of this news may have not actually been released at Gamescom, but it's still stuff of interest during the day.



Meta Knight Is In Smash Bros.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/super-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds-meta-knight-confirmed-s/1100-6421699/

I liked Meta Knight in the last one so this is good news.



Rise of the Tomb Raider Is  Not Actually An Xbox Exclusive... Forever
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-admits-xboxs-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-exc/1100-6421700/

Phil Spencer said, "Yes, the deal has a duration. I didn't buy it. I don't own the franchise." So there you have it, it's only a timed exclusive so everybody can stop being so pissed off.



The Crew Is Also Coming To Xbox 360
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ambitious-racing-game-the-crew-announced-for-xbox-/1100-6421687/

The Crew is being ported to last-gen consoles while being on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Well... not PS3. And it's still not showing up on Wii U because nothing does.



Overkill Is Making A Walking Dead Co-Op FPS
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/walking-dead-co-op-fps-from-payday-2-developer-ann/1100-6421706/

The makers of Payday 2, Overkill Software, are making a co-op shooter based on the hit TV show/comic series The Walking Dead. There are really no other details at this point.



Play The New Unreal Tournament In Early Alpha Stage Now
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/08/13/you-can-play-unreal-tournament-2014-right-now

That's right, you can now play the new Unreal Tournament in a really early version by downloading it from https://ut.rushbase.net/raxxy/Builds, assuming you can get into a server. I haven't tried it as of writing this but people are having problems connecting due to the sheer volume of gamers trying to get in. Because y'know, it's Unreal Tournament.



Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Is Coming To PC/Steam
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-pc-versions-revealed-at-gamesco/1100-6421707/

Before I continue, I must say that I really really wanted to see the 60 minute preview of the game... but I was unable to watch it live and as of writing this I can't find a replay. So with that said; Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is coming to PC via Steam, so all you kids in the master race can pick it up.

Fun fact, instead of a replay going up here where it says the livestream was, I got to see some dudes playing Suikoden. Not quite what I wanted but Suikoden is the bomb.

Is Sacred 3 Even A Sacred Game? Peep The Review Here And Ignore That I Said "Peep"

Written By: Tyler
Platform Played On: PC

Despite never playing the first Sacred, I have a love for Sacred 2. It wasn't an easy love and it was one that we both had to work at, but it exists now and it's very strong. The first time I played Fallen Angel I hated it, but this was partially because I had yet to buy a TV that was capable of handling high-def graphics... so reading text on a screen was extremely difficult. In a game like Sacred 2 this was a huge problem. The second time I tried playing I didn't find the game that exciting, but I enjoyed it more. The third time is when I fell in love. I became head over heels in love with its particular brand of open-world RPG, the complex leveling system, the endless loot and even the humour. Some people felt it was flawed but fun, whereas I think it's one of the best games the genre has seen.

Because of this, I was ridiculously hyped for the next entry in this series. I played Sacred: Citadel to help ease the wait, but it didn't click with me. I didn't know then -- and I wish I did because I would have saved $50 -- that Citadel was a good indication of where Sacred 3 was going. It's not that the game was the same because Citadel is a side-scrolling beat 'em up and Sacred 3 is still a hack n' slash, but one could say the simplicity of Citadel has drifted its way over to Sacred 3.

There's this constant debate within the realm of criticism and people can't agree on whether a franchise should be allowed to change. Wars have been waged (I'm purposely being overdramatic) over whether we should evaluate games based solely on what they are and not on the brand, or if we should take the name into consideration when critiquing it. In layman's terms: should I take into consideration what Sacred 2 brought to the table when reviewing Sacred 3, or should I just write about what Sacred 3 offers?

The answer, in this case, is that I have to take into consideration what Sacred 2 gave me. I can't avoid it. I'm all for series changing and evolving, but do gamers not go to their franchises of choice to have that similar gameplay experience? Unless you're a franchise that is known to constantly reinvent yourself, there are always going to be fundamentals in the games we like that make us go back. I don't want to play a core Metal Gear if there isn't stealth. I don't want to play a core Killzone if it doesn't have that heavy feel that the series is known for. Spin-offs are fine, and the concept of Citadel was okay by me because it was cheap and it wasn't a core Sacred.

