Monday, April 11, 2016

New Games

New Games


Initiation Station: Can we get something for the shorties?

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 03:00 PM PDT

[Anyone ever consider making their characters short? I've never really thought of it. Sure, you can make characters Amazonian levels of huge, but the short ones? Dreamweaver wishes for one but character creation never gets truly short like he'd want it. ~Strider]

"Wait a minute. Does thou eyes deceive me? Is Dreamweaver truly writing a video game-related blog!?"

Yes, weird commenter who occasionally speaks old English for no apparent reason! While it has been years since I wrote an actual video game-related blog — which used to be something I did often — I pretty much had to stop when I started doing Comments of the Week. I mean, I even missed out on the Waifu Wars Bloggers Wanted prompt. ME. However, since this month's Initiation Station prompt is dedicated to the lovely community member, Elsa, I wanted to make her smile by talking about one of the things we're both passionate about: character creators.

Initiation Station: Can we get something for the shorties? screenshot

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You probably haven't seen this Super Mario Bros. 3 animation

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 02:00 PM PDT

For each episode of The Simpsons I can recite from memory, I can still watch that show and stumble upon a dusty, hitherto undiscovered or unappreciated (by me) gag. Even if it's just a sign in the background. That show was real good for a long time.

And while I obnoxiously profess the greatness of Resident Evil 4, I recently learned that I have played that game a million times without ever activating one of the contextual melee attacks, the suplex (kneecap a fool, then run up to them).

So I'll let "Super Mario variety blog" Supper Mario Broth explain this rarely used animation: "In Super Mario Bros. 3, Hammer Mario can’t slide down slopes, since he retreats into his shell when you duck. However, a sliding sprite for Hammer Mario still exists in the code and can be seen in this bonus room in level 6-10. If Mario is already sliding when he touches the Hammer Suit, he will display Hammer Mario’s sliding animation."

Also from Supper Mario Broth, a few cheat-y ways Nintendo does things. For example, hiding a signpost, the default readable, interactable object, behind a door as if you're getting that message from the door. Or the Super Mario 64 DS mirror "reflection" just being a full, mirrored version of the character (hence Yoshi's tongue shooting through the wall). Good blog, that.

You probably haven't seen this Super Mario Bros. 3 animation screenshot

Yep, No Man's Sky is going to be a big ol' time sink

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 01:30 PM PDT

Hello Games has demoed another extended slice of No Man's Sky with IGN. If you have a tenuous grasp on what this space adventure game is about moment to moment, managing director and studio co-founder Sean Murray describes this latest playthrough as an average look at an average planet. Personally, I found it to be more substantive than the last outing.

Punching holes into a hill and uncovering an existing cave system? Yep, cool. And creature scanning, while not a new feature by any means, should be a delight. "When you scan them, you can name them," says Murray. "Right now, today, the game is still in testing, so the profanity filter is off."

He's quick to point out that everyone will have a chance to leave their stamp on the galaxy because it's 1) absurdly vast and 2) we'll start out in different areas. "It's actually a slightly sad but amazing thing that 99.9 percent of the planets in No Man's Sky will probably never be visited."

The footage delves a bit more into the alien lore and languages than I've seen in prior demonstrations (though, like the overarching story/goal, it's still secretive). It also shows off building interiors, including factories and bases. The latter can serve as a revive point if you disrupt the natural flow of a planet too much and get shot down by angry sentinels. Most of the action here is on-ground, but towards the end Murray hops in a ship, takes part in a dogfight, and walks through a space station.

With that, I think I need to stop watching videos going forward. I've seen enough, and June 21 isn't too far off. The first few hours of this game are going to fly by. Better get a doctor's note lined up.

Yep, No Man's Sky is going to be a big ol' time sink screenshot

Dark Souls as a metaphor for recovery from addiction

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 01:00 PM PDT

[Header image by JanPhilippEckert]

[Once we promoted a story here where a community member drew allusions between a struggling relative's dementia and a specific character in Dark Souls. Now once again we return to the game, where community member Dr. Amphibian reflects on his struggles with alcoholism and how he put off Dark Souls until he was at his lowest point. ~Strider]

With the impending release of Dark Souls III (just a few more days...), I thought now might be an appropriate time to put this out there. I am new to blogging/actually using this website, but have lurked for many years now. 

The first time I completed Dark Souls was right after I got out of rehab for alcoholism, my second time in an institution within about six months. This was at the end of 2013. I tried several times to get into DS from the day it was released, but could never get far due to being heavily intoxicated every day. So I would sell it, and then a few months later I realized I would get the urge to revisit the game and give it another shot.

Dark Souls as a metaphor for recovery from addiction screenshot

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After playing the demo, I'm down for Return of the Obra Dinn

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 12:30 PM PDT

I've long admired Return of the Obra Dinn for its distinct lo-fi art direction, but today marks my first time playing it. There's a new demo out on Windows and Mac that's similar to what debuted last month at the Game Developers Conference, and it's pretty darn neat! You can download it here.

This is the upcoming first-person mystery game from Papers, Please designer Lucas Pope about a vessel once lost at sea that has reappeared without its crew. The demo has you boarding the Obra Dinn and using a strange (and sinister?) device to experience the past through ghastly audio vignettes accompanied by these frozen-in-time sequences you can explore for a brief period.

I'm sufficiently intrigued to see where the story goes. Note that this playable build is "not meant to be a proper demo of the final product but it's probably safe to extrapolate from here."

