[su_accordion][su_accordion] [su_spoiler title=”About” style=”fancy”] Spintires: MudRunner is the ultimate version of the million-seller indie hit Spintires coming to PC and, for the first time, consoles. Like Spintires before it, Spintires: MudRunner puts you in the driver’s seat and dares you to take charge of incredible all-terrain vehicles, venturing across extreme landscapes with only a map and compass as your guides! A huge upgrade over its predecessor, this edition comes complete with a brand-new Sandbox Map joining alongside the original game’s 5 environments, a total graphical overhaul, a new Challenge mode with 9 dedicated maps, 13 new vehicles, and other comprehensive improvements. It’s not just an enhanced edition, it’s the ultimate off-road experience! [/su_spoiler] [/su_accordion]
Mud runners is awesome, i would like to say before i go on that i have been playing a pre release copy that has had no patches or updates.
Now what is mud runners, it is a seriously hardcore dirt simulation, you drive off road vehicles of all kinds through a few different scenarios to achieve objectives such as deliver lumber to a mill.
Seems easy right?… well it would be but jump into challenge mode and it’s not so easy, the truck carrying the lumber is out of fuel, you have to switch to the fuel carrier to fill her up, well it needs repairs.
So now you’re switching to the utility vehicle down the road so that you can drive to the fuel truck, repair it, then take the fuel truck to the one carrying the lumber and fill it up, and finally drive the truck to the mill and deliver the lumber all while controlling the diff lock drive mode and in some scenarios the gears, then you have a challenge by which you need to not use the bridge and only use first person camera. Trust me, getting that huge hauler through a river took a few tries.
Ok not that you understand it really is a simulation game let me tell you, it looks good, really good, the scenery the trucks even the smoke billowing out of the exhaust as you plow your way through thick mud and up daunting mounds of loose rocks and sand.
Best of all is the mud, the way your truck moves through it and the way it reacts to your truck and moves and leaves track marks, its awesome the whole physics system in this game is awesome, the realism of the game is awesome i mean you can stall, i know it’s a small thing but if your truck of atv rolls on its side especially in water it will stall the engine and if you’re unlucky and in water, it will damage the engine until it is non functional.
But there are some flaws, the first being that the wing mirrors don’t work, and when it expects you to drive around in first person to complete a challenge that makes it damn difficult, especially if you are towing a trailer.
Second would be the tutorial, before i go into this one i’d like to say that the game does tell you to play through the challenges before doing the solo mode as these would teach you a bit more, but there are some things that the game should have explained from the start, like how to change gears, and what all wheel drive and diff lock actually do, as for people that are not so into cars and atvs would not know this and that could ruin their fun quite a bit.
Now for old fans of the original spintires they have labeled this as the ultimate edition of the original, what’s new you ask? So we have a challenge mode with 9 dedicated maps only available on challenge mode and they have added 13 new vehicles which bumps the total number of terrain wrecking beasts up to 19 and if that wasn’t enough to bring you over there is a new sandbox map that will join the previous 5 environments.
And the cherry on top of the cake is that you will be able to do all of this online with your friends by your side, so next time you get stuck in the river with a permanently stalled engine ( happened to me a few times) you can get your bud to tow you out.
SUMMARY
I think mud runners is awesome, bar a couple of niggly cons it’s a pretty fun game and i can see it bringing some seriously fun multiplayer sessions once it is fully released.
If you like farming simulator and games of that type you will love this.
[su_accordion][su_accordion] [su_spoiler title=”About” style=”fancy”] The epic clash between two storied universes returns with Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the next era of the highly revered action-fighting game series. Marvel and Capcom universes collide like never before as iconic characters team up for action-packed player-versus-player combat. Imagined and created through a shared vision between the two companies, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite will feature a variety of exciting and accessible single player modes and rich multi-player content for new players and longtime fans alike. In addition to single player Arcade, Training and Mission modes, a visually stunning and immersive cinematic Story Mode will put players at the center of both universes as they battle for survival against a sinister new threat, Ultron Sigma. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is being built to highlight a combination of iconic locations and fan favorite characters from both universes, including Captain Marvel and Iron Man from the Marvel side, and Ryu and Mega Man X from Capcom. [/su_spoiler] [/su_accordion] [/su_accordion]
Review:
so let me start by saying, i have never been a huge fighting game player i obsessed with the DBZ games (like every kid in my school did) but that was about it bar the odd tekken game night.
with that in mind i approached marvel vs capcom with doubts, having played the previous installment for a couple of days for reference my expectations were quite high.
it did not disappoint the game is gorgeous, the graphics are great and the characters really do look and feel great, and the attention to detail can not be faulted.
Even small things like the sound of the fighting is great i really did have a great time playing the game and trying out every character that was available, and to better all of this infinity stones are a great new feature they can really turn the tide. one minute you’re playing as a OP ghost rider and destroying Spiderman, then the cheeky sod uses his infinity stone and basically combos you to death.
now what are infinity stones, they are basically a specific perk you chose at the character selection screen, for example a reality stone will power up your hit damage and a mind stone will allow you to combo a lot faster and for longer.
Now it’s not all good the more i played the more the faults in the game started to show as mentioned above some of the character are over powered, also the character selection seems a tad short compared to previous titles not to mention it seems they have gotten rid of a lot of fan favourites.
but the worse part would have to be the response times, the characters reach and powers are unbalanced but this could be fixed, the response times however i can’t see a fix coming. the characters felt slow, as if there was a delay from your controller input to the characters actions.
verdict:
while it does a lot of things right, very right it does have faults.
the game was good enough to tear me away from my usual racing and shooting for a few days and i’d say if you like fighters or are a fan of marvel movies it’s well worth picking up.
Project CARS 2 is the next evolution in the award-winning racing series, featuring the most iconic cars under the most thrilling of conditions to deliver the “Ultimate Driver Journey” experience and adrenaline rush. Created by gamers, tested by world-class racing drivers, and the definitive choice of Esports pros, Project CARS 2 brings together the essence of real racing in the most beautiful, authentically-crafted, and technically-advanced racing game on the planet.
Review:
Ok first impressions, it is stunning, the game is beautiful. When I first booted up project cars and started a race I had to take some time to admire just how gorgeous and clean the graphics of this game are.
Project Cars 2 is up there with the best of them in terms of graphics, you can really see that they have spent an immense amount of time and effort on each and every one of their 180 cars and 60 tracks, which they now boast as the largest track roster on console with the addition of 20 fully scanned tracks.
Again the game is stunning they have really raised the bar with project cars 2 everything is beautifully detailed, the interior has been fully functional in every car i drove, you can feel that the developers have spent time on every single pixel.
Handling is awesome, they have fine tuned the handling of every car, it is the best handling I have personally ever experienced in any driving game, every car feels unique.
From when I started driving a small shifter kart that takes one hell of a learning curve, it took me easily 45 minutes to an hour just to be able to make it round the first track whilst keeping up with the other cars, to driving my favourite Honda civic type r with its screaming v-tec engine, they all feel different and all have pros and cons, and you can feel that when using them it really makes you think and take longer to decide what car fits your driving style better, and if you don’t take the time to choose the right car you will likely find that you are struggling to get any higher than 5th place, project cars 2 is unforgiving, one mistake could easily mean last place, you need to be quick to recover if you are to have any chance at all for a podium finish.
To compliment this we have the sound, again it is on point, I drive a civic every day of my life and being able to recognise that sound from a game was a surreal experience. You can hear every single engine when you’re racing, you can hear that beefy RS creeping up behind you, you can hear the tyres screeching round the corner, the immersion I felt while playing this game was awesome, I could almost smell the burning rubber and petrol fumes.
It doesn’t stop there, project cars has always tried to make an authentic experience and project cars 2 doesn’t disappoint. From your sign up sheet to the social media posts that almost seem like real posts.ow there are some differences, in the last game your car livery was decided by which contract you accepted, now the team you sign with is decided by which livery you chose.
It seems like a small change but it really makes a difference, I remember choosing a team contract just because it was the first one that popped up just to find out that the livery was a yellow car with some block zig zags, now I can choose my favourite livery and that will be the team I sign with.
Multiplayer is pretty self explanatory, it’s racing online with other players from around the world, it is just as fun as the main story except having to deal with the occasional troll that just wants to crash into you but as It has been very clear, the developer is hoping for a e-sports community with project cars 2, so I would get practicing.
They have also implemented a new feature called Competitive racing licence, now they say that this will track a drivers reputation for clean driving and a driver’s skill level which are then used as a filter for online racing, seems like a good idea if it works.
They then track your experience in the game, which is basically how long you spend playing and what you spend time doing.
this is then displayed on your driver profile showing your rise through the ranks.
Now what do you do in project cars, for those who have not played the original, the easiest way to explain this is, it is your dream race career, you start the game by filling out your name and nickname then you chose your starting point.
Now in project cars 1 you could choose one of two karting disciplines, project cars 2 gives you a little more choice, now you can jump straight into formula rookie which if you are not used to simulation racers I do not recommend.
This is your initial choices of career starting points, you can start start in category 6 with your shifter karts and formula rookie or chose to jump straight into a GT discipline.
There are 5 disciplines in project cars 2, open-wheel, GT, Prototypes, Rallycross and touring cars.
They all handle differently shifter karts are stuck to the floor like glue and one spin can mean the end of the race for you, then jumping into a focus RS which gives you a bit more leeway, you don’t have to slow down as much round corners and it doesn’t spin as easily, but you can feel that the back end is a drift giving you that front wheel drive feel all the weight and power at the front, if your back end gets knocked the car will spin. Then comparing all that to a lamborghini veneno, it’s like a different game it feels like the lamborghini fixes all the handling issues of the cart and has a perfect balance of weight, so you plow into your first race in your head thinking this is easy, just to go a bit too fast hit the brakes and skid head first into a barrier! While the lamborghini does not suffer from a light back end or difficult handling it takes longer to get it down to speed for corners.
I will say this is all subjective these are my experiences with my driving style and the standard set of assists on i might add, when you play you may take to the karts really well and not like the lamborghinis handling its all personal.
Now after you have mastered which ever discipline you decide to start with you will be looking to progress your career, the game works in seasons each season you chose the discipline you would like to participate in based on the offers you have received from teams, then you chose the car you would like to use and you are then presented with the teams that have open seats for that vehicle in that discipline.
Once you are happy with the team, car, and contract you can then decide if you’d like to run a full series or a short calendar.
That is the basics of how you will operate through your project cars career, the better you perform the more offers you will receive from teams which will branch out the available disciplines.
With that said I am going to advise this game is not for casual players, this is a hard-core simulation racer and it is hard but this is the point of project cars 2, to give you the most authentic racing experience available.
Verdict:
Project cars 2 is hard and not aimed at casual players by any standard and it does have the odd texture pop and screen drag here and there, but over all this is one amazing game and it has so much to offer, it’s hard to ignore it, Project Cars is a fine tuned machine of its own, it’s a Lamborghini engine tuned to perfection with every nut and bolt polished.
WRC 17 is the official game of the FIA World rally Championship, which puts you behind the wheel of any of the 55 official teams within the sport set over all of the 13 stages within the calendar. Rise from the lower ranks of the WRC juniors to become a fully fledged WRC champion and race with some of the biggest names in the sport.
WRC 7 is an officially licensed game but how does it compare to likes of other games on the market such as the more recent Dirt 4? On first pick up and play the game does look stunning with some lovely visuals and vistas which do entice you play the game more and more, but through more play i noticed the game isn’t as polished as it should be with the small details such as glitchy camera angles and some lighting effects where the shimmer you get of rain soaked gravel that you can see in games like Dirt 4. In addition to this is the spectators which add a nice touch to the stages as you drive by them but they seem to be a bit static and generic.
