Are you tired of Vader Immortal yet? Don’t worry; next time I’ll try something different. But I figured that if I was going to play through Episode 3, I should do it with you guys. That didn’t quite work out, but I still managed to have some fun in the Lightsaber Dojo mode. Check out the video below:
Big Drunk Satanic Massacre, orBDSMfor short, is a twin-stick shooter game. With that sentence alone, you can probably already tell whether this is a game for you. But since I don’t think our dear review editor would be satisfied with a one-sentence review, I’ll elaborate.BDSMis indeed a twin-stick shooter, but it’s also a dungeon crawler of sorts. Players control Satan’s brother, Lou, through various stages set mostly in hell. The game has a strong focus on humor, but is it funny enough to be worthwhile?
If you want to get an idea of what the humor inBDSMis like, just think aboutDuke Nukem. Outside ofthe looks, Lou is basically Duke if he was a demon. He regains health by drinking what the game calls “milk” (but is clearly meant to be an alcoholic beverage), spends “quality time” with random women, and trades in pithy one-liners regularly. I won’t jump into the debateabout whether that sort of character is appropriate in this day and age, but I will say that it does get stale after a while. The comedy, for better or worse, also takes advantage of pop culture references. The game’s cover art parodiesDoom, and that ties directly intoBDSM’s backstory. That part is actually clever; the basic setup of the game’s plot is that humans (represented byDoom-esque space marines) have colonized Hell and turned it into a tourist spot. That’s entertaining, but a lot of the pop culture references just seem like they’re there to be there. For me, the humor was definitely a mixed bag, but it may be different for you.
The bigger issue for me was that the gameplay was very repetitive. I appreciate the decorative backdrops of the different levels, and the variety of guns available, but the core twin-stick shooter gameplay just gets boring quickly. I personally feel that this style of gameplay works best how it was introduced: as a type of quick arcade-style game. Without more to break up the action, and with levels that are definitely longer than they should be, it just isn’t that compelling in terms of gameplay. WhereBDSMgets some points back, though, is in its character designs. Fitting within the humorous aesthetic, the character and monster designs are very clever. It’s a shame you can’t see them better in game, given the top-down perspective, but I still hope that the artists involved go on to bigger and better things.
BDSMisn’t just another mediocre title floating around the eShop, like some of the other games I’ve reviewed. There was clearly a lot of work put into it, and it can be fun to play. If you like this style of humor, then it will keep you entertained, but even if you don’t, the gameplay works well enough. It’s just too repetitive for me to fully recommend it. Take a look at the trailers for yourself, and see if they do it for you. If so, well, Lou and I will see you in Hell.
Sim games, when they’re done well, are a beautiful thing. I mean … they give you the chance to be pretty much anything you want to be. Being a journalist, for instance, I obviously want to play a game in which I get to be a journalist. You’re thinking that I really need a life and a break, right? Well, I don’t, and this is exactly what I want to do so I’m going to tell you all about Headliner: NoviNews, which is due to hit our screens December 11th.
Coming to PS4 and Xbox One from the clever souls over at Unbound Creations, Headliner: Novinews will see you become just that; a headliner. In this role, you will get the chance to choose the headlines that will shape society. Whether you try and be virtuous and report the truth or just garbage your integrity from the off and embrace fake news is entirely up to you.
Set in fictional Novistan, you will become chief editor of the country’s largest news publication. From your chair in the newsroom, you’ll have to choose which stories the paper is going to run. Sound simple? Well, to do this effectively, you’ll need to balance the local political climate with social sentiment and personal interactions. This is the media, after all; keeping everybody happy is going to be a bit of an uphill battle.
Once you’ve decided exactly what you’re going to publish, you’ll be able to see firsthand what sort of an impact your story has had. As always, your decisions have consequences, so you’ll have to plan your actions wisely.
