UHQBot
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Hello bezdim,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
bezdim joined on the 09/21/2018.
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Hello Charpy59620,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Charpy59620 joined on the 09/20/2018.
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Earth Defense Force 5, the upcoming Sandlot shooter about getting bugs off your planet, finally has a U.S. release date. You can start exterminating aliens on December 11, just in time for the holidays.
If you're unfamiliar with Earth Defense Force, or want to know what the new game in the series brings to the table, you're in luck! We put up a New Gameplay Today of Earth Defense Force 5 earlier! Watch as bugs get blasted in this new video. Also maybe some frogs, I'm no alienologist.
Earth Defense Force 5 will be hitting your PlayStation 4 on December 11.
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Hello xiaopei,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
xiaopei joined on the 09/21/2018.
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A girl is hospitalized with a serious illness. As the family nervously waits for answers, her brother uses a stuffed rabbit to fabricate a colorful imaginary world to help his sister take her mind off of the situation.
My Brother Rabbit is an adventure game that successfully melds the tenderness of life with the power of imagination to create a beautiful and touching journey that unfolds through kaleidoscopic landscapes filled with puzzles and seek-and-find challenges. The world the children dream up is gorgeous, looking like a mashup of Salvador Dalí, Kit Williams, and Bill Peet. In one environment, the eye can bounce between pastel-colored creatures, a giant melting clock, and a rock face littered with ordinary objects. Depending on what is happening in the story, the imagery morphs to hint at the illness or treatments. The art and story are the driving forces, but the gameplay isn’t too far behind.
The beauty of the world is important, as players spend most of their time looking at still-frame images to find carefully hidden objects of interest. Clicking on an object may lead to the revelation of a puzzle, or introduce a mission to find a specific number of one particular item. While I appreciate that nothing in the world is clearly indicated as something you can interact with, the randomness of what is there sometimes makes you click on everything until you are given a task. Once you are put on your way, the needless clicking subsides, as you are usually looking for things like water to make a plant grow, or ladybugs needed as pieces in a puzzle.
Given how well objects are hidden, I was often in positions where I needed to find just one more thing. This can lead to frustration, especially if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for. Most times the game is specific in its requests, but on a few occasions I was tasked to find a shape that could be any form or color. This is where I found myself starring hopelessly at the screen, hoping the answer would jump out. I even resorted to rapidly clicking across the image to hopefully uncover something I clearly wasn’t seeing.
Once you find what you need, a puzzle usually awaits. No two puzzles are the same, and all demand different logic and input. For instance, the colored shapes must be assembled in a specific way to occupy an entire blank space, whereas the ladybugs present a number-based challenge in which they need to be lined up in certain way. I love that the game puts your brain through a wringer, but should you struggle with one, you don’t have a hint system or help tool (unlike Artifex Mundi’s dozens of other similarly designed adventure games). I banged my head against the wall during a rotating ring puzzle, and only stumbled upon the solution through dumb luck. None of the puzzles are truly difficult, though, and it’s only a matter of time before the solution is achieved.
My Brother Rabbit consists of five chapters of puzzle and seek-and-find fun. Each chapter is bookended with silent storyboard sequences that tell the family’s story. As short as these clips are, they carry an emotional punch, and make you feel like you’re in the hospital’s lobby, hoping for good news. Finding a path through the children’s fantasy world is the hook, but even as the visuals try to steal away your attention, you can’t help but think about what may be coming next for the daughter. This is one adventure you’ll want to see through to the end, even if the seek-and-fun gameplay can get a little irritating.
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Last week, I visited Rockstar’s headquarters in New York City to play the most highly anticipated game of the year. It’s been eight years since Red Dead Redemption was released, and enthusiasm over John Marston’s open-world adventure hasn’t dimmed. Would new protagonist Arthur Morgan be up to snuff? Can Rockstar create a worthy follow-up to such a beloved game? The sequel has some mighty big boots to fill, in other words. After getting some hands-on time with the game, playing through a couple of missions, exploring camp life, and visiting a nearby town, I’m confident in saying that Red Dead Redemption II is worth the wait.
During my time with the game, I played through a couple of different missions. In the first one, Dutch’s gang pulled off a train heist, which didn’t go off exactly as planned. The other mission was a raid against a rival gang’s hideout that started quiet and ended in an all-out assault. Rather than provide a beat-by-beat recounting of those two sequences, I’m pulling out the highlights – whether they revolve around new systems, tweaks to existing elements, or little touches that added a little extra magic to the game.
The Train Heist
Dutch and the gang learn about an armored train from an earlier encounter with a rival gang. The train, owned by oil baron Leviticus Cornwall, is said to be filled with money, but it’s heavily fortified. Fortunately, Dutch is good at thinking on his feet. He formulates a plan that centers on blowing up the tracks and catching the train’s crew by surprise. Subtlety isn’t his forte.
