The sale of Bethesda and other game studios is confirmed after final approval by EU regulatory bodies
Xbox Game Studios has now officially bolstered its umbrella of studios with the ZeniMax Media, bringing Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios into the fold.
Until now, Xbox representatives have chosen their words very carefully when discussing their plans for the game studios. Now that the sale is finalised, we should begin to see more news coming out about Microsoft’s plans for future releases.
Forums are awash with discussions surrounding possible exclusivity options for future releases. Games currently announced as multi-platform will remain that way, and games such as Deathloop with timed PS5 exclusivity will have these arrangements honoured. Where the waters become muddied is when we look at games known to be in development but without official release details yet.
Given the negativity surrounding Xbox’s perceived lack of console exclusives during the Xbox One era, it would seem an obvious assumption that they would simply make all of their studios’ output exclusive, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
As we know, all Xbox Game Studios titles will be coming to Game Pass on day one. With such a wide variety of popular titles now under the XGS umbrella, that makes Game Pass a hugely attractive proposition, and it’s certain to bring a few PlayStation gamers across to Team Green. That still leaves tens of millions of gamers who will remain loyal to the Sony machine, though, and by opening up Xbox studios games to the rival platform they stand to make a large amount of money (which is essential, when you’ve just spent $7.5 billion on studio acquisitions), while still making the Xbox console a more attractive, value-led proposition.
Will any games become Xbox console exclusives?
The short answer is yes:
“…gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.” – Phil Spencer
The truth is, we don’t know yet which games will become Xbox exclusives. There’s been a lot of speculation over which titles will be restricted to the Xbox platform, with new IP Starfield regularly popping up as an expected exclusive, which would make a lot of sense. There’s also the possibility some of the games may receive timed-exclusivity, but hopefully not to the extent of some of Sony’s deals that lock rival platforms out of games and content for up to a year.
To add to the speculation, I can’t see Microsoft taking existing franchises with huge fanbases across all platforms and just taking away millions of players. It’s a proven business concept that it is easier to retain current customers than it is to gain new ones. Games like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein and Doom could, and in my opinion, should, remain as multi-platform titles. Not only will this prevent any ill-will towards Xbox, but it will also generate huge amounts of revenue. What they need to be doing is curating new, must-have exclusive IPs (with Starfield being a prime candidate).
Returning again to Game Pass, purchasing ZeniMax also allows Xbox to add games from their extensive back-catalogue to the Game Pass line up. It’s already proving to be the industry leading gaming subscription service, so adding legacy titles from all of the ZeniMax studios alongside all of their major first-party output will make Game Pass an even more essential purchase.
Microsoft’s approach means they don’t actually need exclusives to be successful. The appeal of Xbox now lies in its value, with the potentially huge savings that can be made over the lifespan of the console. With games already targeting a £70/$70 price point, it would only take two great first-party games per year to justify the cost of Game Pass. With over twenty studios producing content, we can expect far more than that (Xbox representatives have previously stated they want to be adding a new first-party title every month once the studios are all established).
We are very interested to see how this pans out in the months and years to come, but at the moment it looks like Xbox console and PC gamers will be getting tremendous value, while PlayStation gamers will still get to play most of the franchises they’ve grown up with.
A new Nep is coming to the PlayStation 5 this summer… Kind of.
Although we at Total Gaming Addicts are stoked, it’s a little disappointing that the first dedicated Neptunia game to hit our shiny new consoles is a remaster of an old PS Vita game.
However, with a new console and a fresh start, what better way to discover the fun-packed, quick-witted, sharp-tongued Neptunia series than one of the very first and arguably one of the best games in the series.
“Neptunia ReVerse is an updated and enhanced version of the beloved RPG game Hyperdimension Neptunia™ Re;Birth1, originally released for the PlayStation®Vita. Fans of the Neptunia™ series and newcomers can enjoy the lush worlds of Gamindustri with the help of the PS5 and new gameplay additions, including a fishing mini-game!
Key Features
Gamindustri Enhanced! – Neptunia ReVerse is the perfect RPG entry for Neptunia newcomers and for Neptunia fans to relive! With the powers of the PlayStation®5, players can enjoy the world of Gamindustri with enhanced graphics and a fresh-looking system UI!
Gone Fishing – Now, Neptune can cool her senses and spend some alone time catching some fish in this new mini-game! And if you’re patient enough, you might even be able to haul some sweet equipment. But be wary! Any misstep can reel in a stinkin’ enemy.
Tailor Your Experience! – Itching for more ways to play it your way? With re-balanced gameplay and “Arrange Mode,” you can now select from 20+ characters to play from the start! Plus, the “Plans” system allows players to craft and forge new items and equipment, add dungeons to explore, and even modify the drops from enemies and materials harvested in dungeons!
The Gang of Four – Your party member limit is now increased from 3 to 4 members! Transform Neptune and the Goddesses by activating HDD Mode to amp up attacks.”
The Goddesses join the PlayStation®5 in June 2021! Neptunia Reverse will be launching physically and digitally for the PS5™ in North America on June 8 and in Europe on June 11!
Join us here at Total Gaming Addicts for more news and full review upon the games worldwide release.
Milestone produces some incredible games, but an equal amount of games that severely miss the mark. MotoGP17 – very good. MotoGP18 – forgettable. MotoGP19 – excellent. MotoGP20 – missed the mark.
Onto the Monster Energy Supercross series, the second game was ok, but it needed a lot of improvement, however, I really enjoyed Monster Energy Supercross 3. Yes, the learning curve was brutal, but between an unlimited amount of rewinds and a comprehensive training mode, I was motivated enough to persevere through the hard times until I genuinely began to master the gameplay.
Now we come to Supercross 4… I’m guessing you can see where this is headed.
Like the previous instalment, I can’t fault the presentation. The menus are clear and concise, and everything is laid out in a sensible fashion. Male and female riders are available to choose from, and there’s a healthy selection of customisation for your rider and bike from a wide range of manufacturers. In total, there are over 110 manufacturers of clothing and parts to purchase cosmetic items and performance upgrades from. There are only a few options available to start with, but you’ll soon earn enough credits to unlock more.
Tutorial
The game begins with a tutorial race, which explains the rudiments of racing but doesn’t give you any useful instruction on how the weight transfer of your rider affects your ability to make jumps or actual tips beyond the basic controls. Milestone really needs to do some work on making this tutorial more useful for players. I’ve played several of their games and spent a lot of time with Monster Energy Supercross 3, yet after less than 9 months hiatus I felt lost when I started the game. The flow eluded me – I couldn’t make easy doubles, let alone triples, and even basic turns were causing me problems.
Having finished the tutorial race, I made a start on career mode. They have revised career mode a bit this time around, and while the structure of race progression is essentially the same, they have added training and challenge events that you can do between races. You start in the “Futures” class and have a short 3 race championship to complete. How well you do affects the likelihood of you getting a seat with the manufacturer of your choosing in the rookies league.
Another new feature of the career is the addition of a skill tree. Points can be earned by completing training challenges, ticking off items in your journal (cumulative awards for things like perfect starts, air time, overtaking, holeshots and more), and successfully finishing special events. These points are crucial, as your rider starts with basic stats which severely hamper your riding ability. The skill tree covers upgrades to cornering speed, landing jumps, scrub speed and fluidity, braking performance and more, and as you progress through the skill tree it makes a marked difference to the handling.
Anyway, onto my initial experience of career – After a really rough start, and failing to make any headway in the opening Futures race, I switched to Very Easy AI and finally, after about 20 restarts (not an exaggeration), managed to win the first career race. All told, in my first four hours, I managed to win one race, come fourth in the second, before finally losing patience and settling for last place in the third introductory race.
In the previous game, there was a challenge mode that had loads of simple mini-events that did wonders for helping you learn the flow over jumps, how to scrub properly and keep the height of jumps down without affecting speed, and much more. Even if they still didn’t properly instruct you how to actually perform these manoeuvres, it was still a helpful way to practice. In Monster Energy Supercross 4, these challenges (now called training) can only be attempted in between race events in career mode.
While that may not sound so bad, you are limited to just three attempts, then you have to wait until you have finished another race to try again. When even the tiniest mistake or an unexpected corner that sees you going out of bounds fails you and subtracts one of your attempts, it severely limits the usefulness of these challenges. What makes it even more challenging is that the skill points you earn during training are essential for levelling up your abilities. It’s a catch 22 situation: You don’t get skill points unless you beat the challenges, but you need the skill points to be able to beat the challenges.
Re-re-rewind – now with added restart
Now, I’m a persistent gamer. I don’t like to accept defeat. Previously, I used to rewind a turn or jump repeatedly until I finally mastered it, and eventually I’d nail it. Twenty races later, I would still be making mistakes but far less frequently, and I at least felt like I was making progress. For some unfathomable reason, Monster Energy Supercross 4 has restricted you to just 3 rewinds. When you are still learning the game, which is punishing enough already, you have to either accept coming last by a significant margin or constantly restarting races because of minor mistakes. You can refill the rewind meter by performing whips during a race, but when you’re struggling to make jumps as it is, the last thing you are going to be doing is trying to land tricks!
The rewind feature was the saving grace of Supercross 3. Without it, it becomes far more unforgiving and genuinely unpleasant to play. To add insult to injury, figuratively and literally, if you have bad crashes in a race you become injured and have to either hand over your hard-earned credits or suffer a performance deficit in the following races. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down!