The stories you choose to report on and events that may spin from these are randomized. Not only will this mean that you experience unique outcomes and endings based on the path you take through the game, but it will also make for bags of replayable fun.
“I’ve always been interested in how media shapes people’s perceptions, which in turn shapes reality. What stories we deem newsworthy, and how we report on those stories, fundamentally changes our entire society. Headliner: NoviNews explores the trials and tribulations of trying to remain unbiased in an inherently biased world“, said Unbound Creations founder and director, JaKub Kasztalski.
If Headliner: NoviNews sounds like something worth exploring, it will be appearing on your consoles at the price of £11.74, or $13.99 for you nice folk across the pond. This is definitely an interesting concept and might open your eyes to a few of the decisions we have to make before putting pen to paper. As you may soon see, it’s often the writing that’s the easiest part.
Wunderling or should I say Vunderling is a squishy low-level video game henchman who looks like a kind of, well, lemon. Apart from the obvious exception that this elliptical fella has arms and legs and a proclivity for bouncing on things.
Swedish game company Retroid has developed an original title that has all the charm of 80’s platform games with a modern zesty twist. This goon can’t stop walking; in fact, there’s a whole host of Mario-esque moves that root this game firmly in my distant childhood.
Built with Unreal Engine 4, Retroid has crafted something that looks like it will appeal to anyone who has a retro love of cute platform games. The scrolling levels are set in the Vegetable Kingdom full of lush, bright colors and weird characters to rudely walk past since Wunderling is unable to stop or change direction.
There’s also a talking carrot, creatively named – The Carrot Man, Princess Pea who appears to be, yes you guessed it, a Pea and a cow that makes a regular appearance; no, I’m not taking any kind of Hallucinogen while writing this – the only thing I’m high on is coffee.
Wunderling’s master is the evil sorceress Kohlrabi, who’s a kind of wild cabbage – are you getting the vegetable references here? This lemony goon has been created to help her control the veggie kingdom as her henchman. Why is there always a power-hungry vegetable that wants world domination.
As you play, you can unlock different moves like “Boost” and “Wall-jump,” which should help you squish those baddies or should I say goodies. There’s also an emphasis on planning ahead since you have to navigate treacherous levels and solve puzzles while on the move. This game looks like it will give you that nostalgic 80’s gameplay with plenty of original content thrown in.
Wunderling will be released in early 2020 for PC and Nintendo Switch.
True innovation is incredibly rare. One can have only so many original ideas, and most people will never even get the opportunity to properly execute their own. The past decade of videogames have been an incredible wealth of fresh ideas and new innovations, from Shadow of Mordor‘s “Nemesis System” to Destiny‘s fresh blending of MMO style mechanics. GTFO is on that level.
GTFO is a new game from 10 Chambers Collective: a nine person operation, many of whom worked on Payday and its sequel. It’s a 4-player co-op first person shooter, with a truckload of horrible monsters that’ll scare the pants right off anyone who steps foot inside the game. In the title, you and three friends will work together to move through a compound, kill enemies, and most importantly, survive. So what makes GTFO unique, you ask? The answer is simple.
The rundown
The rundown is the backbone of this game; understanding it is essential to knowing the game itself. The rundown is essentially your assigned set of missions: once you complete the first, you’ll be transported deeper into the compound for a new, more challenging mission, and then once you complete that, another new, more challenging mission awaits. What makes it unique is it rotates. At various, predetermined times, the entire set of maps and missions will disappear, only to be replaced with a new set. The entire game essentially gets taken down and replaced every time this happens. How often this happens will differ, but at the moment it seems like it could take anywhere from one week to two months.
“Each work order in the Rundown represents an expedition into a different part of the Complex where the environment, the population of monsters, the objective, and other conditions can all be vastly different and offer diverse gaming experiences”, said Simon Viklund, member of 10 Chambers Collective and narrator of the explaining video.