[Via Brandon Boyer]

After playing the demo, I'm down for Return of the Obra Dinn screenshot

Dropshots are for badminton, not Gears of War

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 12:00 PM PDT

Gears of War at its most Gears of War-ness is easy to put your thumb on. For a series that revels in violence, it's the moments that are truly violent that feel the most Gears of War. Shooting enemies from behind cover? Not that violent, really.

Sawing them in half with a chainsaw affixed to your gun? Curb-stomping a guy who's seconds away from death anyway? Now that's violent. Now that's Gears of War.

That is to say, executions are a staple of Gears of War. Xbox recently released this short clip showing off how the Dropshot's works. Kait dutifully attaches a baddie to her gun before flinging him across the environment. It's wonderfully form over function, style over substance. It's positively ridiculous because the easier action would've been none at all. Again, that's Gears of War.

What's ironic is the very naming of this weapon and, by association, its execution. Video game terminology aside, a drop shot in tennis or badminton is a technique where you barely hit the ball or birdie over the net, causing it to land softly in the front court. It's a subtle shot that requires finesse and touch instead of strength and power.

For all the things that Gears of War is (and we've mentioned a lot of them in this post), subtle is not one of them. Hurling a corpse through the sky is not subtle. It's absurd and over-the-top, and, on some level, it's Gears of War in its commitment to those other qualities. But, it's not subtle.

Dropshots are for badminton, not Gears of War screenshot

Microsoft's E3 2016 presser is at the same time as every Microsoft E3 presser

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 11:45 AM PDT

Once upon a time, Microsoft had the privilege of kickin' off E3 with its Monday morning press conferences at USC's Galen Center. Last year, Bethesda partially stole that spotlight by moving up the E3 start date to Sunday night. This June, both Bethesda and EA will hold press conferences on Sunday.

Not deterred, Microsoft is sticking to the Monday morning routine for its annual Xbox E3 presser. Microsoft is starting to send out emails confirming that the event will be held on June 13 at 9:30am Pacific.

We're still two whole months away from E3, so it'd be a futile endeavor to try to speculate with any real accuracy about what Microsoft may reveal at its press conference. However, for anyone looking to nail down their schedule, it's a fairly certain bet that both Ubisoft and Sony's press conferences will be held later on Monday. As much as some things about E3 change, others always stay the same.

Microsoft's E3 2016 presser is at the same time as every Microsoft E3 presser screenshot

Review: Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 11:30 AM PDT

These last few weeks have been very kind to my gaming phalanges. After upgrading from a bargain basement mouse and keyboard combination, I upgraded to Logitech's G610 Orion Brown and G900 Chaos Spectrum. Obviously, such a jump would make a huge difference for anyone, but the Chaos Spectrum (hardware names sure are silly) was like leaping over the tallest building in sight and landing in another dimension. 

Now, to back up my extreme hyperbole and see how it stacks up against the high-as-heck price.

Review: Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum screenshot

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Kitase on Final Fantasy VII Remake: 'We don't think anything is untouchable'

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 11:15 AM PDT

Following up word that the actually-happening Final Fantasy VII Remake would be broken into several games each the size of "a full Final Fantasy game," Game Informer has the full interview with producer Yoshinori Kitase up.

If you're wondering why you caught that bit about the size of the segments last week, it's because it was the biggest piece of "news" out of the exchange. As Game Informer itself notes, "Square Enix wasn't ready to go into that level of detail," referring to, "questions about story, combat, materia, airships, exploration, and more." So it's a lot of vague talk (like noting that there are internal plans for how many installments will make up the remake, but not telling us) and "please look forward to our game."

So it's the usual tidbits. Combat won't be as action-y as the straight up fighter Dissidia, but "the visuals and how the gameplay feels in essence will be drawn from that Dissidia-esque style." Some of Final Fantasy VII's expansive spin-off and side-series content might work itself back into this retelling of the original story, too. "If there are any areas [from The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII] where we can use the settings or the characters, we do want to try to incorporate it in there, so it gives off that sense of nuance and those other stories existing."

One bit at the end of the interview stuck out to me, though. Kitase said, "I, along with Nomura-san and [Kazushige] Nojima-san – who are involved with the remake – were involved with the original Final Fantasy VII. We were the people who created it, so in that sense, we don't think anything is untouchable. That isn't to say we’re changing everything!" On one hand, at its worst, this statement gives George-Lucas-messing-around-with-Star-Wars vibes, especially with Square Enix's current standing in the eyes of many fans. But I also appreciate the fact that a straight Final Fantasy VII remake is kind of pointless, because you can still play Final Fantasy VII on a million devices just fine. The willingness to be flexible in remaking a sacred cow at least opens up the possibility of something interesting stemming from it and in this case I'll take the outside chance of a dinger over a seeing-eye single.

10 Questions And Answers About The Final Fantasy VII Remake [Game Informer]

Kitase on Final Fantasy VII Remake: 'We don't think anything is untouchable' screenshot

Still don't know what's coming in Destiny's April update? This video should help

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 11:00 AM PDT

Bungie wants to be 100% sure you know about all the new stuff coming to Destiny tomorrow. If you somehow still don't know about the April Update despite the original announcement last month, multiple Twitch streams a few weeks back, the handful of Instagram announcements, and the infographic summary from a few days ago, a comprehensive video released today should get you back up to speed. 

I've been surprisingly out of touch with the whole April Update news trickle, but for the most part I'm caught up after watching this. There's a lot of information in the video, so I'll tell you the most important part:

Chroma armor modification. It's a glowing armor mod that lets players customize the hue of certain armor prices, independent of shaders. I've been rocking the Glowhoo shader since it came out; I'm down with more obnoxiously colored armor. 

Aside from that, tomorrow's update will raise levels and put a fresh coat of Taken-colored paint on existing Destiny activities like Prison of Elders and everyone's favorite strike, Winter's Run. The max player Light level is also going up from 220 to 235.

