Pixel Street Podcast Episode 51- Reggie retires from Nintendo and Xbox Game Pass may come to Switch

 

This week we will be discussing Reggie from Nintendo retiring, Apex Loot Boxes, and Xbox Game Pass coming to Switch rumors.

Check it out on the Pixel Street Podcast Facebook page HERE.

Joel Campos: Twitter: @campos63, Youtube: AlmostRandom, Mixer: Campos63.

John Hansen: Twitter: @REVXSHADOWS, Youtube: REV X SHADOWS, Mixer: REV_X_SHADOWS.

Read more: Episode 49

Read more: Episode 50

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Complete Bard’s Tale Trilogy now available

 

The release of The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate has just been announced by inXile Entertainment in collaboration with Krome Studios. This release completes the remastered Bard’s Tale Trilogy.

Bard’s Tale III will give players the ability to import their parties across all three titles. It will also feature the release of Legacy Mode. This will allow players to teleport back in time for a 1980’s era style of gameplay.

Players can now fully experience the events leading up to Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep, as well as The Mage’s Tale. This seamless and unique experience even allows players the option of playing as a female for the first time across all three titles.

The complete and remastered Bard’s Tale Trilogy is available on Steam for PC.

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Pokemon Direct Coming February 27th 6am PT

 

Nintendo has announced on Twitter today that they will be holding a Pokemon Direct tomorrow morning at 6am PT. You can watch the Direct on their website: https://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct/02-27-2019/.

While the contents of this roughly 7 minute Direct are still unknown, many are beginning to speculate that we may get a glimpse of what the next iteration of Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch will be. Generation 8 Pokemon are right around the corner and tomorrow’s Direct would be a great opportunity to introduce us to the future of Pokemon.

Tune in on 2/27 at 6am PT for roughly 7 minutes of new information in a livestreamed #Pokemon Direct presentation!https://t.co/d1Xx3bDbhq pic.twitter.com/BEwvJi8BFi

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 26, 2019

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Deck of Ashes hits Early Access this April

 

I love a good card game. I don’t think cards are used properly as a mechanic in videogames enough and I think there are a couple of really good reasons for this. The CCG/TCG genre is starting to get a bit bloated. The reason for this is that for every MTG, Hearthstone or Eternal, there are a million and one clones. There aren’t enough people thinking completely outside the box and this is putting gamers off a bit. The other big reason is that many card based games are found in the realm of FTP and this comes with all the nightmares of enormous pay walls, silly energy limits and more clones. Seriously; way too many clones.

I can understand, therefore, why devs wouldn’t want their games to carry a stigma or just get muddled in with the crowd. What we need are groups of devs just going, “Screw it, let’s do something different.” That mentality goes a hell of a long way and some really good things can be accomplished. I’m hoping that this will be the case with Deck of Ashes, a new story-driven, rogue-lite RPG heading to Steam Early Access in April.

In true rogue-lite fashion, Deck of Ashes isn’t going to make our lives easy. You will find yourself battling your way through a grim fantasy world. As you go, you’ll be hunting for cards for your deck. These cards may represent combat cards, supplies or a series of other resources, all while facing off against an ever more challenging succession of the cursed land’s most powerful beasts. You will also choose a champion, each of which has their own powerful deck to master. You will outfit that deck with a series of powerful antiheroes to back them up.

All you need to do is build a powerful enough deck and go on to beat the Ash Curse and win the game. Easy, right? Right! Did I just mention you only get one life? Yeah, being killed isn’t going to be giving you another try; you’ll be starting from scratch. Making this game even more interesting is that it’s procedurally generated. Don’t expect the same run twice, you won’t get it. You’ll need to use guile and skill to complete Path of Ashes, simply having a good memory for level layouts won’t cut it.

I really hope we’ll be seeing something here that will do something positive for the CCG/strategy genre. Some of the bad press it receives is warranted, but certainly not all. A bit of new blood might be all it takes to add something fabulous. The fact that this is an RPG and not just another PVP card arena may also be a great thing. Just because you’re using cards doesn’t mean you can’t tell a good story.

As I’ve already stated, Deck of Ashes is due to hit Early Access in April. Full release is planned for later this year, should you want to skip to the complete game. Personally, I think this one may well need a closer look. I hope that some of you will be with me.

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REVIEW / Glass Masquerade (PS4)

 

Something that we often seem to forget as gamers is that a game doesn’t need to be an over-complicated opus to be good. We concentrate so hard now on games with huge story-lines, massive, open worlds and hours of gameplay that we forget that simple can be just as effective. Simple is definitely the case with regard to today’s review, Onyx Lute’s Glass Masquerade for the PS4. We just have to remember that simple, when it’s done well, is a beautiful thing.

 

 

Glass Masquerade is a jig-saw puzzling game that sees us examining and re-building clock faces from a series of glass shards. We are taken all over the globe and are given a clock in each country we visit. That’s it. There isn’t really any particular story to this title, just you and the clocks. You know what? I’m absolutely fine with this and for the most part I enjoyed this title immensely.

