Jaggy's Corner! - Saturday March 31

All month Blizzard has been running the 20th Anniversary of Starcraft. Some familiar faces are present at a celebration event. People like Day9, Artosis, Whitera, Ret, TLO, and iNcontroL have been recalling Starcraft moments over the coarse of 20 years. This prompted me to talk about Starcraft and the impact it has had on my gaming career.

I wouldn't be a writer for Chalgyr's or Ginx Esports TV if it wasn't for Starcraft. Truly.

Many years ago, my brother and I would play both Warcraft 2 and Starcraft. I remember at the time I was terrible at Starcraft and decent at Warcraft. So, it made sense that I transitioned to World of Warcraft where my brother stuck with Starcraft, then BroodWars, then Starcraft 2. He would occasionally show me videos of Husky Starcraft casting replays of professional players' matches. I had no idea what was happening most of the time.

Then there was one video of Husky Starcrafts' that tipped me over the edge. I think it was not long after the video for Pylo the Pylon's short life span. It was at that point I stumbled onto Twitch TV for the first time. I landed in Demuslim's stream, a well known Terran player, who I appreciated because he was always humble while playing, but he explained what he was doing and why. For a person who had played some Starcraft but had sucked horribly, this was the best stream for me to end up in. The only drawback to his stream was the fact that I have always been a zerg player. Eventually, I had to find a streamer that could help me with specific builds.

What year is this? #SC20 pic.twitter.com/3F6gGWPL3F

— Chris Yap ᴮᵒᵒ (@booradl3y_) March 30, 2018

I found out about Fenner's Fundamentals and LowkoTV at about the same time. Both of these players had YouTube videos that helped new players with the basics of Starcraft builds. I ventured into Lowko's stream first and I became addicted to watching the streams for many hours each day. Six months later one of the mods decided to step down because he was getting back into Dota 2. Lowko asked his chat, "Who wants to be a mod?" I said nothing at the time. The chat blew up. In the end, he gave me mod status because I always chatted with people and was nice.

To make a long story short, that was the first of my many swords on Twitch. As such, I worked hard to learn about the bots, potential spammers, using IRCs, etc... I'm now at 40+ channels and it's still one of the fun things I do because I am always learning new things and meeting people. But nothing prepared me for a chance encounter that would ultimately change my life for the better...

Once in a while I channel hop. I get bored of the same game, so I actively seek out new games and new streamers. Often, I'll pick someone at random who doesn't have a ton of viewers, especially if it's 2am. Anyways, one of those choice encounters was hopping into Scheist's stream. On the first day I was there, he talked about needing a bot for his channel. Me being me asked what he wanted. After some discussion, he modded me. From there, he asked me in private what I wanted to do in life, which was to write for esports. He talked to a woman that ran her own esports website and that led to my getting the position.

Starcraft Memories

I remember a lot of fun things because of Starcraft. I remember clearly Eseipha and I getting Temp0 to say something to ToD in french. He did it flawlessly and we laughed our guts out when ToD said, "Do you know what you just said to me?"

I remember going to IEM in Toronto where everyone in the crowd yelled out "HOI HOI HOI" for a map called Catellena. The whole reason for that was because of BasetradeTV map intros... I'll just let you enjoy the intro if you've never seen it before...



Also at IEM Toronto a bunch of us went to an after party where Poizon and I played pool. Then I got owned by some Smash Bro Melee pros. Later still, a bunch of people played Cards Against Humanity.  It was a great night.

All in all, the Starcraft LAN events have been awesome.

I think the hardest memory of Starcraft for me was the day I wrote an article about the legendary JaeDong's retirement. #Imnotcrying #yourecrying. I have no idea if that article was as impactful as it was to write it. I know the editor could tell how important of a player Jaedong was to Starcraft. You can see that here

I could never truly explain how much I owe to the Starcraft community on its 20th anniversary, but needless to say, it led me to writing. I'm forever grateful for the impact this game and community has had on my life.