That Deep Silver completely shit the bed with Sacred 3 is grounds enough for a mid-year leader for my "Disappointment of the Year" award. It went from what should have been one of my favourite games of the year to what will surely be one of the worst.

I want to get the good out of the way, because even though it's hard to find, it is there. I think that the game is reasonably pretty, with a very colourful aesthetic. We often get dark and gloomy environments in games like this, which is great, so it is nice to see an ARPG that embraces lighter colours and a more "pleasant" atmosphere. The fauna is detailed and the world is lively. Blues, greens, yellows all blend together well to create levels that are, at the very least, nice to look at. It's not that the game redefines graphics, but it is solidly put together and I did notice, and appreciate, the care that they put into creating a world that, like Sacred 2, was a little bit different and more cheerful looking than other games within the genre.

The music is also not bad. It's not great, and it's a bit by the books, but it's serviceable and does what it can to give the game a more epic feel when it needs it. It's orchestrated, and relies pretty heavily on quick chants to get its message across. Think Skyrim but not as good. Hell, it lacks the ability to pull you into its world musically like even a game like Divinity: Original Sin does.

The story follows the same path as the soundtrack, giving us a plot that works fine in moving everything along but I can't see anybody being entranced by what they're giving us. Lord Zane has gotten in bed with demons and is trying to open the gates to the underworld, so the heroes have to band together to put an end to that. It's pretty generic Fantasy storytelling, but if I'm being honest I don't go to action-RPGs for their plot anyway. It'd be nice if something could come along and give us a truly worthwhile plot in the genre, but I have yet to really find anything beyond simply "good."

Like in Sacred 2, the story isn't entirely serious. It's about as lighthearted as a game about opening up the gates of Hell can be without flopping around in parody. There's a lot of humour in here, though I'd argue that it's more of an attempt than anything. There are a couple lines worthy of a chuckle here and there but I'm so sick of hearing my brother's character yell "Sexy!" Hearing the same lines over and over is very grating, and a lot of the lines are cheesy and don't work.

Those are the aspects of the game that I'd deem good, or at least decent, and when that's all the praise I can give something we're in trouble.

I've seen it said a few times that this game should be approached like Gauntlet, but Gauntlet is still fun today due to clever level design and intense action. Despite Gauntlet being better, I do see the comparison. Deep Silver has chosen to strip the game of its open-world elements and give us a streamlined, stage-based game. Instead of traversing the world, finding side-quests and picking up copious amounts of loot, you are simply placed in a stage and are expected to make your way to the end while battling hordes of enemies. It is Gauntlet in that regard.

There are some different types of stages but they all amount to the same thing: you kill lots. There are the story stages, and there are stages where you simply just have to kill all the enemies, and there are wave-based stages where you defeat, you got it, waves of enemies. Even the portals that give longer side-quests still amount to the same thing.

The only thing that could save this set-up would be to have stages with dynamic action set pieces or something. Have a lot of exciting, stressful things happen in a stage to keep you on your toes. Instead, it's mostly just floor traps, which are more of an annoyance than anything, or having to turn a wheel six times while groups of enemies attack you.

This is where it's difficult to separate it from its brand, and the game suffers immensely because of it. Did anybody who anticipated this release want a Gauntlet clone? No, we wanted a huge world to explore, we wanted loot and we wanted a complex leveling system because this is what the previous Sacred gave us.

The sad thing is, I could actually have done without the open-world aspects if they had to strip it away. I wouldn't have preferred it because it was one of the selling points of Sacred 2, but had it gone a more Diablo 3 route where it's always very clear where you have to go, with very minimal exploration... I would have been fine with it. I really just enjoy the genre when done right. We are at a point in gaming where people seem to rage if a game is linear, but I don't mind linear. I've always found these types of games to have tremendous replay value, so I'm okay with only having one direction to go in.

What bothers me is that they've made the game boring and pointless. Hack n' slash is repetitive by nature, yet games like Dynasty Warriors remain fun. However, in the action-RPG I find it difficult to muster up the energy to continue laying waste to entire armies if there isn't something connected to the action. That is always the loot and the leveling.