Sound is great with ambient horns and cheers from the grounds or echo from driving through tunnels add to the authentic ambient sound, plus the car sounds such as tyre screech as you slam on the brakes and the exhaust backfiring are familiar sounds to rallying.
WRC 7 offers plenty in the way of driving options to customise your style of play, from a rookie point of view you get assisted launch and braking, right through to simulation mode where everything is turned off and manual gears are compulsory. For me I customised the game for semi automatic and turned off the assists to balance fun with realism. However i was let down by the car handling which at times is very twitchy and uncontrollable especially on the pro handling setting but even on the amateur setting it is hard to control your car, resulting in a stop start driving style to prevent you crashing off into a ditch or plowing into a crowd of spectators.
I think WRC 7 has a steep learning curve as after a while i did improve slightly and got the hang of going around corners by combining brakes and Handbrake, but it never provides that fun factor of stringing a sequence of corners together at high speed.
As with most racing games the core aspect has to be the career mode where you start from one of the lower teams, the more successful you are at winning the better the chance you will get a new contract with a better team giving you opportunity to rice through the different classes to the top tier of WRC championship.
Before each rally in career your Headquarters allows you check out the upcoming calendar, your team and it’s moral plus you can check rankings for all classes of championship including others that you aren’t participating in.
There are other modes on offer in solo mode, these include:
Quick game – Choose any car, championship or driver and jump into any off the 55 stages at any time of the day allows you to experience all available content on offer.
Custom championship – allows you to design your own rally and stages in a customisable order of your choosing
Driving test – is simply a tutorial to help you measure your skills to determine if your driving skills are legendary or a Sunday driver out for a cruise, apart from that their is nothing much else to it.
Multiplayer allows up to 8 players in a lobby with on track racing is time-based where you race against other online players ghosts in real time, this does offer some sense that you are racing against someone else and sticks to the authentic racing seen in a rally. There are some special stages where you do get to race against another driver but it lacks the carnage of wheel to wheel racing that you get in other disciplines.
If that’s not enough you get Challenges which allows you to become the number 1 driver in the world as you compete for the top spot by completing a specific stage on a selected rally against the online community.
SUMMARY
I do love an authentic racing game and even though the game has some nice touches including all the official cars, drivers and stages, the over sensitive handling of your car took some of the fun out of the game.
WRC 7 has been improved from previous years but there are some niggling little details that make the game feel unfinished and not as polished with games such as Dirt 4, the cars seem to feel too light and should be more grounded.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Reviewed on: Xbox One s, 49” 4k HDR and TB 420X
Game Supplied by: Zen Studios
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How do you take a massively popular game like Pinball FX2 with over 65 tables and make it better? It’s pinball surely you can’t! Well they have and I for one am very impressed with what they have done with it and can’t wait for more tables to play
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[su_spoiler title=”Tables list” style=”fancy”]
The following lists confirm tables that will be available as FREE imports from Pinball FX2 / Zen Pinball 2 to Pinball FX3, as well as those tables which will not be available for Pinball FX3.
Sorcerer’s Lair (FREE)
Core Collection Pack
Rome
PashaBiolab
Secrets of the Deep
Iron & Steel Pack
Wild West Rampage
CastleStorm
Medieval Pack
Epic Quest
Excalibur
Sci-Fi Pack
Mars
Earth Defense
Paranormal
Zen Classics Pack
V12
El Dorado
Tesla
Shaman
Aliens vs. Pinball
Aliens Pinball
Alien vs. Predator Pinball
Alien: Isolation Pinball
Balls of Glory Pinball
Family Guy Pinball
Bob’s Burgers Pinball
Archer Pinball
American Dad! Pinball
Bethesda® Pinball
DOOM® Pinball
Fallout® Pinball
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim® Pinball
Universal Classics™ Pinball (NEW)
E.T. ™ Pinball
Back to the Future™ Pinball
Jaws™ Pinball
Marvel Pinball Original Pack
Blade
Iron Man
Spider-Man
Wolverine
Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue
Ghost Rider
X-Men
Thor
Moon Knight
Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles
Fear Itself
The Infinity Gauntlet
Marvel’s The Avengers
World War Hulk
Marvel’s Women of Power
Marvel’s Women of Power: A-Force
Marvel’s Women of Power: Champions
Marvel Pinball: Heavy Hitters
Deadpool
Civil War
Venom
Marvel Pinball: Cinematic Pack
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron
Marvel’s Ant-Man
Marvel Pinball: Marvel Legends Pack
Captain America
Fantastic Four
Doctor Strange
Portal ® Pinball
Star Wars™ Pinball
Star Wars™ Pinball: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars™
Pinball: The Clone Wars
Star Wars™ Pinball: Boba Fett
Star Wars™ Pinball: Balance of the Force
Star Wars™ Pinball: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
Star Wars™ Pinball: Darth Vader
Star Wars™ Pinball: Starfighter Assault
Star Wars™ Pinball: Heroes Within
Star Wars™ Pinball: Han Solo
Star Wars™ Pinball: Droids™
Star Wars™ Pinball: Episode IV A New Hope
Star Wars™ Pinball: Masters of the Force
Star Wars™ Pinball: The Force Awakens Pack
Star Wars™ Pinball: The Force Awakens™ Table
Star Wars™ Pinball: Might of the First Order
Star Wars™ Pinball: Unsung Heroes
Star Wars™ Pinball: Rogue One™
Star Wars™ Pinball: Star Wars Rebels™
Telltale’s The Walking Dead Pinball
Tables NOT coming to Pinball FX3
South Park Pinball 2 Table Pack
Street Fighter Pinball
Ninja Gaiden Pinball
Plants vs. Zombies Pinball
Ms. Splosion Man Pinball
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Here are the Tables currently:
Lets call it like it is, the tables are basically the same, it looks about the same, sound about the same. Don’t expect some major visual improvements, and i’m not saying their bad by any stretch of the imagination, they look great just not visually improved. Over coming months I would expect to see purpose made 4k tables on the new Xbox One X and see the improvements then.
Sounds are also as was, classic and new, depending on the table your playing.
So why am I so impressed with it?
Simple really, diversity and expansion.
Not only does Pinball FX3 still look great and play very well but you can import as per the list above most of your tables from Pinball FX2.
Straight away this gives you a massive array of games to play, and I know you’re thinking but why do I want to play the same tables over and over, well simple, Zen have packed loads of additional game options and features into Pinball FX 3
It may seem like a bit of a picture list but below i’ll take you through all the features on Pinball FX3 that make this game great and well worth the download.
Straight away when you load the game and have imported your tables (this takes about 5 minutes depending on how many you need to import) you will notice the familiar windows 10 style metro dashboard for the game. Simple and easy to navigate so a thumbs up there.
Head onto your favorite table and all seems quite normal until during the game loads of notification keep popping up, as if balls flying everywhere with table notifications and advice aren’t enough you’re now getting Xp notifications.
At first i ignored them but as the game finished and I discovered I had started to unlock some rewards in the form of table upgrades I suddenly got intrigued.
Head onto the upgrades and then WOW multipliers, time extensions and more are available to me to enhance my scores further, but how far does it go? I won’t spoil it for you, but getting rewarded and being able to outscore yourself so easily I thought was cool and a great way to bring me back to tables I might have previously finished with.
Now this alone makes for a better game but as I explored more I found even more on offer.
Challenges give another dynamic to each table allowing for you to test your table skills against others and beat friends of course. Only having 1 ball was a bit nerve racking and figuring out how to score the most points in 5 minutes was yet another challenge.
Pinball FX3 keeps giving though.
Table guides offer assistance on how to get the most out of your table and also guides you through where certain tables features are hidden, so for those struggling it’s a great addition to the game and allows better table knowledge. Obviously it’s optional but nice to know it’s there.
Knowing your overall table mastery is now important and they have coupled this all together for you on table summary screens
They cover each table as well as your achievements, and also another new addition the customisation.
This allows for earned rewards to add that extra element to your experience by way of banners and frames.
All in all to some this may not seem that much but add to that new tables which we know Zen are great at launching and I can see Pinball FX 3 being even bigger than it’s predecessor.
Below are the details for the new Universal Classics Tables
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[su_spoiler title=”The New Universal Classics Tables” style=”fancy”]
Players can get behind the wheel of the DeLorean time machine and travel through different eras of Hill Valley to fix the space-time continuum on the Back to the Future table, take on the terrifying great white shark on the Jaws table, and go on an adventure with Elliot as he helps E.T. contact his spaceship and return to the stars on the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial table!
Universal Classics Pinball captures the most memorable moments from three films that defined many of our designer’s childhoods, and are undoubtedly among the favorite films of Zen’s entire team. We could not have planned a better set of launch tables for the new Pinball FX3 platform, and we know you will all enjoy these tables!
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SUMMARY
For a simple game to add cool features and upgrades in the third installment might seem like a natural progressions but after so many awesome tables on Pinball FX2 being launched and the majority being free imports with previous purchases this is a no brainer, and it’s free to download so you can at least give it a try.
I’m excited about what’s to come and can’t wait to see how friends fair on tables in comparison to me and giving more of the challenges a go. Nice one Zen Studios.
Time to hit the ice again as NHL 18 brings the realism of the american ice hockey league. With 15 modes to choose from in this years edition there is plenty of fun to be had with what is on offer.
So what’s new:
The main key feature that has been introduced to this year’s edition is your stick control, and even though i use mainly the Hybrid system when playing i thought i would give the other control layouts ago. The stick controls are probably the best to use as you will get a better reaction time than with using the buttons which is ideal when playing online. The other control system is the NHL 94 controls which are simplified for a younger age group with a single shoot and pass button configuration.
All new offensive deke moves deliver more control with the puck allowing to string together more fluid combinations all depending on moment to moment decisions and reaction time.
The new defensive skill stick feature is probably the best new feature gives you full control over your stick allowing you to poke check attacking skaters while even skating backwards giving you more opportunity to disrupt their attack.
NHL 18 has a whole new menu layout with a new landing page which allows quick access to events such as the Stanley Cup allowing you to jump straight into the highly prestigious event rather that completing a full season is a nice touch. On top of this you can customise your Main Menu with modes that you play the most allowing for quicker access.
The biggest change from the last year is the introduction of the 3-On-3 EASHL and the NHL Threes which creates a more intense hockey experience with bigger hits, faster action and more goals, with less skaters on the ice provides more open play. This mode has a complete single player circuit mode but should you want to play against other players you can take the action online.
At the start of each game their is a coin toss giving you the choice of game criteria with either a goal limit or extra periods. You can also select goal limit and how much to win by with the additional feature of the money puck, The moneypuck stipulation allows you to double your goal score, or take a point away from opposing team if you score within a specific time, it even can give you the opportunity to score and win the game instantly regardless of score. The moneypuck is great addition as it can turn a bad game into a good game just as quickly as turning a good game into a bad one.
Another feature of NHL Threes is the chance of acquiring Heroes & Mascots which allows you to select them to play in the game this is great fun with some hilarious outcomes such as a Hunter from the Edmonton Oilers making a big hit on an opposing had me in stitches.
Be a pro which has appeared in previous years of the game now allows you trade your BE A PRO character with other teams where you can set specific trade criteria for the move if you are passing on to a rival team in your division or other teams that maybe competing with you within a major cup. During your career you can start in the lower leagues and be drafted into the NHL league, you also can start in the Memorial Cup which will determine your draft position. If you can’t be bothered with all of that you can still jump straight into the NHL league and choose from the 31 teams on offer over 82 games per season.
EASHL is the equivalent of FIFA’s pro clubs whereby you can create a Character and a team and go online with friends and compete against other teams, the more you play the more you can level up your character and unlock badges of merit, this also applies to your club progression. In addition you get Coach feedback on areas where you are strong and also where you are weak.