Of course, I'm not the only one who has been impacted as a result of this game. There are countless examples like Day9, HuK, LowkoTV, DJWheat, itmejp, and many many others. Here here is a preview video called Starcraft is Life – A 20th Anniversary Celebration



I'm excited to watch this when it launches

If you are a Starcraft fan, what have been some of your best memories? Let us know in the comments.

Until next time.

Article by Susan N.

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Surviving Mars - PC Review

Paradox Interactive launched a highly anticipated game similar to Cities: Skylines, entitled Surviving Mars. This is a beautifully thought out game that has its own level of complexity. In fact, when playing the game before its official launch, I found myself restarting twice because as they say... mistakes were made!

Gameplay

Surviving Mars is a city builder that takes place on Mars, which presents its own set of challenges. On one hand, it's fairly easy to understand, without throwing the player into a tutorial – a fact that was discussed on a Q&A Twitch livestream (see Final Thoughts for the VOD link). On the other hand, this game can be really challenging – hence why I started over twice...

The first thing to note about this game is the easy start button. With this mode, players don't get to choose their landing location on Mars, and it is the closest thing to a tutorial. And while Surviving Mars has a hints section to guide a player along, the game doesn't hold your hand. Though, I didn't mind the lack of a tutorial since the general concept isn't difficult to grasp. Some players would certainly take that into consideration but frankly, any avid player of this genre should not need a tutorial, so I don't feel like it's a necessary addition.

I really enjoyed figuring out how to create a sustainable colony on Mars. It's a tall feat because players have to manage power, water, and other resources to ensure their colonists' survival. Sometimes these resources are quite a distance away, forcing the player into strategically placing buildings to get the most out of their resource use.

On my first playthrough, I wasn't thinking about building placement and it was ultimately one of the reasons I had to restart. By deliberately erecting different buildings without strategizing, it fast tracked my understanding of what worked and what didn't. I'd say this is a concept that makes Surviving Mars quite punishing. So, the key to success is to plan accordingly!

At the beginning of any scenario, you choose a sponsor and a character class – at least, that's the best way to describe it. These determine the available budget you have as a player and how difficult the game will be. The player then chooses a landing location, which isn't restricted to the suggested ones on the screen. Regardless of your choice, the difficulty is determined by the class, sponsor, and landing location. Surviving Mars is more difficult because of four types of environmental hazards with varying degrees of difficulty. Having multiple challenges will increase the total difficulty percentage. I'm warning you... It's an insane idea!

Something unique to this game that I haven't seen in other city builder games, is that the technology tree is random! You have five different disciplines which you can research technologies and there is a sixth one called breakthroughs, which is only unlocked by scanning anomalies found on Mars. This adds a whole other difficulty level. While to some, this randomize feature makes Surviving Mars much harder, I find this to be a refreshing concept and appreciate its nuanced complexities.

Despite having restarted the game twice in order to talk about a lot of features, I thoroughly enjoy playing Surviving Mars. It has a solid tech tree, the ability to pick specific colonist traits, different resource gathering techniques through use of drones or transport carriers, and challenges dealing with building placement. Compound these elements with the natural disasters component, this game provides a different experience on every playthrough.

UI/Controls

I like the UI in this game because it isn't busy. Although, there are some things that could be improved upon which I will mention later on.

The different panels are easy to understand and valuable colony information can be easily viewed. In terms of its functionality, most of the game can be played with just a mouse. I consider this to be both good and bad. Players can do everything in Surviving Mars using only their mouse because of screen scrolling.

However, the only downfall was an issue that only I had to deal with. You see, as with many games like Cities: Skylines, the zoom ability is bound to the mouse wheel. This is all well and good until your mouse wheel dies. So while other games have the option to change keybindings like the zoom feature, Surviving Mars does not have that option. If it wasn't for the Home button to reset the camera, I'd have been a goner!

A handy tip: if you aren't clicked on a building or unit, you can right click to bring up the build menu! This makes mouse only gameplay simple.