After riding to an overlook position near the tunnel, we prepare for the job by pulling down our bandanas (something I have to do by accessing the face-masking option in my item wheel). I then descend the hill and help Bill Williamson rig the explosives by stringing wire from the dynamite over to the detonator behind some nearby rocks. Unfortunately, when it comes time to blow it all to smithereens, nothing happens.
Now that the plan is out of the window, we improvise. A few of us jump onto the back of the train as it passes, and we work our way to the front with the hope of incapacitating the engine. Lenny Summers, one of the gang’s more reliable members, accompanies me on this leg of the mission. At several points, he pauses and asks how we should proceed, and I’m given the choice between having him clear out a path in front of me or taking the lead myself. He’s a good shot, and I find that it’s quite helpful to give him free rein.
Eventually, we stop the engine and learn that Cornwall is a man who likes to be prepared. A host of armed guards pour out, and there’s a fierce firefight. Dead Eye is back, and the time-slowing system makes it easier to manage the waves of enemies by painting targets and unloading into them in a flash. Rockstar says that Dead Eye can be upgraded multiple times, eventually showing critical-hit zones and automatically painting enemies, but I had to settle with a version that felt comfortably close to the system from the last Red Dead game.
Once my gang regroups, we take control of the scene and blow open the armored car. From there, it’s a simple job of walking in and looting everything I can find. It’s not a revelatory change by any means, but Arthur will methodically loot everything he sees on a table or shelf when you hold down a button, going from one item to the next. It sure beats having to move a crosshair over each item individually.
Now that the train has been looted, I have to make a decision: Do I kill the witnesses, let them run free, or put them back onto the train and send it back out to who knows where? I take the simplest option, and put a bullet in the head of the closest man. The rest of them spring to their feet and scatter in different directions. I’m able to wing one of them, but they get away.
Unlike John Marston, who liked to talk about how his outlaw days were far behind him, Arthur is in the midst of it all. You can choose to make honorable decisions in the world or continue along Arthur’s dark path. Be good, and civilians will be more friendly, you’ll get more money from bounty-hunting jobs, and slow-motion killcams will be more heroic. Take a darker path, and you can expect more cash from robberies and more gruesome killcams.
Camp Life
Whether you wear a black or white hat, Arthur is still a member of Dutch’s gang. There are more than a dozen fellow gang members to interact with, and they all live in a home base, the gang’s camp. The camp element adds a different feel to Red Dead Redemption II from its predecessor, since you’re not a transient moving around the world. Instead, you have a place to call home.
You can take on side missions here, or just walk around interacting with members of your gang. The camp doesn’t operate on goodwill alone, however. It needs food, medicine, and other supplies to keep going, and you can choose to contribute to the cause. I didn’t get to engage in the loop here, but I’m excited that hunting does more than line my pockets or help me craft new apparel (though those elements are here, too). You can bring your carcasses back to the camp cook, Pearson, and he’ll use that game to make food. Contribute enough, and morale will increase.
The Gang Shootout
Not everyone at camp is a friend. In the second mission, I meet up with Kieran, a captured member of the rival O’Driscoll gang who seems to be having some problems remembering his past. Dutch has tied the man up, kept his rations at a minimum, and eventually threatens to geld him with a pair of tongs. That last act jogs Kieran’s memory, and he reveals the location of Colm O’Driscoll, the leader.
This mission is interesting, because John Marston comes along for the ride, as do Bill and Kieran. It’s a fun reunion for those of us who played the last game, but Arthur seems like he can either take or leave John’s company. The overall sense I get is that John isn’t the most popular guy in camp. Still, I’m happy to ride along with John – for a while, at least.
I realize how outnumbered our group is when we reach Six Point Cabin, the hideout. It’s in the middle of a wooded area, and it seems as though there are O’Driscolls in every direction. Once again, I’m given choices as we infiltrate the camp. I decide to take out the first few enemies at range, using my bow to silently eliminate them. One lone O’Driscoll is sitting on a log, and I have John take him out, saying “Get your hands dirty for a change.” He does so in a violent stabbing that even makes Arthur wince.
The silent approach only works for so long, and eventually I’m spotted. At that point, I switch to my repeater and take cover. John and Bill do a solid job of thinning out the O’Driscolls, and I pop out of cover to do my part. I mix Dead Eye kills with aimed shots; the gunplay feels pretty good, and enemies react gruesomely when they’re struck by my bullets. One of my friends shouts “Die, you drunk idiots!” during the gunfight, which seems like a completely appropriate sentiment.
When the last O’Driscoll is face-down in the dirt, we head toward the cabin. Instead of finding Colm inside, blacked out, I’m attacked by one last O’Driscoll. Fortunately, I’m saved by a shot from the former prisoner Kieran. He pleads to stay with us, and Arthur relents. We may have one more mouth to feed, but Kieran could actually be a decent guy after all. To prove his worth, he shows Arthur where $600 is stashed near the chimney. Not too shabby.