Another new mode is the franchise mode which allows you to brand your team and reshape the NHL by introducing a 32nd team to the roster.
Training camp provides real life videos from Team Canada professionals that help you use the right moves at the right moments and allows you to complete challenges based on these tutorial videos. This is aimed at improving your style of play rather than the usual slap shot and hope that it goes in the goal.
Not much has changed in Ultimate team with the exception of HUT challenges which allow you to earn unique rewards to build up your team.
Graphically NHL 18 hasn’t improved over its predecessor which isn’t a bad point as NHL 17 had stunning visuals, the only change is the more razzmatazz look of the NHL Threes mode which is a bit more colourful than that seen in the main season.
As with any sports simulator, it’s all about creating a realistic and atmospheric environment and the in game sound does a great job of creating a lively crowd that cheers and boos, amongst other things the sound of skaters carving up the ice is still one of the positive points for the weather it’s sticks colliding, the puck hitting of the bar or when you hit someone into the barriers it all adds up to a very atmospheric game. Commentary is a key part of the game and is well presented from the build up to a game from commentators such as Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk which continues throughout the in game action itself providing a play by play of whats going on in the game, but in the NHL threes mode commentary is more humorous with one liners that will make you chuckle, this however does get a bit repetitive after a while.
So how does the AI translate in the game, well this all comes down to the various difficulty levels from Rookie to more difficulty and challenging settings such as All-Star, so if you want to score loads of goals and not looking for much of a challenge then i would stick with the lower difficulty settings as this provides the easiest learning curve while trying to learn the game.
As with any american sports game you gets loads of stats information which is shown on completion of each game you get the stats for each team from goals scored, assists, hits, power play goals etc but the action tracker has been improved with a more polished look with a breakdown of shots, goals, face-offs etc throughout the entire game.
NHL 18 has improved on a great game but from a UK point of view it does lack the domestic leagues from this country which i still feel is a bit disappointing as the sport is growing.
SUMMARY
NHL 18 has been a fun experience for me and even though their is so much on offer i loved the pick up and play action of NHL Threes as it was more fun to play than the regular season. It isn’t a hockey game unless you get into a fight from time to time and for me this is still one of the better features i enjoyed within the game where it was me starting it or finishing it.
The many improvements have really made this a fun experience to play and keep on playing. NHL 18 is very well presented in every aspect from menu system to in game action and even though there are a couple of niggling points it is one of the best NHL games i have played to date.
The sleeper hit from 2014 is back with a bigger and badder version, so dare you step back into Mordor one more time??
Bigger is most certainly not better!
You once again play as Talion who has once again lost the ring of power and needs to take it back. Thus he sets off on his undead quest with Celebrimbor to bring order back to middle earth. The timeline for this game is set after the Hobbit, and before the Fellowship of the Rings, but as for if it follows the story lines of one of the many J R Tolkien books, I fear not.
The story line is not one of this games strengths, but the acting is great. It feels forced, predictable and lacks any levity, which can only be found by the wonderful orc characters you come across in game.
What is a strength of the game are the superb graphics and audio. Graphically, Mordor shines! Details abound, and convey a vibrant alive world, full of detail and noise. The first built up area you come across, has some superb building rendering and weathering. Particle effects in the smoke and fires of the world are outstanding, and the setting sun, breathtaking.
The audio has some superb moments too and it’s hilarious to hear the orcs and minions of middle earth chatter away about their daily lives as you sneak around on the roofs above them. Fires crackle, cages rattle with pent up angry wargs, it’s brilliant. The soundtrack is also fantastic and definitely gives you a LOTR big budget film vibe when the cinematics are being played, or when an adrenaline rush moment of gameplay is happening.
The gameplay itself, especially the combat is slightly more refined than the previous game as the animations are incredibly smooth, and seamlessly move from parries and thrusts of your sword, to over the top but satisfying finishing moves.
Tailion has a much bigger skill tree and a wider variety of collectables to find and the world is around 5 times bigger than before, with pretty much the same things to do to as before ( more on this in a minute ), but later in the game there are castle sieges to make and even later defend. Conquering one of these castles frankly is one of gamings most rewarding moments, defending it even more.
But – personally I found a whole host of gameplay issues that frankly frustrated and bored me. First of all the combat.
The combat here is nothing more than attack or parry, stun or jump. Because of the semi auto lock on, you can just mash the attack button, deep within hordes of enemies and then parry when the icon appears. With even just two characters to attack it’s also extremely difficult to single out one particular enemy and avoid the others. The game RYSE got criticized for its simplistic button mashing, but can someone explain to me how the combat here is any better ? In fact i feel it’s even more simplistic and after a few hours, I found it boring and a little frustrating.
Then the other aspect of open world games is the traversal of the game. Apart from the odd bit of riding a beast or Dragon, there is nothing more exciting to do to get around than either walk, run, or the infrequent save point towers. So getting around is, well, boring, and you’ll doing a lot of getting around.
Then the world itself is chocked full of orcs. So many in fact that it’s hard to drop down to their level without being sprung upon by hoards of them, which you can then either run away ( boring ) or button mash and parry, until they are all defeated without any modicum of tactical gameplay, so therefore again… boring. Games like Assassin’s Creed get the number of enemies just right to either single out one man, or fight a big group. Shadow of War just has too many.
There’s side missions, and other aspects of the game to play too, but most, in fact, practically all, just involved nothing more than killing orcs the same way you are in the campaign.
The nemesis system, is a superb gaming achievement and worked superbly well in Shadow of Mordor, but here it is lost. The reason is, in Shadow of Mordor, the world was smaller, and therefore the nemesis system was a much more personal affair of meeting the same orcs who kept defeating you and you got to know and loathe them. Here in Shadow of War, there are so many large areas to unlock, so many territories to defeat and therefore so many captains and orcs to face, they all become nameless and forgettable and therefore non personal to you. There are simply too many. The nemesis system therefore looses what makes it great, it’s personality.
Save points. I spent my first hour and a half getting to a tower, defending it and then having a story cut scene thinking that when I start again it will be right where the cut scene finished. Oh no. The next time I fired up the game I was now over 2000 feet away from where I left the game with armies of orcs between me and not just my objective but the nearest save tower!! Trying to play the game it wanted me to I tried sneaking, I tried fighting, I tried a combination of both, to get back to where I was, to no avail. In the end I just legged it ( boring ).
Then when I opened up the next big section of land to fight through, you are forced to confront a massive house sized troll. The game tells you to shoot it in the mouth with arrows to defeat it. So what happens if you haven’t got any then like I didn’t ? The only way to complete this therefore was to let the Orcs defeat it and you just watched from a distance… how thrilling…. ( not ).
Shortly afterwards I tried to get to the next story objective, but was ambushed by a captain. He could only be hit from behind, but because of the awful combat targeting system continually taking me the wrong direction of where I wanted to go around him, he defeated me and back to a save point half and hour gameplay back again to have to try it all over again.
Lastly, the much talked about micro-transactions. I personally don’t see what all the fuss is about. I can see that game companies are giving the gamer choice of a shortcut with micro-transactions should they need or want them. I played Dead Space 3, BF1, Star Wars Battlefront, and Forza 7 and have not once thought about the need to buy anything. Here in Shadow of War though, they push the line of what is acceptable right to the very edge.
When you get to “an” ending, you then have a choice of either playing for another 15 to 20 hours with no story to pull you, and just simply grind to get to “the” credit ending, or buy legendary orcs to shortcut this. If you loved the game and like grinding then this is no issue whatsoever and you’ll want to grind away. If not….
SUMMARY
My end score is not clickbait, it’s genuinely how I felt about the game. I’ve played some amazing open world 3rd person games this year alone, Horizon Zero Dawn, Yakuza Kiwami, and some not so good open world games like Mafia 3 and Gravity Rush 2. All of them (even the not so good ones ) had the players do other things that were interesting and made getting around enjoyable and the combat fun. Sadly if you put Shadow of War up to these games it comes off a distant second. It’s not fun to traverse the game, it’s hasn’t got great combat, and the story is average at best. Add to this the side missions are repetitive, and there is very little to do other than just slaughter hordes and hordes of orcs.
There are most definitely great bits buried deep within the game, but making a game bigger, with more of the same content does not guarantee to make it better. So much so, playing Shadow of War only made me appreciate how refined and spot on Shadow of Mordor was. Monolith, less was so definitely more!!
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
Game Supplied by: EA/Xbox
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Forget last year, the trials, the celebrations, the tears and many more emotions it’s time for the latest installment of FIFA from EA and I for one am much happier with this year’s game overall, but have those annoying game traits been fixed or are we in for another year of moaning about our defense and through ball passes?
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DRAMATIC MOMENTS
Score incredible goals in FIFA 18 as new movement and finishing animations unlock more fluid striking and heading of the ball. All-new crossing controls bring greater options to how you send it into the box. Whipped to the spot, arching deliveries, and pinged crosses to the back-stick will shake up your attacks in the final third.
REAL PLAYER MOTION TECHNOLOGY
The biggest step in gameplay in franchise history, FIFA 18 introduces Real Player Motion Technology, an all-new animation system that unlocks the next level of responsiveness and player personality. Now Cristiano Ronaldo and other top players feel and move exactly like they do on the real pitch.
TEAM STYLES
From tiki-taka to high press, new Team Styles put the most recognised tactics of the world’s best clubs on the pitch in FIFA 18. Enjoy more time and space to read the play through New Player Positioning, while improved tactics give players greater options on the ball as teammates exploit space and make new attacking runs.
IMMERSIVE ATMOSPHERES
Authentic sun positions, cinematic atmosphere grading, signature pitch-side fixtures, on-pitch debris, club and stadium specific banners, adaptive commentary, and changes in pitch quality all come together to bring the most immersive football experiences to life in FIFA 18. Hear authentic chants as you attack, feed off the energy of new, high-def dynamic crowds and interact with your fans while celebrating.
The Journey
Hunter Returns
After a breakthrough first year in the Premier League, the whole world is talking about Alex Hunter. He’s back for a second season and, following a tumultuous transfer saga, he’ll have the chance to compete at some of the biggest clubs in world football: PSG, FC Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, and LA Galaxy.
A STAR-STUDDED CAST
Cristiano Ronaldo headlines a celebrity cast, featuring Antoine Griezmann, Thierry Henry, Dele Alli, Rio Ferdinand, Thomas Müller, James Harden, and more.
MORE TO PLAY FOR
Chapter-based, short-term objectives give Alex more to play for as he navigates through the second season of his prospering career. He’ll have the chance to compete for multiple trophies in some of the world’s top football leagues.
YOUR ALEX HUNTER
Personalize the look of Alex Hunter by selecting his hair, tattoos, and clothing. You can even pick Alex’s dominant foot to suit your playing style.
PLAY WITH FRIENDS
Team up with a friend and experience The Journey with a new local multiplayer gamplay option
YOUR CHOICES MATTER
Players will face bigger and more difficult choices that will alter the story with long term consequences. Shape the Journey In a personal way by making decisions that dictate Alex Hunter’s career and affect his relationships with characters both on and off the pitch.
NEW PLAYABLE CHARACTERS
Experience short, standalone stories with new playable characters that Alex meets through The Journey
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Let’s get off on the right foot, FIFA 18 is better than last years, no question, some small improvements and additions such as setting free kick takers and penalty takers in Pro clubs will make many smile, and now you can also have 3 different play styles so when your mate nicks your preferred CAM spot you can easily switch to a LW or CDM and get on with making your club the best online team in the league.
Menus are about the same so no issues there you have always got a great soundtrack on FIFA and this one is no different with over 40 tracks there is plenty on offer.