So Glass Masquerade invites you to the Interational Times Exhibition. Considering this is a global affair they really need to get less careless staff members because there are an awful lot of broken clocks. Each level gives you a clock which has it’s face missing. Around the edge of the screen is two wheels which contain a series of fragments which appear as silhouettes. All you need to do it put these piece back together to make up the face as create an image. The concept makes for really good fun and a very addictive game. The addictive nature of Glass Masquerade is actually part of it’s problem. I’ll explain why shortly.

 

 

Before I go into any negatives, and there really aren’t that many I want to say something about the look and feel of this title. First off the artwork is absolutely gorgeous. The stained-glass images that you’re piecing together are absolutely stunning and you get a real sense of achievement from completing each clock. Not just because you’ve solved the puzzle, but because you’ve created something really beautiful in doing so.

The musical score playing along as you move through the levels is really relaxing and soothing. It won’t win any medals but it does the job it needs to do. I never really notice videogame music and the fact that it’s stuck out as being something of note is an achievement in itself. Lastly, a little note on the controls. They are about as simple as you can get. You pick pieces from the wheel and drop them where you think they need to be. It’s not rocket science, so there really shouldn’t have been any issues here, and there aren’t. All in all, look and feel-wise this a a really good job very well done.

 

Each complete level opens up new countries for you to visit

 

So if the game plays great, looks great and sounds great there can’t really be any negatives right? Well aesthetically there absolutely aren’t. The problem this title has is that it’s way too easy. Each piece rotates to the direction it needs to be placed when you pick it up so it’s just a matter of dropping it where it needs to be. As with every jig-saw the levels get easier the more you progress and this means that you’ll shoot through them relatively quickly.

Each clock is graded by difficulty but I didn’t really noticed that one was massively harder than another. The only real difference of note was that harder clocks had more pieces. This makes sense but there wasn’t enough of a difference to stand out. You might be talking a difference of one level having thirty pieces and another having fifty. That twenty piece difference just made the level last bit longer but didn’t seem to make Glass Masquerade any harder.

 

 

Making an already easy game easier is that you are given starting pieces. The game tells you where to begin and lets you go from there. Incidentally these hints can be turned off which will make the game a bit trickier but I’m not sure whether it will make enough of a difference to add any real longevity to this title. I finished Glass Masquerade with a platinum in roughly three hours. As a puzzle fan I would have wanted a fair bit more because I was really enjoying myself. I have no issue spending an hour on one level if the difficulty demands it. That’s part of the fun of puzzling. It also felt like a bit of a cheap way of getting a plat. I’m not complaining though, it’s my first one, thank you very much devs.

You can look at this game in one of two ways. If you look at it as an experience, as a journey in art, I think you’ll get a lot out of it. As I’ve mentioned, on an aesthetic level this game is stunning and each of those clock faces is a work of art. If you’re only playing this game as a puzzler I think you’ll end up feeling a bit cheated. The other point to be made here is that Glass Masquerade isn’t a cheap title. Asking nearly £10.00 for the privilege of owning a copy is a bit steep for what you’re getting for your money. You can find other titles in the PS Store that will cost less and give you a lot more playtime.

 

 

If Glass Masquerade was longer, more difficult or less expensive I’d be giving it a ten out of ten. Sadly for the reasons I’ve mentioned it’s going to be losing a few points. This is a shame because in essence this is a brilliant game. If you’re willing to get a copy based on my opinion you’ll love this title, just don’t expect miracles if you’re looking for value for money.

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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PREVIEW / Smith and Winston (PC)

 

I absolutely love a good shooter. When these games are done right they can make for some really frantic fun, they also tend to be found in the bullet hell category of gaming so they tend to be fiendishly difficult. Whenever I see a new entry to the genre pop up on the market I usually want to give it a go and see if it’s going into my favorites box. In the case of Smith and Winston, the game we’ll be previewing today I have some really mixed views and I’m obviously going to be telling you why.

 

 

Smith and Winston is a game that should be right up my alley. This particular shooter is going for a really retro, pixelated vibe and that’s something I’m instantly down with. Secondly the environment is completely destructible and for this type of game that’s a plus; so another tick there. Lastly the game is exploratory and full of humor. What’s not to love right? Well this is currently, (remember the game isn’t finished yet,) a case of a brilliant idea with slightly off execution.

As always let’s start with what this game is doing right. To begin with there is a definite nod to retro gaming in Smith and Winston. The blocky, pixellated look this title is going for is very reminiscent of a lot of games I played in my youth and I always love a bit of a trip down memory lane. As for the controls, everything felt smooth and easy to navigate on my gamepad. This was hampered by something I’ll mention shortly but the actually button-mapping and everything was fine. The music is also pacey and has a retro vibe to it which is very fitting. So look and feel wise, we’re definitely winning from the off.

 

 

There is a certain amount of humor present in Smith and Winston and your ship – named Shippy, naturally – is the source of a lot of this. She’s funny and her lines are well written but her voice gets really annoying after a bit. I completely get trying to make an AI sound robotic but what we have here is something more akin to a dodgy answering machine message. You know that hideous put together voice you get when someone accidentally texts your landline? Yeah it’s like that. I can’t work out whether this has been done for comic effect or not. It’s also the only voice I’ve come across in the game thus far so I’ve got nothing to compare it to. On account of this the jury is kind of out for me on this one.