With regards to the bike control, something that deeply frustrated me was that to initiate a drift, you brake, turn and then accelerate. Sounds innocuous enough, right? Well, when you brake sharply and get on the gas early to make a tight turn, the game interprets that as you trying to drift, causing you to lose turning angle and acceleration and sliding you into barriers or off the course.
On the rare occasions where I did somehow manage to wrangle my bike around a corner at the right speed and fortuitously managed to wiggle the right analogue stick (that controls rider weight) in a manner the game deemed satisfactory, I found myself enjoying the game briefly, and I can imagine anyone who mastered the previous game will get a lot of enjoyment from Monster Energy Supercross 4. For anyone who is hoping for a pick-up and play bit of fun, though, this really isn’t the game. I found it intensely stressful, and were it not for having to write the review, would have played it much less than I did.
Life’s too short
As I said, I’m very persistent, and I tried every possible combination of assists in vain trying to get to grips with the handling. Well over fifteen hours into it, I still couldn’t win what should have been the easiest races. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get it nailed down, and I’m ashamed to say I gave up. Done. Life’s too short.
I took a day off, then went back to the drawing board, restarting my career (which costs you any skill points and credits you have earned so far – be forewarned). This time around, things started to click. I added qualifying to each event (probably should have done that first time round), and found I was comfortably qualifying in first by up to 4 seconds. I was successful at a few training courses and managed to improve my base stats, which paid off in races, and even though it was still far harder than the very easy moniker implied, I was winning some races and at least finishing in the top four or five in the rest. The AI qualifying times had no relevance to their race times, though, as in the race they were running equal to or faster than my P1 qualifying times.
I’m finding it hard going. Without my rewind buffer, I’m finding small mistakes end up being costly. Several races I was leading right to the final lap, before an accidental drift would sap my speed and drop me short at the start of a section, leaving me unable to build up momentum and clear the jumps with any kind of flow. There’s nothing more depressing than seeing your rivals you’ve been leading for 10 minutes casually breeze past you en masse.
Frustrations aside, I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere. At the very least, I’m making progress and sitting atop the 250 East leaderboard despite only having won a handful of events. Given the time I’ve spent with the game, I should have been into the pro leagues and riding 450’s by now, but it will come with time (I hope). I have spent some time with the 450s in free races and time trials, and find it’s much easier to find the flow on tracks thanks to the increased power of the bikes. It just makes the slog through on the 250s feel more arduous knowing how much fun you could be having.
Lots to see and do
I’m sure there are people out there who will gel with this game instantly, and for those players, there’s a decent amount of content. Career mode is a little uninvolving, basically revolving around finishing enough races in each bike category to progress, but there’s plenty more besides that. The usual complement of single event and time trial options are available. You can also compete in single championships that mirror the official calendar or set up your own custom championships. Time trials have the ever-welcome ghosts to compete against, but each time you beat one and want to check and see how you placed on the leaderboard, you have to finish the time trial, which takes you back to the main menu. It’s a long-winded way of doing the trials that will likely put people off attempting them on a regular basis.
The compound is back, but it’s an entirely new area, based on the Maine Islands. It’s an expansive and picturesque free-roam arena with a full day/night cycle. It gives you a large open area to explore full of sweeping hills, rocky outcrops and comes complete with its own time trials and checkpoint races. It feels empty, though, with little in the way of exciting features to discover and no sign of life. You can ride here solo, or join three friends in four-player free roam. Hidden around the landscape are twenty collectables to find that unlock customisation items, which should keep you occupied for a little while, but overall it’s more of a missed opportunity than a must-play feature of the game.
Multiplayer was unpopulated at the time of the review, but there is a decent selection of options for setting up a custom event or series of your choice, as well as a race director mode which should be useful for those who like to organise events with groups. Server duties have been handed off to Amazon Web Services, so stability and latency should be good depending on your locale.
Round and round, up and down
There is a good selection of tracks to choose from, with 17 official tracks, 5 set within the compound, and a potentially unlimited number of tracks that have been created in the comprehensive track editor. The official tracks, in particular, look excellent. Graphically, Monster Energy Supercross 4 is visually appealing, and it runs at a smooth 4k 60 fps in HDR on the Series X, but if anything it just looks like the last-gen version, only with a higher frame rate. Still, it’s nicely detailed: The track ruts deepen the more you ride around, mud flicks up, splattering your bike and rider as the race goes on, while fireworks explode around the circuit, and the huge stadiums packed full of spectators breath life into the arena.
Photo mode used to be one of my favourite parts of Supercross 3, but as you can see on our images, it adds a pair of blue horizontal stripes across every photo that can’t be removed.
The track editor has seen significant improvements and has numerous new modules and customisation parts, including modules from the new tracks, and sand. I personally don’t have the patience (or ability, to be fair) to test and refine a track of any great quality, but as we saw in Supercross 3, some of the community make some simply incredible looking tracks. It shouldn’t be long until we see some epic constructions being made.
With regards to the audio, there are appears to be an issue with the audio in our review code, as there is no music during or after the races, or in the menus. I fully expect it to be fixed come launch today, but I can’t comment on the music yet. (Edit: If you have Dolby Atmos turned on the music doesn’t work, for some reason. Switching to stereo got the music back, but turns out all I was missing was a mixture of generic rock and EDM, which I soon muted.)
A complaint I had with the previous game was your opponents’ bikes were barely audible, and it’s a similar story again. Your own bike is loud and raspy, but even in amongst a pack of riders the dominant sound of the gameplay is the revving of your own engine. There is no commentary as such, but if you’re in the right place on the track you do hear reactive announcements over the stadium tannoy.
Summary
The thing that hurts the most about Monster Energy Supercross 4 is that once you get past the initial frustration, there’s a lovingly crafted game underneath. It looks beautiful, they’ve got loads of licensed and meticulously crafted circuits and official riders, there’s an excellent track editor, and there is a sparse but comprehensive multiplayer mode that should appease die-hard fans. The problem is they have made the already difficult learning curve far less fun than it should be.
By removing the unlimited rewinds and locking the training mode away as a between-races limited attempt feature, Milestone has removed the key tools that made it possible to learn and eventually master the challenging gameplay. If you are already an expert at the Monster Energy Supercross games or have the patience of a saint, there’s a potentially great game hidden away here. Unfortunately, those who aren’t prepared to suffer through the many hours needed to learn the game will likely give up long before they become proficient enough to enjoy it.
Sifu is the martial arts game you never knew you needed
Seemingly from nowhere, during the recent PlayStation State of Play presentation, a trailer was shown that could stir the nunchucks out of anyone! From indie developer Sloclap, who you may know as the developer of Absolver, their new game, Sifu, showcases pure kung-fu greatness.
Set over the course of a single day, you play the role of a student out for vengeance against the five evil masters who murdered his family (see – every kung-fu film ever). Your journey will take you through gang-riddled slums and bleak corporate tower buildings as you assassinate each of these masters. The story may be as cliched as they come, but much like the films, the story is just a plot device that brings you to the next load of action. And how good does that action look?
As fans of the action-packed cult classic film, The Raid, we instantly spotted similarities in the scenes showcased during the trailer that matched the locations and brutal combat of The Raid. Although it’s hard to tell from just a trailer, the combat appears to be freeform, somewhat similar to the combat mechanics of the Batman Arkham or Yakuza series. Makeshift weapons and environmental attacks can be utilised, and you’ll need to make sure to position yourself carefully to maximise damage and minimise harm to yourself.
The game’s tagline provides a clue to a gameplay mechanic that can easily be missed based on the trailer – Is one life enough to have Kung Fu?
A sifu is a kung-fu master, and in the game, you will be developing your character until you become a sifu yourself. From early reports, this is designed to be a hard game, in the vein of Dark Souls, so expect to take a lot of beatings. We see the character ageing significantly as his skills increase, seemingly related to defeat in battle. When he gets knocked down he appears to age notably when he rises.
With flying feet and fists, the trailer looks stunning, and we here at Total Gaming Addicts want to play it now! Hopefully, we won’t have too long to wait.
Sifu is tentatively scheduled for a Fall 2021 release window and will be available on PS4, PS5 and Windows PC (Epic Games Store).
Publisher: Idea Factory International, Compile Heart
Release date: PS4: 2nd March 2021 (NA)/5th March 2021 (EU)- Steam: 29th March 2021
Genre: Action adventure, Hack and Slash N, Shooter
Platforms: PS4, Windows PC (Steam)
Reviewed on: PS5 via Backward Compatibility
Game Supplied by: Publisher
[su_accordion]
[su_spoiler title=”About” style=”fancy”]
Enter Virtualand – a digital world that exists
alongside the networks of various dimensions.
Within Virtualand lies the planet Emote –
a planet faced with extinction due to the maleficent
group of Content destroyers known as Antis.
In an act of desperation, the Digital Goddess of the planet Emote, Faira,
sends a distress signal to other dimensions
in hopes to find a savior of this planet.
And the saviors that were reached?
The rising Vtuber stars, Me and You, members of MEWTRAL,
as well as the Goddesses of Gamindustri: Neptune, Noire, Blanc, and Vert!
Can MEWTRAL and the Goddesses band together
and save the planet Emote from complete destruction?
[/su_spoiler]
[/su_accordion]
Neptunia Virtual Stars marks the tenth anniversary of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, and during that time the boundless energy from the series protagonist, Neptune, has tackled many games and genres in many forms with her band of Goddesses, Noire, Vert and Blanc. For those not familiar with the Neptunia series, the developers have always had their tongues firmly placed in their cheeks. Noire for example is dressed mainly in black, and is the Goddess of the nation “Lastation.” Vert, dressed mainly in green, is the Goddess of “Leanbox”, and Blanc, in white, is the Goddess of “Lowee” (The Wii).