There isn't any loot in this game. You pick up money, health and energy orbs, and that's it. Laughably, sometimes at the end of the level the treasure chests or enemies will drop health orbs. These don't matter because you're at the end and you gain all your HP back anyway. Without sufficient amount of loot, it's very hard to even care about killing the enemies.

The same can be said with the lack of real level progression. Sure, you level up, but it's in a very hollow way. You don't have stats to manage and there's very little customization in anything. You can choose between leveling up your combat arts, your skills or your equipment, but it's so straight-forward that it seems more like a chore than anything. You only have a couple ways to go, and there's no experimentation to see what is best. You'll very quickly find what works and stick with it because there's only a few different combat arts per character. In terms of skills, you are able to level up things like blocking, dodging or reviving. The choice there is whether you want to be able to block or dodge, because you can only have one at a time. This applies to your combat arts as well, though you can actually have two of those equipped at a time. This is a significant departure from the system in Sacred 2, which is almost godly. It's one of my favourite in the genre.

Everything is basically just handed to you. Sure you can level up the amount of potions you can carry, but you are given two at the beginning of every stage so there's no continuity and excitement in managing your resources. 

The combat leaves a little to be desired as well. At first I thought it was interesting for the genre, with something as silly as being able to roll being a plus because there aren't a lot of ARPGs that actually allow you to roll or block. It seems like a novelty at this point, but it's welcome. Unfortunately that wore off really quickly when I realized that it's still the same ol', same ol'. You have a special attack meant to break shields, but that overstays its welcome and just ends up seeming like a way to lazily add difficulty (another sore sport because the difficulty spikes are so uneven and annoying). A long with that you have two combat arts equipped on you, and of course the left mouse button is your basic attack.

Striking your foes is satisfying but it lacks the oomph of a game like Diablo 3. Regardless, it is reasonably fulfilling to lay siege to enemies. 

My biggest problem with the combat is one that I imagine would be fixed by using a controller, but I don't currently have a PC controller (just ordered one last night actually... yes I know you care about that): the controls. You move with WASD, but you attack in the direction that your mouse cursor is pointing. I hate this choice in pretty much any game because it makes it frustrating to attack where you want, or more specifically, dodging is a pain in the ass because logic tells you that you'll roll left when you're facing right, but the game tells you you'll roll right when you're facing left because you were pointing that way. This may seem like a silly criticism to some, but it heavily impacted the game for me.

It doesn't help that sometimes the game just ignores what you want entirely. I was playing as the Seraphim -- because it's Sacred and someone has to -- and she has a move where she jumps in the air and lands where you've pointed and does damage to any enemy close to where she landed. Only sometime she jumps in the opposite direction from where I'm pointing. The first few times this happened I thought I was just terrible but while that is true, it isn't why. It seems that the game incorrectly registers it sometimes. I also found that it didn't really send her exactly where I wanted it to.

Which brings me to the final part of my review, where I nitpick some smaller problems that just made me hate the game more. I had a lot of problem playing online. For one, my brother couldn't seem to join my game when I invited him so I'd have to just join him.

From my experience, and I'm well aware that this could differ for people, the person who was hosting the game seemed to run into issues where if you tried using your mouse to click options it wouldn't click the right one so you'd have to use the arrow keys and enter to be affective. The person joining the game ran into lag and constant yoyoing -- I don't know if this is an actual term but I heard my brother say it and I like it -- and it got frustrating. You'd fly back and forth constantly if you were not the host.

Even quitting out of the game is stupid. When you finally click the option to quit your game on the main menu, you actually have to hit the ESC key again. Why? Why would you do this? Normally in a review I'd ignore this or give it a quick mention in the middle of another paragraph but no, not only does this game not want me to have fun... it doesn't want me to quit either. It's like an abusive husband. Or wife, because we here at On The Gamely believe in gender equality.


It's not that these problems are huge. The yoyoing online was a problem, but these minor problems add up and when they're coupled with how terrible the game in other ways, it just amplifies them.

