Escapist’s favourite RPGs

I’m a hard core escapist and that is one big reason I love a good story with relatable multifaceted characters. When I was younger I read a lot of books and invented my own worlds, characters and events. The videogames I had at hand that time were a lot of fun, but they did not satisfy the need for fantasy and adventure, until they did. I found a roleplaying group for adolescents and fell in love with roleplaying games. Soon I found my way to rpg videogames and here we are! I LOVE rpg, be it old school Dungeons&Dragons pen&paper style, or videogames I can play alone at home burried in my sofa. So here’s a messy list of my personal videogame rpg favourites.

1.The Elder Scrolls. I’m sure that everyone knows this open world rpg game series, or at least the most recent volumes, Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls online. My personal favourites are the earlier ones, namely Morrowind and Oblivion. I prefer these games over the newer ones because they are way more rpg in genre than the other ones that are leaning more to fantasy adventure genre. Morrowind is the land of the dark elves(Dunmer) and it’s a beautiful and versatile world where you can spend hours and hours just exploring the world. The main plot is interesting and all the side quests are lots of fun too. Don’t even get me started on the add ons! They are brilliant. You need to play them. Of course the graphics are outdated but it IS an old game. Same goes with Oblivion which is based in Cyrodiil, the land of the Imperials. Oblivion has such beauty in it, that it’s hard to explain. And I’m not talking only about the scenery, something in the game’s world just sucks my soul into it everytime I play it. So these two games are a MUST for any rpg enthusiasts. Be warned though, these are games for “real” rpg lovers(well Morrowind is) and might not suit you if you are waiting for something like Skyrim and Fallout4’s mechanics.

2. The fallout series(from 1 to new Vegas). Now this is a classic game series that’s actually pretty old. I started my Fallout journey with Fallout 3 which is one of the most awesome open world rpgs I have played. It’s based on post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. that’s infested with all kinds of mutant creatures. The main plot is somewhat interesting, but the heart of this game(in my opinion) is in the DLCs that are simply brilliant. Except “mothership Zeta” that sucks(it’s basically a straightforward shooter, bleh). I have tried the earlier games and they are a lot of fun, I just have a problem playing on PC because of things, so I haven’t finished the first two games(+tactics!) BUT can totally recommend playing them! Fallout New Vegas follows Fallout 3 in the path of awesomeness but it’s events are based(mostly) in Nevada desert. This game is in a way trying to relight the experience of fallout 2 which is also going for post-apocalyptic western theme. New Vegas also has a vaguely interesting main plot, but very good DLCs that give so much to the spirit of the game that I can’t recommend playing the game without them. BTW check out Wasteland 2 if you want a new game that has the same feel as the early Fallouts!

3.Arcanum. Now this game right here is a seriously super duper extra awesome rpg classic. It’s oldschool, only for PC and it’s one of a kind. It’s actually a fantasy-steampunk game. There is magic and technology, there are dwarves,elves,gnomes and orcs and lots of ground to cover and stories to hear. The character creation and character sheet are almost like in real rpgs. It actually really matters if your character is dumb or smart, beautiful or ugly etc. The world reacts to your character in a very deep way and the conversations are made so interesting there aren’t many games that have been able to do that again(no wonder with these “conversation wheels” etc…). Anyway, Arcanum is a true oldie but goldie game and if you love rpg like I do, you need this experience in your life. Stat.

4.Dragon age: Origins. This truly beautiful fantasy game is an old school game made for modern gamers. The storyline, character creation, fighting, conversations and scenery are so good I actually played it 2 times straight, nonstop. And then I played it again a few times. And I still want to play it. The replayability is so great I was overwhelmed at first. Not only can you make very diverse characters, but whatever race& background you vhoose, you actually have a different intro to play every time! And not just a short 5 minute intro, depending on your gaming style the intro section should be at least 1 hour long. And of course your backgroung affects the game in many other ways too. Now this is one big reason why Dragon Age2(yuck) and Inquisition(meh) are NOT on my fav rpg list, the developers ripped off so many important pieces of rpg and replaced it with more “romance” content and more straightforward(and booooring) fighting and stories I refuse to recognize them as rpg, even in a vague way. Once again money wins, old fans lose. BUT let’s not linger on that, but revel in the fact that we DID get an awesome fantasy rpg which sadly, did not get worthy sequels. We can always replay the first one.