Thankfully, raiding won't be the only way to earn high level gear anymore. Though the King's Fall raid will drop the new, higher level gear, 335 armor and weapons will also drop during PvE events like Prison of Elders, Court of Oryx, and the Nightfall Strike and during PvP events Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris.

And that's the bulk of it. There are a few other things, like updated weapons and new gear, but the video does a better job of explaining that than I could. None of the information shown in it is really new, but it's actually kind of cool to hear the team behind the update getting so enthusiastic about some of the new things coming to the game. Hopefully Destiny's fanbase is just as excited.

Still don't know what's coming in Destiny's April update? This video should help screenshot

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PSA: Dark Souls III unlocks on Steam this evening

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 10:30 AM PDT

Used to be a game coming out April 12 meant you get it on April 12, perhaps by going to the local video game repository after work and buying it. Before work if you're afraid of limited stock. But thanks to the wondrous advances of "on-line," you get get games earlier than ever. I mean, folks been playing Dark Souls III on Xbox One for like a month now.

Anyways, Dark Souls III unlocks on Steam as follows:

  • Monday April 11th at 3:00 PM PDT (UTC -7)
  • Monday April 11th at 6:00 PM EDT (UTC -4)
  • Monday April 11th at 11:00 PM BST (UTC +1)
  • Tuesday April 12th at 12:00 AM CEST (UTC +2)

Remember that you can pre-load its modest 17 gigs, too, so you can get to dying right out of the gate instead of losing a few hours to a download.

PSA: Dark Souls III unlocks on Steam this evening  screenshot

Grasshopper's weird survival game Let it Die still has a pulse

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 10:00 AM PDT

For the longest time, I didn't know what was going on with Let it Die. I still don't, to be completely frank, but the third-person survival-action title has resurfaced and it's looking much better.

Ahead of a playable showing this month at PAX East (booth #8116), Grasshopper Manufacture and GungHo have shared a few screenshots and also a short developer update video.

As best as I can tell, this is a PlayStation 4 exclusive about battling lightly-clothed men who are modeled to behave like other players. "The world we are creating will push the envelope for asynchronous, free-to-play games," says executive producer Kazuki Morishita.

Is Let it Die exactly what we want out of Grasshopper and Suda51? Probably not. Especially if the words "Lily Bergamo" mean anything to you. But I will say that I am far more interested now than I was two years ago during Tokyo Game Show. Look for a fresh preview from Zack later this month.

Grasshopper's weird survival game Let it Die still has a pulse screenshot

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United States senator grills Oculus on privacy concerns

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 09:45 AM PDT

Being expensive as hell and manufacturing delays aren't the only things giving people pause about virtual reality and the Oculus Rift. What if the sweaty, sensory deprivation helmet is also stealing your secret Gin Rickey recipe and learning about that one friend you secretly hate but put up with because he scores you choice krokodil?

After all, Oculus is owned by Facebook, the Rat King of turning data you volunteer, knowingly or not, into money. Plus, remember two years ago when the company tweaked the feed algorithm of about 700,000 users to see if it could manipulate their emotions by showing them certain things in their feed? Facebook makes me sad enough as it is, seeing others live their happy lives. No need to double down, monsters.

United States senator Al Franken, part of a long line of Als with spooky last names (Gore, Bundy, etc), wrote a letter to Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe urging clarification on, "the company's collection, storage, and sharing of users' personal data."

When you first load up the VR face mask you have to sign off on, "a number of unusual stipulations," according to Fortune, "including Oculus reserving the right to collect user physical movement and locational data and all activity on Oculus-hosted servers." All of this might be shared with Facebook, according to the verbiage.

"In addition to collecting information provided by consumers, Oculus automatically collects information when the consumer uses Oculus’ services," Franken writes. "Information about consumers' physical movements and dimensions, as well as location data, can be shared with 'other companies that are within the family of related companies that Oculus is a part of.' The company’s privacy statement also indicates that Oculus may share de-identified or aggregated data with others for any purpose. Furthermore, the information Oculus collects can be shared with third parties to directly market products to consumers on or off Oculus' platform. When done appropriately, the collection, storage, and sharing of personal information may enhance consumers' virtual reality experience, but we must ensure that Americans' very sensitive information is protected."

Franken has asked for a response by May 13 to questions like: 1) why is it necessary to collect users' data? 2) can it be assured that this data is being properly protected? 3) is our* data being sold to or shared with other companies?

*Not that I bought one of those fucking things, I got rent to pay.

HTC Vive has avoided these data privacy questions because its software sales come through the Steam store, which has a clearer privacy policy that says the company, "will not share any personally identifiable information with third parties for marketing purposes without your consent." Though, note the "personally identifiable" qualifier there, similar to Oculus' "de-identified or aggregated data," but Oculus' identifiable clause comes after implying that, "consumers' physical movements and dimensions, as well as location data" can be shared plainly with Facebook. Meanwhile, there seems to be concern within Facebook over people not sharing enough personal information on the platform anymore as its normalization and ubiquity have led to users tempering what they express on the site (as new media ventures like Snapchat and Instagram become outlets for the kind of content you used to find on Facebook.)

While a lot of people want to "keep politics out of video games," I applaud Franken for pressing on the matter, even if it's just a nice little check to keep a multi-billion dollar company honest. Besides, if we kept politics out of gaming we wouldn't have the vaping congressman spending $1,302 in campaign funds on Steam games.

United States senator grills Oculus on privacy concerns screenshot

Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness has a nice little collector's edition

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 09:30 AM PDT

NIS America has locked down a September 13, 2016 release for Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness on PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, so you better turn that frown upside down like your life depends on it.