This satirical innuendo goes further than just the character’s names, extending to the games themselves and the content of the story. Cyberdimension Neptunia – 4 Goddesses Online, was a game that mimicked Sword Art Online, and this trend continues with the latest game in the series: Neptunia Virtual Stars is a hilarious exploration of the real-world social aspects of YouTube. Without going too much into spoiler mode, the premise is that the planet “Obsolita” is trying to gather all of the content creators, who are needed to power the core of planets and keep them alive. The Antis from Obsolita want to make people pay subscriptions, and fill the creators’ content with adverts and hidden charges. Anyone familiar with the issues surrounding the YouTube community over the last five years will see the satirical dig at their situation here!
We start with a flump
As funny as the game’s setup is, one can’t help but be deflated upon starting the game at how basic the visuals are. My initial thoughts were, “Is this a PS3 game?” The characters in the game world lack detail and clarity, They aren’t sharp or clear, and had an overall 720p look! It was so bad I had to double-check that this game wasn’t a ported PS Vita game. I know western versions of Japanese games arrive later than their native release, but I had to double-check when this game came out and was shocked to see it was only August of 2020. Then I felt horrified at how basic the shooting mechanic was once I got going. Projectiles from the guns the Goddesses use simply look like white blobs travelling away from them. In some cases, this white is the same as the gun’s reticle, so gets lost in your vision when trying to aim. There is absolutely no gun recoil, either, which felt antiquated in today’s modern realm.
Be that as it may, with little definition, detail, or clear defined lines, the artwork is still excellent and interesting to look at. The character models themselves are, as always, fun and interesting on the eye, and (apart from Vert) stylish, and colourful.
The worlds that the party traverses are also interesting to be in, despite the lack of detail, and as the girls are fighting in virtual worlds the aesthetics of each level are akin to a set from the film Tron. The walls have Matrix-type lines running across them and billboards flash with images of Vtubers (the content creators), who are the stars of each planet. There is interest there albeit in basic form, but it fits in with the ethos of the story.
The mechanics
Having just reviewed a game that had no tutorials, I then started this one, which is full of them. It’s only when you don’t have tutorials you realize how such a simple thing can be so important. The tutorials for Neptune Virtual Stars are simple overlays of how the controls work, the systems available to use, and upgrades that can be attached. It is standard fare, but with the hook of having different characters to play on the fly, with their individual fighting styles. The four Goddesses all have guns to use, but each is different (think assault rifle, RPG, sniper rifle, submachine gun). In addition, you also get to play as two Vtubers called Me & You, whose weapons are a bow and arrow and swords.
Exploring the world is a linear affair with the team of six exploring a map to get to the waymarker and set off an event. If the player takes the time to explore there are hidden items to find, such as items or chests, but the best are the captured Vtubers. They will be guarded by a small boss which upon defeat will release the Vtuber, who will then grant an upgrade to any of the characters.
Attacks during combat, either through gun or swordplay, build up gauges that when filled can unlock attacks from a Vtuber watching the stream of what you are doing. Also, during boss fights, a musical gauge fills that, when in your favour and under the right conditions, moves the fight into a new realm where you can inflict massive extra damage. End of level Boss fights are really the showpieces of the game as this is the only place where some of the coolest combat mechanics can be used. As well as the musical gauge, players can change the music which then gives off different gameplay buffs for both the enemy and your team.
The enemies you fight, either exploring or Boss fights, aren’t that interesting to look at (like many JRPG’s), but they do have attack patterns that are worth studying before you throw yourself into battle. Even on normal difficulty, the enemies in the first couple of levels will lower the player’s strengths down to worrying levels very quickly. Changing the team during battle and movement soon becomes a key aspect, which is welcoming, as on the surface the depth of the combat looked paper-thin, but it is most definitely not. Learning when to change characters, how to use each of them, and learning their skill sets proved to be a fun learning curve, and paid dividends when learning to master the combat systems.
Where the fun starts
On paper, you may think a lot of what I have mentioned looks just like another run of the mill JRPG. How wrong you would be. Yes, the low-res look of the game can be off-putting, and there isn’t that much to the gameplay loop for an entire level, but it does have an X factor. The funny vibe, quick jokes, and achingly funny satirical third-person view of itself, alongside the tongue in cheek look at a real-world subject, differentiates Neptunia Virtual Stars from other games in the genre.
The beginning of the hilarity of this game started with the character Neptune calling herself the series “protagonist”, in an out of body third person self reflective way, as well as announcing such gems as, “the tutorial should be here about now“ and then blaming the writers of the game when it’s not! The introverted way in which the dialogue looked at itself, as though the characters were in charge of how the game should have been made, had me chuckling more than once. Throw in the occasional South Park-Esque crudeness that the girls threw at each other, and I was genuinely laughing out loud.
The game is also interesting in that there is a good depth of things to keep the mind busy in upgrading characters, alongside the nuanced combat. There are also interesting aspects such as during the gameplay, Vtubers tune in to what you are doing on billboards, almost like a real viewer would if you were streaming the game. You do play the game like it’s one being streamed, as there are cameras in the weapons you use for the nation you are saving to watch, and all the people who get involved with your stream are funny or add to the experience.
The dialogue for a Neptune game is one of the best. I’ve played three previous Neptune games which at times have got weighed down with elongated dialogue and boring, repetitive chatter thrashing a point to death. However, here in Neptunia Virtual Stars, it’s most certainly been tightened up. The narrative doesn’t labour over each plot point, so it briskly gets you through the game, but this is most certainly helped by the banter between the girls. I never felt far away from a funny line or in-game joke, which kept me playing, waiting for the next funny thing to be said. Some of these are running jokes from throughout the game series, but even if you aren’t familiar with the series it’s still funny for new players.
Fantastic audio
The dialogue is all voiced by excellent voice actors, who only speak Japanese. Despite the gaming not being localized into English, and my untrained ear not in tune with different Japanese dialects, I could still distinguish the different voices by their sounds, something that is hard to do in other Japanese games.
During gameplay, the little quips from the person you are using are amusing, like the “Hep!” of Neptune jumping each time. Even when in the midst of a hard battle the girls all seem totally relaxed which again feels funny, and not out of place at all.
The in-game sound effects are limited but effective, however, the music is excellent. Although not my cup of tea, the sickly sweet J-pop tunes fit the aesthetic of the game beautifully and occasionally even got me toe-tapping along with them. There is a good variety too which again keeps things interesting.
Summary
I really shouldn’t have loved playing Neptunia Virtual Stars as much as I did. At its heart, it’s a pretty standard third-person dungeon crawler with dated visuals, primitive mechanics and rudimentary gameplay. The thing is, I loved it! Due to the dour state of the world today, I found playing this game, with its constant joyful optimism, the hilarious banter, funny situations, and cheesy toe-tapping songs were the perfect antithesis for my soul. Add to that, as it’s not trying to be too complicated, I could just sit back and enjoy the experience because, above all else, it is what a video game should be; pure fun, fantasy escapism.
An affordable controller that punches above its weight
Manufacturer: Nacon
Model: Pro Compact
Supported Platforms: Xbox One, Series X|S, PC
Price when reviewed: £39.99 MSRP
Release date: 15th March 2021
Supplied by: Nacon
Nacon’s Pro Compact controller is officially licensed by Xbox and is compatible with all Xbox One family devices, Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PCs.
Available in white with a contrasting black top panel or all-black colourways, it’s an attractive looking controller. Build quality is very good, and although it is notably lighter than a standard Xbox controller, it looks and feels far more sturdy and durable than many 3rd party controllers.
The Pro Compact is actually considerably bigger than its name would imply. It shares almost the exact same width as the standard Xbox Series X|S controller, it just has around an inch trimmed off the length of the grips and beneath the Dpad and right analogue stick.
The grips themselves are quite thick and much more rounded than you may be used to, which gives the controller an unusual but still comfortable feel. A very finely textured triangle-cut pattern is moulded across all of the back of the controller, which gives a very secure grip.
This is a wired controller, so no 2.4 GHz or BlueTooth connectivity is available. The 3-metre long braided cable has a USB-A connection and is very thick, so should be very durable. There is also a breakaway connector at the USB end, to prevent over-eager kids or forgetful adults from dragging their console or computer onto the floor.
Analogue stick, Dpad and face-button placement line up with the standard Xbox controller, giving the Pro Compact an instantly familiar feel, and I found myself instantly hitting the right buttons without having to glance at the controller. The only buttons in non-standard positions are the Menu, Share, Guide and Window buttons. The menu button is not in too bad a place, and once I remembered where it was it became natural to press, but the Window button on the opposite side sits behind the analogue stick, which makes it awkward to press.
It’s a similar story with the Guide and Share buttons. With the Share button tucked in a dip between the Dpad and analogue stick, it’s not easy to find quickly – the share button needs to be more easily accessible to catch those spur of the moment screenshots. After using the controller for several hours it eventually became easier to press consistently but never felt as natural as I would have preferred.
The Dpad feels a little spongy, but it responded accurately and is very quiet. On the face buttons (A, B, X, Y) Nacon has fitted oversized buttons, with a very subtle domed surface that feels almost flat. They have a satisfying amount of travel and bounce back swiftly, working well for things like QTEs where you have to mash the same button repeatedly.
The analogue sticks feel tight and responsive, and I found them to feel almost identical to the Series X|S controller. I do like the metallic trim that surrounds the sticks. I haven’t used the Pro Compact for long enough to discover whether it makes the sticks more durable, but it certainly gives the controller a premium look.