There would be a lot of other games I love, but I ‘ve already wrote so much they’ll have to wait for another time. I’ll give you a list of other rpgs that are worth playing, so you can check them out yourself if you care to!

Shadowrun(original&returns&Hong Kong), Jade Empire, Icewind Dale(1&2), Forgotten realms, Mass Effect 1, Baldurs Gate(1&2), Wasteland (1&2).

Play with passion!

auburn.geek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Fantasy XV Animated Film Revealed

Fans were treated to the first reveal of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XV feature length film at the companies seminal game series uncovering last night.

The animated film titled Final Fantasy XV: Kingsglaive, will feature the talents of Game of Thrones stars Lena Heady as Princess Luna and Sean Bean as King Regis, with Breaking Bad mainstay Aaron Paul lending his voice to soldier Nyx.

Alongside the fan event, Square Enix released the following synopsis of the upcoming film:

“The magical kingdom of Lucis is home to the hallowed Crystal, but the menacing empire of Niflheim will stop at nothing to make it theirs. War has raged between the two for as long as most can remember.

King Regis of Lucis commands an elite force of soldiers dubbed the Kingsglaive. Wielding their king’s magic, Nyx Ulric and his fellow glaives stand before the crown city of Insomnia, fighting to stay the inexorable advance of Niflheim’s imperial army.

Before the overwhelming military might of the empire, King Regis can only salvage his kingdom by accepting an ultimatum—he must cede all lands outside the crown city, and see his son, Prince Noctis, wed to Lady Lunafreya, the former princess of Tenebrae now captive of Niflheim.

As the war of wills rages, the machinations of Niflheim transform Insomnia into an awe-inspiring battleground, pulling Nyx into a struggle for the very survival of the kingdom.”

Kingsglaive won’t be released in theatres but will be available to download and stream worldwide via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment sometime this year.

For all your Final-Fantasy-Movie-News, stick with @mitch_rated only on Skatronixxx

Life Is Strange

Once upon a time, casual gamers weren’t emotionally invested. The character would die, we’d swear and we’d try again.

There was Lara Croft who we’d throw off the cliff, just to see how long it would take before she lost her cool. There was Mario Party, the game that made you detest every damn character. Hey, we’d even take the ladder out of the swimming pools in The Sims so they couldn’t escape.

Sympathy, schmpathy. These characters weren’t real and we knew it.

But we’ve grown as a gaming species. 3 months after completion and I’m still thinking about what I put my characters through in Life is Strange.

Once you get used to the sticky controls and the slow start, Life Is Strange is by far the best “choose your own ending” game I’ve played.

Fall victim to stressful decisions such as saving your trouble-making friend, dobbing on a delinquent and choosing your own sexuality.

The best part? The protagonist wields the ability to rewind time, allowing the player to trial every scenario before exiting the game to Google the best outcome.

I’m both excited and fearful of the sequel. It’s going to be difficult to live up to its predecessor, but nonetheless, I’ll be the first to download it.

With twists and turns aplenty, I cannot recommend Life Is Strange enough. Check this one out if you like choice-based games, epic storylines and potential tearjerkers.

One Week Until Time Shatters

Be honest with me.

If you had the ability to manipulate time, what would you do? Would you go back and alter some minor and utterly insignificant event that plagues you to this day? Would you pull an Albert Einstein from the Command and Conquer universe and use your chronosphere to kill Hitler? Or perhaps you would choose to go forward in time and see exactly what our future holds. Whatever your decision, you must realize one incredible and undeniable fact:

Playing with time is a dangerous thing.

Set to release on April 5th, 2016, Remedy Entertainment‘s newest game titled Quantum Break is a third-person shooter exclusive to the Xbox One and the PC. Set in a world where time does not follow the same linear flow as ours, players take on the persona of Jack Joyce (played by Shawn Ashmore of X-Men fame) as he diligently fights against the machinations of his equally gifted antagonist, Paul Serene (played by Aidan Gillen of Shanghai Knights and The Dark Knight Rises). Loaded with even more star-studded talent such as the phenomenal Lance Reddick and the equally talented Dominic Monaghan, Microsoft has spared no expense in generating hype for their latest exclusive. Rumored to be the spiritual successor to the third-person thriller title Alan Wake, Quantum Break not only rhymes with it but shares similar elements with its distant cousin, most notably Remedy’s careful attention to detail and their graphical fidelity.