Valentine
What does $600 get you? Your dollar can go pretty far in a place like Valentine, a little community a short ride away from camp. Here, I get a sense of some of other activities you can engage in – things that don’t necessarily require you to pull a trigger.
The general store has all manner of provisions, including an impressive number of clothing options for Arthur. The catalog on the shelf has pages devoted to apparel, and you flip through each one like it were a physical book (unlike the abstracted icons in Red Dead Redemption). There are pages of hats, vests, coasts, boots, pants, and more. Clothing is cosmetic, but it also protects you from elements like the cold. Rockstar says you can modify clothing, too, so you can choose to tuck your pants into your boots or roll up your sleeves. You can also choose to wear a fedora, but no thanks.
Guns are a big part of the outlaw life, so the gunsmith is an important stop. You can buy new firearms here, as well as specialized ammunition and customization options. There’s an element of firearm maintenance, too. Near the chimney at the O’Driscoll cabin, I found an old shotgun hanging on display. I grabbed it, but it was old and dirty. Applying gun oil restored its potential, increasing its overall damage and other stats. You can pick up more gun oil at this shop, as well as items such as holsters that slow down the speed that weapons degrade over time.
There’s also a stable where you can buy and sell horses, as well as pick up tack supplies to maintain your own roster of horses. The horse riding is one of the most noticeable improvements over the past game. Horses do a better job of sticking to the path, and they just feel right overall. Their animations are impressive, tentatively stepping across rough terrain, biting at flies while idle, and moving their ears around to hear nearby sounds. The more you ride a horse, the closer your bond with it, and each level has accompanying gameplay elements. On the low end, you can rear up while in the saddle. The highest tier allows you to pull off a sudden skid turn, so you can maneuver around danger at the last second with ease. You can dump your cash into a variety of different cosmetics for horses, like saddles, blankets, and stirrups.
The World Itself
Red Dead Redemption II is easily one of the best-looking games I’ve seen, with an astonishing attention to detail. Arthur changes his posture in bad weather, tucking his chin down to avoid getting wet. The dialog you hear on horseback was recorded twice – at normal volume and a yelling variant, for when characters are far apart. You can holster your pistols with a fancy flourish, like a movie cowboy (or RoboCop). And you can choose to see it all in either a traditional third-person view or via the first-person.
The game makes use of the left trigger in an interesting way. Usually, that button’s used for pulling up iron sights or a precision-aiming mode in games. That holds true here, too, when your weapon is drawn. When it’s holstered, however, it’s essentially a “focus” button. You can look at an NPC and press the button to pull up a variety of different interactions, such as saying hello, intimidating them, or straight up robbery. It’s a small touch, but I enjoyed saying hello to people I passed on the trail or milling around at camp.
Arthur has needs, too, like eating and sleeping. As you play, Arthur gets hungry and tired over time. If you don’t eat or sleep, you won’t regenerate your health or stamina as quickly. It doesn’t seem to veer into pure simulation territory, but I did eat a snack before a gunfight just in case. I can’t say for certain how it works over longer sessions, but Rockstar is adamant that, like the weapon cleaning, it’s not designed to be intrusive. Instead, it’s a way to remind players that Arthur is a person, and not just a hunk of meat that’s entirely self-sustaining. Over time, his hair and beard will grow, which you can shave at camp or get trimmed in town. Hairstyles and facial hair aren't magically summoned when you plop into the chair, either. If you want a mullet or mustache, you'll have to grow it and have it cut it to form.
There’s a lot more to the game, but I’m going to have to keep some of it under wraps for the time being. Suffice it to say, Red Dead Redemption 2 is more than just a visual update to an old favorite with a new character. There are elements that are familiar, but Rockstar is very clearly not content with making a safe sequel.
Red Dead Redemption II is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 26.
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Shonen Jump has long been home some of the most iconic manga and anime figures, such as One Piece’s Luffy and Dragonball’s Goku. To help ring in its 50th anniversary, Jump Force is packing in as many of these faces that have become synonymous with anime into one big ring. Part of the delight is finding out who’s on the roster and what extra additions make it more than just a mash-up. At this past TGS, Bandai Namco announced new characters alongside an online hub and character creation system. Previous reveals have been the kind of slam-dunk characters that you’d expect, but now we’re starting to get some surprises.
While Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Yugi was recently announced, his combat style is now understood, as he battles with three cards: Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, and Slifer the Sky Dragon. On top of that, fans of 90s anime will be happy to see two characters from Yu Yu Hakusho, Yusuke and Toguro. That’s not all that’s newly announced, however, as environments like DBZ’s Planet Namek and Japan’s Himeji Castle are now ripe for battle.