The triggers have a good level of resistance, but they do have a significantly shorter travel distance compared to a regular Xbox controller. This is great for shooters but does reduce the amount of finite control available for racing games. Fortunately, the consistent resistance made it possible to feather the triggers reasonably well, so you can still play driving games, but it may not offer sufficient control for anyone playing at a pro-gamer level. There is no trigger lock, but the shorter throw of the triggers means this isn’t something that negatively affects use.
There aren’t any additional buttons on the rear of the Pro Compact, however, there is a switch to select either the default Xbox setting, with linear stick response and default button assignments, or a custom profile, which can be adjusted with the Pro Compact software (available on both PC and Xbox One/Series X).
Within the software, you can adjust the dead zones, change button assignments and select from a range of preset response curves. Although the manufacturer’s description makes it sound like there are physical adjustments you can make to the controller, all of the adjustments are made via the software.
Finally, the Pro Compact gives you a restricted license to use Dolby Atmos. Unlike a standard license, which allows you to use it with up to 10 Xbox consoles or PCs, the Pro Compact’s Atmos license only works when the controller is connected (which is fair enough). Dolby Access detected and allowed me to use Atmos on my Xbox consoles, however, I couldn’t get it to work on PC. I have reached out to Nacon to see if it is only available on Xbox and will update the review accordingly.
Summary
The Pro Compact controller, while larger than its name suggests, is a durable, well-built and comfortable controller. It has some useful response curve presets and a short trigger travel distance that makes it well suited for first-person shooters and action games. Although some of the lower-priority buttons could be located better, the general performance far exceeds the relatively low asking price, making it a desirable option if you need an additional or replacement controller.
Just tell me one thing, Burke. You’re going out there to destroy them, right? Not to study, not to bring back, but to wipe them out.
It has been one of the biggest travesties in gaming history that since the Alien film franchise rose to huge fame, there have been very few games worthy of the license. Alien Isolation is one of the outliers, doing a fantastic job of capturing the psychological dread-inducing atmosphere of the first Alien film, but Aliens hasn’t been particularly well-represented.
There was an Aliens side-scrolling arcade shooter in the mid-90s that was a whole lot of fun, but it took a lot of liberties with its source material. Alien Trilogy on the PS1 took a good crack at nailing the Aliens formula, but it was looking dated even when it first released (the sound design, however, was impeccable). Alien vs Predator (1999), despite being a shared license with the other Schwarzenegger-led sci-fi mega-hit of the 80s, still holds up as one of the best games to have brought us into James Cameron’s take on the Aliens lore. Over 30 years and 18 games later, we are long overdue a legitimate entry that can bring us the quality of Aliens game we deserve.
Is this gonna be stand-up fight, sir, or another bug-hunt?
Whereas Alien Isolation was very much all about disempowerment, Aliens: Fireteam focuses on the much more action-orientated Aliens (one of the best and most quotable sci-fi films ever), which naturally means lots of big-ass guns. Set 23 years after the events of the original trilogy, in Aliens: Fireteam you play as a colonial marine, dropped in to fight against a variety of enemies, including eleven types of Xenomorph spanning their evolutionary range, from Facehuggers to Praetorians, and Weyland-Yutani synthetics (I mean, ‘artificial people’, sorry Bishop).
What the hell are we supposed to use, man? Harsh language?
Aliens: Fireteam is a three-player co-op, third-person survival shooter, that can be played solo with AI teammates, or online with friends. Customisation looks set to play a big part, with numerous character classes to choose from (Gunner, Demolisher, Technician, Doc and Recon) which each come with their own perks. Firepower hasn’t been neglected either, your arsenal will include 30+ weapons and over 70 mods/attachments (including the eponymous M41a Pulse Rifle, Smart Gun, flamethrower and Hicks’ shotgun.
Level design features locations ripped straight from the source material, as well as stylised takes on Alien planets that look suitably close in aesthetic to the drab, dreary and gritty take on a dystopian future introduced by Ridley Scott and Cameron. Expect to see Xeno’s crawling across the ceiling and coming out of the god-damn walls as you fight to survive.
As much as we’re excited about this game, we’re cautious of getting our hopes up too high, as the memory of Aliens: Colonial Marines is all too fresh. If a AAA studio like Gearbox can screw up what should have been a home-run, it’s best to keep your expectations in check.
How long ’til it blows?
With the release scheduled for Summer 2021 on PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S and Windows PC (Steam), we haven’t got long to wait to find out if developer Cold Iron Studios LLC has made the game we are all hoping for..
Feature-packed WX4 and VX4 wireless controller lines refreshed with programmableback buttons, available at Argos now
Gioteck proudly announce that selected VX4 and WX4 wireless controller lines have been refreshed with new programmable back buttons, bringing even better functionality to some of the best value gaming accessories on the market, letting players map on the fly to suit their preference.
The ever-popular wireless controllers are available in a range of exciting finishes to suit your game, mood or style. The WX4 is compatible with Nintendo Switch® and available in arctic camo or black, whilst the VX4 is designed for PlayStation 4™ and is available in black, purple, or dark camo. All lines are PC compatible.
ABOUT THE GIOTECK VX4 WIRELESS
The VX4 Bluetooth Wireless Controller for PlayStation™ 4 provides superb comfort during marathon gaming sessions. Programmable back buttons, quick-fire triggers, precision D-Pad and anti-slip rubber thumb sticks deliver lightning fast performance. Motion, vibration and headset compatibility makes for mind-blowing, immersive gaming.
Available in black, dark camo and purple colourways
Programmable back buttons
Traditional PlayStation layout
Motion and vibration support
Wireless Bluetooth ™
3.5mm audio port
VX4 wireless premium edition dark camo – RRP £29.99
Go pro, and swap your Joy-Con™ for the traditional layout of the WX4 Switch® pro controller. Wireless, built with premium materials the WX4 delivers superb comfort during marathon gaming sessions. With LEDs for power and player number, plus motion and vibration support on selected lines, the WX4 delivers the ultimate next-level immersive gaming experience.
Final Fantasy VII Remake, Maquette, Remnant: From the Ashes and Farpoint
Final Fantasy VII Remake | PS4
Square Enix’s modern reimagining of its iconic RPG boasts unforgettable characters, a mind-blowing story and epic battles. Return to the city of Midgar as Cloud Strife, former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary, lends his aid to the resistance group Avalanche. Initially executing daring raids against Shinra to fight back against its planet-threatening machinations, Cloud and his comrades are unaware of the epic consequences that await them.
The story of this first, standalone game in the Final Fantasy VII Remake project covers up to the party’s escape from Midgar, and goes deeper into the events occurring in Midgar than the classic original.
Please note the PS4 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake available to PlayStation Plus members is not eligible for the PS5 digital version upgrade.
Remnant: From the Ashes | PS4
In this third-person survival action shooter, play as one of the last remnants of humanity attempting to retake a world overrun by monstrous, interdimensional invaders. Venture into dynamically-generated worlds alone or with up to two other survivors*, scavenging for supplies and modding your equipment to strengthen your chances of survival when tackling over 100 deadly varieties of enemy and battling epic bosses.
Maquette** | PS5
All that is tiny is simultaneously huge in this intriguing first-person puzzler designed around a Escher-esque recursive simulation. Making its PlayStation 5 debut as part of next month’s PlayStation Plus lineup, Maquette sets you in the center of a world the rules of which are very different from our own. Solutions to puzzles require you to twist the world recursively – manipulating the landscape of a diorama will see those changes mirrored in the life-sized version that surrounds you. If you get perplexed by a puzzle, you can call up PS5’s Game Help*** for helpful hints to solve Maquette’s tougher conundrums.
Farpoint | PS VR
Master an arsenal of weapons to keep yourself alive on a hostile alien world in this free-roaming, first-person PS VR shooter. Optimised for the PlayStation VR Aim controller and fully playable with a DualShock wireless controller, strike out towards your crashed space station solo or with a friend in online co-op. Trade alien threats for testing each other’s skills in a variety of Versus game modes.
These games will be available until April 5, 2021.
Also downloadable this month: Destruction AllStars | PS5
Destruction AllStars has a second month’s residency in PlayStation Plus and will leave the service on April 5, 2021. Take to the arena to partake in controlled car-crunching mayhem and parkour thrills with this supercharged multiplayer title. Master the unique abilities of 16 superstar competitors to come out on top across four game modes against other players online*. The game also supports PS5’s Game Help feature***, giving you hints and tips to become the ultimate destructive machine without the need to leave the game.
Your last chance to download February’s PlayStation Plus games
And as a reminder: you’ve only a few days left to download February’s other two titles: Control: Ultimate Edition and Concrete Genie. Head onto PlayStation Store from your PS4 or PS5 console, mobile app or through the website storefront to add them to your game library before it’s too late. Both games will be leaving the service on March 1, 2021.
The March Games with Gold lineup is here! On the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, become the ultimate mercenary in Warface: Breakout, and take down the Llamanati in Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse. And for our classic lineup via Backward Compatibility, pilot your favorite Metal Slug to take down the enemy menace in Metal Slug 3, and rule the seas from Port-au-Prince to Tortuga in Port Royale 3.
Xbox Live Gold members will have exclusive access to these games for a limited time as part of Games with Gold. So will Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members, who receive all the fantastic benefits of Gold plus access to over 100 high-quality games with Xbox Game Pass.