I hate Sacred 3, and from the looks of things, most people do too. The best that I've seen is that it's okay and when you don't look at it as a Sacred game, it's not too bad. When I first started the game I could have gotten behind that, but after spending some time with it, all I see is a lackluster new entry in a series I love, infested with poor game design.




Rating: 3/10
Verdict: Sacred 3 will crap on fans of the series, but even if one can separate themselves from the brand and look at the game as it is, it's still a very shallow experience. 

This is me right now, in case you didn't guess that.

A Review Not Read or; A Road Not Taken Review

Written By: Tyler
Platform Played On: PS4

Don't tell me you can't do something PS4!

Rating: 7.5/10
Verdict: Road Not Taken is a good puzzle game with a simple idea that mostly works. The visuals are gorgeous, the story a bit lacking, but all-in-all it's a good experience.


The Roguelike is an insanely popular genre in the indie community, along with platformers. You don't see many large studios dipping into their genre, but some may say that the indie scene is flooded with them. I agree, somewhat, but the beauty is that you don't have to play them. I know, it's a crazy concept.

When I first saw Road Not Taken, I thought it looked like a charming take on the genre, and it was one of the few Roguelikes that caught my attention. With that said, I was still a little cautious going in because I wasn't sure if the pendulum would swing towards the positive or the negative in how it plays.

It has a novel concept; you are a Ranger and you go into the forest to save children. It has a cartoonish/fairy tale art style, you walk around on an isometric grid and it avoids a lot of the conventions of Roguelike by not being turn-based and not actually allowing you to fight... or at least in the way that we've grown accustomed to. It also is a puzzle game first and foremost.

In Road Not Taken, your only "weapon" is your ability to pick up objects (up to four around you) and toss them in a straight line. You can also pick them up and walk around them but it subtracts from your energy (your life) when you do so, so it's a more feasible option just to chuck things around. Which applies to real life too. It's a game mechanic that indie games can get away with since they're generally smaller in scope and aren't full-price -- it's free for PS Plus members this month -- and it does put an interesting spin on the typical Roguelike proceedings.

The game takes place over fifteen years, which each level being a year. Your energy that remains carries over to the next year so it pays to plan your moves accordingly and intelligently so you don't gimp yourself. The levels are procedurally generated which means when you die you won't have to repeat the same puzzles over and over, but I don't find that they change enough to warrant me replaying the game repeatedly. The situations do change, and at first there is a lot to explore and figure out, but when you die and have to do the early years it's a bit tedious. When things get tedious I tend to zone out and my lack of concentration due to that only hurt me later on.

The developers promise a lot to uncover, and they're right. There are a lot of things going on in this deceptively simple-looking game. There are a lot of different items that you can create by combining different objects on the map (by throwing objects into each other). Enemies and objects react in interesting ways and your book keeps track of how to create things. For example, throw an axe at a tree and it creates wood. Put together two pieces of wood and you make a fire. Throw a kid into the fire and it will follow you. The last one makes sense because if you abuse your child it loses its self-esteem and becomes dependent on you. Other reviews have knocked and made fun of that little tidbit, but I chose to rationalize it.

Even though when you die you have to start fresh, you don't lose the secrets that you've discovered, so subsequent playthroughs give you a bit of an advantage because you have all the knowledge of what you've learned before documented. That's great because my memory is terrible. What blog am I writing for again?

Some of the things don't make a lot of sense, but I guess the game has its own logic. It doesn't matter because once you bump into things it'll write down how to make it, if you can, so you don't really have to think. It is fun seeing what the world has to offer, and the first few times I had to restart I discovered some neat areas, such as the Yeti early on:

The problem is that due to the limitations of energy that you will no doubt face, it doesn't really pay to take the risk and explore some of these areas. Say you're seven years in and there's an area you want to check out, but you know you're getting low on energy and have a lot of years to go, will you really take that chance? I didn't.

Unfortunately the game does reveal itself to be a little more shallow than it would lead you to believe rather quickly, so as much fun as it is to discover things the first little while, it becomes pretty routine and less interesting. Doesn't change the fact though that at first I loved the game. Had I written the review over the first couple hours, I would have given it an 8.5 at least.