The story of Quantum Break seems somewhat vague. It follows the story of Jack Joyce in his search for revenge against Paul Serene. Serene executed William Joyce in cold blood, but William apparently had the ability to “end time” as a trailer stated and with his death, time has shattered and both Jack and Paul have intriguing abilities. For example, Jack can stop time, reverse the direction of bullets, and even warp across a sizable distance to initiate a powerful melee take-down on an opponent. On the other hand, Paul does not have any of the flashy and powerful abilities of Jack, yet he has a gift that could turn the entire world in his favor: the ability to predict the future. Another protagonist by the name of Beth Wilder (played by the awesome Courtney Hope!) may also have such abilities and both Joyce and Wilder must escape from Serene’s corporation known as “Monarch Solutions.” Quantum Break understandably escalates and I can only imagine that the destruction as well as the utter endangerment of the space-time continuum progressively worsens as the player completes the campaign.

Armed soldier versus Iceman? I think we know who wins.

Intriguingly, Remedy Entertainment plans on making their newest title into a two part experience; combining the aspects of video games and television, Quantum Break will deliver gamers both a traditional video game and a linked series of short episodes as he or she progresses through the story. While playing the game, he or she will step into the role of Jack Joyce, but when the story reaches a certain point and it switches over to the television short, players will see the story from Paul Serene’s side and may make a “prediction” using Serene’s ability in order to change events in the video game. If it all sounds a little complex, don’t worry. You’re not alone. While I love the idea of incorporating two different mediums within a video game, Remedy must understand the risk this poses to destroying the immersion factor of Quantum Break. Simply put, it could work spectacularly or fail miserably. Thankfully, both producer and developer have enlisted the help of an incredible cast as well as worked with scientists at CERN to make the time manipulation theoretically relevant and the script believable. Hopefully Quantum Break can deliver on all of the hype!

Even with the incredible hype machine blasting at full volume, Remedy has not forgotten about another form of entertainment that currently prevails in gaming culture: Let’s Plays. A recent article by engadget noted that the developers have added a feature that allows YouTubers and Twitch streamers to completely disable licensed music playback in order to avoid copyright notifications. A surprisingly unheard of gesture in the AAA video game realm, it appears as though the company recognizes the popularity of major YouTubers and their ability to unintentionally boost the sales of games. Timothy Seppala, the author of this article, does warn players that Sam Lake (the creative director) specifically chose music for each section of the game and that disabling the licensed track could diminish the overall experience of Quantum Break. That’s something to keep in mind!

Stay tuned for my eventual review of Quantum Break!

Happy gaming! Victorus aut Mortis!

-Valiant

REVIEW: The Division

Review: This article goes in depth about a game and opens a dialogue about the positive and negative aspects that compose that game. At the end of the review, the author notes whether he or she feels this game was worth playing. Keep in mind that this review reflects the author’s opinion; you may have a different experience with this game!

Time Spent: 30+ hours

Version Played: PC

Hello Dark Zone my old friend,

I’m going to hunt in you again.

And while my enemies are all sleeping,

I shall go about my reaping.

All the trouble they have sown…

Will soon be theirs to own…

Video games have become one of the most dynamic forms of storytelling in the past two decades. With the evolution of the medium, the development of new technologies, and the constant hard work of game development companies, we have seen a vast number of superb video games released in my lifetime and can expect many more in the foreseeable future. What makes this medium spectacular? Everyone has an opinion and when writing something as potentially divisive as opinion pieces on explosive topics like video games and the gaming world, I try to take every aspect into account. Ultimately, what drives me to complete a video game isn’t the graphics and while good gameplay certainly helps me appreciate a game, it doesn’t make me beholden to it.

“What then?” You may ask me as I ramble on about a broad subject that isn’t The Division. I’m getting there. I promise. What really sells a game, in my opinion, is two-fold: Heavy emphasis on quality storytelling and to what degree I am immersed in the experience. Created by Ubisoft Massive and Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubisoft, The Division is another installation in the long running collection of games with the late Tom Clancy’s moniker. With their first foray into the quasi-mmo experience, Ubisoft has seen resounding success and sold millions of copies of The Division. How does their new flagship title stack up?