Port Royale 3 ($19.99 ERP): Available March 16 to 31
Warface: Breakout Tight gunplay and strategic team cooperation define this tactical online first-person shooter. Make split-second decisions, use a vast arsenal of weapons, and master the high-stakes PvP experience to become the ultimate mercenary of tomorrow. Elite forces are coming to Warface: Breakout on March 1! A new cosmetic pack adds a new exclusive knife, elite weapon skins, new epic helmets, and more to the game. Join the new event from March 8 to March 22 in the team deathmatch game mode. Improve your progress in the event and get new special rewards!
Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse Prepare your thumbs for a frantic top-down, couch co-op, twin-stick shooter like no other. Remotely pilot an endless supply of mechs to fight through the vast llama horde apocalypse. Featuring 1 to 4 player co-op, a massive, changing city to explore, and Xbox Play Anywhere functionality including on your PC, take down the Llamanati and pray that Llamazon blesses you!
Metal Slug 3 Marco and Tarma of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force are back to take down General Morden’s rebel forces. Run, gun, slice, and camel your way through an onslaught of adversaries, from soldiers to giant enemy crabs. Pilot a wide array of Metal Slug vehicles, shoot a variety of weapons, and cause mass destruction in this legendary run-and-gun shooter.
Port Royale 3 It’s the turbulent 17th Century, and you are a young sea captain whose only goal is to be the most powerful man in the New World. To achieve your goal, either choose to be a trader – developing trade routes to earn fortune, glory, and power; or become an adventurer – plundering, invading, and leading your ships in beautiful 3D naval battles. Set sail on 16 different ships, from versatile frigates to powerful galleons, and build your empire in the Caribbean.
Read more about our Games with Gold program here and stay tuned to Xbox Wire for all the latest news on Xbox. Like we said before, if you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you get all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold, over 100 high-quality games you can play on console, PC, and Android devices with cloud gaming (Beta, where available), and access to EA Play at no extra cost. New games are added all the time, so you’re never without something new to try when you’re looking to find your next favorite game. If you’re new, or if you’re an existing Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass for Console member, join or upgrade today for just $1.
Game Pass has been getting a steady stream of high-profile additions
Over the past year, Game Pass has cemented its position as the undisputed best deal in gaming subscription services, thanks to Microsoft’s willingness to add not only its own first-party titles on day of release, but also other AAA titles added just a few months after their release.
(At the time of writing, all of these games are available now)
DiRT 5
DiRT 5, one of the first titles to release with Series X|S upgrades, has now hit the service less than four months after its original release. We gave DiRT 5 a decent 7.5/10 in our review, saying, “DiRT 5 is a massively entertaining game, and while it gets a few things wrong, the core gameplay is solid. The co-op career is a great addition, and the easy to learn mechanics make this a great game for fans of arcade racers, or those who love off-road racing but find the likes of DiRT Rally too hardcore. If they had fleshed out the content a bit more and improved the progression, it would be great, but as it is, DiRT 5 never feels like it’s living up to its full potential.”
Wreckfest
Crash! Bang! Wallop! What a game!
In our review of Wreckfest on the Xbox One X, we gave it 8.5/10, saying, “This generation of consoles has been crying out for a game like Wreckfest. Racing games have been getting more serious and authentic, but that doesn’t always equate to more fun. Where Wreckfest succeeds, is in its ability to provide a proper handling system in addition to the phenomenal damage physics, yet still keeping gameplay accessible, entertaining and simple to pick up and play. Even without the destruction, this would be worth playing, and with it, it’s smashing, crashing, car obliterating joy.”
A minor bugbear I had with the One X version was the frame rate being capped at 30 fps, but now that it is available on console, cloud and PC with Game Pass Ultimate, I fired it up on an RTX 2070 Super desktop, bringing frame rates of 60 fps at 4k, with maximum graphics settings enabled.
While the new consoles haven’t had an official upgrade for Wreckfest, the new SSDs have made a huge improvement to the lengthy loading times, and it makes the whole experience feel much tighter and more enjoyable. If you haven’t played it yet, it should definitely be on your download list.
Superhot: Mind Control Delete (PC)
Time moves only when you move. The long-awaited third game in the groundbreaking Superhot franchise, Superhot: Mind Control Delete gives you more insight into the signature power fantasy world of Superhot with more story, more signature gameplay, more action, and more guns. Keep dancing the slow-motion ballet of destruction for so much longer than ever before.
Also added to Game Pass recently…
Code Vein (PC) – February 18
In the not-too-distant future, a mysterious disaster has collapsed the world as we know it. At the center of the destruction lies a hidden society of Revenants called Vein. Team up with your friends and embark on a journey to the ends of hell to unlock your past and escape your living nightmare in Code Vein.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition (Cloud and Console) ID@Xbox – February 18
The ultimate edition of the award-winning RPG from the masters at Obsidian Entertainment is coming to Xbox Game Pass, featuring all major updates and expansions. Bend the world to your will as you explore the depths of infinite possibilities, including detailed character customization, total freedom of exploration, and more meaningful choices at every turn. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Ultimate Edition redefines the role-playing game experience for a new generation.
Killer Queen Black (Cloud and Console) ID@Xbox – February 23
Fight for your hive in this strategic team platformer! Killer Queen Black is an intense multiplayer action/strategy platformer for up to eight players. Hop on the snail, hoard berries, or wipe out the enemy’s queen to claim victory. Fly solo, or team up with three of your friends as you race to complete one of three possible victory conditions.
Elite Dangerous (Console) – February 25
Take control of your own starship in a cutthroat galaxy. Elite Dangerous is the definitive massively multiplayer space epic, bringing gaming’s original open world adventure to the modern generation with a connected galaxy, evolving narrative and the entirety of the Milky Way re-created at its full galactic proportions.
Touch Controls added to more cloud games
As great as it is being able to play full Xbox games on your mobile, you won’t always be carrying a controller with you. That’s why the addition of these touch-control enabled games are very welcome for gaming on the go!
In a world covered in miasma, a floating castle is the last refuge for mankind. The earth is scarred with creatures altered by the plague while Welkin Castle is isolated in the sky from the horrors below.
Lucien, a charismatic politician protected within the castle’s walls, discovers an ancient book where he learns of the Exemplars, weapons that can turn into sentient soldiers. He joins forces with Rowena, a revenant determined to find a way to come back to life to raise her living son, and the two reluctantly make a pact to overthrow the mad tyrant controlling Welkin.
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It’s not often at Total Gaming Addicts that we recommend that you read the details hidden behind the “About” button above, but on this occasion it’s required reading. From the moment you fire up Fallen Legion: Revenants, you are literally thrown into the mix, with no exposition or explanation of who you are playing as and why. Not even a simple narrated overview, nothing. Bam… You start as a team of four, and are thrust right into battle, and when that is done, thrown into playing as another character who on the surface is just some random person.
I spent most of my time thinking, “Who is this, and what am i supposed to do? What relevance has this to do with anything, but most importantly, what the heck is going on?” I can not think of any other similar type of game that doesn’t have at least a menu option for you to learn the name of the character you are playing and a brief line or two of their history. Heck, while we are at it, this game doesn’t even have a menu of any nature at all. It’s only by stumbling into a character in the middle of one section of the game that you find out you can save your game! If you think it’s weird this review is simply getting right into it, then this mirrors how the game throws the player right into it too!
The only place from which you can learn the lore of the land (which is actually really interesting), and the only place that has any sort of structure to give you an understanding of who is who and what you are supposed to do, is the web site of the game. It is SO bad that after playing the game for a while, then forgetting the move list for combat, the only place I could refresh my mind on how combat worked was through a promotional email from the publishers when they sent the game to us to review!
When you start to get to grips.
When players get to understand the gameplay loop of the game, the jigsaw starts to become clearer. There are two main aspects of the game, those being controlling a party of 3 via a ghoul called Rowena, and controlling a politician named Lucien. The game jolts between the two situations with no overview of why. It eventually turns out that Rowena and Lucien have decided to help each other, as Lucien wants to overthrow the government, whereas Rowena, who is now in spirit form, wants to have her son raised, with the linking factor between the two being the Exemplars.
The game starts with combat, and then halfway through cuts to a scene in the castle, where Lucien has to solve clues or a puzzle or use his political charm to make deals to get information. He can then give that information to Rowena to change her course of action. For example, Lucien needs to find out which route a certain enemy went, which he does via bribery or flattery in the castle. He then advises Rowena and she goes in that direction. How he manages to talk to a ghoul in another part of the world is, again, not explained.
This gameplay loop is actually a really interesting idea, as the game has branching routes to it’s ending. The ending the player gets and how they got there will be different from others, which also gives potential for huge replay value for those who do manage to become invested in the story.
The combat is one of a kind!
The combat system is extremely unique. It works perfectly well and is probably the best aspect of the game.
The maximum number of available combatants in battles is four, with one of them always being Rowena herself. As the game progresses, more Exemplars are added to the team with different skill sets,
Combat utilises a grid-based system, and each character is assigned a button. To attack the enemies directly in front, the player simply hits that button. However, each button icon has a health bar around the left side of it, and the right side displays the number of hits available before a cooldown period is needed. Players can queue up attacks for all the characters, and then the first character you used will have cooled down to be able to attack again, or pressing two buttons at the same time allows two characters to attack simultaneously.
This mechanic is very simple and responsive, but the characters also need to block incoming attacks frequently, as simply button mashing will result in their deaths. Timing the blocks to make perfect parries also gives the team magic points, which can be stacked up to unleash a powerful strike or use them with Rowena to heal the team or unleash a strike of her own.