Additionally, a brand new feature debuted at TGS: the online lobby and character creator. Players can helm their own character, created in the style of the various Jump properties, in the story mode as well as an online lobby for interacting with fellow combatants. While details are slim on the story mode, it does feature four characters created from the ground up for Jump Force by the famed Akira Toriyama: J-Force leader Glover, robot assistant Navigator, and the two villains, Galena and Kane. While famous Jump villains are playable, Bandai Namco wanted to have its own, unique antagonists for the story, though not much has been revealed beyond their appearance.
While Bandai Namco was not yet prepared to show the character generator, we did get a look at one of the avatars it created – a young woman who looked much like Luffy, obviously in the One Piece vein. While it was confirmed, you can adjust things like skin tone, gender, and costumes, it’s not yet known if a character’s visual style or gender will have any effect on their combat skills; we hope that we’ll be able to Kamehameha with a character who would fit in with the Bleach cast.
Our hands-on with Jump Force didn’t reveal much that was new – the fast-paced, bombastic combat is still reminiscent of the recent Naruto fighting games, and that’s not a bad thing. Powerful moves abounded and it felt great to take down Sasuke Uchiha as his true arch-rival: Frieza. Additionally, the framerate kept up no matter what was on screen and watching the characters show the damage they’d taken was a nice treat.
This is looking like a huge step up compared to the last Jump crossover, J Stars Victory Vs. February can’t roll around fast enough for anime and manga fans.
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Capcom released a new story trailer for Resident Evil 2's remake showing off the femme fatale spy Ada Wong and her new design for the first time. You can check out the trailer below.
The trailer shows the major players of the game, including Claire, Leon, Ada, the Birkins, and overall kind of spoils a decent bit of Resident Evil 2 if you never played it and are hoping to go in fresh.
Resident Evil 2 releases on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on January 25.
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Despite earlier releasing an extended Gamescom trailer, Capcom did in fact still release a Tokyo Games Show trailer featuring Dante. The trailer focuses on the old school Devil May Cry crew of Dante, Trish, and Lady primarily, but also brings Nero and Nico in to interact with them.
You can check out the trailer below.
Interesting to note that, despite removing the music video for the song "Subhuman" from the trailer earlier today, the song is still present in the trailer.
The TGS trailer also shows us the first look at V, the third playable character in the game. Contrary to speculation, he does not appear to be Vergil, but he could be associated with him somehow. It seems unlikely Itsuno would call him V without realizing the association people would make with his favorite character.
During their presentation today, Capcom also revealed that Devil May Cry 5 would crossover with Mega Man, as well, giving Nero a Mega Buster Devil Arm. The arm functions as you would expect a Mega Buster to function, including pellet and charge shots. While the trailer for it, which you can find below, takes some creative licenses with the in-game camera, I sure wouldn't mind if they included the exploding energy circles for Nero's death animation.
The Mega Buster was mentioned as part of Devil May Cry 5's Deluxe Edition which, much like Resident Evil 2's remake coming in January, has music tracks from the previous game included as DLC. The Deluxe Edition also includes an enhanced motorcycle weapon for Dante and three other devil breakers for Nero.
Devil May Cry 5 is releasing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 8.
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Hello schnabulu,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
schnabulu joined on the 09/19/2018.
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The new trailer for Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu/Eevee details how you can import Pokémon from mobile title Pokémon Go into the Switch title.
Your Pokémon from Pokémon Go appear in the Go Park Complex (made up of 20 Go Parks), and each Go Park can hold 50 Pokémon. Once they are in a Go Park they must then be caught in order for you to use them in the Switch game. When 25 of the same species of Pokémon are in the complex, you can play the minigame (referenced in the trailer) for Candies to power up your Pokémon.
Friends' Pokémon can also be transferred to a single save file.
Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu/Eevee comes out on November 16. For more on the title, check out this previous trailer showing the power of partnerships in the game.
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Grip: Combat Racing's developers Caged Element have revealed a multiplayer trailer for their upcoming gravity-defying racing game.
The multiplayer mode has split-screen multiplayer racing in two-player, three-player, and four-player variations. Local multiplayer can also build tournaments with a ton of malleability to make the kind of tournament you want. Online play allows ten racers to a track and will have online leaderboards.
Grip: Combat Racing releases on November 6 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
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Released on PC last year, Home Sweet Home is a horror game uniquely based on Thai lore and mythology that has been floating around YouTuber videos for the last year. Now the game launches on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 9. A separate PlayStation VR version is also available the same day.
You can check out the trailer of the game from its PC release below. Keep in mind, it is a horror title, so don't watch if you're squeamish.
The game is releasing at retail a few days later on October 16 exclusively at GameStop. The retail version is only for PlayStation 4 and includes both the regular game and the PlayStation VR edition.
[Disclaimer: GameStop is the parent company of Game Informer]
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Hello hergog,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
hergog joined on the 09/19/2018.
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Hello vityav,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
vityav joined on the 09/19/2018.
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As part of Tokyo Game Show, Bandai Namco has released a new story trailer for One Piece: World Seeker. The newest game to borrow the license is unique in that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda penned the story about Luffy ending up on Jewel Island near the Navy's prison colony.