The biggest problem with Smith and Winston, for me at least, is that it doesn’t quite feel like it knows what it wants to be. In the arcade mode, currently the only mode present, you crash land on a world of floating islands connected by a series of strange portals. It’s also happens to be full of hostile beasties wanting to end you. So this is the perfect basis for an exploration/action game. The issue is that any one of those beasties can kill you with a single hit and you only get three lives per run. This ramps up the difficulty to a point where exploration feels like something that would be fun if only you weren’t dying all the time. To add to this the enemies respawn every time you die. I totally get this happening if you’re using a continue but each time you lose a life is just frustrating.

 

 

On the subject of enemies … I clicked on a button for “beta test.” This let me have a bit of fun blasting a boss to bits. Oddly, the boss wasn’t actually that difficult, however, to get to him you needed to hit some switches. These switches were obviously guarded and I got ganked a bunch of times by minions before I even really started the battle. This wouldn’t normally bother me but for the respawning I’ve just mentioned. I love a good boss battle so this was actually something really nice to find.

On the subject of exploration. There are lots of little sub-islands and other areas that you are ported to as you progress on your journey. This is great for collectible hunters and some of these areas have mini-puzzles waiting for you which adds a degree of variety. There are quite a few collectables scattered about that you get to keep between games so for players that want to see everything this is definitely a plus and something the game is doing well.

 

 

As previously mentioned this is a game of destructible environments and, again, this is great in essence. This issue here is that this doesn’t seem to serve any huge purpose at the game’s current stage. Granted, there are objects hidden in walls and certain portals are masked by blocks but it doesn’t feel like an integral part of the game yet. If this is a core mechanic (which it is), you shouldn’t be able to progress without mastering it and it should feel like part of the fabric of everything you’re doing.

If it purely comes down to shooting a wall to find a door or pick something up it stops being a totally necessary part of the game. This may be simplifying things a wee bit but I did spend a lot of time thinking, “why am I bothering shooting random trees?” If you’re wondering why you’re bothering doing anything in a game then there is something amiss.

 

 

The biggest problem for me currently, and this is something I expect to be remedied, is the frame rate drops. You go from feeling like you’re wading through mud and firing at the speed of a geriatric snail to running around like an idiot. As this isn’t just you, it’s every projectile being fired by everything trying to kill you. You never quite know where you stand. Bullets go from being fairly easy to dodge to rocketing  towards your face and back again in seconds. This does nothing for the experience. I’m not going too hard on this for two reasons. The first is that as I’ve mentioned it could be something they’re already working on fixing, alternatively it could just be my computer and that’s nobodies fault.

I’d love to tell you I got miles into the game but it decided to forget I had a save file and pushed me right back to the beginning. I have to admit for reasons mentioned I wasn’t screaming to start over and get back to the point I left off so after another shortish go I put my pad down and pen to paper so to speak. One thing I will say is that I found a bunch of stuff I’d missed the first time round on my second go and this is brilliant.

 

 

For now too much of Smith and Winston is unknown and I think this comes down to the current lack of a story mode being present. Personally it would have made sense to me to get this out first so we could see what difference the Arcade mode brought us later. Although the game is definitely there, there isn’t currently enough glueing everything together to make it feel truly playable. This totally comes back to it’s unfinished nature. I think it’s worth saying that there is definitely promise here but until the lag is balanced and a proper story built it’s a game that’s fun to play about in as opposed to being a game that’s fun to play. It’ll be interesting to see what happens as everything is completed and Smith and Winston comes to launch. For now, there is still a lot of work to be done, I feel, before everything is good to go.

 

 

 

This preview is based on an early access copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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REVIEW / While True: Learn() (PC)

 

While True: Learn() will definitely pique the interest and curiosity of programmers, math connoisseurs and puzzle-peeps. Created by Luden.io, an independent gaming developer that strives to create meaningful and educational games. While True: Learn() does live up to that motto, with a focus on using actual machine learning techniques when puzzling together positive work-flow patterns of neural networks. The game also blends a historical depiction of machine programming/learning into the story line, along with encouraged learning along the way.

 

 

You begin the game as a freelance programmer taking on jobs (and whatever else may hit your inbox) toward building on your current skills. There is an end result to achieve through the learning and developing of programming methods. This is to eventually build a computer program that will allow you to understand your cat. See, your cat is smarter than you. Your cat already holds much program skill. Your cat already wins. So, in the process of creating this machine based learning program, you work with various pre-programmed blocks in order to transport them to their destination.

 

Gameplay

While True: Learn() is a great game to begin the processes of learning to “Block Code” through simplistic click-and-drop gaming mechanics. Without the need for any form of programming knowledge. Because, the game definitely puts the player in the problem-solving mindset of a programmer. You begin the game by being presented with a play-tutorial that explains the raw basics, a how to turn on the computer 101. This might seem mundane to some, for others it explains the basic workings of computer systems operation. All while showing you the foundations of how the game works.

You then begin the process of working with nodes to program your objectives into action; “visual programming.” The level of programming/puzzle difficulty increases as you progress along the ‘task tree.’ With other freelance objectives hitting your email along the way. Now, here is where I found things starting to be a little…cloggy. Along the task tree there are also horizontal branches that are optional to complete, with the icon colors standing for different types of machine learning techs to be used in retrospective tasks (I am still yet to figure out these colors). You click on the colored icon to open an objective window, here there is several sections of information with ‘jobs’, ‘start-up’, and ‘private’ listed at the top.