Let’s keep in mind the two elements I mentioned earlier. Set in the not-so-distant future, The Division puts you in control of your own customizable character who is a part of a secretive organization known as, you guessed it, “The Division.” Tasked with bring a silent sentinel until such a time arrives when the government activates you, the worst case scenario strikes New York City. On Black Friday, someone releases a modified strain of the smallpox virus and spreads the virus using contaminated currency. The results are catastrophic as people become infected, the virus spreads, casualties mount, and infrastructure collapses. Activated as a part of the “second wave” of agents, your own agent must work with acting Division commander Faye Lau and your fellow agents to restore order to New York and discover who unleashed the plague upon the innocent residents.

If The Division excels in one category, the level of immersion present still astounds me. Now, I concede that Ubisoft’s newest game doesn’t always land this experience with perfection. Understandable elements such as a medical gun, a rolling seeker bomb, smart cover, and bullet sponge enemies have their place and certainly make sense mechanically, but they detract from the overall immersion. They don’t seem incredibly realistic which a majority of Tom Clancy games have tried to champion. Please don’t think that any of these point detract from the enjoyment of the game, they just simply complicate the immersion factor. Beyond all of this, however, The Division manages to capture my attention whenever I play. The story, while certainly leagues better than Destiny, has some predictable Tom Clancy elements and mostly serves as a centerpiece for the greater world of the setting and it is here The Division shines.

Roaming around New York and seeing the aftermath of chaos, watching as a civilian dies in the street, and listening to the many different collectibles and audio logs truly enhances the feeling of sorrow. The worst part of it all, though, is that a catastrophe such as this could happen. While a little over the top at times, The Division doesn’t take a heavy science fiction approach and instead offers somewhat plausible future scenarios with technology that we may eventually achieve. Even some of the enemies have motivations that give them character and breathe life into this virtual New York. While these characters certainly don’t have the breadth of personality compared to story driven titles such as Mass Effect or Bastion, I was surprised with the feelings some of them evoked. Do you all remember those Cleaners I talked about in my impression article about The Division? Well, they’re still bastards but they and their leader Joe Farro have motivations and a drive that, while I certainly do not agree with, I can understand. The Rikers, however, serve little purpose except to piss me off. I won’t spoil anything for you all, but one mission in particular drew my unwavering ire. A video game’s ability to capture these feelings is an accomplishment.

They go from bad to worse!

While not as large of an accomplishment, The Division offers decent gunplay with a nice mix of abilities, perks, and talents to customize your play style. Even better, as you upgrade your base of operations, you can unlock more of your abilities and discover unique modifications to your existing skills and powers. The Division exists for team play and while going alone can be done, bringing along friends truly completes the experience. The gunplay isn’t Ubisoft or Red Storm’s crowning achievement, but it doesn’t detract from the quality of the game in any way.

The missions and side quests range from repetitive, aggravating affairs filled with little true content to relatively dynamic and emotionally charged events that elicit the aforementioned feelings and push the player to drive deeper into the experience. In between the campaign, gamers may enter into The Division’s PvE and PvP arena known as the “Dark Zone,” where difficult computer controlled enemies and high level chests spawn and have the chance for dropping rare and exotic loot. The key to the Dark Zone, however, rests on the shoulders of the players; by entering the Dark Zone, you stand the chance of being killed by other humans without any warning at all. By shooting at or killing another agent, you effectively become “rogue” for a certain amount of time that can be extended by damaging other players or being damaged by other players. This can net you significant Dark Zone experience (a separate experience statistic from your character level) and Dark Zone currency, but also paints you as a target for every other agent in your area. Should they kill you, they receive a bounty of DZ experience and currency.

With Ubisoft’s most recent patch (1.02), they have significantly increased the amount of DZ experience you gain by killing other agents and killing rogue agents. This has altered the dynamic of the Dark Zone in an interesting way. Essentially, going rogue now has appropriate rewards and slightly smaller risks and defeating a rogue agent now grants more rewards. While I’m not a fan of going rogue in the Dark Zone, for others this can act as an incentive to initiate a PvP exchange and an individual such as myself now has even more drive to hunt player-killers down.

Truly entertaining and intense, the Dark Zone is Ubisoft’s greatest addition to The Division. Every time you find powerful equipment, you have to extract it from the Dark Zone by running to an extraction location, firing off a flare to signal a helicopter (which alerts EVERYONE in the area that you’re doing it), and wait  one minute and thirty seconds for the helicopter to arrive. This adds incredible tension and anxiety to the already dangerous environment and I absolutely adore it. I wish more games had an open PvP zone like this! Even better, extracting that gear you worked hard for leaves you with a feeling of euphoria. Ubisoft created something wonderful with the Dark Zone.