The visuals are a high point for me. Like I said above, they have a fairy tale quality to them and it's beautiful to look at. The evil spirits look intimidating, the animals look cute. Even the blocks that don't move have character. It's a world that is designed well and expertly brought to life with gorgeous artwork, and it proves that you don't need complex graphics to unleash a rich world on gamers.

Being able to throw things actually makes for some interesting puzzles. Over the last few years I've been fascinated more by puzzle games with simplistic hooks but compelling gameplay. Catherine, for example, was an incredible game and all you had to do was move blocks. Road Not Taken has that affect on me, though to a lesser extent. The gameplay is easy to pick up, but due to energy, you have to really think about all your moves, especially when you have spirits following you.

There are a couple annoyances, namely the fact that once you pick up an object you can't just put it down which I deem artificial difficulty... meaning it's a bullshit way to make the game harder like the computer literally just cheating in older games. There is also a problem of having to backtrack because a specific area requires something that isn't on this screen. This means that you will have to try not to block yourself off when proceeding to the next area because heaven forbid you have to return later. I get what they're trying to do, but this just reeks of poor design.

Outside of being in the woods looking for kids, you can walk around the very small village and make friendships by giving gifts to the people you talk to. In Road Not Taken, you can also do this, because the developers know that the only good friendships are superficial friendships based on presents. When you give them gifts, they will go from Acquaintance to Friend to even possibly Marriage.

You can also go into your house and equip a few items to make your experience easier, or ban up to two things from the map... but there are so many possible obstacles in this game that two doesn't really seem like very many. It's still a nice feature to have, because some areas can get really frustrating.

There's a story here but it's pretty mild. Like I said above, you are a Ranger and you save kids. There's potential here for a pretty touching plot but that's not really the point of the game. In fact, it's pretty disposable, except for the ending which actually does a good job of portraying emotion despite the fact that the rest of the game lacks it. I can criticize a game for not doing something but a good scene is a good scene and the ending, though incredibly short, is a good scene.

I quite like Road Not Taken, and I think it's a worthwhile entry into the Roguelike canon because it is a little bit different and ambitious, while keeping some of the mechanics that fans of the genre enjoy. It has a few drawbacks, but it's a fun, thought-provoking puzzle game that plays well for the most part.

Hyrule Warriors Nintendo Direct And My Hyrule Warriors Impressions

Written By: Tyler

Watch here: http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct/08-04-2014/#/video-ndirect

Today Nintendo hit us up with another Nintendo Direct. If you know me in person or follow this blog, you may be aware that while the Playstation has been my primary system since the first one, I'm a Nintendo fanboy in my heart and always treat their systems as my secondary console. Nintendo gives us games that no other platform will -- quite literally because they own and develop their most legendary IPs -- and they're just damn good. I also respect the fact that Nintendo goes off and does their own thing, even if it isn't always for the best. I actually love the Wii U and love the Gamepad.

They may be horribly out of touch in some aspects of their business model and plan, but in others they innovate. I always look forward to Nintendo Directs -- they're an event for me. They're usually about half an hour of showcasing new footage and breaking news. The only problem with the Directs is that they quite often disappoint. I, like many others, hope for certain things that we never get. Some of it is our own fault, but some of the blame rests on Nintendo.

This one focuses on Hyrule Warriors, which is a game I am looking forward to but it's not one of the big games of the year for me. I quite enjoy Dynasty Warriors but don't follow it religiously and I'm not a fan of Zelda at all outside of a few games that I mildly enjoy. So how did the Hyrule Warriors Direct fare? Read on for the news that matters.

Hyrule Warriors is looking like a good time with just enough change on the Dynasty Warriors formula to make it fresh. Don't get confused though, because this is still more of a Dynasty Warriors game with a Zelda skin than the other way around, but I'm okay with it.

The boss battles should be of interest in this. Though it will lack the legendary Lu Bu, it will have bosses from other Zelda games, and it will require the items that you find throughout the maps in order to defeat them. This should keep battles relatively unique and inject some strategy into the button mashing formula that Destiny Warriors is known for.

You will also need to use the items to open up different areas much like in Zelda. 