The visual novel game is arriving in Europe a tad later on Friday, September 16, and a PC version via Steam is on the docket, although the exact timing for that port isn't known yet.

There's a collector's edition, of course, and it's already up for pre-order (as is the standard edition). It comes with a 72-page softcover art book, the soundtrack on CD, three pencil boards to "practice drawing your own dystopian world," a microfiber cloth (sure, I guess?), and a particularly lovely box.

I am not typically into visual novels, but there is probably one out there that could grab my attention, and this news does make me want to watch the anime. A future in which a special police force pursues people deemed likely to commit crimes by a brain scan? Heck yes. (Also, that sounds increasingly real.)

Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness has a nice little collector's edition screenshot

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Rare Beavis and Butt-Head arcade game now available for public play

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 09:00 AM PDT

Allegedly, there are only a handful of Beavis and Butt-Head arcade machines out there (MTV has one that is only dragged out for tradeshows), and Galloping Ghost Arcade of Brookfield Illinois has one of them.

Funnily enough the team needed to buy 3DO hardware to fix it, which means that if that particular aspect ever breaks, they'll have to find a new one. The moral of the story is -- if you ever see it out in the wild, go play it, because it's a forgotten part of gaming history. As someone who played a ton of the SNES Beavis and Butt-Head game, I'd love to give this one a shot one day.

You can get a look at some old prototype footage below.

Galloping Ghost Arcade [Facebook via Arcade Heroes]

Rare Beavis and Butt-Head arcade game now available for public play screenshot

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Dark Souls III PC and PS4 graphics comparison

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 08:45 AM PDT

Tomorrow is my birthday, known around some parts of world wide web as "Dark Souls III day." The Xbox One version has been out for a while now using secret hacking techniques (pretending to be in Japan) and we know it has some frame rate issues and the like.

What if you're pinballing between the PC and PS4 version, though? Well, the results are about as expected, but maybe this Digital Foundry breakdown will help your decision. The biggest difference seems to be the 60fps rate on PC versus 30fps on console.

Regardless, as Chris' review explains, you're getting a pretty dang nice game.

Dark Souls III PC and PS4 graphics comparison screenshot

Division players best go convert all their materials tonight

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 08:30 AM PDT

People who play Tom Clancy's The Division would be wise to take a break tonight from saving New York City from looters and ne'er-do-wells. Instead, they should play the part of imaginary Jo-Ann's Fabrics employees, laying all the crafting supplies out in the most efficient way possible.

With the arrival of Division update 1.1 tomorrow, the game's crafting system becomes exactly half as economical. Right now, it takes five standard (green) materials to craft one specialized (blue) material; from there, five specialized materials are needed to craft one high-end (yellow) material. As of tomorrow, that ratio doubles to ten to one.

Making matters worse, getting materials is less efficient too. Deconstructing items will yield half the materials that they once did. For instance, deconstructing a superior (purple) backpack now gives two specialized fabrics; tomorrow, it will give just one.

The trade-off is that named enemies will now have a 100 percent drop rate of high-end items when defeated. Ubisoft is looking to refine the end-game loop and make it more reliant on killing rather than crafting. The idea is that if players aren't getting the gear they're trying for, they'll eventually have enough materials to just make it. The developer doesn't want players to craft as a first resort.

That's tomorrow, though. In the meantime, players can (and should) hit the Base of Operations' crafting station and break down everything and convert it to the highest tier possible. It's just the smart and efficient thing to do.

Division players best go convert all their materials tonight screenshot

The Gears of War 4 trailer as it was originally meant to sound

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 08:15 AM PDT

I have a theory that every single Gears of War trailer was originally set to the song "Mad World." Like it worked so well for the original trailer back in 2006 that Microsoft just decided to use it for every game in the series, but at the very last minute some licensing issue got in the way. Instead, they begrudgingly replaced it with one of the other songs I listened to as a depressed teen, game after game.

Seriously. Just look how well it fits with the Gears of War 4 trailer:

There's no denying how well that works. I might be biased here, but I'd argue it at least sounds better than that awkward Simon and Garfunkel cover the trailer originally used.

I haven't tested it with Gears 2 or 3 yet, but with half the series in my corner I'm just going to call my theory confirmed.

The Gears of War 4 trailer as it was originally meant to sound screenshot

Hilariously, a new Final Fantasy XIV promotion is selling out sodas in Japan

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 08:00 AM PDT

Over in Japan, Final Fantasy XIV players can earn special in-game items if they redeem points by way of soda cans. Buying them will net you a code on your receipt, which can then be inputted into the official site for things like outfits, masks, and eventually, a white Fat Chocobo mount -- the latter of which is quite the buzzworthy reward.

But this has led to situations across Tokyo where drinks are being sold out left and right, and some fans are even buying out all of the soda at once. I doubt we'll get the same response over here, but this promotion is moving worldwide at some point in the future to an undisclosed location.

Final Fantasy XIV Has Been Making 7-Eleven Stores Sell Out Of Sodas [Siliconera]

Hilariously, a new Final Fantasy XIV promotion is selling out sodas in Japan screenshot

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Capturing that 'nothing but net' sound in Heroes of the Storm

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 07:30 AM PDT

I'm always fascinated by video game sound design. I mean sure, we've all seen about a million features of the Gran Turismo dudes crawling under sports cars to get the exact pitch of the exhaust right, so some of the mystery is gone. But I can't help it, I'm still impressed with the amount of effort and care some teams put into even the simple things.

Simple things like the perfect swish of a basketball. 