 

Tutorial

There is little explanation for these at the beginning of the game. Your first task is begun and finished, with no detail into all of the information presented on screen, at all. Once the task is completed you return to the ‘task tree’ where there is a percentage offering listed at the top of the screen. Again, no information is provided on what this is or how to better the percentage, if that is at all possible. After playing through, I did learn that this information does get better explained a little down the line. But my silly, nosy little mind does like the option to understand as much as possible in the lead up to the game.

For me, the tutorial gets all of the “admin” out of the way so the rest of the game can be enjoyed. Not having this stuff explained early on, it did leave me to second guess some moments. I couldn’t help by think that I had missed some valuable piece of information somewhere. This was simply due to the fact that there was still so much screen clutter that I didn’t know about or what it meant. Do I have to do something with this? Is the reason this level is dominating me, because I don’t know what this is? 

 

 

Now, did this end up altering my ability to progress further? No. It did just annoy me a lot and cause me to second guess everything I was doing…for a level or five. This same lack of immediate information cannot be said of that provided for the programming/computer terminology throughout the game.

For the game itself, you must transport the information [element] to its desired destination [output stream]. You do this by communicating each element through output parameters [sockets] via nodes. There are many varied node formations that can be used, created, and customised. Decoding (you like that one?) which nodes to use and where to place them, that’s the overall objective. Some of these tasks are a breeze. Others will leave you banging your brain against the keyboard. And be prepared for your progress to impact your outcome. Yep, how you play can alter your games ending, with multiple end results available depending on how you progress.

 

Encouraged Learning

Each new progression throughout the game, presents you with new programming terminology to work with. This gives the game have more of a click-and-stop vibe as you pause and take in the new information. The term or technology is explained in two forms (in-game and in the real world) and in layman’s terms, no code-fluff. At the bottom of these pop-ups is further links, to the games Discord as well as to YouTube videos on the topic/terms and weblinks.

This community integration and encouragement really does open up alternated avenues for learning more on what is being discusses in-game. I found this aspect to be truly unique and interesting. The above mentioned Luden.io  intention of providing games that are educational becomes clearer with the focus being on the explanation of new programming concepts. Rather than my desire for all screen-deets to be mapped-out, radar-ed, info-linked and in the tutorial [noob].

 

LolCats

For those who don’t know…actually, of course you know what LolCats are. Anyway, the game incorporates this style of “language” in emails and other text info’s. I think this is done for humor, for the most part, maybe just because it’s cats. Yet, for someone who’s brain struggles enough with basic multiplication, decoding cat-speak every other level had me skimming and giving up.

There’s some definite tongue-in-cheek humor spliced gently within the game, like the ‘Deep News’ newspaper, but it really goes all in on LolCats. I didn’t mind so much the first few times, I get the light humor, but LolCats on the regular ruined the joke for me. As a result, I did end up missing an important bit of info by skipping over the Lol-text and had to go back a few levels to see what I had missed. If yoos can redz ze wordz of ze catz; well, you’re a more patient human than I [*tilts hat*].

 

The grapple-things

One of the things I did come to grapple with, and really didn’t like that I discovered, is the upgrades and custom/DLL nodes work around.  Basically, you can use custom nodes that you’ve created at earlier intervals in the game. These eliminate some of the potential, basic node repetition. So, when you use a DLL/custom node they reduce the processing time of the element [information]. Then, by using these custom nodes, you can almost certainly eliminate much of the time factor. So, basically, the second aspect to each level.  One aspect is to puzzle together the nodes to work effectively, the other is to have them work effectively within the allotted time frame. Using custom nodes takes away some of the brain mechanics you use in puzzling the nodes together, but also eliminates much of the time constraint too. It makes sense, but it also felt a little bit lazy and like I was “cheating” the game. Even though it is a perfectly workable process. On the flip-side of that, I did get in the habit of not using custom nodes. Well, unless I really-really had to.

 

The second grapple-thing, is the upgrades system.

As you move along, you can purchase upgrades to have nodes process faster. Much like the custom nodes work around, I found myself getting stuck at times and then just seeing if I was able to upgrade. The intensity of the upgrades ability remove so much of the learning and thinking aspect from the level, forced me to decide to not upgrade at all.

 

The final grapple-thing is the sound design.

Look, it just isn’t great. There is very little in terms of diversity. The monotonous repetitive loop-track did nothing more than encourage me to mute the in-game music. Aside from that, there isn’t much else to go off audibly. A few cat meows, some basic clicks and that’s about it.

 

Overall

I went into While True: Learn() with so much interest and excitement, that I was somewhat disappointed when a lot of the tutorial aspect was left lagging. Pair that with the DLL work-around and upgrade system, and there is definitely aspects that could use some prodding. I do feel that While True: Learn() is a great tool for those interested in code and puzzle-style play, especially the younger generation who are interested. And, those with a mathematical brain, and/or interest, are going to love it too.

For me, the positives outweighed the negatives and the game has a lot to offer in the diversity of each level. Every puzzle is just unique enough to the last to keep you focused on progression. The story, while sometimes clunky, does a good job of offering play information and technology information in a way that isn’t suffocating. While True: Learn() is a game I can see being played and discussed in classrooms; encouraging kids to learn (and play) with programming.