There are tons of things from the Zelda series brought in, such as the Cucco. They will come after you if you hit them and you'll see them mingling with the enemies on occasion. However, in some situations you can actually make them your allies. Other characters such as the Bombchu or even the Moon from Majora's Mask will also be included. It's safe to say that there will be plenty of fan service involved but it's interesting how they incorporate some of these. For example, you can hookshot the Moon to have it fall on enemies.

You'll have things like grass cutting, which seems silly, but it is part of the Zelda charm. Apparently they were going to have a stage that consisted solely of grass cutting but they didn't include it. I think that might be a good thing because I can't really see that being enjoyable. Sometimes Nintendo makes a bigger deal out of certain aspects of their IPs than they deserve, and I reckon the grass cutting is one of them.

These are the characters that they talked about in the Direct: Link, Zelda, Impa, Sheik, Ruto, Darunia, Midna, Agitha, Zant, Fi, Ghirahim, plus some new characters like Lana. They will all have their own attributes and weapons, such as a sword, a giant hammer, etc. This is typical Dynasty Warriors fare.

This isn't really news, but expect to see a bunch of stages based on places that you know and love within the Zelda universe, such as Skyloft, Lake Hylia and Twilight Field.

You can fill a bar by defeating enemies that will power-up your character when used. It is called "Focus Spirit."

In terms of character progression, it's light but it exists. Your characters level up as you slaughter your foes, and some materials drop in battle that you can use to craft badges that enhance your stats. You can also acquire weapons that enemies drop... some of these also have skills in them or if they have an empty slot you can fuse your own skills in it, such as more attack damage or a better chance of finding hearts.

There's a mode called "Adventure Mode," which basically slaps you on a NES-inspired map and you can move around to the different stages and play them. Each stage will have its own victory conditions and once you achieve them the level will end and more spaces on the grid will open up around you so you can progress to the next stage. It's not mind-blowing, but it's something.

Like any Destiny Warriors game, the core gameplay consists of spamming attacks until hundreds of enemies fall to your might. You can take over bases in the middle of combat to help turn the tides of battle, but mostly it'll just involve you laying waste to enemies yourself.

One sore spot for me is the lack of online co-op, and how they handle the local co-op. I don't know why but for as forward thinking as Nintendo is in a lot of ways, they have some problems with minor issues. Instead of playing on the same screen, which is completely acceptable in local co-op, especially since most people have bigger TVs these days, one person will use the Gamepad screen and the other will use the TV and Wiimotes. Not only that, but the screen resolution will go down when playing in local co-op. I don't know why they felt the need to do this to use, but it's a bit of a downer. I normally play Dynasty Warriors with a friend but I'll be playing this one solo.

As the Direct ends, we are shown Ganondorf. Of course he is badass, and of course you will want to play as him. If you're a Nintendo Club member then you can get the Demon King costume set, and like most games, there are pre-order bonuses from select retailers.


I think the variety and whatnot of the enemies, mixed with the Zelda characters and atmosphere, will make it a little more exciting than just a normal Dynasty Warriors. I enjoy this idea as a one-off, but if it became a series I think the novelty would wear off. After seeing the Hyrule Warriors direct, I don't know if I'm more excited for it or not, but most of my fears have been put to rest, and the problems I had with the game I already knew (such as the co-op).

Why Go Outside When I Can Play Eidolon? This Is The Review

Written By: Tyler

Rating: 8/10
Verdict: It's a slow game with a few technical hiccups, but getting lost in this survival/walking simulator is a pretty rewarding experience. 


I turned on the game, clicked the "Play" option and then the words that were there because of the title screen disappeared instantly and I was left standing -- in first-person view -- on some grass, surrounded by trees, with the whole world ahead of me. I was confused, silent but intrigued. Here is a game that I can respect in the same way as I do games like Minecraft or Terraria for its willingness to just drop the players into unknown territory and let them fend for themselves.