It turns out to be a little more involved than Luffy showing up and making a bad day for the Navy, as two new Oda-designed characters are also taking part. As Luffy tends to do when he lands on an island, he meets a woman who has a problem and gets embroiled in helping her. In this case, she is the leader of the anti-Navy resistance, Jeanne. She must team up with Luffy to take down Isaac, the metal-handed warden of the prison system that is currently taking over her island.
One Piece: World Seeker was recently delayed to 2019 to polish the game up and will be releasing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
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Bandai Namco has revealed that Raphael, Soulcalibur's resident fencer who went from protagonist to antagonist over the course of the series. Thanks to the magic of time travel and also, like, regular magic, Raphael can turn back the clock on becoming a vampire and instead just be a weird guy in a carnival of way weirder guys.
Raphael was leaked a few weeks ago through unofficial footage of a build that showed both him and Cervantes, both of whom have now been announced. If Bandai Namco were waiting to announce Cassandra, which clearly they must be, then now is a good time when we're all caught off-guard.
Soulcalibur VI is releasing on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 19.
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Late last night, Tri-Ace announced that their PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 RPG Resonance of Fate will be getting a 4K/HD Edition for PlayStation 4 and PC.
The sci-fi fantasy RPG was first released in 2010 and caught a lot of attention with its flashy and strategic combat. The game was originally published by Sega, but the company confirmed to us that they licensed the title to Tri-Ace for the HD remaster.
The 4K part of the title refers to the PC and PlayStation 4 Pro enhancements, while the base model will run the game at 1080p. All versions will run at 60 frames per second.
Resonance of Fate 4K/HD Edition will release worldwide on October 18 for $35.
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In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, players could easily spend 100 hours fighting monsters, completing sidequests, and collecting items. While that lengthy RPG was worthwhile (especially after post-release enhancements), repetitive and mundane quests made many of those hours feel like bloat. As a comparatively short expansion, Torna: The Golden Country had the opportunity to trim the fat and present a more focused experienced. It doesn’t. Instead, The Golden Country doubles down on the busywork, making more of it mandatory while providing fewer rewards for your effort.
The Golden Country details events that occurred 500 years before Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and that story is the biggest draw. You learn about characters and conflicts that were only briefly explored before, like Jin’s relationship with his driver Lora, and the confrontation between Mythra and Malos. The gravity of the tale depends on the player’s knowledge of these characters and how the world eventually changes in response to their deeds (this is not a good place for newcomers to join), and I enjoyed seeing the narrative threads that connect the two time periods. If you are a fan of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, these moments alone make The Golden Country worth playing, as long as you’re willing to pay the price.
Of the 17 hours it took me to finish The Golden Country, only about half of that time was spent participating in the new narrative. For the rest of it, you can expect to complete a series of boring fetch and collection quests thanks to the new community system. When you complete a sidequest, the quest-giver (and sometimes other characters) join your community, which is a visual representation of all of the people you’ve helped. They don’t impart any bonuses or benefits, but the more people you aid, the higher your community level rises. This seems like a neat idea at first, but the problem is that your community level only has one main purpose: preventing you from progressing in the main story. At a couple points, you aren’t allowed to take on the next central quest until you hit a community threshold. For example, you can’t fight the final boss until level four, which involves sinking hours into tedious chores that aren’t interesting, well-written, or connected to the narrative in any meaningful way. This structure kills the pacing and pointlessly inflates the amount of time The Golden Country requires.
Though it has trouble balancing quality and quantity, the game isn’t a constant slog. You get in a lot of battles along the way, and the combat system has been revamped and improved for this entry. It’s still a real-time affair that has you auto-attacking and activating skills, but an increased focused on character-switching makes the action feel more fluid. This means less waiting for cooldowns and more direct control, and it makes encounters more entertaining and engaging. However, one problem that still remains is variety; enemies rarely require any variation in your tactics, so regardless of your opponent, battles usually follow the pattern of lining up combos and stacking elemental orbs.
Despite the legacy issues, developer Monolith Soft has also learned some lessons in the last year. One of the biggest aggravations from the base game, shuffling party members to complete field skill challenges, is no longer a factor in The Golden Country. All available characters are always at your side, and they don’t have redundant skills (only one character has superstrength, for instance). I appreciated knowing my success or failure immediately without wading through menus to see if I can squeeze out one more point of fortitude somewhere. I’m also glad to see features that were added later to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 included here, like new game+ and an auto-battle option.
Cool story moments and combat improvements offset some of The Golden Country’s frustrations, but not enough to entirely redeem the experience. It is missing some of the best parts of the base game (like the thrill of collecting unique allies and completing quests tailored to them), but retains many stumbling blocks that impeded the fun before. However, the way the story fills in gaps and provides insight into the characters makes The Golden Country a satisfying addition for fans who have already built up a tolerance for the sometimes-baffling quirks of Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
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Hello DarthOggi,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
DarthOggi joined on the 09/18/2018.