Visually there is a massive improvement, player likeness is the best yet and the stadiums always looked great but with more detail in crowds now being high def, and the stadium aura being captured with authentic chants and banners for me EA have done a stunning job.
All great but now we move into the players and the game, with Real player motion capture there is no doubt it’s Ronaldo running down the wing and doing a fancy step over or two, or Ramos lunging in on that dubious tackle. It doesn’t stop there though player actions and movement is far more realistic with more natural flicks and tricks are seen in real life have been translated to the game too and it makes for a much more enjoyable experience and varied play. Again tbh there is little to fault here on a game by game basis.
Here it comes, the but…
It’s none of the above that ever bothered players it was the crazy player movement and stupid decision making by players to put a through ball between two of your players that a defender would inevitably intercept, I’m sorry to say that most of this is still there
Defending and passing out from the back is okay and perhaps slightly better but still extremely frustrating. Through balls and chips are questionable at best and you’ll be left just like last time having to alter your pay from the pass you should make to what the game will end up doing.
Not all bad though as some movement is improved and the play styles have improved which can allow for some sexy football and I have to say this translates into my favourite part of FIA last year and also so far this year The Journey, Hunter Returns
Having massively enjoyed last year’s new campaign element of the game i was really excited for this year’s new installment and thus far it hasn’t disappointed.
Check out the about section above for the overview of the new features in This years Journey.
Whilst the game itself is the same it’s the story developing and how you shape it that has me gripped, i want to see the next cut scene and find out if my temperament is going to decide things or a BIG decision that will shape your Journey and differ it from others.
I won’t spoil any of them for you but you know when you get to them that it’s big and id love to hear your choices and see the final outcomes for everyone.
Customisations are a nice addition and your skill tree is good to have adding enough to the Journey to make it interesting varied and importantly for me, how long it takes. Most nights i got on and did a little more anticipating the potential changes in Hunter’s career that were coming next.
SUMMARY
Is FIA 18 better?… YES, has it fixed all the annoying traits of gameplay and style?… NO
Does it change the fact most fifa fans will buy it? NO
Is it worth getting? YES
I’d be amazed if FIFA fans didn’t buy it just for The Journey and the co-op elements with friends including the ever evolving pro clubs so many seem to play
As someone who is a massive fan of Life is Strange when I saw the E3 teaser trailer for Life is Strange: Before the Storm, I was in between fits of “Oh my god YES!” and “PLEASE don’t ruin this franchise!”. Counting down the days until the release date and then foolishly missing it, I played this game with an open mind fully aware that our beloved Max Caulfield would be nowhere to be seen within this prequel.
Okay, before I continue, I will warn you in massive capital letters SPOILERS GALORE. If you have not played Life is Strange or Life is Strange: Before the Storm this review will completely ruin both the ending of the first game and the beginning of the prequel. You have been warned, read ahead at your own peril.
For those who have played Life is Strange, we all know how the mechanics worked. You make a mistake, you rewind time, you rectify your mistake and voila, all is right with the world! And, as much as we all loved the game, the ending made us all sit back, push our controllers to the side for 5 minutes and decide what to do. I was there arguing with my partner as to whether the citizens of Arcadia Bay should pay for Chloe’s mistakes for about 10 minutes. “She’s the reason this has all happened!” I said, “But she helped you so much, and admit it, Max loves her!” he retorted. In the end, I rewound time and allowed Nathan to pull the trigger. Which don’t get me wrong, hella sucked. But at the same time, I didn’t really feel that close to Chloe as I understand other players did. She was awesome and a hell raiser and really helped put the murderer behind bars, but let’s be fair, she had a habit of getting herself killed!
The reason I’m telling you this is because the second game revolves heavily around Chloe, she’s the main character in the game and even though this game is a prequel, I hoped that she would be a bit calmer, less a danger to herself. But as usual Chloe fashion, the game starts up with her out at god knows what time, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sketchy looking individuals. God damn it Chloe! Do you know what I just went through for you?
The game’s mechanics work as usual, walk around, interact with different objects, it’s like a play-along movie where you can decide the outcome. However, one major change is, no superpowers. That’s right, the magic game mechanic that made everything okay in the first game is gone! You can’t rewind time and rectify your mistakes, you can’t save people about to jump off buildings, you can’t stop birds flying into windows and you can’t become the most popular kid in school! However, Chloe has a power all her own, being a belligerent teenager that can argue her way out of situations she doesn’t like. I know, amazing, right? Instead of rewinding time you are given this ability to start a “Backtalk Challenge” which basically allows you to pressure someone into doing something you want. As someone who went through her own “angsty teenager” period, I found it rather worrying how they got it on point. It’s a far cry away from the ability to rewind time, but it works. I guess.
The graphics have changed slightly from Life is Strange, this is due to the fact that they have changed the engine from Unreal to Unity. Within the normal gameplay it doesn’t scream out that it has changed. However there are little things that you notice here and there. For example, when moving around, the camera is at a closer 3rd person angle than in the first game. I also noticed that the characters now actually look like they’re saying the words rather than just opening and closing their mouths in sync with the words I was hearing. The lighting in the game seems a lot darker than the first, however I believe that it suits the mood of the game as Chloe is a much darker character than Max. All in all I think the graphics and the style suit the story and the main character a lot more than if they kept the “vignette” look that was popular in the first game.
The sound design, as usual within these games, is on point. Square Enix has once again brought ambient sound design into a game which is improving with each instalment. Simple things like traffic sounds, birds chirping in the background and students chattering down a hallway all make the game that little bit more immersive than others. The music within these games is always on point and this will more than likely be another soundtrack that I will be listening to on repeat for weeks after I’ve finished the game.
Early in the game you’re introduced to some familiar looking faces. Obviously, there’s the sketchy dealer Frank which makes his first appearance in a rundown mill hosting a heavy metal concert, and of course Chloe tries to buy drugs and get herself into trouble. The second familiar face you meet is the infamous Rachel Amber. That’s right! She’s still alive! This is a prequel of course. She’s also seen in the rundown old mill; however, she’s introduced thanks to Chloe getting herself into ANOTHER awkward situation with some sketchy individuals. Other familiar faces shown are Nathan Prescott (Grr), Victoria Chase, David Madsen (Grr) and lovely Joyce Price.
The story of Episode 1 revolves heavily around the introduction between Chloe and Rachel Amber. It walks us through how Rachel saves Chloe’s life and how Rachel seemingly has some form of minor personality defects which we, as the player, now should help Rachel with. For me, it all seemed a little too forced to feel right. Rachel almost pushes herself onto Chloe because she needs someone to be her “partner in crime” and of course rebellious Chloe Price is the perfect candidate. From being coerced into playing hooky to jumping on a train to a park in the middle of nowhere onto starting forest fires it feels like Rachel is herself adding fuel onto the fire that is Chloe.
As a player, I felt extremely helpless knowing that this was a prequel and knowing what will happen eventually. However, the game also allows you little “Easter eggs” giving you the joy of knowing what will happen to people when you see and meet them. Seeing Nathan Prescott getting pushed around by a fellow student knowing what he’s going to do felt weirdly good. But then, the game puts you in a situation where you are forced to choose, stop the bully, or let the bully beat him up. It’s painful to get involved, can’t I just turn my face knowing that he’ll get it good? No? This hella sucks!
All in all, Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a rollercoaster. On one hand, the relationship between Rachel and Chloe seems slightly forced and as a character Rachel is one that I love to hate. However, as a game it has lured me in with the promise of further character development. So, I will be checking in again once Episode 2 comes out with (hopefully) a better review rating.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Game Supplied by: Xbox
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Agents of Mayhem-Review
Let me start by saying… Its cheesy and i mean very cheesy, but that isn’t entirely bad.
Agents of mayhem is a third person shooter at its core with massive explosions, mad half robotic bosses and some pretty cool cartoon cut scenes.
In short in agents of mayhem you will run and gun a lot you will fight bosses and explore the city, the only activities outside of run and gun campaign missions are side missions that either unlock a new agent to play as or delve into the back story of the agents and once in a while the game will have you hop in a car to chase a boss or two.
The time i have spent playing agents of mayhem has been a bit of a rollercoaster, for the first hour i was disappointed to see that there was no character customization given that this is a title that rides on the fact it’s from the creators of saints row and customization had been a big part of the developer’s previous titles.
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LEGION
The world has fallen under the rule of LEGION, The League of Evil Gentleman Intent On Obliterating nations. This supervillainous cabal of criminal masterminds and costumed megalomaniacs needs to be stopped at any cost.
On this day LEGION rose from the shadows with a coordinated and devastating global attack, crippling the world governments.
LEGION’s Minister of Pride, Doctor Babylon and his lieutenants are preparing their next evil schemes in the city of Seoul.
Babylon unlocked the secret of this cosmic power source for LEGION weapons through special crystals attuned to its resonance.
MAYHEM!
Following LEGION’s global attack, Persephone Brimstone founded the organization MAYHEM. Funded by Ultor, these uniquely skilled Agents from all over the world are the only ones who can take down LEGION’s new world disorder.
The City of Tomorrow. An open playground packed with world-shaking missions, epic, doomsday devices, and evil underground lairs!
The home base of MAYHEM. Upgrade and customize Agents at the ARK to create your own personal gadget-wielding dream team!
Meet the Agents. A diverse band of 12 anti-heroes. Pick your team of three and swap between them on the fly for maximum MAYHEM!
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At the start you are given the basics of how to play with each of your 3 initial characters who all have very diverse play styles from one and another, and this is fine as you can switch between them freely, this at first seems a bit disappointing but you can unlock more characters later on in the game and this makes up for the lack of customization.
The game is visually pleasing enough, with a nice style that is bold and colorful and will feel familiar to fans of the saints row series, game mechanics on the other hand are not so pleasing!
Its not so much that they don’t work as they work quite well, it’s just that they are very slow and over the top. Aiming which is a big part of this game was possibly the biggest challenge the game presented.
Despite a few minor flaws and disappointments agents of mayhem is still fun to play or at least for the first hour once you surpass the first couple of hours you soon realize that the map is quite boring and small and there is really not a whole lot to do, this then leads to the game feeling repetitive and boring.
I found myself spending more time taking advantage of the games mario kart style driving and drifting round in circles than actually playing the game.
The lack of an actual multiplayer element did feel disappointing, there is a sort of co-op element where you can work together with other players to complete daily challenges but you will never see another player.
The sound quality in agents of mayhem is good, it is possibly one of the only parts of the game that does not have any cons.
All in all id say that agents of mayhem is fun at its core with memorable cheesy catch lines spread throughout and enough content and roads to drift round to entertain you between games but i wouldn’t rush out to get it.
Original Destiny 2 review posted on www.xboxplayers.com our sister site
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Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Action Role playing game
Release Date: 5th September 2017
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Game Supplied by: Xbox
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Bungie……. Creators of Halo……..Bungie……..Creators of Destiny
Gotta love them haven’t you, two of the most iconic games in gaming history and now Destiny 2 arrives to huge speculation and hope that it improves on the original title, fixes bugs and offers more than it’s predecessor.
With many players in the 1000+ hours on Destiny, myself included there are scrutinering eyes all over this and here are my opinions and views on what could continue to be one of the best games ever
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You are one of humanity’s last remaining Guardians. Your home and your power has been taken from you by a brutal invader – Ghaul. With humanity on the brink, it’s up to you to fight back and reclaim our world.
Let me set out the facts here, there are so many talking points to Destiny that I will undoubtedly miss something or not mention something important to someone, for this I am sorry. More will come out in the coming weeks as raids and Nightfalls develop over time. For now this is what we have and after speaking to many other guardians and players this is what we have for now, so I shall review it as such. Thanks for understanding
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Is Destiny 2 better than the original? I know that’s the burning question, I had the same question. So I’ll save you the long read and say it in simple terms for you.