Blizzard released a video today detailing the behind the scenes process of creating Azmodunk, a custom skin in Heroes of the Storm that turns the Lord of Sin into the Lord of Ball. The team put a lot of effort into getting the snap of the net and squeak of his infernal lockers just right.

I tend to complain about the cost of custom skins in HotS, but after seeing this I might just keep my mouth shut. Nice to know they work hard to make the "premium" part of a premium skin live up to its name.

Capturing that 'nothing but net' sound in Heroes of the Storm screenshot

Codemasters acquires 'most' of defunct Driveclub studio's staff

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 07:00 AM PDT

As you may have heard, Evolution Studios, developers of Motorstorm and Driveclub, is no more. But the UK-based Codemasters, one of the leading driving game creators worldwide, swooped in and acquired "most" of Evolution's staff in a bid to grow its empire further. Additionally, Mick Hocking, who was Group Director under Sony, is now the VP of Product Development.

It's basically a cashless deal since Codemasters didn't go in directly with Sony and acquire any of the relevant IPs, but it makes perfect sense.

Codemasters welcomes the team from Evolution Studios [Codemasters]

Codemasters acquires 'most' of defunct Driveclub studio's staff screenshot

Seems like The Divison players spend most of their time playing alone

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 06:30 AM PDT

I love it when companies share things like this. Ubisoft shared the infographic above to illustrate how much has happened in the 30-some days since The Division's release. In just once month, players have killed more than 17 billion enemies. According to the scholarly Google search I just did, that's more than twice the population of the entire planet. Seriously, that's a lot of bad guys hanging around Manhattan.

On the more realistic side of things, it's nice to see that wardrobe staples like the simple cargo jacket won't go out of style, even when the world is ending. But it is more than a little surprising that, despite encouraging players to team up to complete missions and explore the Dark Zone, more than half of overall gameplay time in The Division has seen agents riding solo.

The multiplayer experience seemed to be one of the big selling points; I would have expected those percentages to be flip-flopped. Hopefully Ubisoft keeps publishing data like this too. It'll be interesting to see how those numbers change as new content like tomorrow's Incursions patch appears.

Incursions, by the way, is the first major content update hitting The Division, and only one of many paid and free updates the game will see throughout 2016. The full nitty-gritty on the patch has been up for some time now, but a new trailer released today takes a closer look at the upcoming Falcon Lost incursion, which is arguably the most exciting part of the update. If you're not at level 30 yet, time to stop dragging your feet. Seems like the raid is the only way to get some of the new gear sets and exotic weapons added with the update.

While I haven't picked up The Division yet, I probably will at some point. The game wasn't quite the Destiny killer is was prophesied to be, but it still managed to steal a few of my Fireteam buddies away from me and I miss playing games with them. I'm not bitter, I swear. If anything, I'm jealous of all the content hitting the game this year. Aside from tomorrow's patch, players can expect one more free update this year, in addition to three upcoming paid expansions. I'm starting to miss the days when Destiny treated players that well. 

Seems like The Divison players spend most of their time playing alone screenshot

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Far Cry Primal is down to $35 on Amazon today

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 06:15 AM PDT

"That's a good price for that game," Destructoid's leading laser beam manufacturer Jordan Devore commented upon being informed that Far Cry Primal is discounted to $35 on Amazon today. Jordan has only been wrong once in his life, and it was a time where he thought he was wrong but he was actually right.

Far Cry Primal is Amazon's deal of the day today. That means its price is almost halved less than two months after that game's launch. The deal is good for PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions of Primal.

Back in February, we did fairly extensive coverage of Far Cry Primal, with both a review and a dedicated podcast meant to elaborate on our analysis. We came to the conclusion that Primal might be the quintessential Far Cry experience. Despite the radical departure in setting and tone, it manages to be the most Far Cry that Far Cry has ever been. What that's worth is up to you; if the answer's $35, well, we know a guy.

Far Cry Primal [Amazon]

Far Cry Primal is down to $35 on Amazon today screenshot

I would totally rock this IKEA arcade cabinet

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 06:00 AM PDT

Pretty snazzy!

IKEA Hackers decided to give an arcade cabinet project a go, and it looks like they succeeded. Using a $50 desk, $150 monitor, $100 (all-in) arcade stick, $15 stickers, and a $50 stool, they made the shell of a cabinet that any console can be placed inside of.

The creator, SIN Tchan of Paris, has created a step by step set of instructions to follow, and outside of drilling a few holes it doesn't sound all that complicated. If I ever clear up more space it's something I'd easily try out, especially with a form factor PC.

The Arcademicke [IKEA Hackers]

I would totally rock this IKEA arcade cabinet screenshot

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It's surprisingly difficult to guess wikiHow articles based on header images

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 05:30 AM PDT

In principle, wikiHow is a great resource. Everyday people can use it to learn new skills. We can educate ourselves on basic ideas without the embarrassment of publicly admitting we don't already know them.

In practice, it makes for some weird articles. There are those aimed at sociopaths like How to Express Love. There are those aimed at people with a loose grip on reality like How to Cast a Love Spell. There are even some tailor-made for Destructoid employees who have to interact with Steven Hansen like How to Be Okay with Having a Communist Friend. But the one thing all wikiHow articles seem to have in common is the often-bizarre cartoon images that come as accompaniment.

Now there's a game to test users on whether those images make any sense out of context. (Spoiler: they usually don't.) damn.dog presents a wikiHow image along with four real wikiHow article titles to choose from. Matching image to article isn't exactly a cakewalk; I'm averaging about 75% correct after a couple dozen tries.