Graphics

I can't talk about this game without talking about the graphics. Haemimont Games certainly did a great job in creating a futuristic look. The notion of having citizens live inside domes is not a new concept, but is an idea that we've contemplated for years. It doesn't take leaps and bounds to consider the same type of engineering for life on Mars. Everything from the piping to the power lines look relatable to players.

I appreciated elements like the obvious the passage of time. Shadows descend upon the colony as the sun moves. When a pipe bursts, there is animation for the water spray – which can be hard to see at times. Even small elements like being able to watch the drones pick up one resource unit at a time amused me greatly. (What? The drones are cute, okay?! Don't judge me!) These decisions created a beautifully conceptualized and pleasing final product.

Oh, and let's not forget that the main opening screen background images changes every few seconds. Goodbye screensaver and hello beautiful space pictures (Can we have more?). I swear, they thought of everything!

Music and Sound

Surviving Mars killed it when it came to music and sound design. First, consider that all of the tracks are licensed by Paradox Interactive, so it stands to reason that they created music befitting the game.

Upon loading, players are are met with a lovely piece that starts off quietly. It then incorporates drums and synthetics which serves as the backdrop to the inevitable piano melody. The song is a fantastic intro and I was enthralled by it. Though, it will never be as epic as Civilization V's "Baba Yetu" composed by Christopher Tin, this intro was meant to inspire exploration. I was rather impressed.

In game there is a base music loops that doesn't distract the player from its challenging gameplay. And I say that because certain video games have annoying soundtracks over time. The looped music in this is not like that at all, but should you find yourself bored of it, there is a radio feature in Surviving Mars. The one I've listened to has pseudo broadcasters. For me, these short breaks add to the atmosphere of the game and reminds players that they aren't in Kansas anymore!

Final Thoughts

I absolutely love this game, even if I feel a little lost sometimes. It has a level complexity that is appealing but presents itself in a logical manner. The games concept as a Mars city builder is alluring to those of us that enjoy this genre.

That said, after watching the Q&A session on Twitch, I found myself questioning some of the thoughts people had. I came up with a short list of improvements because I honestly want this game to continue to grow like its predecessor, Cities: Skylines.

1. A mission objective screen would be handy (separate from the milestones). I have one to research 100 technologies by a certain date and don't know where to find that information.
2. When bringing a rocket from Earth, some of the vehicles are listed as 'stripped'. I'm unsure if this is a bug.
3. The pathing is weird even if you provide methods of travel like tunnels.
4. Having similar vehicles and buildings put in groups at the bottom of the screen would be more pleasant to the overall look of the UI.

Anyways, all of that said, I love this game and give it a 9 out of 10. There are things the developers said they'd improve in future updates. I appreciate that they are listening to community feedback and it is an element I appreciate from the staff at Paradox Interactive.

Previously I spoke about a Q&A stream hosted by the developers and that can be found here. In this VOD, staff talk about future plans as well as answer a variety of questions. Feel free to take a look.

How do you guys feel about this game? Let us know in the comments below!

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Haemimont Games  
Publisher(s):
Paradox Interactive  
Genre(s):
Survival
Simulation
City Builder
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Susan N.

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Attack on Titan 2 - PS4 Review

Attack on Titan 2 is an excellent evolution to the traditional Musou style of games, however this most recently release in the Attack on Titan franchise should have been the first release. Set during the same timeframe as the first season of the anime, and therefore prior to the first title released on PlayStation 4, Attack on Titan 2 takes all the right steps to enhance an otherwise dull style of gameplay (Musou). With new base-building features, a fantastic character customization tool, and brandishing a unique point of view on an otherwise well-known story, Attack on Titan 2 manages to hit all the right buttons while bypassing the overwhelming repetitiveness of a traditional Musou title. Future titles in the franchise now have a lot to live up to, and that is an excellent thing.

I struggle greatly with Musou titles like Dynasty Warriors, Arslan: The Warriors of Legend, and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (to name a few), which is a shame since I tend to really enjoy the franchises that find themselves made into Musou titles. Gundam, One Piece, Fist of the North Star, Attack on Titan, Arslan, and the Berserk franchises all come to mind. The overwhelming majority of Musou titles tend to be flashy yet incredibly dull with repetitive and boring combat, piss-poor stories, and objectives that are solely based around backtracking (go to this point, turn around and go to this point, turn around and go to the original point, now back to the point you were just at, etc.).