YES HELL YES it’s better in so many ways and offers so much more, why are you still reading this go buy it now and start your new journey.
Good that’s that bit done, so for those of you interested in a few details, here are a few sections broken down for you.
Overall game mechanics
Obviously not too much has been tweaked, the game itself is what made it such a success but there are elements that have been added, others tweaked and some removed, all together due to better mechanics being applied.
One example of this would be the ammo synth. Something I’m sure all guardians could agree came in extremely useful due to lack of ammo in many cases.
Well it’s gone, yeah they took something we used and loved and dared to rebalance the ammo drops in game. I applaud you Bungie as you’ve nailed it. A few times i have wished for a synth, but in general I have had to weapon swap and be more adaptive as a player to succeed and after speaking to other guardians they seem to agree.
This is a general basis of many of the changes you will find in Destiny 2
The worlds you visit have a vendor you can visit and earn rewards similar to the factions in D1 (Original Destiny title) however this time you do not level them up as such.
Once you hit Level 20 and you are now dependant on you light level rising and your faction rewards that come in the form of Engrams will decode at an appropriate level (unless you have bonus mods applied – More later) to your light to enable a constant level up of your character.
Obviously as this is Destiny this is not the only means to level up general engram drops during activities, Quests, public events, Patrols, Treasure chests, maps, Strikes, Raids, Crucible and milestones (CAN ANYONE THINK OF ANYTHING I’VE MISSED HERE)
All the usual engrams are available from grey, green, blue, purple and yellow are back but, yes there are new Bright Engrams.
Bright Engrams are rewarded when your character levels up, even after you reach level 20 playing the game will actively continue to “level up” although for now you cannot go higher than 20 and you receive various rewards from ships, sparrows, consumables and more.
Speaking of more, one of my favourite introductions is the new Mods. Available from the gunsmith to purchase or receive via one of the other methods above like engrams here you can choose how to improve the gun you have. This may be simply to change the burn of the weapon to Arc from Solar or even over to Void but you at least have options. Perhaps you would like more ammo, better stability, faster reload. I could go on but i don’t want to tell you everything. Needless to say they are not infinite though, discard your weapon and the mod has gone, they are one time use so be sparring at first until you find weapons you like and want to stick with (unless you have loads of glimmer to buy more random mods (slight hint here everyone, look into it)
Crucible:
Not much has changed here really, different modes such as clash, supremacy all return and the ranking system is disabled or enabled depending on your choice of mode. Both quick play and competitive are available too with fireteams of up to 4 players a lot of fun is to be had here with rewards going as high as exotic engrams it could really help you out.
Nightfall:
Much better, currently varied burns as time progresses and a time limit to complete it in, what else will bingie add? I can see nightfalls being a highly anticipated challenge each week this time round. Rewards from it are also good so make sure you don’t miss out on them.
Clans:
Fantastic addition, join your fellow Guardians and complete nightfalls, raids and other challenges to earn your clan XP and be rewarded for your efforts with boosts and other rewards. A small team won’t level up very fast here so grab as many as you can but it’s been great so far to hear people talking about the clan level and rewards.
Adventures and Quests:
Adventures appear on each world and can be replayed to earn additional rewards, they are for the most part quite short and simple, an easy to complete challenge if you’re into that but the quests is where the rewards are at, exotic guns and high light level rewards are in store for those that complete them and better still one of them rewards you with the Midas Multi tool and a mini SMG (yeah personal favourite loadout) so make sure you complete the quests as they will help you massively.
Treasure maps and lost sectors:
These appear on your world map, find them and complete short challenges in lost sector for quick rewards, not the best gear but they help. They do however grey out once completed.
Treasure chests and maps, two of the same thing but with very different rewards. Chests in general just give world reputation points and again appear on your map, easy enough to find and they disappear once looted, the treasure maps obtained from Cayde though at a costly 4800 glimmer each can reward you very highly. Well worth the glimmer spend if you can afford it.
Raid:
The pinnacle of every guardians game, can you defeat the raid, work out the challenges and game mechanics to overcome the raid challenges and ultimately enemies.
This raid bring a lot to the game.
Not just the difficulty and varied challenges that await you but additional exploration.
We spent days working out the raid mechanics and then more exploring the raid.
I’m not going to give it away there are youtube videos for that but I will say that dependant on your light level it’s challenging but extremely enjoyable once you have it mastered.
And the weekly reset cannot come soon enough to have another crack at it and improve our raid skills.
So just from the few points from above as you can no doubt tell I’m trying not to give anything away but give you the outline of a greatly improved game that hasn’t changed too much but in a lot of small ways to make it better.
Yes servers are a little shaky right now but with that many people on it’s to be expected, this will fade out as weeks go on. Yes there are still the odd bugs in the game that can seem frustrating, but for a game this big that looks this good, has this much to do and a typical epic soundtrack from Bungie you can’t complain, they have even practically got rid of the mid world map loading, very few times have i seen it kick in and added in the ability to fast travel around the map just makes exploring and getting things done that much better.
SUMMARY
It looks amazing, the tweaks are brilliant, the story is brilliant (didn’t want to give anything away here hence it’s not mentioned) the playability is almost overwhelming and it just feels like there is a extremely good foundation here to build onto for future expansions and changes.
Destiny 2 is a must! Good luck out there Guardians
SEGA have taken the Yakuza series back to it’s roots with a stunning HD remaster of the original and first ever 2006 PS2, Yakuza game.
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You play as Kazuma Kiryu, the face of the Yakuza franchise, lieutenant of the Tojo clan, and fall guy for his best friend who murders their boss. Sent to prison for ten years, upon release, Kiryu, finds many things have changed, and that his girlfriend and 10 million Yen have gone missing. He sets himself the task of starting again and solving these mysteries.
I’ll be honest this, is the first Yakuza game I have actually sat down to play, and what a joy it was too. I may not know much about the series as a whole, and how the other games compare to this one, but the ride this one gave me, as the entry game in the whole series, was worthwhile and immensely satisfying.
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The first thing that strikes you when playing Yakuza Kiwami, is how deep the game wants to get you involved in the story line, as the cut scenes are frequent and also very long. Personally I love a good yarn so this was welcome for me, a newbie to the series, to get to know the characters of the game and indeed series from the very start.
The plot is a little melodramatic, but frankly of such a high standard, being well acted, shot, and interesting, it’s almost worth the price of the game alone just to watch the story unfold. You do need to keep your wits about you though as the plot line chops and changes time lines far too often, to make the story experience a smooth affair.
Add to this, the side missions, pad the storyline out a lot more, over the games 30 hour completion time, well short of the normal 70 hour mark of the other Yakuza games.
The HD remaster is simply stunning and one of the best i’ve witnessed. It’s not just the stunning, up close, facial textures and animations that are superb, but when you start to explore the vibrant streets of Kamurocho, it’s hard not think your on a video tour of Japan for real. Artwork design of the streets, the litter on the streets, the lighting, the detail in the world is amazing. I particularly admired the neon lights being reflected in the puddles that moved when I walked through them. It adds so much depth to the game that getting from one objective to another, was like a tourist trip of a Japanese city than an in game chore. I spent so much time just looking at my surroundings as I went, more than many other games I’ve played.
The main premise of the game though apart from it’s story, is the combat. Kiryu is blessed with 4 styles of fighting to choose from, each with it’s own advantages and drawbacks.
Brawler – a balanced all rounder
Beast – slow movement but heavy damage
Rush – quick but weak
Dragon – Kiryu’s traditional style that only works after landing punches.
Each style was a tad awkward to change to mid fight, as you have to stop mid flight, while still exposed to punches to change, so I tended to stick with one style per fight. What was pleasing though was each style was really fun to play with, so i changed often, as for example the Rush style is not just a little, but MUCH faster than the others, and the damage, for beast mode MUCH heavier. It did give a real tactical headache per fight sequence which added to the game’s depth. It wasn’t that easy to just stick with one style and hope you’ll makes it through. The difficulty level is balanced very well for this.
The fights mainly consisted of many low level grunts in groups or a few grunts and a semi hard boss, to sometimes are hard boss fight.
As well as punches and kicks, you also have the ability to pick up objects to smash them into enemies. I also found that button mashing didn’t really help, as if you whiff with an attack, it leaves you open to be countered, quite hard at times too. Build up your normal punches and you can fill a gauge to unleash finishing moves as well.
So as you clean up the streets, follow the story, fighting gangs and bosses along the way, there is a superb audio to follow you too. Fighting sounds were exciting, powerful, yet walking around town, the world is brought to life with chatter, splashes of puddles, and general noise to make it feel vibrant and alive.
As you progress you can and indeed have to upgrade your abilities, as well as buy things to help do so, like health items and food, from vendors or shops around the town. Customization is a little limited, but it was fun exploring the city looking for a good meal!
Finally, there are also some mini games, within the story and from the main menu too. Couch co-op games like Pool, darts, and bowling are actually really good experiences and put other games who have these to shame. Other in game mini games are gambling, card games, or good old karaoke!
Lastly, Kiryu’s nemis or friend ( I can’t quite work out which ) “Goro Majima” , will randomly pop up during the game to challenge Kiryu to a fight in a section called “Majima Everywhere”. These are like in game mini boss battles, are not easy, but worthwhile as they really help in ranking up your character.
SUMMARY
It’s fun, it has a great, if confusing changing time line story. It’s not too long at 30 hours, and looks and sounds utterly superb. This is a great game on any level, and has really got me interested in the yakuza series as a whole. I’m not sure existing yakuza fans will get as much out of this as I did, as much of this game is the same but on a smaller scale than the recent Yakuza 0, and Yakuza 5 before. Even so, if you hanker for a bit of Japanese gangster gameplay, with a gangster TV series quality plot line, this game has you covered.
A distant fantasyland dying, a desperate call for help, a cast of characters so large they could form a church choir. This kingdom relies on a spring to bring life to its world, but a once locked away enemy is now coming back to life and draining the spring of it’s water, and therefore putting this world in danger. The inhabitants of this world, make a last desperate call to help them rid their world of this ever growing evil, and use the last of the springs power to call “hero’s” to their world to help them.
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The hero’s who arrive are all the stars from various Koei Tecmo games from many genre of games. The hero’s then split into three’s and each have a section of the world to clear to enable the spring to come back to life.
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To clear their section, there are many battles to choose from, in an open world style, in the order the player chooses. Some missions will be story based, others for mainly XP, but to start a story mission you will need to do a few side missions ( of which there are gazillions ) to rank up enough to attempt the story missions.
Each mission, side or otherwise does actually have a good variety to. Some will entail clearing a battle, others have specific in game requirements like save the villager, or find treasure. There are also team deathmatch missions like mini boss levels, where you have to defeat 10 enemies in a row but they get harder and harder the more you defeat.
There is also a central hub world away from the battle areas for you to upgrade, socialize with your characters, customize weapons and abilities and then carry on back to the missions.
You start the game with a choice of 12 characters to play, but in total 30 will be available. 27 of those are spread over Koei tecmo games, with the final 3 being new characters from this game.
Battles and missions are typical Warrior style of hack and slash your way through hordes of enemies, in different environments, to then finally defeat a boss, or other objectives to win. The mechanics of fighting vary from character to character and offer a true depth of variation in gameplay techniques. Added to this are new gameplay features that include power ups to bring your teammates to your side and fight as a double, triple or quartet together by you the player. Other gameplay features are normal player power moves when a certain amount of enemies have been defeated. However mix the different player buffs you can create with player cards you can collect throughout the world, and it can make battles easier.