Going alone is not recommended.

It is a shame then that upon reaching level 30 (and even at times during the journey to 30), the game becomes an incessant grind. The same cookie cutter side missions permeate The Division’s primary campaign and after the first several offerings, you will become accustomed to exactly what missions you will need to complete in each area. Thankfully, completing all of the side quests in one area generally rewards you with a craftable item, but it only serves as a reminder that you have another neighborhood in New York to repeat the same missions. Unfortunately, the Dark Zone doesn’t fare much better. In order to purchase high level exotic gear known as “high end” items, you must attain currency called “Phoenix Credits.” These credits can be attained through doing specially marked Daily missions at higher difficulties or killing powerful named enemies. These minibosses generally drop 1-3 credits (after the patch) and some of the high end equipment can cost in the hundreds of credits. Dedicated players can easily attain the amount he or she needs, but it still becomes quite the grind. Even worse, your previously attained Dark Zone credits are rendered somewhat moot.

Thankfully, Ubisoft has increased the drop rate of high end items in some of the chests you can find throughout the Dark Zone as well as on some of the names enemies. This does help mitigate some of the grind, but unfortunately leaves such drops up to chance. Regardless, it is refreshing to see Ubisoft address player issues with incredible speed. Should they show such support in the future, we can expect The Division to have a very fruitful life. Starting in April, gamers will be able to undertake raids known as “Incursions” in order to gain other exotic items and the future for The Division is certainly filled with more content. I struggle to maintain that this review is complete due to the future content in development by Ubisoft, but as of right now The Division is an intriguing, fun, and grindy experience that has some substance underneath its somewhat bleak exterior.

Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with The Division. It has its very noticeable issues and it certainly isn’t for everyone, but I greatly look forward to its future.

Happy gaming! Victorus aut Mortis!

-Valiant

Zombies Everywhere!

So, I’ve been in the mood for some good old zombie apocalypse theme in games and movies for the last few days. It may have something to do with the fact that we’ve been roleplaying an awesome pen&paper rpg All flesh must be eaten, which is the most awesome horror survival you can play old school style. It has been super fun and it’s inspired me to play some cool zombie games on my xbox 360 and playstation 4. So the point of this post is to make a list of a couple of my favourite zombie videogames and see if you get inspired to try out or re-play some of them too!

1. State of Decay. This game seems to have it all. You get to play different survivors depending on what skills and other qualities you prefer in a character. You get to build, upgrade and protect one or several bases, this is made easy and fun so you are quite free to try out different options. The map in this game is pretty big, at least for a survival game, and there are lots of things happening 24/7, quests to complete and people to help. You may also lose playable characters since when you are not controlling them, they do stuff on their own and might get in trouble. It’s a fun and lively game, no way this get boring!  Available for Xbox 360 and Xbox One, also available on Steam.
2. Dead Island. This game is pretty straight forward: you try to help yourself and people around you in a zombie infested paradise island, and your only option is to try and get a hold of some good weapons and hack your way through many different kinds of zombies. The game does have some negative qualities, I personally think most of the voice acting is poor and some tasks given are a bit weird when you think of the fact that you are trying to survive here and not fetch some lost jewelery etc. BUT these features are of minor importance and the game is very much fun. One  warning though if you want to co-op with your friend on the same sofa, it seems on the game cover that you could play the game co-op locally(split screen style), but that only works if you have another set of tv, xbox and another copy of the game(or the same with a computer). Dead Island 2 is on it’s way, it’s good to know there’s more to play when I get bored with the first one! Available for Xbox, playstation and on Steam.
3. Resident Evil Remake. You’ve probably heard of this game series a lot already, but if you are into some real horror survival and not just hack&slash style zombie games, this remake of the first game is the one you want. The remake is very faithfull to the original(well it IS a remake) and I think it carries through the scary ambiance very well. In this game you get to kill zombies, solve some puzzles and follow an interesting plot line. You can also choose between the two main characters, Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. The game is a bit different with each character. The game is available for Xbox and Playstation and on Steam.
4. How to Survive.  Now this is a fun and challenging zombie survival game! And you can play co-op with your friend! The game is pretty simple both in idea and graphics but I think that’s what makes it more awesome, not trying too hard to look like the bigger games. We are getting a sequel for this game soon too and it’s actually already on early access phase as we speak, if you are interested. How to Survive has a variety of different zombies, many weapons and crafting options, and it monitors the character’s hunger, thirst and sleep levels giving the game a more real feel of battling for survival. One thing that annoyed me a bit was this Kovac character(whose survival guide we are following in the game), I’m not sure if it’s only me, or if he really does seem a bit too Borderlandsy(mimicing the game series Borderlands). This game can be bought for Xbox and Playstation(a demo is available for these two too!) and on Steam.