Fortunately the first Attack on Titan game, which was uniquely fast-paced and brought some variety to the table, did not let me down in being the same boring old Musou. Attack on Titan 2, fortunately, further deviates from the genre with its base-building, squad/relationship management aspects, and more robust RPG-like features. If and when (I hope) the franchise continues evolving, before too long I see it becoming more of an action-RPG with base-building feature and less a Musou title and if/when that happens, I will rejoice to the heavens. There are few things I despise more than Musou games…

Visually speaking there is very little difference between the first and second games, though I do believe that framerates are better (it dipped a few times, but nothing problematic) and it is most certainly a cleaner looking game by way of draw distance. There are little things that can be noticed too, like a breeze of wind or the spray of blood, which is pleasing to the eye. I did struggle a few times with camera angles, since it tends to want to be rear and slightly up a bit (so it looks somewhat "down" on your character) and this can get you into some tricky spots as you attempt to lock onto the arm or neck of a massive Titan while you are within one of the great many corridors that you might find yourself in.

While I can argue a case for why this fits into the concept of the game, it is still really bloody annoying. What was not annoying, but rather somewhat exciting, was that the map of the various "last bastions of humanity," like Trost and the various walls, are identical to those found in the first Attack on Titan game, which takes place after Attack on Titan 2 so the continuity with regard to the physical locations is nice.

Prior to playing Attack on Titan 2 I did another run through the first Attack on Titan and I believe that may have been a mistake, as throughout my playthrough of Attack on Titan 2 I could not shake a strange feeling. I later found that strange, uncomfortable feeling to ultimately be disappointment. I already knew where the story would end up, even if the journey is a little different and from a slightly different perspective. I already knew what was coming next. The first game inadvertently, and innocently, spoiled the second game for me, which is why I am fully of the opinion that this game should have been the one to be developed and released in 2016, not the Wings of Freedom.

Do not get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the first game, as well as this one, but the swapping of stories is just downright weird and as such had me thinking of the old game more so than the new one. A shame, too, since both are excellent. I would strongly urge that if you have not played the first then you continue holding off and play this one instead; from there move on to the first one (called "Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom") as it may make a little more sense. Try not to make my mistake, which was to play the first then immediately start Attack on Titan 2 up, because it will throw you for a definitive loop.

Outside of the fact that Attack on Titan 2 takes place well before the events of the first Attack on Titan, Attack on Titan 2 makes all of the right moves (even if they tease you with first-person views of using the omni-directional maneuver gear in the cutscenes) and shows that a title based on a shounen anime can mature with its fanbase; to me that was shocking as I was expecting it to be more of the same. After all, most Musou titles tend to be mediocre rehashes of the previous title. I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong, instead I was greeted with a new experience around nearly every turn. Attack on Titan 2 is, without a doubt, the proper maturation of an immature genre. Well done Omega Force and Koei Tecmo, well done…

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Omega Force
Publisher(s):
Koei Tecmo America
Genre(s):
Reverse Musou
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
Microsoft Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Robert

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Fear Effect Sedna - PS4 Review

Fear Effect: Sedna is the latest in the Fear Effect series that started back on the original PlayStation. After performing a successful Kickstarter and being picked up by the Square Enix Collective, re-join the cast as they take to the modern era of gaming for old fans and new prospectors to the series like myself.

For newcomers like myself, there may be a bit that doesn’t make sense as the recapping only lightly touches on the previous entries. That said, the game short of older cast members mostly sticks to the present so following along isn’t hard.

What I found interesting is that there’s more than a single protagonist. The cast as a whole take turns on who is in the front seat but they are always accompanied by at least one of the others. While one or two may get a bit more screen time, there’s still a balance as everyone comes together to pull off some interesting heists that delve into some rather at times paranormal circumstances.