It is a simple system but it is also a rewarding and fun one, that has a layer of tactical awareness plastered over the top. Some of my best moments playing the game were during tough battles. I would manage to get a high combo, but at the cost of exposing the team and lowering their health. With a series of parries, I managed to recuperate them, before going full Conan the Barbarian on the enemy for the win.
Boring chatter.
The second aspect of the game comes into play midway through a level. For unexplained reasons, the screen then splits into two with Rowena asking Lucien a question. He then sets out to find out a pertinent piece of information to relay back to Rowena.
This requires Lucien to simply walk around and find a character to talk to and choose an option in his reply, e.g. being forceful, charming or offering a bribe, with these choices affecting the story further on down the line. The game needlessly puts timers on this section of the game that doesn’t add any impetus, but simply rushes the player into making the first choice they find when there could be many.
Lucien relays the information he has found back to Rowena, which she then uses to carry on the fight. When the level has been completed you are back at the castle with Lucien and can explore a few areas to interact with characters located there.
The sections featuring Lucien aren’t very exciting to play, as it’s always just a case of walking around to find someone to interact with or occasionally listening to conversations or pick-pocketing someone.
On the plus side
One of the other aspects the game does have going for it is that the artwork and animations are very smooth. The backdrops, although simplistic, wouldn’t be amiss in a manga book, and the characters themselves are pleasant to the eye, with interesting features and great character designs.
The musical score and in-game battle effects are also of great quality, but at times sound a little out of place. A guitar heavily thrashing out rock doesn’t really suit a victorian aesthetic, but was pleasant to listen to all the same. The voice acting is also of great quality, with the exception of Lucien. He plays the part of a politician too well, in that he sounds a little bit too slimy and fake for a character you will spend over half the game with.
The main and biggest issue
The biggest issue is one self-inflicted by the developers. The core idea of the game is actually a really good one. The mix of an interesting and unique combat mechanic alongside the branching storyline is not something I’ve seen before in this style. The issue throughout all of this though is context, and more specifically, lack thereof.
The game gives no context for why you should be doing anything! How can you care about what’s going on when the game doesn’t even tell you who the people are? Political chatter can be boring at the best of times, but overlay that with no exposition of what your goal is, or what direction you should think about when talking to the people you interact with, and everything the developers wanted to use to build up any tension is lost. Not knowing why you’re fighting and how the two situations are linked between Rowena and Lucien ultimately leads the player to think they are playing as two random characters.
I spent more time wondering what I should be doing, who is this and why should I care about them, than I did enjoying the game. The game then adds to this misery by not even having a menu system to allow the player to recap what’s happened, how to play or even save the game. In what is the ultimate loss of discretion, I couldn’t even find a “return to main menu” option to shut the game down, so I had to turn the game off whilst being in the middle of it! The structure of the game, much like how the story is presented, is an incoherent mess.
Summary
I really wanted to enjoy this game. Two of my all-time favourite games are 2D side-scrolling action RPGs Muramasa Rebirth and Odin Sphere Leifthanser, and I was hoping Fallen Legion: Revenants would be the third. Sadly, it is not. It’s very frustrating, because there is a great game buried here, it’s just lost beneath a blanket of poor design choices. It’s almost as though YYT Games didn’t believe in their own product when they most certainly should have stood tall and shouted about it.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising is a magnificent, family-friendly open-world adventure
Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release date: 21st October 2020
Genre: Open-world Action-Adventure
Platforms: Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Windows, Stadia
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Game Supplied by: Publisher
Steeped in mythology
With such a rich source of mythology to draw its material from, it should come as no surprise that the story in Immortals: Fenyx Rising is very entertaining, but it’s the way it puts a modern spin on the classic tales that is most interesting. Even if you aren’t familiar with the mythology, the back and forth banter and larger-than-life caricatures of the Gods will draw you in, but if you have a working knowledge of the history it’s even more entertaining, with lots of references and jokes that may go over your head without that familiarity. Even though it’s set in ancient Greece, the scriptwriting and dialogue are very modern. They’ve done a great job at bringing the characters to life, humanising them and bringing humorous takes on events.
Fenyx, the story’s protagonist, is a shield-bearer, who is the only survivor when her fleet’s ships are wrecked and all of the humans are turned to stone. She (or he, you can choose) must assist the Gods, whose essences have been captured by the evil lord Typhon. Each of the Gods has its own set of quests and side-quests to complete, along with loads of hidden quests to discover and Myths (puzzles) to complete.
When you think of an open-world game from Ubisoft, set in ancient Greece, the last thing you are probably expecting is humour, but Immortals: Fenyx Rising constantly delivers. Whether it’s the comedic exposition provided by Prometheus and Zeus, or the over-the-top animations when you upgrade your character, Immortals has its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. I found myself continually chuckling away to myself and occasionally even laughing out loud. I’ll admit, it threw me for a curve as it wasn’t expected, but it’s all the better for it, especially coming off the back of 100 hours of the much more serious tone of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
While I’m talking about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, I’m going to address the elephant in the room. Immortals and Valhalla are both sprawling and beautiful open worlds, released within weeks of each other, and it’s hard not to draw comparisons. They are both divided into regions, with environments crammed full of collectables, puzzles and similar mission structuring, but Immortals: Fenyx Rising does more than enough to distinguish itself from Valhalla.
Exploring the world
The environments of Immortals: Fenyx Rising are simply beautiful, and each region has its own distinct style, blending seamlessly from one area to the next. With biomes ranging from lush green forests and Mediterranean sun-kissed shores to barren craggy outcrops or snow-covered frosty peaks, Immortals always has something new to show you, which keeps the game feeling fresh as you progress.
The regions of the map are shrouded in fog, to begin with, but you are not restricted from visiting any of the areas apart from the very centre of the world, which unlocks in the end game. Ascending the statues of the Gods in each area lifts the veil and gives you a good vantage point to find the various points of interest and provides a very useful fast-travel point. Unlike Assassin’s Creed, though, simply climbing these peaks doesn’t reveal anything. You have to activate your Far Sight and physically move your cursor over the landscape until the controller vibrates, then move it about until you can press RT to reveal the secret.
At first, I thought this was a unique way of discovering everything, but Immortals is crammed full of chests, vaults, myth challenges, ambrosia and more. Scouring the environment for the umpteenth time, slowly scanning every inch of the world, quickly becomes tiring. I’d have liked to just ignore it and find things organically through exploration, but there’s so much to find and much of it is necessary to get the resources needed to upgrade your character so you can tackle the harder encounters and make progress.
Traversing the world is a cinch. You can tame some of the animals to use as your mount, which can then be summoned at will, and once you unlock Daedalus’s wings you’ve got enough tools to navigate the map at a good pace. The God statues in particular provide a great launching point, enabling you to cover vast distances with ease, while also taking in some spectacular views. There’s a lot of verticality in the world-design, so it helps that Fenyx is an adept climber, but unlike Assassin’s Creed, you can’t just climb to your heart’s content. Like many things in Immortals, you are governed by the amount of stamina you have.
Double jumping, gliding with your wings, dodging during combat, and using your God powers and skills all uses stamina. It’s easy enough to replenish during combat, as light attacks build up your stamina, and you collect more than enough consumables to keep yourself topped up. If you want to navigate the world faster and scale the higher peaks, though, you’re going to need to upgrade your stamina sooner rather than later. Fortunately, the way you upgrade your stamina involves some of the best content in Immortals: Fenyx Rising.
It’s a puzzle
To upgrade your stamina you need to collect Zeus’s lightning bolts, which are earned by finishing Vaults of Tartarus. These vaults have an excellent variety of combat challenges, physics puzzles and platforming sections. In the later stages, these puzzles become far more complex, and while you are unlikely to need to reach for a guide, they offer up just enough challenge to keep your interest and stave off frustration.
The open-world puzzles, in comparison, are reasonably involving and on occasion very good fun, but they can become tedious and feel like busy-work for the sake of it. Too many of them involve searching around the immediate vicinity for weight blocks to place on pressure pads, shooting flaming arrows to light braziers or finding switches hidden behind breakable walls. I really enjoyed the majority of these puzzles, and they do add more involved mechanics and challenging puzzles the deeper you get into the game. In comparison to the excellent vaults, though, it’s disappointing they didn’t make all of the open-world puzzles as engaging.
There are occasionally some interesting twists, like the Fresco (Sliding block) puzzle I found which is surrounded by lasers. I had to find a couple of metal blocks, and position them to protect me so I could finish the puzzle. None of the puzzles are particularly taxing, though, and once I sussed the mechanics I found myself inwardly groaning when I once again had to go searching for some hidden cabbages or similar to unlock yet another force-field. With such a huge amount of mini-puzzles to solve, it feels like they’ve just shoehorned some really basic ones in to pad it out. Fewer puzzles with more challenging and varied solutions would have been far preferable.
Bish Bash Bosh
If the open-world puzzles are Immortals: Fenyx Rising’s Achille’s Heel, then combat is its Herakles. To begin with, fighting involves mixing up your light and heavy attacks, while parrying regular attacks and dodging the enemies power attacks. As you progress and purchase more upgrades, you unlock bigger combos, aerial dodges, counter moves and the epic Godly Powers. Chaining these all together is extremely satisfying, as you deflect projectile attacks back to the sender then dispatch minions with sweeping attacks of your axe, before conjuring up a gigantic hammer to deal a crushing blow, then launch yourself upwards surrounded by a sea of spikes.