Eidolon isn't an exciting game and it's not one that everyone will take to. I didn't immediately take to it myself, if I'm being honest. It's a walking simulator, and it is labelled as such on its Steam page, and it's all about exploring. You walk through a massive world -- seriously, the scope is huge -- and it's easy to get lost because while certain areas do look different, a lot of it looks similar. You can walk for hours and find very little without guidance, or you might get lucky and hit the jackpot and find a bunch of things in quick succession. There are goals, but the game doesn't indicate them at the beginning, so it's up to you to decide what you want to do.

I say that the game doesn't indicate them at the beginning, but it does do a little bit to push you along if you want it to. As you travel this post-apocalyptic Washington, there are two types of things you can collect: a green shape and a white. The green has plot items, such as notes or even maps. These are all hand-written with their own personalities and piecing them together to uncover the personal and more large-scale narratives is interesting. The game has a feature that will show you the direction of the next piece of information. The white gives you items, such as binoculars, a bow, a fishing rod, etc. These are few and far between so when you collect one it's a big deal.

Some people aren't a fan of this type of gameplay, either. Some will definitely find it boring, and that's completely understandable. It really depends on your philosophy concerning what makes a "game." This may not be enough to warrant your attention. I think it has enough gameplay to keep it interesting.

Sprinkled in to add a little bit of tension to the exploration are light survival elements. You can starve, you get tired, you can get cold and die or you can get injured. Injuries can lead to death if they aren't appropriately dealt with, but there are healing checkpoints scattered throughout the world so death isn't always a bad option.

I was looking up the butt of a deer.

You can get mushrooms, berries, catch fish, kill animals with your bow (though be careful because some are aggressive and you have to be pretty spot-on with the trajectory of the arrows), and food can go rotten. Don't fear though, because the game isn't about surviving really and it feels like a game mechanic just kind-of tacked on to make it more like a conventional game. Food is everywhere in some form, and I never starved to death. This aspect of the game may give you a little something else to consider besides the scenery, but it's never overbearing or even difficult, because that would detract from the core element of the game: relaxation and discovery.

This isn't a genre that I prefer, but I like all genres because I love games. The idea of simply walking around and uncovering a world, with very little else to do, sounds interesting on paper but is often done so poorly it's boring. Eidolon doesn't suffer from that because of the care put into making the world believable and atmospheric. However, it's not perfect and has a few hiccups along the way.

But then a deer was just standing on the head of its enemy.

Since it was done by a smaller team, it's easy to forgive that the graphics just aren't that great. They're completely serviceable in this context, but the world does feel same-y and a little unpolished. Some of the models used aren't that appealing to the eyes, but I'm not saying that they're bad. The unfortunate reality, at least in my opinion, is that a game like this would benefit greatly from a bigger budget and thus better visuals. Imagine a AAA studio making this game and fantasize the incredible environments that could be created. Some genres are less reliant on top of the line graphics than others. A world in which the only thing you can do is explore puts more emphasis on the visuals than say, an RPG. Ice Water Games done a good job with the resources they have, but it's not one of the prettier indie games I've played. I deem this more of an observation than a criticism though, merely something I threw out there for the readers so they'd know what they can expect going in.

The game also stutters a bit when loading areas, but that's most likely because the world is gigantic. This is forgivable and basically ignorable. The animations of the animals and whatnot could have used some polish as they just go from standing one second to awkwardly on their side the next once you've killed them.

Despite this, it's still entertaining to adventure in this world, because occasionally you will see something like this:

The music plays a bit role in bringing Eidolon to life though. Sometimes it's non-existent, but then a song will slowly work its way into the fold and it'll be gorgeous. Slow guitar will often enter, and a beautiful ambiance permeates Eidolon, putting you at peace with yourself while you explore the world and unearth the stories of the ghosts of Washington. Or just kill animals.

Sometimes the songs are more menacing. I came across one place and instead of the typical pretty tune I was accustomed to hearing, something a little creepier, a little scarier, edged its way into my brain. I was investigating what looked to be ruins, and it was very fitting.

Michael Bell did an incredible job with the soundtrack, and it really does a lot to engulf you in this world.

Eidolon is a great game to those who are willing to give themselves over to it. It meditative, relaxing games where you simply explore an empty, lonely land aren't your thing, then avoid this one. If you are able to get into this kind of thing, there is a lot to love here.