The reason that the above is important is because when it comes to gameplay, other than a different special ability, they all play the same. Fear Effect is a hybrid of visual storytelling and fast paced twin-stick action shooter to get the player involved into the story. Now while the visuals and the narrative elements are amazing to watch and to listen to, the gameplay which has some really good ideas doesn’t always work out as well as it aimed to.

For the elements that work, and work well, the top-down isometric view for the twin-stick action is perfect. Moving your character around, dodging enemy fire, hiding from lines of sight that appear once you’ve crouched down or filling up champagne glasses for the rich and the snooty while eavesdropping, they work and they work great. Everything is responsive and there are no issues with the interaction of the environment from that perspective.

Where things don’t jive as much is in regards to the hitboxes and the tactical combat planning when moving into a room with a ton of people. The planning mode pauses the action and allows you as much time as you want in order to view what you can see of the area. The issues with it though is that your characters are not as responsive as they would be if they were in your hands more often than not dying before they can even do what you’ve asked them to do as Fear Effect is realistic enough that it only takes a couple bullets tops to go down.

On the subject of being taken out, the boss fights while interesting and great as a concept were a bit overkill as they never give you a moment to rest and more often than not what should have lead to a successful dodge will lead to an early grave. There were a few times in which my characters would take a hit and the enemy was far enough from me that the most that should have been felt was a brush of whooshing air. It’ll take a few tries to get it right more from learning where the hitboxes are than the boss’ attack patterns.

A bit of a pro and a con is the puzzle solving. It’s vague with hints littered around the stages requiring you to really think about it but at other times it’s so damned vague that you’ll just have to perform guesswork and write down combinations until you get it right. The issue lies in that it’s too difficult at times with not enough hints as to how to make your way through it as it’s not always about moving shelves to hide security cameras or moving shipping containers to access new pathways. Often it’s a lot smaller scale than this such as looking at posters on the walls for the combinations to disarm an explosive or hack into a server. It’s amazing in that it’s not tiny waste of time puzzles but sometimes it takes it a bit too far causing more frustration than anything else.

I loved my time with Fear Effect: Sedna and I am going to have to track down the original two parts in the series. The gameplay, while it has its issues, is robust. The dialog is well written and very well voiced. The visual presentations and music are stellar. The issues lay within some of the gameplay which is enough to slightly mar an otherwise amazing experience.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation4
Developer(s):
Sushee
Publisher(s):
Square Enix
Genre(s):
Action
Strategy
Puzzle
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Microsoft Xbox One
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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SpellForce 3 - PC Review

The SpellForce franchise is one that has sat in my wish list for quite some time now so when the opportunity to review SpellForce 3 came along, I hopped at it. Being my first introduction to the franchise I was concerned that I would be a bit lost with regard to the franchise lore and universe. Fortunately SpellForce 3's masterful storytelling keeps you up to speed and fully immersed in the franchise's universe. A wonderful blend between a traditional roleplaying game and a real-time strategy, SpellForce 3 is a must-have for fans of either genre, though the lack of focus on a specific genre has led to a distinct feeling that it does not belong to either RTS or RPG. That sense can leave the game feeling orphaned and a bit lost at times; it is, though, still an enjoyable title that fans of the franchise should most certainly welcome.

There is no other way to put it, SpellForce 3 is gorgeous and without a doubt the nicest-looking RTS title out there. In some ways it is also the nicest-looking isometric RPG to be released. Sure, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Pillars of Eternity, and Tyranny are all sharp looking games, but they lack that certain something that SpellForce 3 has. Each of its wild environments have a feeling in them; whether it be scouting the woods or wandering the corridors of a city, SpellForce 3 feels alive.

For instance, you might be taking a small trail through the woods and you will find it littered with the regular detritus found in a forest; from canopy debris and small critters to bones left from large predators. It really is like stepping into a new world. The only real concern I have is that it can at times, be extremely busy on screen and the blue and yellow outlines can get lost in the clutter. Especially if you are colorblind. A more distinctive outline would be nice, though not required.