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Square Enix revealed last week that The Last Remnant, a 360 and PC RPG released toward the beginning of the previous generation as one of the first major Japanese games on Unreal Engine 3, would be getting an HD remaster on PlayStation 4. As part of the remaster, the game was getting rebuilt from the ground up for Unreal Engine 4, which has not always worked out for remastered games. To illustrate the difference for this, though, Square Enix provided a comparison video of the original Xbox 360 release and the new PlayStation 4 one.
The remaster has higher resolution textures, a more modern lighting model, and framerate improvements. While the original game on Xbox 360 ran poorly, the PC version ran quite a bit better, and had been considered the definitive version of the game. Unfortunately, Square Enix delisted the game on PC shortly before announcing the remaster, but has provided no information on whether the remastered version will replace the delisted one. We have reached out to Square Enix on the subject multiple times but received no response.
The Last Remnant Remastered releases on PlayStation 4 worldwide on December 6.
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A few weeks ago, Witcher developers CDProjekt Red announced that they were separating Gwent's single-player campaign out from the card game's client as a standalone release titled Thronebreaker. Since details were so scarce, not many expected that the excision would be quite so prompt, with CDPR confirming an October 24 release date for PC and a console release on December 4.
Thronebreaker was developed to be the single-player campaign for Gwent, itself spun-off from the side activity in the Witcher III: The Wild Hunt. According to CDPR, the campaign got too big to simply be a side thing for Gwent and is being released with "The Witcher Tales" as a subtitle. It is unclear if this means a new brand categorization that allows for further spin-offs within the Witcher universe.
Gwent itself is coming out of beta on October 23 on PC, one day ahead of Thronebreaker, and the same day as Thronebreaker on consoles.
When asked on Twitter if Thronebreaker would feature a cameo from Geralt, CDPR merely posted a gif of the white-haired warrior and left it at that.
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Ongoing games must constantly rediscover themselves to remain relevant. Destiny 2: Forsaken is a robust adventure characterized by darker themes, character-driven storytelling, and a set of thoughtfully imagined missions, enemies, and locations. But it’s also a reinvention of the franchise’s core systems and goals. Catering chiefly to dedicated players, Forsaken’s lengthy grind, complex upgrade systems, and focus on the endgame loop don’t invite easy engagement from newcomers. Accessibility may have taken a hit, but the resulting depth provides replayability and richness, and makes the franchise stronger than it has been in years. The expansion draws on many of the previous iterations’ best traits and melds them into a day-to-day experience that is hard to walk away from.
Forsaken takes a hard turn from the quippy characters of Destiny 2’s base game, opting instead for a story about grief and the way it drives us into questionable action. The lead Guardian launches into a quest to mete out vengeance for the fallen Cayde-6, whose murder is a figurative death knell to Destiny’s more frivolous narrative tendencies. The campaign dovetails into lead side character Petra’s grief-fueled opening of a Pandora’s Box, and the evils subsequently unleashed. In both overall tone and character interactions, this is the most sophisticated narrative the series has presented.
Several excellent story missions evoke a classic Western, and play out on the wonderfully chaotic Tangled Shore destination. As I hunted down the members of a malicious criminal cadre, the level design helps each boss feel distinct, like the Mad Bomber’s scattered explosives, or the deceptive loot drops of the Trickster. These battles also showcase the aggressive new Scorn enemy group. From the swinging lanterns of the Ravagers to the totem-powered Chieftains, every one of the new baddies is fun to fight and challenging to juggle when arriving in mixed packs. The sneering Uldren is a great antagonist to wrap it all around; he’s a character we love to hate, even as his ultimate motivations are sympathetic.
The Dreaming City opens up after the campaign as Destiny’s first dedicated endgame zone. The pastoral mountains and dreamy mists of the Awoken’s hidden sanctuary make for some excellent exploration fodder. Dozens of hidden chests, secret bosses, magical portals, and plentiful collectibles are a joy to discover with friends. The new Blind Well wave-based arena is frantic and fun, but the absence of matchmaking is limiting.
This new endgame locale also hides an innovation that plays to Destiny’s strength as a living game. The completion of the incredibly difficult Last Wish raid triggered new activities across the area, including a fantastic strike, lore-focused patrols, new Gambit map, and a story mission, with more to come in future weeks. This sense of an evolving gameplay landscape should be the template for the series moving forward, letting players feel like they are in on a dynamic journey that is changing before their eyes and in response to their actions.
The introduction of Gambit is a welcome mingling of cooperative and competitive play. This new core mode challenges players to battle increasingly powerful waves of enemies, bank resources, and occasionally engage in tense asymmetrical showdowns with a single overpowered enemy player. Gambit is thrilling and accessible thanks to a smart interface that presents info you need, accompanied by helpful dialogue voiceovers that guide the action. The current matchmaking algorithm leads to an unfortunate number of blowouts, but I’m surprised at how frequently losing teams can turn things around and earn a big comeback. It all leads to some pulse-pounding round conclusions.