Graphics are very average for the PS4 but standard for a PS4/PS Vita game ( more of this in a minute ) so nothing particularly to shout about unless bland is your thing. Character movements are silky smooth however and the engine running the game is superb, unlike the previous game Spirit of Sanada.
Audio is superb though, again as expected with these game with superb in game battle effects, fantastic and sometimes dramatic Japanese music, great voice acting and an overall audio greatness and polish.
As a veteran of these game i know what to expect with difficulty, and for review purposes i put the game on easy ( there is an easier mode still ) to try and whizz through of much of the game as i could in the time i had.
What i wasn’t expecting thought was my level 12 characters and team, to have to struggle and fail, level 1 or 2 missions! The reason for failing wasn’t anything to do with my skill level either but the mission structure. For example you have 5 minutes to defeat a certain enemy who is on the other side of the map. It took me 4 minutes of running to get there, passing all the loot and enemies on the map on the way, not touching them, to defeat the boss with seconds to spare. No chance to explore, or rank up. Team Deathmatch missions were the same. As a Level 12 team i couldn’t get passed the 5th of 10 waves of enemies of a level 2 mission on Easy!! These missions also have time limits so it’s either pile in or run out of time.
Then just to confuse me even more, the next couple of level 1,2, or 3 missions I tried I passed them with ease!
Part of my struggles may lie in the vastly over complicated player buff cards you can collect and upgrade. The system does all it can to NOT tell you whats good or bad to do, or how to do it, so my player buffs may or may not be any good.
Be that as it may, these are gameplay issues that can and will be overcome with time, and if you like the grind you will love this game. It’s almost Destiny like in it’s gameplay hub, different missions to select and the team you take with you.
Finally back to the Vita aspect. Although i would say the PS4 version of the game has obviously suffered to accommodate the Vita version, it’s done for a reason. The Vita is still alive and strong in the East. The first week sales of the game in Japan had 40,368 copies sold on the PS4, with another 17,866 on the Vita. Vita owners of this game will love it.
SUMMARY
It’s hard to be different in a sea of many games out there like this on the market and fans of this series will appreciate the effort here, especially in the variety of gameplay, but ( you know there was a but coming didn’t you ) there is one basic thing they have got oh so wrong, the difficulty. Apart from that it’s pretty formulaic Warriors stuff, ie more of the same.
It’s a tough, challenging, fun game, but just lacks in a few design choices to make it one of the better Warrior games.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Game Supplied by: Koch Media
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8 years on from the first Codemasters Formula 1 title and F1 2017 might just be the one to put Formula 1 back on the map. It’s depth, precision, and overall presentation is the best I have ever played and I keep going back for more.
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[su_spoiler title=”About” style=”fancy”]
Win the 2017 World Championship, break every record in the fastest ever F1™ cars, and race some of the most iconic F1 cars of the last 30 years. With an even deeper ten year Career, more varied gameplay in the new ‘Championships’ mode, and a host of other new features, both online and offline, F1 2017 is the most complete and thrilling F1 video game ever.
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I’m not going to deny that in F1 I am more single player today than multiplayer for me and wow what a game they have made!
For now I’ve just got to step back and take in all the subtle differences that 2017 offers.
A online comment from Alex Gillon that for me summed it up completely,
Just finished playing the#F12017 beta and I have to say this is by far the best game yet, but not for reasons you’ll find in any trailer
I’m on the full release of the game now and I can definitely back his statement up.
Every aspect of Formula 1 2017 has been improved, areas you would expect a leap such as graphics are there but not just on the cars but in people, scenery tyres, buildings crowds it’s a great leap forward and details appear sharper too.
Sounds are much of a muchness but different engines obviously sound different and all the expected revs, screeches, and sadly I admit to a few collisions are also spot on either on surround sound or headphones.
But all of this is expected, frankly once you in the groove you miss some of this the game itself is where extras have really been added.
Here is an overview of what’s on offer to start with:
F1 2017 Game modes:
Career:
10 seasons on offer to take the worst and rise to the top, or take the top and make it unreachable for others. I’ll go into details on this later but it’s really in-depth.
Grand Prix:
1 race weekend? Or are you looking to create your own series. Jump in and practice tracks and setups perhaps.
Multiplayer:
Test your skills against the other F1 fans, compete in singe races and championships
Time Trials:
Modern or one of 12 Classic Cars? Your choice Both have 24 tracks to practice and improve your times and ultimately beat your friends to the top of the leaderboard
Event:
Specific content provided by Codemasters, I’m currently leading this one (but don’t worry there are only 5 people who have done it as yet)
Challenges must be done to pass these events Currently you must pit for a wing change on Spa and finish the race in 1st place (depending on how well you get back to the pits you exit in 5th with 11 laps to go) But things might take a twist before the end, that’s all i’ll say
Championships:
20 different championships with varied number of races to test yourself including some different race types and scoring criteria, double points etc to make it interesting till the end of each one.
Invitational Events
Another 20 events to compete in where you must meet the criteria to pass the event, the first two are overtake and a PURSUIT CHALLENGE, Varied cars and tracks let alone conditions will hamper your ability to do these first try but it all depends how difficult you have things set to i suppose.
So all this could keep even a committed driver going for months but it’s the variety I like here. Not restricted to just an event or two, more content to follow and unlock, a huge 10 season career that you can make as interesting as you are in F1 and for as much time as you have available.
Career Mode:
There is so much to talk about and without it all sounding like a list I’m going to cover my top 5 items in carer beside the obvious races themselves and teams etc.
Firstly I love the new development tree.
It is split into 4 sections: Powertrain, Chassis Durability and Aerodynamics
As you can see from the image each branch offers varied routes to the best car on the grid, but not only do you have to balance your points to spend on these parts and improvements but the efficiency and the quality control. No point in making a great part that don’t work or that takes a year to develop.
Second which is a simple follow on from the development tree is the practice programs.
Set across 5 areas, the track acclimatization, Fuel saving, Tyre saving qualification practice and race pace they all accumulate along with some side objectives to get the most points for your development tree to spend as you wish.
Needless to say some of them are far too easy and others are a little challenging but this will depend on your own difficulty settings. Make it challenging but not impossible.
Next will be the engine and gearbox management.
As in the real Formula 1 you have a limited supply of power units and gearboxes. Burn them out too fast and you’ll be taking grid penalties by the end of the season. Something I have learned the hard way, despite far exceeding my car’s capabilities I have burned my first internal combustion engine out in just 3 races. At this rate i’ll be 12 races in and need ing new engine parts. Something I’ll be addressing over the next few races by choosing my upgrades carefully.
Next is the in-car adjustments and features on offer. Press your B button to access information about the car’s status and the possible changes you can do mid race along with in your pit stops. A great addition but it could be a bit bigger as even on a 49 inch screen I’m struggling to read it easily.
And finally are the pit crew communications. LB brings up a huge list of discussions that can take place over your mic to get more race information without looking at your screen but also things like weather and overall race status.
All the usual parts are there and i haven’t even touched on safety cars and VSC, another couple of nicely worked additions.
SUMMARY
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the most complete F1 game made ever, so much depth on offer if you want it, flexibility of difficulty is just right and most importantly play-ability is there. Whilst you don’t have to do full races or race weekends, you can, but if you fancy a quick season you can also do this. They have thought of just about everything and for me, I can see many nights lost on F1 2017 and this is without the multiplayer aspect.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows
Game Supplied by: Sega
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Back in 1991 on a classic Sega Megadrive I remember being first introduced to this blue hedgehog with bright red shoes, it was a real buzz of a game not only to complete but to challenge friends on by getting faster and faster times to complete each level.
Now my kids have that same opportunity and although my reactions may not be as quick as they used to be I can still teach them a thing or two.
With 15 million sales of the original game Sega have tried many times to resurrect this loveable character from the 1990’s but only the mobile version in 2006 came close with 8 million sales.
Can Sonic Mania be the title to do this?
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[su_spoiler title=”About” style=”fancy”]
A NEW 2D ADVENTURE
2D SONIC IS BACK IN AN ALL NEW ADVENTURE!
Play as Sonic, Tails, & Knuckles as you race through all new Zones and fully re-imagined classics, each filled with exciting surprises and powerful bosses.
NEW AND RE-IMAGINED ZONES
DISCOVER NEW PATHS AND SECRETS
Explore vibrant new stages and classic zones in stunning 60 FPS. Pixel perfect graphics and new retro animations will make you fall in love with these 2D rolling landscapes.
PLAY WITH A FRIEND
CO-OP AND COMPETITION MODES
Grab a friend as you play play together in Co-Op mode or climb the leaderboards in Competition Mode.
3 Playable Characters
Play as Sonic, Tails and Knuckles
Harness Sonics new Drop dash, Tail’s Flight and Knuckles Climbing abilities to overcome the Evil Dr Eggman’s Robots.
Discover a myriad of never-before seen paths and hidden secrets
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In a word NO
Many versions of games exist and things change over time, new things get added and some bits get removed. Sonic Mania has done a fair bit of that.
First thing I was hoping to do was get a sub 30 second run on Green Hill Zone Act 1, well that didn’t happen, especially with a boss now on what seems to be every level. I got lost initially and thought I had done something wrong before realising just how different they have made it.
Only 2 acts per zone as well, it feels somewhat like a cut and paste of different zones. One of the sonic features was fast free flowing acts, but there is too much blocking that from happening despite numeros attempts to make levels flow, it didn’t come together for me. Not saying that’s particularly bad but having the option to play the original or modified would have been nice.
Competition mode allows for some great split screen action and not only is it simple finish and win but combining coins and score too so don’t think it’s just the fastest to victory (but it helps), being able to set the number of rounds is also nice.
Time attack allows you to choose Sonic, Tails or Knuckles and then choose your Zone/Adct and complete it as fast as you can and see how you fare on some leaderboards. Again a nice addition of a original game concept created by 1st generation gamers of Sonic.
For me though the music and graphics are fantastic, all updated and offering 60FPS provides a great visual experience of yesteryear with modern day sharpness.
On a 50inch screen it’s sharper than my old 14inch crt TV when I first played this on the megadrive all those years ago.
SUMMARY
It’s just doesn’t offer enough for the price. £15.99 for a modified reboot and essentially a time attack and a co-op mode. Perhaps I’m being a little harsh on a classic title and I love playing Sonic but although it’s fun to play and well presented I could give this title a miss.
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The TURTLE BEACH® XO THREE officially licensed gaming headset for Xbox One delivers the unbeatable sound and quick access controls needed for multiplayer victory. The XO THREE provides amazing game and chat audio through large, high-quality 50mm over-ear speakers while Turtle Beach’s renowned high-sensitivity mic picks-up your voice loud and clear. The XO THREE’s fabric-wrapped ear-cushions and leather-wrapped headband offer better breathability and added comfort for those hours-long gaming sessions, and the adjustable mic can be removed when watching movies and listening to music. Convenient in-line controls place Master Volume and Mic Mute right at your fingertips, and the standard 3.5mm connection makes the XO THREE great for using with other compatible devices. The XO THREE is also surround sound ready for Xbox One and compatible Windows 10 PCs.
Rugged, Comfortable Design – The XO THREE has a thick, rugged and robust frame just like its XO FOUR STEALTH counterpart, with a plush leather-wrapped headband and breathable fabric-wrapped ear-cushions perfect for those hours (or days) long gaming sessions. Plus, the ear-cups fold flat when not in use.
Convenient In-line Controls- The XO THREE’s convenient in-line controls place Master Volume and Mic Mute right at your fingertips.
Surround Sound – The XO THREE is surround sound ready for Xbox One and compatible Windows 10 PCs so you can experience your games, movies and music with deeper immersion.