I hope you’ll find something new to play or something old to replay after reading this zombie inspired post! If you are still needing more zombie themed stuff to do, here’s some of my favorite zombie flicks if you wanna watch them: Dawn of the Dead(2004), 28 days later/28 weeks later, Zombieland, Resident Evil(2002), Shaun of the Dead.

Play with passion!

auburn.geek

 

Star War’s ‘Daisy Ridley’ In Talks For ‘Tomb Raider’ Reboot

With a hugely successful Inter-Galatic franchise under her belt, Star Wars The Force Awaken’s Daisy Ridley could get her own Blockbuster to helm if talks with the Big-Wigs over at Warner Bros. goes well.

Speaking on the red carpet for the 2016 Empire Awards. The Jedi-in-training confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that there “have been conversations” about her helming the rebooted adaptation of Crystal Dynamics acclaimed Tomb Raider video game series, with the British actress currently just “waiting for someone to say ‘I want you, let’s do it’.”

Earlier this month, Norwegian Director Roar Uthaug revealed that he would be taking on the rebooted action-adventure series that previously starred Angelina Jolie as the British archeologist Lara Croft. In an interview with IGN, Uthaug confirmed that his film would tread familiar ground as 2013’s Tomb Raider game, concentrating on Lara’s origin with the director looking “to make people relate to Lara as a character.”

Although the film is still in the pre-production stage, it seems that Ridley certainly has the endorsement of her Star Wars co-star Joh Boyega – who after playing the video game – told THR that he texted the star, telling her that “‘this is you!’ and ‘you need to get on that because you could be Lara Croft.’ She should be.”

For all your Tomb-Raiding-Lightsaber-Fighting-News, stick with @mitch_rated only on Skatronixxx

Sony Interested, Vague About Cross-Platform Play

About a week ago, my lovely partner in crime auburn.geek reported on a very intriguing and potentially ground breaking article about how Microsoft wants to extend cross-platform play with Rocket League. Though not explicitly stating that they wanted to link up with Sony’s PSN or Nintendo’s own online network, Microsoft implied that such a possibility was not completely unfounded and that we could see such cross-platform functionality in the future. Now, while gamers have had some connection between consoles and PC games, never before have Xbox or Playstation owners been able to compete or cooperate with one another. As auburn.geek said, it’s very exciting!

Once again, GameSpot offered a report on Sony’s response to Microsoft’s invitation. Sony’s message is as follows:

“PlayStation has been supporting cross-platform play between PC on several software titles starting with Final Fantasy 11 on PS2 and PC back in 2002…We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross platform play.”

I used to play Final Fantasy 11 back in the day! It astounded me that I could run with my friends who had it on PC while I played on PS2. To think that an idea like that could potentially offer vast connection with an utterly massive base of gamers…wow! Really, Sony’s response seems positive but incredibly vague. No hard details have surfaced and neither company has officially extended a hand to one another in order to initiate such a cooperative venture, but the fact that the interest exists means a great deal for the gaming world.

Could you imagine playing some of your favorite games regardless of what console you purchased? To think that my PlayStation friends who own Destiny could play with my Xbox friends, or my Xbox friends who purchased The Division could run around and engage in shenanigans with me on my PC makes me absolutely excited for what the future could hold! *Takes a deep breath* We still must remember that none of this remains confirmed, neither company has taken action, and the outcome of such a monumental decision escapes prediction. Let’s hope this goes well and we see nothing but positive results.

Happy gaming! Victorus aut Mortis!

-Valiant

UPDATE Battlefleet Gothic: Armada

UPDATE 3/28/2016: Tindalos, the development team behind Armada recently released a new patch that enables everyone who pre-ordered the game to play as the Ork faction and has promised that everyone who pre-purchases the game will gain access to the Space Marine fleet and one extra fleet that Tindalos has promised that they will “unveil soon.” What that faction could be is anyone’s guess. In addition, we now have a hard release date for Armada: April 21st. You can read more here.