Forsaken also ushers in a total rework of several core systems. The new weapon slots are a triumph, offering flexibility and empowerment in equal measures, and bringing fun weapons like shotguns and fusion rifles back into regular usage. Character power and weapon damage have been rebalanced, leading to a faster and more lethal Crucible, but one that is less friendly to novices. Power progression is slow but mostly fair, with a ton of clearly marked activities each day that can lead to character improvement. Random rolls on weapons and armor means greater investment in your rewards as you chase the perfect loadout. New bounties and quests are a blast to layer on top of one another, but it’s frustrating to have to run back and forth between so many vendors.
Equipment infusion is currently too expensive, and the weapon mods are too hard to acquire. Likewise, new exotics are vanishingly rare to drop, and the current path to new super unlocks (after your first) obscure that desirable content behind high-level activities. All of this combines to limit the ability to experiment with playstyles or gear setups, and hides much of the best equipment and variety so deep into the grind that many players may never encounter those experiences, which is a shame. I’m all for making rewards meaningful again, but the current model has swung too far to the extreme.
Cementing its strength as a hobby game, Forsaken introduces an excellent scheme for tracking in-game Triumphs and Collections that act as a trophy wall to your gathered treasures. The Triumphs supply dozens of tasks to chase across every aspect of the game, and I’m particularly delighted by the collectible lore tabs and the fascinating stories they tell. Equipment collections solve part of the problem of bloated inventory management, but I’m bummed that most of the new Year 2 items can’t be retrieved in some form because of their random rolls.
As a dedicated Destiny player, I’m gratified by the breadth of opportunities for adventure to be found in Forsaken, but I’m also aware that less dedicated players are going to miss out on a lot of the most compelling weapons, modes, secrets, and missions on offer. Even so, this release has the potential to draw lapsed players back into the fold. Forsaken is deep, mysterious, and vast, three words that echo what players most want from this growing universe.
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Veteran PC gamers may remember skirting the streets of Skara Brae years ago, and the Bard’s Tale IV takes us back to those times of guilds, monsters, and adventurers. This title is absolutely a love letter to the RPGs of yesteryear, and a decent option for those looking for more modern titles faithful to that style. However, along with a thirst for battle, you need to have a hearty appetite for exploration and mind-numbing puzzles to appreciate this journey.
Combat shines in The Bard’s Tale IV, with position-based encounters that present new opportunities and combos. Your team has a pool of opportunity points to use each turn, with free spellcasting on top if you have the mana. Considering your positioning and ability use each turn is great, giving battles high stakes as you interrupt enemy spellcasters or move out of the way of massive axe blows. Fights allow plenty of freedom in terms of difficulty; you can take on fights far above your level and the victories and the rewards are satisfying. Between grid positioning, channeling, and various ways to make the most of each resource, combat is a joy and handled with finesse.
The systems behind combat are less compelling. Each character can only bring a handful of abilities into battle, and selecting your loadout is not interesting because your options are limited if you want a successful crew. Though you can technically experiment with group composition, you need to ensure you have a healthy mix of interrupts, damage, and resource generation. You don’t have the flexibility to take more more than the necessities, like a classic fighter/caster mix with a hefty frontline and magical barrage backline.
This streamlining feels needlessly restrictive, and it trickles down into character development. Skill trees are tiered, so your character needs to put many skill points into lesser skills to unlock higher tiers, which keeps them from becoming too powerful too early. While this constraint may protect players from irreparably screwing up characters, it feels more like linear progression than meaningful choice.
Your party makes its way through Skara Brae and to beautiful worlds beyond. Loot is everywhere and a satisfying crafting system allows you to create everything you need to keep going, from grappling hooks to steak. Your signature tool, however, is a selection of bardic songs used to uncover secrets and shortcuts. The list promises hammers to knock down walls, fanfare to illuminate hidden treasures, and melodic vocals revealing enemies. That sounds interesting, but in practice, you can just sing every song when you're faced with an impasse to see what works, rendering the variety of different tunes worthless.
You absolutely need a high tolerance for puzzles to enjoy The Bard’s Tale IV, which throws an absurd number of brain-twisters at the player, ranging from easy-to-solve dwarven gear doors to esoteric runic combinations. Some mandatory puzzles stymie progression and feel incredibly overbearing, especially in areas that present puzzle after puzzle after puzzle. I yearned for even a minor goblin to massacre after rooms of blocks, spikes, runes, and traps. These sections are frustrating and take much of the energy out of the excellent combat system by replacing it with tedious fiddling. Purists may love solving riddles spewed forth from disembodied wall-mouths, but the frequency in some areas is simply befuddling and detracting. Even though the game comes with a guide featuring all major solutions, looking up answers doesn’t make the puzzle gauntlet satisfying or fun.