 

 

 

This is review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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Far Cry: New Dawn available now

 

Well, unless you’ve been having a very hard time trying to live under a post apocalyptic rock, you’ll have heard that Far Cry: New Dawn is among us. Developed for us all by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. This team collaboration has dropped bombs and delivered an epic narrative sequel to Far Cry 5.

Far Cry: New Dawn is a first person shooter, action adventure, set in the mad post-apocalyptic fictional Hope County, Montana. Seventeen years post world-wide nuclear devastation [FC5], the landscape is now an overrun “super-bloom” of plant hype. You arrive as the Captain, head of security for Thomas Rush, to gather survivors and help their aid against the Highwaymen. All while helping the survivors to improve their Homebase, aptly named, Prosperity.

The Twins

Along with the new retinal splendour of the landscape comes some fresh faces: the Twins, Mickey and Lou. Two ruthless ladies with a don’t care how attitude, who’ve come to know little more than their reality and the ill-starred swine who curb to them. With the community needing to be rebuilt in order to survive the threat of the Highwaymen and The Twins, an alliance is forged with New Eden – leftovers from Eden Gate. This poses new threats and dangers for the community of Prosperity, and the future hope of its survivors.

Same-same, but different

Far Cry: New Dawn poses new threats in a refreshed landscape. There are equally new characters, fresh faces, and also some familiar rehashings. These can be seen in the Guns for Hire [human survivors] and the Fangs for Hire [animals] systems from Far Cry 5. Also, the Hope County mapping system is a remodel from Far Cry 5. But with these hints of similarities you can expect from the series design blends come some features that will change up how you think you will play.

RPG / Weapons

Far Cry: New Dawn introduces new crafting elements and new weapons, as well as introducing RPG components. This new RPG aspect changes the complete play style from what you’ve come to know from Far Cry 5. To get further ahead in the game, time needs to be allocated to scavenging materials for weapons crafting. Scavenging means you can build up the defences of the base, to then craft better weapons, to then take out higher ranked enemies. Yep, there’s a ranking system. This brings about a real need to scavenge and locate new resources. As such, expedition [snatch-and-grab] missions have been introduced to help get you these resources, quickly.

Far Cry: New Dawn is available in the following editions:

• Standard Edition
• Deluxe Edition
• Complete Edition
• Ultimate Edition

Far Cry: New Dawn is available on Xbox One, Xbox One X, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC, and is rated M for Mature.

For more information head to farcry.com, Facebook, Twitter, or hashtag #FarCryNewDawn

Trailer

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REVIEW / Arcade Spirits (PC)

 

 Arcade Spirits is a text-based romance sim brought to us by Fiction Factory Games and published by PQube. Set in the year 20XX, it follows an alternate timeline where the 1983 video game crash never occurred. The game centers around Ari Cader, a lost little soul devoid of life’s purpose and spirit. Arcader, get it?

 

Gameplay

Ari is struggling to hold down a decent job. She moves to the city from the ‘burbs with her friend Juniper in hopes of them both living the dream and finding happiness. After a turbulent work history, you are granted employment at the Funplex, a popular arcade, home to a host of unique personalities and customers. After loosing yet another job, her optimistic and obnoxiously supportive roommate declares that Ari needs to seek new help toward finding her purpose, happiness, and dream job.

This help comes via the somewhat pushy phone app, IRIS. IRIS (Identity Identifier System, if you loose the R) analyses voice, tone, inflection, and word choice to help you to discover what you life is missing.  The app (eerily) accompanies you along your journey, listening to all conversations, reading every emotional tone and phrase, and provides you feedback along the way. Feedback is based upon your response selections, with each selection altering different responses, outcomes, and plot lines. The identity identifiers are appropriately, adequately, worded accordingly:

• Quirky – jokes, snark and sarcasm
• Steady – sincere, honest and logical
• Kindly – compassionate, empathetic, gentle
• Gusty – brash, bold, risk-taking, instinctive – blunt, confrontational, aggressive
• Basically – neutral response

Excuse me while I go take a bath to wash off all of those adverbs.

 

 

These identity indicators can be obvious (color and symbol coded) or hidden. I chose to see them. And, while I thought this might feel somewhat like cheating. There isn’t really any clear indicator that your choice is the “right” or “wrong” one until later in conversation, if at all. Along with these guidelines, IRIS will track vocal responses from those we speak to and provide you with relationship scores.  Your responses are stored toward your overall score and progression. Your score can then be referenced at different times.

Now, with all of the initial sequence focus on your goal being to find your dream job and inject infinite happiness to your spirit.  It was a little bit curious when the next scene involved IRIS locating your dream job at the local old-school arcade.  I suppose, the overall purpose of the game isn’t to find your dream job at all.  Perhaps it’s just how you keep your job and work with forming relationships? Or I may have missed the point here completely?

 

Character Customization

Something to mention is the character creation station.  This is a nice feature to see included in these character story line based games. Character development is a large factor in this game, so being able to have some control over your own from the start is a good asset for building that self inclusion in game.

For those of you who don’t know, these romance sims can be a bit…saucy. Like, pour on the gravy, kinda saucy. So, it was a nice touch to see that the level of love-ness could be altered.  You can have things simmered down or turned up to full boil, depending on what focus you choose. Your story can tackle love head-on, be open to it, or you can just focus on the task at hand. Either one you choose, having the option is a nice touch and gives back a little more control to play styles.