I was a bit dismayed though, at the audio of SpellForce 3. With such lush and rich-looking environments, one would hope that the ambient audio would be just as immersive and unfortunately it is not. It does not help that Doug Cockle, most widely known for portraying the Butcher of Blaviken, Geralt of Rivia himself, voices Sentenza, a dual-wielding and gruff commander that appears to be greying a bit… Typecast anyone?… It is not Cockle's fault for his voice, he is spectacular with regard to voice acting, but he is cemented into the hearts and minds of millions of players as Geralt of freaking Rivia!

His casting seems a bit strange and the quality of his work really shines here, as others seem to be amateurs next to him and it really shows. Add the lack of quality ambient audio and a mix of awesome and dull voice acting to a lifeless soundtrack and you end up with SpellForce 3 audio. It is unfortunate but I found myself simply turning the audio off and listening to an audiobook. That is a bad sign …

The story is nothing new; generic evil sorcerer hellbent on being freed from the restraints of "the man" who has imprisoned/ conscripted magic users the world over because magic is dangerous (have we not heard that story before in some locale called "Thedas?") and you are the child of that person and are fighting to prove magic does not suck or some such.

In fact it feels a lot like the entirety of Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition was summarized then used as the plot for SpellForce 3. Which is a shame because the game mechanics are quite enjoyable. If only there were some originality to the game then I think it would have far more appeal to me. That is not to say it is not a fun and occasionally engaging story; it certainly is. I just feel it borrows a little too heavily from its likely influences.

Overall I enjoyed SpellForce 3 and hope to see more of its like in the future. Though there are a few nitpicking issues, and at times, some pathfinding issues, it is an enjoyable change from the MOBA-filled RTS genre. While not perfect by any means, SpellForce 3 scratches a unique itch as it is an excellent blend of RPG and RTS. More refinement and even if it were an expansion, perhaps of one of the numerous (and wonderful) factions in the game, but to see some more original content in this world would be utterly fascinating.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Grimlore Game
Publisher(s):
THQ Nordic
Genre(s):
Real Time Strategy
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Robert

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9 Monkeys of Shaolin, bringing back old school - News

A good Beat 'Em Up or Brawler is really hard not to get excited for. So I am just going to leave you this trailer to watch, and by that I mean right now, and then after you can read the press release!



--

Moscow, Russia – March 21, 2018 - Independent video game developer Sobaka Studio and publisher Buka Entertainment are pleased to officially announce their partnership on development of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, a new multi-platform old-school beat ‘em up powered by Unreal Engine 4.

The studio behind Reedemer unveils announcement trailer for 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, which sets the mood and universe of this unique IP and promises to offer a new deeply immersive steeped Brawler experience in Medieval China setting.

First console demo is already available on the Xbox Lobby Bar at GDC this week! Studio team members are available at the stand and gamers and press are welcome to join them for an intense top-down, close-quarters action game where you will punch and hack your way through enemies using basics of ancient martial arts only mastered by legendary Shaolin monks! 9 Monkeys of Shaolin will be released Fall 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, macOS and Linux.

About 9 monkeys of Shaolin:

9 Monkeys of Shaolin marks a true rebirth of the iconic brawler genre in vein of old-school video games. If, as a kid you had hours of fun playing SNES or SEGA beat 'em up videogames crushing foes left and right then this new title from the creators of hardcore brawler Redeemer is definitely for you!

As a mere Chinese fisherman Wei Cheng you have to avenge the death of your friends and family slaughtered in a pirate raid at your peaceful village. Game protagonist is quite a tough nut to crack as he knows the basics of ancient martial arts only mastered by legendary Shaolin monks. Get your trusty battle staff ready for a challenging adventure in Medieval China and for merciless fights with hordes of various enemies.

Action-packed battles, user friendly controls and incredible atmosphere of great kung-fu movies of 70s – all this makes 9 Monkeys of Shaolin a perfect choice for every true fan of really hardcore brawlers.