The Bard’s Tale IV pays dutiful homage to its roots and offers an accessible way to experience the joy of the old-school RPG, but the enjoyable complexity has been sacrificed. Long puzzle mazes detract from the inspired combat system, and occasional crashes after a big battle can be discouraging. That said, if you’re looking for that vintage style with some enchanting new-age accoutrements, the endearing melodies of the Bard’s Tale IV won’t lead you astray.
Trials Rising Is Ridiculous Globe-Trotting Fun
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Trials Rising's has a deceptively simple goal: race a motorcycle to the end of the track as fast as you can. This is easier said than done, since each course invents increasingly creative ways to smear you across the pavement. Luckily, crashing is almost as fun as sailing past the checkered finish-line. Ubisoft's latest entry in the Trials series is fast-paced, over-the-top, and fun as hell.
I recently played the closed beta and, while features like the Store and Track Editor were unavailable, I had access to nineteen different tracks mostly scattered across North America and Europe. It is the first main entry in the Trials series since 2014, and Ubisoft’s decision to work with the community pays off with a tutorial system that quickly gets newcomers up to speed while still engaging long-time fans.
Right on Track
Trials Rising’s early levels are set in North America and feature big jumps in Yellowstone National Park, an out-of-control Midwestern theme park, and firework-enhanced antics in New York. Unlocking new courses and continents, hinges on increasing your rider's fame. You accomplish this by finishing races under time to earn medals or by completing sponsor contracts, like doing multiple flips before crossing the finish line. After amassing enough fame and dominating a multi-course stadium race, European tracks appear. Scrambling over teetering rocks in the UK and catapulting through the wonderfully titled “I Fell Tower” course in France, while marked as a medium challenge in-game, are absurdly entertaining servings of humble pie.
Don't be fooled by the simple starting contracts. Your first sponsor sets goals like “finish a race” or “beat an opponent,” but the challenges soon escalate to “travel 10 meters on your front wheel without crashing more than once.” You can make life easier for yourself if you pick the right bike for the job. There are four bike types: Squid, an all-around competent bike; Rhino, a heavier and more powerful machine; Mantis, a lightweight speedster great for tricks; and Tandem, a wacky new co-op option for when playing solo is just too easy. That’s right, Trials Rising has introduced a bike that lets two players control one vehicle. One player alone will not be able to reach top speed or fully maneuver; only both players working simultaneously can finish a race.
For the first time, Trials Rising includes human ghost players and has implemented them as part of the cross-platform functionality. You can’t directly play with friends on different consoles, but you can watch players from Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC run through the same course. You may find a faster path or uncover strategies to deal with punishing obstacles by studying their choices. If you want to make your own discoveries, you can turn the ghost feature off in the options menu.
Relearn the Laws of Physics
Crossing the finish-line requires a deft touch. If you are too fast, you might overshoot your landing, and if you lean too far forward you might flip the bike head over wheels. Luckily, I found crashing to be nearly as enjoyable as a perfect run. The ragdoll physics and unusual tracks are humorous bedfellows. Watching my rider’s limp body rocket down an unbelievably sheer drop, smearing her face across a wooden plank, and summarily flopping off the course’s edge was one of my favorite moments. Prepare to crash. A lot. Thankfully, Trials Rising mitigates frustration with generously placed check points. The clock keeps ticking, though, so it's better to be cautious in timed races. Fun as eating dirt might be, that first smooth run is undeniably satisfying, and returning fans can expect the same solid gameplay they have come to love.
Gear Crates and In-Game Currency
At this stage, earning medals and accomplishing sponsor goals nets players both trials coins and experience points that increase fame. Trials Rising celebrates each new fame level by doling out gear crates full of cosmetic-only rewards. Trials coins are spent on things like victory animations and re-rolling a bad gear crate. The price to re-roll goes up every time, so you might want to use this feature sparingly. Ubisoft clarified here that players can also purchase acorns, a different in-game currency not shown in the beta, using real money.
New Game, New You
On top of the typical character creation choices like gender, voice type, and skin tone – I went with a cotton candy blue – Trials Rising offers additional creative freedom over your rider's look. Feel free to swap out accessories, helmets, jackets, shirts, gloves, bottoms, and footwear to reflect your personality. Change each item’s color or attach stickers – which you can also customize by adjusting their size, location, and hue. The result is a truly unique look. I went down the rabbit hole creating a rider that looked like a Rebel Alliance pilot. When that didn’t go well, I pivoted to an overall zebra aesthetic.
Trials Rising doesn’t take itself too seriously, as evidenced by the gorilla suit and cowboy attire available in the gold edition pre-order. This new addition to the series will be a delight to new fans and rise to the expectations of old ones wanting a fresh take on the traditional Trials experience. If you want a game stuffed with personality and addictive challenges, Trials Rising is coming out February 12, on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
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