 

Visual/Audio Design

Arcade Spirits intertwines some nice gaming nostalgia. There’s subtle reference to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the 1982 Atari adventure game that became a cult classic for being dubbed the ‘worst video game of all time.’  An arcade game that reeks visually of Pac-Man, an acknowledgement to Dragons Lair, and a rip of arcade dance simulator stations.

This nod in the general direction of 80’s and arcade style gaming bleeds into the overall visual and audio aspects too. The artwork is awash with neon overtones, and each character’s representation is visually lavish.  There is detail and variety in scenes, which means you’re not bored with the same visual overkill. The neon hints and detailed backgrounds, paired with character visuals, provide you with plenty of visual snacks.

The audio soundtrack was surprisingly impressive.  Synthesized nostalgic beats and overall sound effects are well done. And work together to create an accurate atmosphere. Each character audio is also voiced individually. While not all text is spoken, the sections that are work well enough to draw you in and bring back your focus to what you’re reading.  

 

So Much Reading

Yep, there is a lot to read. Honorable mention to my pointer finger and its now suffering RSI. There were definitely moments where the mindless clicking became a little bore-some.  Even more times I would get lost in the clicking and then be faced with a need to interact, but had missed half of the conversation.  So, ‘point-and-click’ is an understatement here.

You’re clicking with the occasional need to make progressive story line decisions.  With this you will come across some responses that are seemingly obvious, and others that are spontaneous and out there. Others can be overly dull, but the overall need to pay attention to the storyline is imperative to how your story will develop and unfold.

This should be seemingly obvious for a visual novel game, reading, I mean.  Yes, it can seem monotonous at times, but that’s what you get when playing a visual novel…words…reading.  However, all of the reading really does help to hash-out a strong in-depth plot and story line. It is also attributes to Arcade Spirits truly great character development.

 

Character Development

Each character in Arcade Spirits comes with their own back story. Some are more mysterious than others, some come off mean and aggressive from the get-go. As you interact and engage more with each of them you can begin to see into who they are and why they are.

The writing is vast, as I’ve mentioned, but I came to see how relevant much of the language is. This is a playable novel, so you need to feel emotional attachment. On even a basic level, to want to progress further and achieve some form of end result. The outcome can all be altered depending on how you play the game, and which characters you chose to interact with. But the in-game language is necessary to achieving this, and I think the game pulls the emotional facet off well.

Smoochy Stuff

You are playing a romantic sim visual novel. So, there needs be some potential smooch-oids (people to kiss, I mean, the kissable).  Arcade Spirits provides you with seven romance-able characters.  Y’all get that? Sev-en. That’s seven possible story outcomes right there. Each of these seven have alternative stand-out personalities and range from aggressive pro-gamer QueenBee, to the more mellow arcade game fixer-upper Naomi.

Obviously, the interactions with each character can bring out varied moments of deeper impact.  I know I keep banging-on about that, but having played the game with a few different saves started and the alternated storylines are there, hunni. Having always been a fan of games that you can play over-and-over, it brings back some childhood feels.

 

Overall

I went into Arcade Spirits anticipating that I might receive a much less satisfying experience. There is a definite monotonous aspect to any physical “playing.” However, what I wasn’t expecting to find was such well put together character development and story line. By the end of the second level I was hooked. Too quick to judge and Pigeonholing this romantic sim as being nothing more than a sloppy virtual smooch-fest.

I was wrong.

There is just the right sprinkling of romance, story, engagement, and well put together visuals, to make Arcade Spirits one to check out.

 

 

 

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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Warhammer: Chaosbane cometh this June

 

We’ve seen a massive exploration into the Warhammer and Warhammer 40K worlds of late. If you know anything about Games Workshop‘s hit series I’ve a feeling you’ll have played at least something from one of these universes. I’m still playing Inquisitor: Martyr myself. That’s brilliant, by the way, and as a little self plug you can read the review Monique Sheldrake and I wrote together a few months back here. Martyr is, of course, adding to the ever growing list of recent games from the franchise including, the Total War series, Bloodbowl 2 and the latest iteration of Space Hulk, to name but a few. Further adding to this list is a new one set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world. It’s called Warhammer: Chaosbane and it’s coming to our screens this June. It’s also available for pre-order for those of you wanting to get in early.

Warhammer: Chaosbane is the first hack n’ slash style game to take place in the Warhammer world. You will be plunged into the Old World, a continent marked by the ravages of the Great War against Chaos. Here you will take the role of human, high elf, wood elf or dwarf and set out into iconic locations from the Warhammer Fantasy Battles universe.

You won’t have to face the tide of Chaos alone. You can go into battle both locally or online with upto four friends. If you want to stem the tide of Chaos you’ll have to work as a team in a game where co-operation and strategy are key to success. Each character offers their own distinct skills and gameplay allowing you to find the style that suits you. You will also be able to unleash Bloodlust, a unique mechanic to Chaosbane which allows each character to let loose a devastating power strong enough to alter the outcome of the battle.