It's surprisingly difficult to guess wikiHow articles based on header images screenshot

Review: Stranger of Sword City

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 05:00 AM PDT

I've always believed I could get into any video game genre if I could just find the right title to introduce me. After years of trying to get into farming simulators, Rune Factory 4 finally made the genre click with me. For monster catchers, it was Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2. For flight sims, it was Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces. Just one title, one game, and I can suddenly and completely be into a style of game I never thought I could like.

This month, Stranger of Sword City became the game that got me into the turn-based dungeon crawler.

Review: Stranger of Sword City screenshot

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EA teases Titanfall 2 with a short clip, reveal coming right before E3

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 04:30 AM PDT

Respawn Entertainment is still hard at work on Titanfall 2, and today, EA provided a quick teaser for the game, complete with some potential footage and a promise of a "worldwide reveal on Sunday, June 12." E3 is is technically June 14-16, but EA has opted to do its own event that's sideloaded into the festivities on the aforementioned date.

This time around Titanfall will see life on PlayStation platforms, which is just as well given how much Sony is shelling out for other games. Whether this will have yet another timed exclusive DLC deal is yet to be determined.

EA teases Titanfall 2 with a short clip, reveal coming right before E3 screenshot

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Severed is launching on PS Vita April 26

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 04:15 AM PDT

In the two years since we first got eyes on DrinkBox Studios' latest project Severed, it has kept a fairly low profile. Originally scheduled to release last summer, it got pushed back to 2016, and we haven't heard much about it in the meantime. Today, DrinkBox announced the release date: April 26.

In about two weeks, PlayStation Vita users will finally get to play what may be one of the last great games for Sony's neglected handheld. After this, we can cut off the Vita's arms and legs, since it won't be needing them any more.

Severed is launching on PS Vita April 26 screenshot

Conan O'Brien visiting a Korean gaming cafe is just as fun as it sounds

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 04:00 AM PDT

Conan O'Brien was visiting Korea recently as part of his late night show, and he decided to stop into a gaming cafe (not so much "LAN," as in, "local" cafe these days) while he was there. With the help of a native gamer, he springs his usual antics on us by way of StarCraft and Sudden Attack, which the guy in the clip calls "Korean Counter-Strike."

It's basically set up as a funny bit, having the player log into the Nexon portal to play Sudden Attack, but it's a pretty accurate depiction of our current "gaming as a service" culture.

Conan O'Brien visiting a Korean gaming cafe is just as fun as it sounds screenshot

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MMO News


The Last Frontier

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 04:24 PM PDT

The post The Last Frontier appeared first on MMOHuts.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained Open Beta Review

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 01:18 PM PDT

The tower defense genre is not, and has not been for a while, restricted to simplistic flash games. Back in the day I am sure we all spent countless hours playing games such as Bloons Tower Defense, but this genre has come a long way since then. We are seeing more and more first person 3D tower defense games with their own unique twists every year. Dungeon Defenders and Orcs Must Die! have been the two that have stood out from the list of 3D tower defense games. Both of these games put you in the shoes of a hero that must balance actively fighting off waves of enemies while micromanaging a tactical series of tower defense traps to protect their objectives. Orcs Must Die! Unchained takes it even further by adding additional elements found in MOBA games to the mix. Read on for my review of Orcs Must Die! Unchained, now in open beta after years of closed beta testing!

Orcs Must Die! Unchained builds off the basics of previous installments in the offline series as well as their rival, Dungeon Defenders. You must stop waves of enemy minions from attacking your core (or in this case, your relic). How you do this is completely up to you. Most maps are divided into several lanes where minions march towards your relic. Depending on your hero, and in this case your deck, you may setup various traps, turrets, and buildings to slow down and defeat waves of enemies. It would be boring, and often impossible, to just sit back and watch your defenses do the job; this is where your hero's MOBA abilities come into play. Using your basic attacks, passive traits, and active abilities, you can jump between the lanes defeating waves of minions. That's all there is to the game and this genre in general.

 

The tutorials do a great job of introducing new players to the game.

It would be quite boring if the latest installment of the game simply stuck to the gameplay described above. We don't need yet another game like this when a DLC for the previous installments should suffice. However, Orcs Must Die! Unchained portrays itself more like a MOBA with multiple game modes rather than as a simple VS AI tower defense game. To begin, the game is always online and you must sign in with your Orcs Must Die account. This system has pros and cons but ultimately it lets you play online with others with ease and not have to rely on having a group ready to go before playing the game.

Once you have logged in, you are greeted with a basic lobby which acts as the main hub of the game. I was disappointed to find the settings menus very basic and even be limited to a measly 1366 by 768 pixels resolution. This is 2016, 1920 by 1080 should be the minimum resolution for a game such as this. It is important to note that the lobby and game are separate, so it may just be the lobby that is limited to this resolution. And no, being in open beta does not excuse the game from having poor resolution and other graphical options. After you have gotten over this downfall, we can move onto the game's other menus such as the store and workshop.

 

Barricades are a great way to force enemy minions into your traps.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained uses a hero system found in various ARTS/MOBA where you must unlock heroes before you can play them. These heroes, all with unique abilities and attacks, can be bought with real money or crafted using materials found simply by playing the game. Anyone that has read my previous articles will know that I hate systems which force you to unlock classes or heroes before you can access them as it results in an imbalanced playing field before the game has even begun. Well, what can you do… let's just be thankful that heroes are also craftable for free.

No matter which hero you select, your goal is still the same: stop enemy minions from destroying your relic. However, your role in achieving this goal can differ depending on your choice of hero. You may be jumping into the fray of battle, staying back and casting spells, or even helping your team stay alive. I personally like to stay back and deal damage at a distance that lets me see the overall flow of battle.