At first, I found some of the enemies to be damage sponges, which drew out combat unnecessarily, but this was because I had advanced too far without upgrading. Once I spent some time collecting the resources for upgrades I soon found Fenyx to be capable of defeating even the toughest of foes with ease. They still take a fair amount of thwacking to take down, but once you master the parry system and unlock some new skills and God powers, encounters become far more entertaining and satisfying.
Although for seasoned adventurers it’s not that difficult, there are numerous gameplay assists and modifiers to make it accessible for younger gamers or more challenging for pros. The combat difficulty can be raised or lowered, fall damage can be reduced to minimise deaths if you misjudge how much stamina you have for a climb or while gliding, and puzzles can be completed unaided, or there is an option to help locate items needed or guide you on what to do next. Ubisoft has made great progress in making its games accessible to everyone, and Immortals: Fenyx Rising is the epitome of that. I added enough challenge to keep me entertained and test my skills, while on the easiest settings it was approachable for my younger children without being too punishing or locking them out of content or achievements.
Character customisation
One of the best things about third-person adventures is crafting your character exactly how you like. In many games, though, you end up with a weird mish-mash of armour and weapons as you select the best attributes to suit your playstyle. In addition to the cosmetic variations of gear you will find in chests or through combat encounters, you can change the appearance of any of your gear to one of the other pieces in your inventory. I absolutely love this flexibility that allowed me to equip the best gear for the job at hand, while also having Fenyx dressed in whatever outfit took my fancy.
You will find loads of different weapons in your journey, but they are all variations on the basic sword, axe and bow and don’t give you different moves, just some stat modifiers like dealing more damage with air-combos, giving you more health or stamina, or dealing more damage to named enemies. I’d have appreciated some more diversity, but when you’ve unlocked the full skill set and all of the God powers you still have enough variety in your attacks that it’s just a minor niggle that weapons don’t offer more tactical options.
Immortals: Fenyx Rising does have microtransactions, but they are hidden away rather than being thrust into your face constantly. All of the premium content for sale is purely cosmetic, so you aren’t missing out on any super-gear by not buying it. I’m generally not a fan of microtransactions, but the lack of prominence and non-essential nature of these ones makes them inoffensive. If we have to have premium content in games, I’m more than happy for this to be the way forward.
Series X enhanced
I played through Immortals on the Xbox Series X, and it runs at a silky smooth 60 fps in performance mode. There are a few dips in resolution to maintain this frame rate, but it isn’t really noticeable due to the art style. I tried out Immortals in Quality mode, which runs at 30 fps in 4k, but as mentioned, the design of the game means any advantage the higher resolution gives you is far outweighed by the smoothness at 60 fps. Regardless of the lower resolution, the combination of HDR, vivid and colourful environments and the slightly cartoony aesthetic make Immortals look sumptuously beautiful. The controls feel tight and responsive, too, with Fenyx reacting quickly to your inputs, which is essential during the trickier platforming sections or when timing dodges or parries in combat.
If you are the kind of player who weighs up a game’s worth by the amount of playtime you can get from it, Immortals has a sizeable chunk of content to keep you going. While it’s not as epic as the 100+ hours you’ll need to invest in something like AC: Valhalla, I have spent 60 hours playing Fenyx Rising so far, including 10 hours in New Game+. I’ve completed the main questline (which has an interesting if slightly predictable twist), roughly two-thirds of the myths and side-content and earned 950/1000 gamerscore. It’s always a sign of a great game when you find yourself itching to go back and play more, even when you’ve only got the clearing up of collectables left to do.
Summary
Immortals: Fenyx Rising is a magnificent, family-friendly open-world adventure. There’s a well-crafted story, humorous and engaging narrative, and plenty of content, most of which is great fun with the exception of a few repetitive puzzles. In between story missions and puzzle-solving, the frequent and excellent combat and a wide variety of enemies to take down keeps your journey exciting from start to finish. The 60 fps performance mode is the best way to play, and even if it’s not as crisp as the 4k quality mode, the bright and colourful palette used and excellent level design makes it a joy to explore the world of Immortals. Simply put, Immortals is a must-play for fans of the open-world adventure genre.
Normally I wouldn’t feel compelled to write up a review of a mousepad. I mean, it’s a mousepad, there’s not much to say is there? When you reach the XXL sizes of mousepads, however, and the asking price is £39.99, it can help to have the reassurance that you’re making a smart purchase.
First things first, these mousepads are indeed extra-extra-large. Measuring in at 930mm by 450mm, you are going to need a decent-sized desk to fit them on. Once in place, though, you’re rewarded with ample space for a large keyboard and more than enough room for the most exuberant of mouse sweeps, swipes, swoops and swishes. When I’m not gaming, I have enough room to comfortably use two mice as well as keeping my phone protected on the pad, too.
The Predator XXL mousepads come in a variety of different styles, ranging from a relatively basic pattern that echoes the default desktop background of Predator PCs and laptops to richly detailed scenes full of colour and detail. The print quality is good on the mousepads I have received: There is a slight graininess to the finer details, but that’s to be expected on a mousepad of this size. The colours aren’t quite as vibrant as on the promo photos, but for me, it’s preferable as it doesn’t detract from the aesthetic of my setup. It’s entirely down to personal preference which is best for you, of course, but the manufacturing quality is the same across the whole range.
There is no embroidered edge on the Predator XXL mousepad, which did initially give me concern that the edges would end up fraying, but I’ve been using one of these pads for over 6 months and it’s as good as new. The surface fabric has been heat-sealed onto the soft and pliable rubber base, which has given the edging very good durability.
I frequently roll-up my mousepads as I often change my setup, which on cheaper pads has caused the surface and base to separate and peel at the corners in particular. I’ve had no such issues with the Predator XXL mousepads, though.
Despite how thin the mousepad is (just 3mm), it has a comfortable, slightly spongy feel which is very comfortable to rest your elbows and wrists on. The soft rubber base grips the desk well, and I had no issues with the pad sliding or bunching up.
In use, mouse response is basically perfect. I tried pressing down hard on my mouse while moving it and even with substantial pressure the pad gives a frictionless surface. Whether making slow, measured movements or high-speed flicks, I found the tracking to be supremely accurate.
Summary
Acer’s Predator XXL mousepads are ideal for anyone wanting to add a touch of gamer style to their desk. I love the look of mine, and it has elevated my fairly dull desk surface into a stylish battle-station. £39.99 is a reasonable price for a mousepad of this size, especially when it offers comfort and durability beyond that found on cheaper off-brand alternatives. Topping it off is a 2-year guarantee that makes this an attractive proposition – all you need to do now is pick your favourite design.
Diablo 2 is one of the best PC games ever made. That’s a bold statement but entirely warranted.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is a faithful remaster of both Diablo 2 and its expansive DLC additions, brought back to us with up to 4k high-res 3D graphics and textures (replacing the original 2D sprites), revamped lighting and effects, new animations and a boost up to 7.1ch surround sound.
For console players, this will be their first chance to experience the genre-defining adventure. Diablo 2: Resurrected will be available on Windows® PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, and Nintendo Switch™. Cross-platform progression is included, so you can pick up and play with your characters across multiple platforms, keeping all your hard-earned loot.
[su_quote cite=”J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment”]Diablo II was a pivotal game for Blizzard and millions of players around the world. With Diablo II: Resurrected, we’re excited to bring this classic back to PC and also to consoles – with cross-progression on supported platforms – so that players can relive their memories, or experience Diablo II’s timeless gameplay for the first time, on their platform of choice. With the new high-resolution audio and video in Diablo II: Resurrected, the game is as fun and engrossing today as it was twenty years ago.
[/su_quote]
A feature that has been added that I always love in remastered games is the ability to freely switch back and forth between the original graphics and audio and the remastered version. While it may look like a brand new game, the core systems and gameplay that made Diablo 2 so popular all remain intact.
Diablo II: Resurrected features seven highly customizable character classes for players to choose from – the Amazon, Barbarian, Necromancer, Paladin, and Sorceress from the core game, as well as the Assassin and Druid from the included Lord of Destruction expansion. Players will be able to make each character their own by selecting skills and talent builds, crafting and socketing items, collecting complete gear sets, acquiring unique arms and armour, assembling Rune Word combinations, and much more.
Opt in for a chance to participate in the upcoming PC technical alpha test at www.diablo2.com. Further details, including updates regarding pricing and availability, can also be found by visiting the official site.
The excellent family-friendly competitive hit game, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, is coming to Switch.
Combining massive numbers of players, comedic physics and the all-important “just one more go” addictive gameplay, Fall Guys rapidly became a streamers and game critics favourite. We gave Fall Guys 9/10 in our review:
[su_quote cite=”Total Gaming Addicts”]Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is fantastically good fun. Even if there are no long-term goals, the XP you earn after each round provides extra motivation for gameplay as you strive to unlock more customisation options. The simple gameplay is accessible to even the youngest of gamers, and the non-violent approach to Battle Royale makes it a game that appeals to and is suitable for players of any age. Low system requirements mean it runs well on even modest hardware, and for the low price, it’s an absolute bargain considering how much fun it is.[/su_quote]
Revealed during Nintendo Direct, it has now been confirmed that the smash-hit game is wobbling, stumbling and flopping its way to Nintendo Switch this summer.
Check out the trailer below:
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is available now on PS4 and PC (Steam).
The oft rumoured Xbox version has yet to be confirmed, but we sincerely hope it’s a case of when, rather than if.
For more news and updates, either join us here at Total Gaming Addicts, head over to fallguys.com, or join Discord and follow @FallGuysGame
Calling all Rya Hayabusa fans – The black-clad super-Ninja is coming to a screen near you soon!