Versatile Compatibility – Works great with Xbox One controllers with the 3.5mm jack, as well as with PC, Mac® and mobile/tablet devices with a 3.5mm connection. Older Xbox One controllers require the Headset Audio Adaptor (sold separately).
High-Quality 50mm Speakers – Hear every crisp high and thundering low with these large 50mm over-ear speakers.
Crystal Clear Chat – Use Turtle Beach’s renowned high-sensitivity mic for in-game and online chat, and then remove it when watching movies or listening to music.
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Another headset and another success?
Over the years Turtle beach and not only created great quality headsets with innovative and first to market features but also spotted that gap in the market where a headset is needed, be it a budget price or a premium product.
So enter the sub £50 market and great quality and frankly there is little to choose from for the Xbox One.
The Turtle Beach XO Three (XO3) brings together some of the best features of older and long standing headphones and makes it more than affordable.
Take for example the ear cups, fake leather, leather, plastic, foam, weave all types exist and each to their own but going back some time now you may remember the amazing 500X that transformed wireless headphones for the xbox for so many gamers, and to this day many of my friends still use that headset. The fabric wrapped foam was so comfortable even for a 8hr gaming session it was a genuine pleasure to wear, well now for under £50 you can have that same comfort on the XO3.
Sturdy construction is questionable on some headphones but not with the XO3, a good headband wrapped in leather make it not just durable but comfortable too and so far it seems that every box you could want ticked before getting into the sounds is done. Yeah I’m sure many of you would prefer no wires but we can’t have everything for this price point. The wire is long enough so when you snap back in frustration from your controller it doesn’t wrench the headset from your head tearing your ears off in the process. But it’s not too long either tripping you up when you go for those much needed refreshments.
Cup size is good too as I have found with some cheaper headsets this means a decrease in your ear size, not with the XO3 very comfortable again.
Now to the nuts and bolts of the sound, simply plug the 3.5mm jack into your controller (if you have a original controller you will require an adapter, available online) and you’re done. No setup, messing around or complicated settings.
All you need is the in-line control for master volume, and mute button.
With 50mm speakers too the sound quality is fantastic, no it’s not 500x or 800x quality but for a surround sound headset of this value it served me well online and saved my arse a good few times compared to single ear or stereo headsets.
All in all this is yet again indeed another success from Turtle Beach, simple design and quality performance for a low affordable price, what more could you ask for.
SUMMARY
Simple design and quality performance for a low affordable price, what more could you ask for.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Indie, Simulation, Early Access
Release Date: Alpha 30th April 2014
Platforms: PS4, PC
Game Supplied by: Endnight
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Some games just draw you in and immerse you in it’s depth and flexibility to offer a unparalleled gaming experience like no other.
The Forest is one of those games for me!
It’s concept is simple, you have been in a plane crash and have been separated from your son, you don’t know if he is alive or not and find yourself in primal surroundings on a strange mysterious island with no resources needing to survive.
Unfortunately there are more than a few things to stop you from doing this with ease. Namely the islands cannibals, your resources, island creatures and the environment.
So what could be easier, grab some tools, kill some animals for food, avoid the cannibals, go find your son and complete the game? Right? Wrong! One of the best aspects of The Forest is the advancing difficulty of the Cannibals. Initially you will stumble across a few odd basic cannibals but of the 14 varied types you will come across these can be the most annoying, they will grow in numbers and bring Cannibal leaders and other disturbing foe as you destroy trees and make a mess of their island.
Patrols will be more alert to your presence as time goes on, they will pay more attention to the base camp you will no doubt have built (I’ll come to that awesome part of the game in a bit) the Mutants will gradually become part of these patrols and of the few there are they will challenge you to adapt quickly as the pretty walls around your camp will be at serious risk of being destroyed and dismantled leaving you and your camp exposed. At night there are more patrols, your fires will attract more visitors and what you have done, where you chose to do it and how you deal with the patrols will affect the future of your survival. So not so simple and this is just the beginning.
Your survival is based on a real life scenario and it has been executed brilliantly, from sleeping in tents or glamorous constructed custom buildings of your desire you will need to sleep, eat, drink, regain stamina, add some armor and each element can affect the other. Drink pond water and risk making yourself ill and losing health yet maintaining your water levels, lose your stamina and your food and health will drain quicker. It’s a delicate balance that will need to be managed as you spend time chopping down trees, hunting game and building your resources, but don’t think a couple of hours doing all this will set you up for the game. Wake up after a nights sleep to aid avoiding the cannibal patrols and it’s time to eat again, chop those trees down fast and lose your energy and eat again, have a battle with some cannibals and lose health or stamina and you guessed it, time to eat again. Running across the island also will drain your attributes so it’s all connected and you must be wise with your resources in order to survive and prepare for the bigger adventure ahead of you.
This neatly brings me onto caves, the underground system where your nerves may be tested and your survival instincts may take over.
Scattered all around the island are a complex system of caves offering great rewards for tools, resources and supplies but they won’t come easy, more cannibals and mutants patrol these caves and won’t make it easy for you, and even if you get past them you may not be able to access certain areas without underwater breathing gear or climbing tools, so finding the right caves with the right gear is imperative.
The rewards are worth it and make surviving on the ground far easier but you will anger the cannibals and you can expect more to come at you, this isn’t a walk in the park this is pure island survival!
So have i sparked your interest yet? I should have if you like strategy, survival and action all rolled into one with some mystery thrown in as well as you find collectables around the island. Now onto my favourite part, your base camp.
Much of your time will be directly or not building your base camp. The survival guide book you have allows you to build everything you could need and more from shelters, fires, walls, storage right through to crafting more advanced weapons and structures to make your stay on the island more comfortable (if that’s possible)
Rocks, trees and sticks all form a huge part of your game and you must choose base camp locations wisely, too close to enemy camps and you’ll have more patrols than you know what to do with, out in the open and it’s harder to defend, coastlines have fewer resources and some cliffs, lakes and ponds offer water and animals more than others so choose wisely and enjoy the exploration of the island.
In my 8 new games I have played I have made bases in varied locations and I won’t spoil the fun for you mainly because each one will have a benefit, but drawbacks can make the game very hard to achieve results fast.
This is one of the many reasons why The Forest has had me hooked for so many hours already and frankly I don’t see it ending. The possibilities are so varied and offer so many options from elaborate to simple, large and small, even making tree houses and high up camps can be challenging, especially when you cut down the wrong trees.
Multiplayer is a huge part of this game and with up to 8 players in a lobby you could really create some amazing base camps. Working as a group is great fun but resources need to be divided so it makes planning interesting and you may end up having roles on the island to help each other survive. Again this adds a huge amount of replayability as the game allows multiple saves so you can have different games on the go at any one time with different friends or even solo play.
Visually this game excels for an alpha, For a 1gb game it really offers a lot of detail. Yeah some items are a bit generic but I can honestly say it’s a beautiful game right down to the sun and moon rising and falling, sun effects through trees, fish in the ponds and lakes and this is only the tip of the iceberg. Yeah the mutants are disgusting but that’s the beauty of it.
Caves are dark and eery as they should be so a little more polishing is needed to get a greater effect in there but updates are regular with The Forest so expect more from this great game.
Sound plays a huge part in the game and you won’t be surprised to hear that I can’t fault it. From your footsteps to the cannibals chants and noises right through to the animals noises it’s everywhere. You are truly surrounded and add in the wind, rain and lightning and suddenly your senses go into overload and you wonder if you just heard something, or was that your team around you, no it’s cannibals coming, RUN! But my stamina is low, I can’t swing the axe and I can’t run and I’m on my own, what do i do………..
Yes I love this game it’s obvious, but not just for the obvious aspects it’s small details like spiders coming out when you pick up rocks, a small bird landing on your hand to say hello, the moon falling as day breaks, the tree movement, to name but a few elements I have discovered as my playtime has increased.
I have enjoyed finding faster and better ways to build my base and defend myself before finally plucking up the courage to go all out on the cave system and find my son, yeah remember that’s the objective. It’s easy to forget and get lost in the game but you need to go and find your son on this crazy island.
There is truly so many things I would like to talk about in the crafting and surviving elements of this game but you will no doubt be like me and use the games wiki to aid your game and enhance the gameplay.
So I’ll leave you to explore, craft, build and discover this amazing game that I can’t wait to see grow before full release and for just £10.99 although currently part of the steam sale so it’s a bargain at just £7.36 right now it’s a steal for the amount of gameplay on offer.
Alpha Notice
“The Forest is an Early Access title. It is currently still under heavy development with new features being added on a regular basis. Currently there will be bugs, locked off content, missing features and other possibly serious game breaking issues.
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[su_spoiler title=”About” style=”fancy”]
As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants.
Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.
Key alpha features
Enter a living, breathing world, where every tree and plant can be chopped down. Below ground explore a vast network of caves and underground lakes.
Chop down trees to build a camp, or start a fire to keep warm. Scavenge food to keep yourself from starving.
Build a small shelter or a large ocean side fortress. Lay traps and defences to keep a safe perimeter.
Explore and build during the day. Defend your base at night. Craft weapons and tools. Bunker down during the evening or bring the fight directly to the enemy.
Defend yourself against a clan of genetic mutant enemies that have beliefs, families, morals and that appear almost human.
Use stealth to evade enemies, or engage them directly with crude weapons built from sticks and stones.
Development roadmap
The Forest has been in development for a while, but now we need your feedback to make it even better. Our vision for this game is a terrifying open world full of gameplay options and player freedom. We’ve come a long way but still have a lot of features and improvements to make.
Here’s a small sampling of what we hope to add to the game during alpha:
Many more animals – fish, snakes, frogs and bird types. We want to really bring the world to life with the variety of fauna.
More trapping and hunting options.
Expanded A.I. – We’re trying some really cool stuff for our AI, and plan to keep it evolving and improving over the alpha.
More areas to explore – over time new areas will be added and unlocked and our cave system will continue to develop downwards.
More buildable items – More options in what you can construct and what’s available to use.
More crafting options, more items combinable and more exciting things to create.
New creatures – as we unlock more and more of the world and caves over the course of the alpha we’ll also be introducing many new terrifying creatures along with a few surprises.
Visual improvements – we want to keep pushing what’s possible, making the world look, feel and run better.
Many UI tweaks and polish.
Additional game modes, including a no-enemies cheat mode for players who want a calmer experience.
Multiplayer – we find the idea of co-op play in this world really exciting and hope to implement a form of co-op into the experience.
Full oculus rift compatibility for the most immersive experience possible. * Note, this will not be available in first version of alpha*
I have been a long time of strategy games and survival games, but none has given me so many options and such well thought out game development like The FOrest. I can’t recommend this game enough and others agree, with a 9/10- rating in the steam community it’s a winner at a bargain price and bugs are at this later stage of alpha bugs do exist but are certainly not going to ruin your game.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch
Supplied By: Microsoft
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RiME can easily be classified by 2 words. Beautifully confusing, or confusingly beautiful, whichever way you want to put it it’s a beautiful game in its graphics and sound design, but confusing in its story and controls. It made me want to cry at points because of the beauty of the sound design and then scream at others because of the lack of game direction and clear signposting.
The game starts off with you, a little boy child who has washed up on the shores of this unknown island. And that’s it, no tutorial, no flashbacks, no story, nothing. It just allows you to be this boy exploring this mysterious island. This is basically how the game-play goes, you’re not given a “mission” or a “final destination”, you just bumble along hoping something crops up that is a bit different to the rest of the landscape that you’re seeing. The game doesn’t clearly signpost or use it’s environment well, it assumes you know who you are and why you’re here. Even the cut-scenes don’t clearly show what is going on and leaves the story more open for interpretation than any other game I’ve played.