 

Setting up traps is as easy as selecting the trap and clicking where you want it.

Simply being able to select a hero with predetermined abilities would not be very interesting. This is where the deck system comes into play. You can make multiple decks with various cards, granted you possess them, in categories such as minions, traps, gear, and guardians. The deck system is quite interesting and lets you build a deck suiting your playstyle.

After finalizing your deck and selecting a hero, you can jump right into either the Siege or Survival game modes. Survival is a PvE (player versus environment) game mode that is identical to the traditional tower defense games. You and your team must fight off waves of enemies using your hero and custom deck. If you have played any of the previous installments of Orcs Must Die!, this game mode is nothing new, but it is still nice to have this around for fans of the genre that want to experience it with a few friends. Siege is a new game mode introduced to the game which pits five heroes against five heroes working towards getting their minions to the enemy relic. However, unlike a traditional MOBA, waves of minions do not mindlessly march towards the enemy base. Instead, you must setup various portals with your cards to summon minion waves.

 

There are a good number of cards available for players to make their own unique decks.

Depending on your deck, every lane may have different minions. This system keeps the game interesting as you are not stuck seeing the same boring minions everywhere. You can setup your minion waves to suit your playstyle. The functionality found in Survival is still present in Siege; you can still setup traps and barricades. Barricades and traps only affect minions but Guardians (think towers from MOBA games) will still attack heroes when all nearby minions have been defeated. Overall, this game mode is quite interesting and is a nice mix of tower defense with the MOBA genre. While it is true that we are seeing more and more MOBAs nowadays, it is nice to see Orcs Must Die! Unchained at least include its own unique twists such as tower defense and being able to summon your own custom minion waves.

Conclusion: Good

In conclusion, Orcs Must Die! Unchained did a great job mixing the tower defense and MOBA genres. When I first started up the game, I did not expect to find MOBA elements in this tower defense game. There are so many MOBA games on the market now but not many set themselves apart from the competition and simply try to copy the success of Dota 2 and League of Legends. This game does a good job offering something unique and interesting.

 

The game’s controls feel great.

There is a lot of negativity around the game's cash shop and choice of publisher. This is sad to see as the game plays quite well, and I would hate to see yet another potentially great game ruined due to greed and poor monetization decisions. If the game can stick to cosmetic or balanced items being offered to players, the game can do great. However, the greedy route of selling consumables such as potions, locked heroes, and cards will bring bad days to the game. Open beta is very close to release in most cases so it would be surprising to see major changes, but it is not impossible for developers to listen to their community.

The Steam reviews have either greatly negative or greatly positive reviews. However when reading through the bulk of negative reviews, the focus is on the cash shop far more often than gameplay elements. This shows that the gameplay has great potential if it was not for the imbalanced cash shop. Let us hope that this game can stay afloat without taking the greedy route.

The post Orcs Must Die! Unchained Open Beta Review appeared first on MMOHuts.

Nosgoth Shutting Down May 31

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 12:50 PM PDT

A post on the main blog for Nosgoth has confirmed that the Legacy of Kain MOBA will be ceasing development, shutting down its servers on May 31.

Any purchases made since March 1 will be automatically refunded to players. Future content and leagues are also cancelled, with the exception of the Nosgoth Open Beta Cup Series, which will continue through April.

Psyonix addresses any player concerns in this FAQ.

The post Nosgoth Shutting Down May 31 appeared first on MMOHuts.

Escape From Tarkov Reveals Skill System

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 12:24 PM PDT

Battlestate games, developers of Escape from Tarkov, have revealed new details about the game's in-game skill system, skill upgrades and skills' influence on gameplay.


Escape from Tarkov features five skill categories, and each skill upgrade is repetition-based: the more a character performs a certain action – the better he becomes at it. In short, a player’s actions directly influence their character by upgrading the most essential and frequently used skills.

The skill system in Escape from Tarkov is designed to be a bit different from everything what you may have seen so far in the majority of RPG projects, and moreover, it is designed so that it does not interfere with the core gameplay.

In the skills interface, each skill icon features a small colored letter – and all of them have their own meaning. The digits at the bottom of a skill icon reflect skill level and progress.
So how does a skill upgrade occur? It's fairly simple – skill upgrades are repetition-based, and, by performing any action, you are gradually upgrading the respective skill or skills, thus making consecutive performance better, quicker and more accurate. As a result, your character will only improve in the skills that you use during gameplay. Additionally, on every experience level gained, you will be granted an opportunity to level up one skill at your own discretion.

In Escape from Tarkov, you not only improve your skills, but you can "forget them." If the player does not make use of a certain skill, it will eventually lose levels. Skills can't, however, be forgotten absolutely; unused skills are rolled back/forgotten to a predetermined minimum level, and, the player can level them back up to where they were by simply making use of them. The skills system is also designed so that a skill weakened by dis-use can return to the "forgotten" level more quickly than if you were first learning it.

After reaching a particularly high skill level, an "elite" skill level is unlocked, which features various bonus perks – which are, of course, very helpful.

Learn more about these skills here.

The post Escape From Tarkov Reveals Skill System appeared first on MMOHuts.

Total War: Warhammer Available to Play at PAX East

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 11:38 AM PDT

SEGA® Europe Ltd. is announcing to its fans and followers to get their bags packed and head to PAX East taking place in Beantown (Boston), April 22-24, 2016 as SEGA® and Creative Assembly will be offering public hands-on opportunities with two new extraordinary Quest Battles for the soon to be launching Total War™: WARHAMMER®.