Releasing on the PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch, the Master Collection bundles together the three games that marked Team Ninja as major players in the action hack and slash genre. If you have never attempted to complete one of these games, now is the chance.
The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection includes:
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
In addition to the base games, they will also include most of the previously released DLC game modes and costumes in one epic collection.
Blending hard-as-nails gameplay with complex, in-depth fighting mechanics more akin to a fighting game than a typical hack-n-slash, you’ll need to master both offensive and defensive tactics to succeed.
“NINJA GAIDEN is one of the most important and monumental titles for the Team NINJA brand, but we haven’t been able to release the series title on current generation platforms, so I am very delighted to be able to release it in this format as a trilogy,” says Yosuke Hayashi, Chief Head of Team NINJA. “If you enjoy challenging action games, we hope you will give it a try.”
Adds Fumihiko Yasuda, Head of Team NINJA: “NINJA GAIDEN is the origin of Team NINJA’s action games, and I hope that not only fans of the series, but also fans of the Nioh series will play these games. I hope that the day will come soon when I can provide information about the next game in the NINJA GAIDEN series, which I’ve been continuously saying that I want to develop, but until then, please play as the ‘super ninja’ Ryu Hayabusa in the NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection.”
If you read those quotes, you’ll have noticed that Fumihiko Yasuda all but confirmed Ninja Gaiden 4 is coming – very exciting!
In the meantime, you have plenty of time to warm up your thumbs and improve those reaction times, as its worldwide release is due on the 10th June 2021.
“To celebrate the reveal of NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection, Team NINJA will also run a special collaboration with Nioh 2. The development team have created the “Dragon Ninja” skin, which players can use to transform themselves into Ryu Hayabusa, the protagonist of NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection. Players who own Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition (PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, and Steam) or Nioh 2 (PS5 and PS4) can download this costume for use in-game starting on February 18th – with further details on this collaboration detailed on the official Nioh 2 website.”
Join us here at Total Gaming Addicts for more news and reviews of this upcoming excellent collection of games.
Koei Tecmo has announced the return of their iconic franchise, Samurai Warriors, with the fifth instalment coming to console and PC this summer.
Sporting a new graphical style, the trailer focuses on the series’ “bad guy”, Nobunaga Oda.
In addition to the visual overhaul, there have also been numerous changes, additions and improvements to gameplay, too. More will be revealed in the months leading up to release.
“The latest iteration of Omega Force’s fan-favourite 1 vs. 1,000 action series is currently under development for the Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4, the Xbox One consoles (playable on Xbox Series X|S via Backward Compatibility), and Windows PC via Steam®.
SAMURAI WARRIORS 5 marks a fresh, re-imagining of the franchise, including an all-new storyline, as well as revamped character designs and a stylish new visual presentation. A new beginning to the SAMURAI WARRIORS experience, the title launches gamers into the Sengoku period, shining the in-game spotlight on characters Nobunaga Oda and Mitsuhide Akechi. But what’s behind the electrifying SAMURAI skirmish? Find out during the monthly SAMURAI WARRIORS 5 livestream, beginning February 25th JST, with regular updates leading up to the game’s launch this summer!”
Following on from what was regarded as one of the best MotoGP seasons ever, Milestone, the video game motorbike masters, have just dropped the new trailer for their new upcoming game MotoGP 21.
“Milestone and Dorna Sports S.L. areproud to announce MotoGP™21, the next chapter of the amazing two-wheeled racing simulation games that continue the franchise’s great history. Coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam and Epic Games Store, MotoGP™21 is set to launch on April the 22nd, 2021.
Featuring the 2021 Official Season and enriched by the power of next generation consoles, MotoGP™21 is ready to change gear and race at speed, delivering an experience without precedents.
A brand-new progressive and strategic Managerial Career mode, smartest and advanced Neural AI and real-life gameplay improvements will enhance simulation vibes and the players’ feeling of immersion in the game. This year, MotoGP™ feels more real than ever!
A truly MotoGP™ experience
The new edition of Managerial Career allows players to delve deeply into the managing experience, making some new features available both on and off the track. Building the best team possible and customizing the bike are keys to success. Being fast on track is now all up to you!
The Personal Manager leads the staff, helping riders to look for new, prestigious contracts from the best teams in the championship. At their side the Chief Engineer is working for increasing Research Points, earned weekly or during Free Practice sessions. Last but not least, the Data Analyst is in charge of finding the perfect balance for each development area to progress, in order to make all the staff effective and dynamic. Those elements have been added aiming to create the deepest and most complete career experience ever. And what about starting from the bottom with a Junior Team?
Well, the path will be harder but at the same time more personal. Hiring the right people is always fundamental for success, starting from the Team Manager, who will look for new sponsorship and riders, and all the way up to the Technical Director who manages the R&D department for junior bikes. Of course, don’t forget to hire a rider, a talented young star to lead the team to the top of the ladder.
In both cases, the bike is the protagonist and in MotoGP™ 21 the customization is moving another step close to reality. Assign your staff members to any of the bike development branches and invest your R&D Points to improve Engine Power, Aerodynamics, Frame and the most important Electronic features, such as Traction Control, Brake, Anti Wheelie and Power Mapping. And of course, even the look of the bike
is important, that’s why MotoGP™ once again features an editor divided into five main categories: Helmet, Livery, Suit, Stickers and Racing Number.
The future of the two-wheeled gaming experience is here
We promised a realer experience l than ever, and the Managerial Career is only one of the improvements this year. The gameplay also has some iconic new features to present: the goal is to create an electrifying, strategic and adrenaline-fuelled racing simulation that players have never played before.
· Bike Retrieval Sequence. Once you fall, you’ll no longer automatically respawn on track. You’ll have to get up and get back on your bike, as fast as you can. Pay attention to how you take corners!
· Brake Temperature. Riding is not only a matter of speed, but also of strategy. Monitoring the temperature of your brakes is the key to always having the situation under control. If they are too hot or too cold they risk losing their effectiveness.
· Long Lap Penalty. Finally, the feature is coming to the MotoGP™ videogame franchise, meaning that penalties can now be more specific.
· Bike Suspension System Revised. The level of realism is increasing again. This feature is dedicated to all the bike simulation lovers!
As 2021 is the year of next generation consoles, MotoGP™21 is also ready to deliver some unmissable additions. Players who play the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will enjoy Dynamic Resolution up to 4K, along with 60FPS. The overall quality is significantly improved and the enhanced lighting creates a world that transmits all the sensation of a real race. Loading times are faster and for those who can’t live without the thrill of competition, online races are now up to 22 riders. Finally, like a wheelie at the finish line, PlayStation Players will enjoy the amazing feature of the PS5 DualSense™, including Haptic Feedback and Adaptive triggers.
The final piece is the next level of ANNA. Our revolutionary AI based on machine learning is back with additional improvements in order to race against faster, smarter and more accurate opponents than ever, making the offline experience equal to a real race.
And this is just the beginning! MotoGP™21 will only get bigger and better over the months thanks to some new content that will be introduced through patches. Day one is only the beginning of the race!
MotoGP™21 will be released on April 22nd, 2021 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam and Epic Games Store.
Join our community and follow us on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get the latest news, and visit our Official Website for more information. ”
Ubisoft’s newest free-to-play title, Roller Champions, is edging closer to launch, with the Closed Beta starting today, 17th February 2021.
Servers open: 17:00 GMT – 17th February
Servers close: 21:00 GMT – 1st March
You can register for the beta with the following link, however, we also have 5 codes to give away for the platform of your choice. Simply find us on Facebook, like the page and share the post, then drop your preferred platform in the comments (PS4, Xbox or PC). This will be first come first served, so get in there fast!
The gameplay of Roller Champions is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Well organised teamwork is just as important as individual skill.
The rules are simple – your team needs to capture the ball, and complete circuits of an oval course while dodging your competitors, then score by throwing the ball through an elevated goal. The first team to score five points wins.
Completing a single lap before scoring awards one point, while holding onto the ball for three laps will score an epic five points, instantly winning the match.
It sounds easy, but with three opponents hell-bent on taking you out you’ll need to think smart and use strong defensive tactics, as well as utilising the steep sided circuits to launch yourself up and over your opponents. Knowing when to pass and when to tackle could make the difference between glorious victory and crushing defeat.
Our very own Andy Miranda (OMA Monster) has been hands-on with the early-access beta, check out his video below:
Roller Champions is free-to-play, but rather than include questionable pay-to-win mechanics, Ubisoft has focussed on cosmetic upgrades. There’s a huge amount of customisation features available, with many unlockable through persistence and just playing the game. Much like games like Rocket League or Fortnite, fans who want to support the devs can purchase premium customisation options.
It’s worth pointing out that progress earned in the Closed Beta will not carry on to the full game when it releases.
Roller Champions closed beta is available on PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S and PC (new-gen console owners can play via backwards compatibility).
PC System Requirements:
Minimum system requirements:
OS: Windows 10 or newer Processor: 2.5GHz 4 cores NVIDIA GTX 970 or better / AMD Radeon 390 RAM: 4GB DirectX: 11 Peripherals: Xbox Controller, PS4 Controller, Mouse and Keyboard
Recommended system requirements:
OS: Windows 10 or newer Processor: 3GHz 8 cores NVIDIA GTSX 1060 or better / RX580 or better RAM: 8GB DirectX: 11 Peripherals: Xbox Controller, PS4 Controller, Mouse and Keyboard