GTFO is marketed towards people who like challenging themselves. The game takes no prisoners, so don’t expect a whole lot of forgiveness when you get deep down in the dirt with the monsters that will now haunt my nightmares for the next month. The game will hopefully be released on Early Access later this year, but before that, the team will run an Early Access Beta test of the game that anyone is able to join by signing up as an Ambassador at www.gtfothegame.com. Once there, the developers are hoping to be able to flesh out the logistics of their concept a little more with some good ol’ fashioned consumer feedback.
Between the coming holidays and the release ofPokemon SwordandShield, Pokemon Gois in a celebratory mood. With this comes new events and developments for trainers worldwide. Already, in celebration of the newest pair of main series games, the Poison and Fairy type Galarian Weezing has begun to appear in four-star raids. Along with this new form of a familiar Pokemon come new clothing options based on the protagonists ofSwordandShield, and based on information from dataminers, these are only the game’s first representatives from the Galar region.
Next up, Niantic has announced that Team Go Rocket will be stepping up its invasion big time on November 24th. From 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM (local time) on Sunday, Team Go Rocket Grunts will take over every single PokeStop in the game. This is presumably meant to help players complete the Special Research mission focused on fighting these villains, but new Field Research will become available for the event, too.
Finally, just like last year, December’s Community Day will be something special. Rather than focusing on one Pokemon, there will be increased spawns of every Pokemon that has had a Community Day in the past year. That means Totodile, Swinub, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Ralts, Slakoth, Trapinch, Bagon, Turtwig, and Chimchar will all have an increased spawn rate, with shiny versions available for all of them. And that’s just the start! Last year’s Community Day Pokemon will also be available from raids and eggs, and all Pokemon from both years will have access to their Community Day-exclusive moves. Beyond even that, trainers will receive 2× Catch Stardust, 2× Catch XP, and 1/2 Egg Hatch Distance. You’ll have much more time to take all of this in than usual, as Community Day will cover both Saturday, December 14th, and Sunday, December 15th, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM (local time). The extra bonuses (2x Catch Stardust, etc.) will only be available between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM, though.
That’s a lot to take in, so make sure you’re prepared. The unfortunate thing about these big events happening in November and December is that it’s already too cold to spend extended amounts of time outside playing in much of the world, including here in Chicago. But freezing temperatures didn’t stop me from hunting down Groudon until my fingers were completely numb last year, so hopefully I’ll see you out there. In the meantime, keep an eye out for my review ofSwordandShield, which should be ready soon.
This turn-based videogame gets down n’ dirty with the dust dealing drug lord Pablo Escobar; with brutal real-time combat and strategy campaigns that’ll put you in the heart of the Medellin Cartel. You can work for the DEA or choose to side with the Narcos and help fund the drug empire, so go ahead and Stick on ‘ya 80’s tash and cow-boy boots; oh and your aviator sunglasses. Okay, it’s not Miami Vice, there are no silk shirts in this game; only a gritty videogame that’ll fulfill your desire to bust a cap into some badass gangsters.
This game looks like it has Xcom’s combat mechanics and uses a turn-based system that is solid and responsive. When you choose a side you can play as the DEA agent Murphy working in Colombia or help build the Cartel’s narcotics empire under El Patrón. Curve Digital and their sister company Kulu have lovingly recreated the characters from the Netflix series into a tactical combat strategy game that looks satisfyingly brutal. If you enjoy putting someone down with a shotgun – metaphorically speaking, then this game looks like it will scratch that itch.
Choose your location and play as one of the gun-toting Narcos on the corrupt streets of Medellin or in the sun-dappled jungles of Columbia. The locations look well realized with compelling backdrops of the city. There are also various other characters from the series that make an appearance, all with class-specific roles, perks and skills options. Hopefully, this game can stand on its own two feet and not need the popular Netflix series to prop it up. However, anything that reminds me of Xcom can’t be too bad. All in all plenty of criminal activity to keep your trigger fingers active. Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is available on console and PC now.