The game will be playable at booth #8109, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10AM – 6PM. The booth will also be outfitted with key team members from Creative Assembly aiding you in, hopefully, victorious combat. They will also be giving presentations showing exclusive new campaign and battle content, along with daily live contests offering fans the chance to play live on stage and win some fantastic prizes.

The playable battles will be:

  • 'The Amulet of Sea Gold' – Balthazar Gelt, Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic, leads his men beneath the rough stone lintel of the ancient barrow mound. He feels the shadows crowd in upon him. Creeping despair writhes the hearts of the warriors as they descend. While this is not necessarily an evil place, it is a place of death; the spirits within resent the presence of the living. Gelt has fought the Undead before; he looks to the men, demands valor and then begins to channel the Winds of Magic.
  • 'Sword of Unholy Power' – In the south of the Badlands at the southern edge of the Old World lies a bleak desert and piercing up into the sky is the Pillar of Bone, an ancient arcane fulcrum revered by the Greenskins who live near it. A massive Greenskin slaughter has transpired near this sacred place providing the right condition for the Undead Count to bind the necromantic energy into an artefact. However, he must destroy this Goblin Shaman and his underlings before any Greenskin reinforcements arrive!

The post Total War: Warhammer Available to Play at PAX East appeared first on MMOHuts.

Tom Clancy’s The Division Update 1.1 Trailer

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 11:05 AM PDT

Tom Clancy’s The Division Update 1.1: Incursion launches April 12, bringing with it the new Falcon Lost incursion and more.

The post Tom Clancy’s The Division Update 1.1 Trailer appeared first on MMOHuts.

Smite Pandamonium Odin Skin Preview

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 10:44 AM PDT

We’re not sure why it exists, but Smite showcases its new Pandamonium Odin skin, available in the Escape from the Underworld patch.

The post Smite Pandamonium Odin Skin Preview appeared first on MMOHuts.

Destiny: The Taken King April Update Preview

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 10:36 AM PDT

Bungie takes a look at the new challenges, rewards, and changes coming to Destiny: The Taken King in the April 12 update.

The post Destiny: The Taken King April Update Preview appeared first on MMOHuts.

Mirage: Arcane Warfare Community Diary 2 (Characters)

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 10:18 AM PDT

Torn Banner takes a closer look at the characters in Mirage: Arcane Warfare.

The post Mirage: Arcane Warfare Community Diary 2 (Characters) appeared first on MMOHuts.

Livelock Catalyst Reveal Trailer

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 09:44 AM PDT

Livelock reveals its third playable character: Catalyst. Catalyst is a loyal team member focused on command and support.

The post Livelock Catalyst Reveal Trailer appeared first on MMOHuts.

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MMORPG News


General: Side-Scrolling MMO StarBreak Headed to Steam

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 07:23 AM PDT

Crunchy Games has announced that its side-scrolling action MMO called StarBreak will be heading to Steam and will be available beginning May 10th. StarBreak is considered a skill-based action platformer based in an alien-infested world. You can check out the trailer below that also sports a fair bit of gameplay as well. Leave us your thoughts in the comments.

ARK: Survival Evolved: Survival of the Fittest Arrives on SteamOS, Mac & Linux

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 07:16 AM PDT

Mac, Linux and SteamOS users will be happy to hear that ARK: Survival of the Fittest is now available and features seamless online cross play regardless of platform. Survival of the Fittest is free to all players who can seek glory in the Survivor League.

Final Fantasy XV: Game Director Muses on PC Release

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 07:13 AM PDT

Nova Crystallis is featuring a video interview translation from the original French version with JeuxVideo. In it, Final Fantasy XV Game Director Hajime Tabata discusses the game's development and the possibility of a PC release.

Black Desert Online: Is 400,000 Units Sold Significant?

Posted: 10 Apr 2016 04:16 PM PDT

The announcement by Daum that Black Desert Online had sold 400,000 copies was quite a surprise. Not because I wasn't expecting some sort of announcement but because the figure struck me as particularly low. For what could be argued as the last AAA title for some time and one that - seemingly - has been anticipated for an age, it's odd to think it's had sales of less than half a million.

General: Diablo 2 Remade with Starcraft II Engine

Posted: 11 Apr 2016 02:33 AM PDT

A new video by user "Egod" has popped up on YouTube with alpha footage of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction remade using the Starcraft II tools. The mod will be hosted via Battle.Net and will be free to Starcraft II players. The video shows off alpha footage from "The Curse of Tristram: Destruction's End" that is set to go into its earliest testing phase later this year.

General: Erectus the Game Beta Giveaway!

Posted: 10 Apr 2016 11:49 PM PDT

MMORPG.com has been given beta access keys for Erectus the Game, named after the main enemy present in-game, is a free-to-play strategy-focused empire builder MMO. Get your key now!

Elsword: Elysion Continent Opens For Business

Posted: 10 Apr 2016 04:05 AM PDT

Elsword players have much to look forward to with the opening of the new Elysion continent. There are new quests, monsters, a level cap increase and many events running to celebrate the opening.

General: Plays.tv: 10 Million Monthly Active Users

Posted: 10 Apr 2016 04:01 AM PDT

Plays.tv has announced some impressive statistics regarding the growth of its streaming and video platform. Among other things, there are 10 million monthly active users, 4 million active content producers and 1.6 billion minutes of video recorded per month.

Dragon Nest: Silver Hunter Previewed For NA Version

Posted: 10 Apr 2016 03:43 AM PDT

The North American version of Dragon Nest will be updating later this week and most notably includes a new Hero class, the Silver Hunter. The Silver Hunter will be only available for a limited time and she will begin her journey at level 50, after receiving a box of goods to help her get started.
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