As I’ve mentioned, Warhammer: Chaosbane is now available for preorder from the Xbox Store and for those PS4 fanatics at the PS Store here. You can also order from select high street retailers. The game will also be available on PC come release. The full release date for Warhammer: Chaosbane is planned for June 4th but those of you pre-ordering will be invited into two closed beta phases which are starting next month. You’ll also get an XP boost for the entirety of your character’s progression as well as a pack of four legendary crates.

The first beta phase begins in March and will be giving players an exclusive opportunity to discover the beginning of the campaign and test the different classes and their synergy in co-operative mode. If you happen to miss the March beta (and you shouldn’t, I’m telling you about it now), you’ll get another chance in the second session which will be this coming April. The exact dates and times for these haven’t been released yet but will be announced soon.

So there you have it. I’m really hoping this will be a nice new addition to what is already a pretty impressive library. The Warhammer worlds are so expansive, there is still loads more that can be done with them. If the game is good I’m sure we’ll see other new additions in the future. Sadly, we all know what can happen to a franchise if one of its titles isn’t. Fingers crossed this won’t be the case. My only early reservation is I’m seeing crates involved. If these are just contained things that we can all find in the game great; let’s hope they leave any purchasable loot box content out of the mix. Definitely one worth keeping an eye on for hack n’ slash fans out there.

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Claybook coming to Nintendo Switch

 

If you’re oddly satisfied by cold putty squelching through your hands, then you’ll probably be equally satisfied with Claybook.

Your role is to bring the Claybook to life. Playing as a kid, you will mold and shape the landscape to bring each chapter to life. Claybook squishes physics, puzzles and, you guessed it, clay, altogether within a virtual playground.

Gameplay

With each chapter a new obstacle and new puzzles to work with, using your clay surroundings. Everything within the landscape is workable. Clay can be dry or wet, manipulated in various ways towards solving each chapters puzzle. Various shapes each hold their own strengths and weaknesses too. So there is more to each challenge than simple design. There is also the ‘sandbox’ where players can free play with the ‘clay blobs.’

Claybook also allows for a ton of shared play, with up to four friends able to join in with split screen. There are achievements and leaderboards to track progress against other players, as well as a cross-platform in-game community to discover and share your own Claybook chapter creations.

Developed by Second Order, Claybook will be released to Nintendo Switch this March. It has already been released for Steam, Xbox One, and PS4 back in August 2019.

Trailer

“We’re thrilled to bring Claybook to Nintendo’s Switch platform, and give creative minds the world over a new venue for expressing themselves. Whether players prefer to create extraordinary levels with our extensive library of tools, or simply explore the depths of their problem-solving abilities on their journey through each chapter, we are confident that there will be something for everyone to enjoy.” – Sami Saarinen, CEO, and Co-founder of Second Order.

For more on Claybook, visit their website.

Follow Second Order on Twitter and Facebook.

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The Official METAL GEAR Orchestra makes Spring memorable

Who likes a good soundtrack then? Personally I’ve always been a bit deaf to the music in videogames. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that I don’t usually notice it. Generally if I am noticing it, it’s getting on my nerves which doesn’t normally mark wonders for whatever it is I’m playing. I completely understand, however, that to some of you the soundtrack can even come over as being better than the game. If you happen to be one of these people or just a massive METAL GEAR fan, (or both,) I may just have the thing for you. The official METAL GEAR Orchestra, (yes this is a thing,) will be touring LA and NY this Spring.

Yes this is a US premier so the rest of us that don’t have lots of money or a private jet handy might have to wait a little bit to see the show. For those of you stateside the official METAL GEAR orchestral concert series will debut at New York’s United Palace on March 23rd before moving to the Willshire Ebell Theatre in LA on April 6th. Those of you lucky enough to attend will experience a concert featuring more than 70 musicians on stage including METAL GEAR singer Donna Burke.

The concert will include memorable songs from the METAL GEAR Solid series. These will be a mix background music such as the “Main Theme” and “Father and Son,” and fully lyrical pieces sung by Donna Burke like, “The Best is Yet to Come” and “Snake Eater.” All of this will be perfectly synced to HD footage from the series which will be played in the background allowing for a fully rounded and memorable experience.

I’m not going to talk about the METAL GEAR Solid games too much here. If you haven’t heard of Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece (minus the zombies – I’m looking at you Konami), you’ve been living under a rock for 30 years. What I will say is that this blockbusting series has sold over 50 million units worldwide since it’s inception back in 1998. Five plus games and a bunch of books later it’s a wonder nobody has taken this series to the stage sooner.

If you want to go and experience the show for yourselves you can grab a ticket while they last for the New York event here. If you’re looking for the LA show you’ll be wanting this link. The rest of us will have to keep an eye out for where the orchestra winds up next. If they happen to appear in London or Manchester you might be hearing a bit more from me on the matter in the future. If I happen to acquire that jet I’ll let you know.

 

 

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PREVIEW / The Sigma Theory: Global Cold War (PC)

 

I’ve always been a fan of board games and when this style of game is transferred into the realm of videogames, I’m a very happy bunny. With this being said, I recently got wind of an interesting little title that’s currently in the works called The Sigma Theory: Global Cold War. Through a bit of magical jiggery-pokery, I’ve been lucky enough to get a chance to take a first hand look at what this game is all about; being the kind soul that I am, I’ve decided to share. It has to be said that at first glance, this cold-war sim by Mi-Clos Studio is looking quite promising.