The graphics are beautifully simple, none of this super fancy graphics along the lines of Final Fantasy XV or the latest Lara Croft. No, RiME is simple in its approach. Light Grey smooth architecture dots the landscape alongside colourful flora and fauna. With each “chapter” of the game the scenery changes from a lush woodland and beach to a dry desert then to the inside of a large building overgrown with weeds and finally into what feels like a spooky graveyard of old buildings. With each scenery change comes a change of pace and change of music score.
The sound design within the game is beautiful. The music creates either a sense of melancholy or urgency as needed. Within the last chapter I truly felt sad because of the music that was playing. It had such a strong emotion attached to it that it resonated something within me where I felt upset because of what was going on. The problem was, the story had not made it clear what had happened and I didn’t know what to be sad about!
The controls are easy enough to pick up, but not well explained enough that you clearly know what each button does. The amount of times that I accidentally blew something up when I was supposed to pick it up was frustrating. The controls run primarily off the child shouting at whatever he can in order to make it work. However no words are spoken throughout the entire game, which is an interesting choice by the developers considering that the story clearly needs it in order to explain what is going on! The “guide” mechanic that the game uses I found glitched out on a regular basis if you didn’t follow it to a tee and used slight shortcuts or didn’t go the exact way it was signposted.
However, I will say that this game’s saving grace was the cuteness of your companion. The little fox that runs around barking trying to get your attention is so adorable that other NPC’s pale in comparison. Alongside the fox you also find boars, birds and reptiles. There are some rather strange machines that pop up and act like a humanoid dog hybrid and some very odd looking figures that either don’t acknowledge your existence or want to suck the life out of you. It isn’t clearly explained why their mood towards you changes throughout the game, all I know is to stay away from weird shadowy figures.
This game was extremely confusing in its storytelling as it is not clear what the main “goal” is. It is all very open to interpretation and people are still on forums trying to figure it all out. I get the feeling that this game is supposed to have some deep meaning and life lesson but I can’t put my finger on what it is. If you’re looking for a game that reminds you of The Last Guardian mixed with Journey, grab this one. But if you’re looking for answers, I’ve got none!
It’s been 17 years since Codemasters have stepped up and bought us the fantastic Colin McRae rally, at the time this defined the rally racing genre. And even though there had been improvements over the years nothing could match up to this title, until now, as Dirt 4 brings back that same magic and playability that started it so many years ago with Colin McRae Rally.
As the game starts up you instantly feel how well presented Dirt 4 really is with a great soundtrack that works extremely well with bands such as the Chemical Brothers, the Amazons and Sigma to name a few providing a good balance of Rock music that complements the in game menus and the online track action.
In game sound is perfect a swell with exhaust sounds as they backfire when changing gear to the ambient sound of your car’s engine as you travel through buildings creates a muffled echo effect which just shows how much has gone into polishing the finer details of the game.
Where i think Dirt 4 excels is the quality of the games graphics, Codemasters have gone all out with stunning stages with each country with its own unique feel with the heavy gravel roads of Australia, to the forest landscapes of Wales that you pass through during night stages show of some excellent lighting effects from the beams of your car as it glares through the trees.
Even small touches such as mud and gravel kicked up as you powerslide around corners isn’t something new to rally games but how it is presented depends on what surface you are on which shows a realistic build up of dust and dirt whether on tarmac stage it is minimal to dusty stages in the wet where you get a heavy build up on your car and even when driving open cockpit vehicles you actually get a built up of dirt on your overalls and helmet, plus when light reflects of stones on loose gravel surfaces as you drive through night stages show off the attention that has went into all the small details that make Dirt 4 great.
Weather effects may not be the best I have seen but they are variable from light to heavy rainfall which do have an effect on not just the handling but the track itself which causes your car to oversteer or creates puddles on the track, this also applies to Fog which is the most realistic I have seen causing you to drive cautiously, this can be minimal to virtual not been able to see five feet in front of you makes stages more challenging. This also applies when racing on heavy gravel as the dust kicked makes it hard to see what is ahead which is great as this means instinctively have to anticipate upcoming corners unless you are in the lead where you shouldn’t have any such issues.
Dirt 4 provides some great car mechanics with a more fun arcade approach for beginners which i used most of the time throughout career with the gamer handling this makes the car more controllable and allows for easier powersliding around corners, or for the more experienced players the simulation style tightens up the car more with more twitchy steering which gives the car less grip and can cause the car to snap which could increase the chance of damaging your car if you crash of the track.
Damage is another element that i appreciate, as body damage shows realistic crumble zones, but it you car keeps hitting objects say on the front left of the car the damage can worsen and lead to punctures which will still allow you to drive on but over time the tyre will disintegrate causing the tire to explode and dramatically affect the handling of the car. This also slows down the car but if you are willing to sacrifice a bit of time you can stop and replace the wheel.
Also with any racing game you have the ability to tweak and customise your car through upgrades from Grade F to Grade A allowing you to maximise gear ratios, spring rate etc. You will have to work hard to get the better upgrades as these are only unlocked once you reach a certain level.
There is a great diversity of game modes over various disciplines from outright Rally to Rally Cross provides some great racing action with Career mode set over 4 disciplines from Rally, Land Rush, rally Cross and Historic Rally.
Throughout your Career you can build your team and increase your team’s profile through hiring staff, branding & Sponsors and team Facilities, this also allows you to earn more money while upgrading your garage so you can collect more cars which you acquire or by buying them from a manufacturer or via classifieds which are basically second hand versions which you may need to upgrade.
Team Management allows you to hire Chief mechanics and subsequently 4 more mechanics to help maintain your car throughout races the more you have the better performance you will get from your car, the only downside is this will be deducted from your winning credits so they can be paid. The better the engineers are the bigger cut will be required to keep them in the team.
Free play – allows you to custom build stages and championships from all the available countries set over any discipline by allowing you to generate stages on complexity and length which creates almost unlimited track variations as well as your own personal championships, for me this is where the longevity of Dirt 4 will surpass other modes.
Dirt Academy– this mode allows you to hone your skills with tutorials and hints to improve your driving technique from drifting to braking around the Dirstfish,USA Warehouse track.
Joyride – this mode is more fun allowing you to show of those fancy moves you have mastered by completing either time challenges or target based challenges by smashing into boards while avoiding obstacles with specific vehicles, provides something different away from multiplayer and career modes, these challenges are scored with a Gold. Silver or Bronze system depending how you do. As you progress through these challenges it does get increasingly more difficult.
Competitive – this mode puts your skills to the test as you go up against the online community to get the top spot within the world. You have community events which consist of weekly and monthly challenges, some of these have set vehicles to simulated handling to make it more difficult.
But it’s Multiplayer where Dirt 4 shines as I haven’t played a more fun Rally game since the likes of Colin McCrae Rally. It’s even better when you are online with at least 4 friends which may not be the best, as you can get up to 8 players in career in modes such as Land Rush, however most races are split into heats where the top cars go onto the next round, but still I get goosebumps when playing with friends or other online players as you sit on the edge of your seat from start to finish trying not to get caught up in chaotic crashes with some close wheel to wheel action.
Dirt 4 is a game that is fun to play with or without friends and you will find no other driving game that is more immersive and so well presented.
SUMMARY
Dirt 4 surprised me on how much fun it was to play, with stunning visuals that blew me away right down to the small attention to detail on and off the track. The game felt very polished with no faults that i could pick up really puts Dirt 4 on one of the best racing games out there.
Even if you finish the Career mode there is so much replay value with the Multiplayer and community events not to mention the unlimited options in the Freeplay mode will keep you playing for months if not for years.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Arcade Game
Supplied By: Microsoft
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Here ye! Here ye! To all you fighting game fanatics I have news! Tekken is back! Jin, Kazuya and Heihachi are all back causing more mayhem than you can shake a pair of Marshall Laws nun chucks at! But wait, don’t get your hopes up yet Tekken fans, because I hate to say it, but 6 was better. Now, hold your mouse! Don’t go clicking on that close button yet, hear me out okay? Pinky swear you’ll read to the end of the article? No? Well it was worth a shot.
Tekken 7 has been a highly anticipated game within the franchise, with the story gathering some serious momentum and the graphics getting better and better by the game it’s been amazing to see our childhood fighting game grow up with the times. But I must say that as much as I love the franchise, Tekken 7 has fallen over and focused on the wrong things within this game.
When I first booted up the game it came alongside the typical Tekken opening scene which lasted over 3 and a half minutes. I was so eager to get into the fighting that I had completely forgotten about the long-standing feud within the Mishima family. The father and son relationship which is basically a who can kill who first championship. Once the opening scene was over (which you can skip if you want, I just like watching these things) a menu popped up with the most awesome artworks I have seen of Heihachi Mishima in a long time. It exuded darkness and grittiness which I think is what the game is moving more towards. Bandai Namco is trying to move away from the typical fighting game genre and into a darker story based game with fighting tournament multiplayer online capabilities.
Once starting the story mode, I was immediately thrust into the ending of Tekken 6 which I won’t spoil for you lovely readers out there. But I will say that if you haven’t played Tekken 6, don’t worry! The people at Bandai Namco have given us the opportunity to view all stories all the way back from Tekken 1! This helped me lot because I’ve moved to a new house twice since playing Tekken 6 and my memory is a bit hazy. I would like to say that the story mode is good, but I can’t, I’m sorry! I’ve loved Tekken since I first played it as a child but I can’t lie to you! It’s like watching a movie where you get to beat people up every other 10 minutes. For people like me, who love playing out a story in a game, this was not what I was hoping for. I had hoped for a story mode along the same lines as Tekken 6 where you are running down hallways fighting your way through guard after guard to get to an end of level boss. But Tekken 7’s story mode just feels too rushed. I could play through the story mode in about 2-3 hours easily, and I’m not what you would call a hard-core gamer!
The graphics have kept to the good old Tekken style with gravity defying hair and jiggling…. nun chucks. They have improved on Tekken 6, but not obviously in a way that makes the player wow. It can run at a steady 60 frames per second, which is good for a fighting game that moves as fast as Tekken does!
The sound design is as manic as ever, with music playing over narrative and heavy bass beats in the background with hayahs in the foreground. One thing I have always loved about Tekken is that each character speaks their own language. Heihachi speaks Japanese, Nina speaks English and Eddy speaks Portuguese. All the narrative is in whatever language you choose to speak yourself, but all the spoken word stays the same. As a gamer, I’m so used to all the characters speaking English when I select English, but Tekken has always stuck by each player speaking in their native dialect, which I love.
The controls are as they have always been, if you’re a pro, you select a predetermined combination of buttons and execute the perfect combo, if you’re anything but a pro, you mash your hand into the buttons in the hope that a combo will magically appear in front of your eyes, and when it does totally pass it off as something you had planned all along. The character selection is limited at best. With Tekken 6 having an unreal selection of 47 different characters and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 having a whopping 54 characters you would expect the next in the line to have a decent selection for you to try your hand at. No. Granted it still boasts an impressive 29 characters to choose from, but it’s missing some classic familiar faces! Where’s Lei? Where’s Roger? Where’s Alex? This game has focused on the story so much that we have lost some rather iconic characters.
The multiplayer and online fighting has stayed the same to a point. Simply you log on and play. However, one feature I loved in Tekken 6 was the ability to have team matches where you could locally play a team of 8 against another team of 8 and it was an elimination style playoff. This was great for if you had a few people round who all wanted a go, you could easily swap and change controllers easily. But now, it’s simply 1 v 1 in local and online matches, which is a norm within the fighting game genre, but it’s all over too quickly.
I have played the Tekken games since I was very young, it’s one of the first games I ever remember playing on my PlayStation 1 back in my childhood bedroom. I love this franchise and wish it all the best in its future endeavours. But with its lack of characters and 3-hour story mode, Tekken 7 just doesn’t swing my nun chucks.