In the grim darkness of the far future…

There are only LARGE CATASTROPHIC EXPLOSIONS using massive ships styled after Gothic cathedrals!

By now you all know that I absolutely adore Warhammer 40,000 so I apologize for throwing more of it at you, but I can’t ignore this very intriguing and utterly explosive (get it? Yeah? Yeah?!) new title in the Warhammer franchise. Surprisingly, Battlefleet Gothic: Armada takes a step away from the usually ground warfare centered themes of the many other Warhammer 40,000 titles and instead propels you into the horrifying world of space combat. Beset on all sides, the Imperium of Man must defend itself from xenos, heretics, and demons all the while struggling to maintain the trillions upon trillions that swear allegiance to their God-Emperor and the Imperium as a whole.

In charge of commanding your own fleet of ships ranging anywhere from the quick and lethal frigates all the way up to the utterly awe inspiring 8km long battleship and beyond, Armada looks to be a very intense strategy game somewhat stylized on the now defunct tabletop game Games Workshop released many years back. Called “Battlefleet Gothic”, players could assemble their own fleets from nearly every faction and battle it out in space with a variety of fun rules and scenarios to change up the gameplay. Unfortunately, Gothic became something of a niche game and Games Workshop eventually ceased their support of the product.

All is not lost, however, for Focus Home Interactive announced the development of Armada on January 16th of last year and the game is slated to release this month! No exact date has been given, but we should see it sometime soon!

You can ram your ship into the enemies. It is not only an effective tactic, but HIGHLY encouraged!

If you’re interested in seeing how the game will play, check out this gameplay trailer. It features the Imperial Navy, but you will be able to play as Chaos, Orks, and Eldar factions. Focus Interactive really looks like they’re incorporating powerful and innovative strategies (that make sense!) to Armada as well as adding familiar elements such as persistent captains and crews that level up as they survive battles and the ability to warp out to repair and warp back in later in the fight. The Chaos and Imperial factions look very distinctive and I can’t wait to see how the Orks and Eldar play. I can only imagine the Orks run like they do on the tabletop, their ramshackle vessels somehow operational and utterly terrifying with the amount of bullets they can expend, while the Eldar have advanced technology and incredible speed.

Did any of you ever play Nexus: The Jupiter Incident? Or maybe Star Wars: Empire at War? Armada looks like it takes a lot of inspiration from both of those games and I greatly appreciate the attention to detail on the literally Gothic cathedrals that make up the Imperial vessels and the disturbing chaotic marks that adorn the vessels of Chaos. I only hope the actual game delivers on all of its promises and truly lets us delve into a deep strategic experience.

Happy gaming, everyone! Victorus aut Mortis!

-Valiant

My Thoughts On Top Game Firewatch

Hi everyone!

Today I’m taking you for a little tour to a gaming experience that I had recently. Some of you probably have played Firewatch through already, but for the sake of those who are still new to the game, I will avoid spoilers! This will only be a short description and introduction to Firewatch. If you want to know more just click the link in the next paragraph or buy the game and see for yourself!

Firewatch is a story driven adventure game made by Campo Santo, you can buy it for your Playstation4 in the Playstation store, or for your computer on Steam if your user interface is either Windows, MAC or Linux.

The game is based in the Wyoming wilderness in the year 1989. The main character, a middle aged man named Henry, joins the Firewatch team as a fire lookout to have a little time alone with his thoughts after having some hard times with his life. Henry’s only social interraction in the game happens through walkie talkies with his supervisor Delilah and this is the most important building block of the game. I thought the different dialogue options were authentic and the conversations were engaging. The atmosphere is well constructed and the events that come up during the story are many times pretty surprising. There is some well built suspension and even hints of dread. The graphics are minimalistic but beautiful and wandering in the wilderness and watching the scenes is entertaining. The whole game is a sweet well- balanced cluster of beauty and thrill. I give a few negative marks on some illogical restrictions to player’s movement (can’t get through some invisible wall or a bush thats only 1m high). And I myself was a bit unsatisfied with the ending, because i thought it didn’t fit that well to the awesomeness of the rest of the game. The careful and thorough build up of tension during the story kind of fell flat. But that may be because I ‘ve studied too much story structure in my university and I can’t avoid nitpicking. All in all Firewatch was an enjoyable package and if you like beautiful story based adventures you should try it!

Play with passion!

auburn.geek