 

 

So this isn’t the Cold War. As this isn’t a historically based game, this is another Cold War (because we clearly didn’t learn anything from the first one). Sigma Theory is a game about super-powers and teams of spies infiltrating various countries around the world to gain information and generally do what they do best. You take the role of lead operative of one of these teams and have to help your chosen country gain intel. You also have to keep your four operatives alive and out of jail or you won’t be getting very far. All of this is to reach the ultimate goal of cracking the secrets of the Sigma Theory a scientific breakthrough, which if made will change the world as we know it.

 

A good old hack can get you a long way. Just make sure the agent doing it can pick up a keyboard.

 

This game has more facets than a really pretty diamond and is just as bloody hard. Sigma Theory is a game of micromanagement. Firstly you have to look after your agents. This involves sending them on missions in various countries around the world. These may include dragging up dirt on officials, finding opposing scientists and/or exfiltrating double agents. Of course if any of your own operatives get arrested by foreign forces you have to get them out as well before they’re jailed, killed off or worse start blabbing about your plans. If you have an agent proficient in hacking you can also get them to steal scientific research or “borrow” an enemy drone to make your life a bit easier.

 

Politics can get you a long way. You just need to know how to play the individual.

 

All of that was just one little part of a bigger picture. When not pushing your spies round the world map your playing diplomatic games with various world leaders. This is a lot easier to do if you understand them first. It’s pointless trying to bribe an honest official. Different officials have different traits and it helps immensely to understand these. Convincing someone who’s paranoid that you know everyone is out to get them but you’re they’re friend honest is going to get you a long way. Successful negotiations will lower threat levels making your operations easier or if you’re lucky enable you to get your hands on research and scientists without having to get those hands dirty. You will also be dealing with other interested parties including The World Bank and religious and terrorist organizations.

 

This is a drone strike. They aren’t always accurate so you’ll need good timing to take out your entire target.

 

Then (yes we’re still going) you have to remember that you’re dealing with people and the AI reminds you of this all the time. If you have a very altruistic agent and start brokering deals with terrorists they aren’t going to be very impressed with you. The same applies to your scientists who have a nasty habit of betraying you or carelessly allowing themselves to be pinched by enemy agents and taken back to other countries. Does this sound complicated enough for you? Well it is and I’m not really even scratching the surface.

 

 

Each agent has their own perks and flaws. Just because someone is smooth tongued enough to be able to sell sand to the arabs doesn’t mean they can fire a weapon. Different people are good at different tasks and this shows up in exfiltration missions. Some agents will be able to fight their way through enemy patrols with a firearm in one hand and the individual they are trying to remove in the other. On the other hand other agents will be more inclined to just fade into the background and avoid trouble all together. These missions present you with a series of scenarios in which you must make the correct choice to avoid being caught by local law enforcement. If you make the right choices you’re golden, make the wrong ones and you’ll be doing another similar mission with a fresh agent to try and get your beleaguered friend out of jail. You also have the help of drones which can launch strikes or provide surveillance as the need arises.

 

Your agent pool. Remember agents are people and people have personalities. You’ll need to play to theirs to succeed.

 

Assuming you can keep your scientists for more than five minutes they will be working on one of five branches of science dependent on their abilities. These comprise of, neuroscience, health, astrophysics, robotics and finance. Each one of these disciplines has a tree and when a level of this is met you will gain the perks of that particular research and a couple of Sigma Points. Get fifteen of these and you win. Believe me when I say this in not an easy task. Making things more difficult is the doomsday clock that you also have running in the background. If this ticks over before you reach your goal someone else has cracked the Sigma Theory first and it’s game over.

 

A lot of planning goes in to performing an operation well. You do not want to get caught by those guards.

 

We’ll not scrutinize the things that need fixing with this title. Sigma Theory isn’t even in Early Access yet so I think it would be slightly cruel to start pulling it apart for bugs and the like. What I’m  seeing thus far gameplay wise is absolutely brilliant. This is one of those games that will very easily eat an afternoon of your life and definitely isn’t something that can just be played for five minutes at a time. The AI is smart and you better be good at multi-tasking or you’re going to be doomed from the beginning.

 

 

Something Sigma Theory is missing is multi-player. This may well be added later but I actually don’t think the game needs it. Everything feels complicated enough playing against the AI when you have a million and one things to think about without having to worry about someone else waiting to have a go. My only real gripe is the way the save mechanic works. You log in to an account as a new agent and you play solely with that account. This means that you can’t save in multiple spots and go back to your last screw up. The plus side to this is that you’d be cheating because you’d never really make a wrong move. This would matter in a multi-player game but less so against an AI as you’re only cheating yourself. The downside is that sometimes you know you’ve had it and aren’t getting any further so it’s nice to just reset and go from scratch. To do this you need to set up another in game account and repeat the process. If you’re not very good at this game you’ll be doing this a lot.

 

 

Sigma Theory is a game that I look forward to playing the fully finished version of. If you like board game strategy and micro-management this is completely a game for you. It’ll be really nice to see what the future brings and I genuinely hope all goes well with the remainder of development. This one is definitely worth a watch for strategy fans amongst you.

 

 

 

This preview is based on an early access copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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