Features:

• 3 unique fighting styles: fight on earth, in the air or use mysterious magic seals. Combine these elements to defeat every enemy on your way.
• Captivating narrative: discover the fascinating story of Wei Cheng and follow him as he rises from a simple fisherman to the master of Shaolin martial arts.
• Stunning visual style: unlikely combination of historical and mystical elements gives you an exciting experience from every scene appears on screen.
• Extensive character development system: you learn a great deal of ways to victory as you discover various unlockable perks, items and fighting styles.
• More than 25 different levels: Chinese villages, pirate ship, Buddhist monasteries, Japanese mansions, ancient ruins and much more.
• 10 types of Chinese and Japanese polearms, each with its unique traits. Discover the landscapes to find new items!
• Co-op play: invite your friend to help you fight through growing waves of enemies and complete the game together.

Article by Pierre-Yves

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RPG Mat for DnD/D&D - Tabletop Review

Every party regardless of where they are sitting around the table knows that a map is often the best approach to a campaign or a hectic time limited one-shot where you have a literal two hours to storm the castle and obtain what you are there for. The map puts things into a visual perspective so that there is no real argument on distances when a fireball torches your party.

Enter this mat to draw maps on. A lot of us have been gaming for years and as time has gone on we've purchased Mega and Mondomats in order to visually see our campaigns. Now as good, and as durable as they are, they are both expensive for their size and take time to set up as the harder material they are made out of will keep the shape of it being rolled up for the first part of the gaming night requiring coasters or large minis to hold down these edges. 

What impressed me the most about seeing this mat for the first time wasn't even the mat, but the package that it came in. Shouldn't it have been bigger? Opening the package and seeing it folded up caused me to worry for a few moments as mats should never be folded as those creases will NEVER come out. This was very far from the case.

The mat is made from a very soft silicone that easily lays itself out leaving no creases and no need to weight it down while it retakes its original shape. Drawing on it and erasing it are just as easy as wiping off the coffee from that one clumsy player that you always have to worry about. It's ok, we love you all the same!  

The only possible downside that we've seen is if you have pets. Cat and Dog hair love to stick to it so having a cloth on hand is a must but since you're wiping marker off anyway, there shouldn't be an issue.

Overall it's a great mat for the price and several of us on the team are happy we picked a couple up for our individual campaigns!

Mat Information

Platform(s)
Tabletop Role-Playing Game
Publisher(s):
Ergon Games

Source:
Purchased after a reach out from Publisher
You can find it on Amazon.com

Article by Pierre-Yves
Article by Marc L.

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Jaggy's Corner! - Saturday March 24

This week, I want to discuss the notion of leadership because it's been on my mind lately. I haven't spoken about this first event until now and I feel as though it might be important.  

The Ninja Phenomenon

A streamer by the handle of Ninja became an instant Twitch hit because of a chance Fortnite stream with the rap artist Drake. Yes. That's right. If somehow you missed it, I do mean that Drake. (There is only one song of his I actually like)

Writer Paul Tassi of Forbes.com had a chance to interview Ninja about the extraordinary experience. In it, he asks the following question.

Paul: What are your plans now that you're making this kind of income?

Ninja: We plan on giving and helping our family whenever we can, and we also started sponsoring an animal a week in our local shelters. Donating the full asking price for surgeries and other things so they get adopted.

Here is the link to the article on Forbes website

This was just one of the questions posed and answered in the exchange. But why is this important? I think it's because gaming is getting some excellent representation for the general public – regardless of their understanding of the community. A lot of non-gamers don't understand the real impact that can be gained as a result of gaming success.

I believe with interviews like the one at Forbes, it shows that leadership and representation are important qualities to showcase in our community. By Ninja having the extraordinary opportunity to play Fortnite with Drake, people were given a glimpse into a world they might not understand, but can influence perspectives of our youth. To many players of Fortnite, Ninja wasn't the most famous streamer until the monumental stream. That one event brought in a bunch of new viewers for Twitch who had never heard of the platform before.

Tyler '@Ninja' Blevins says he makes $500,000 a month playing video games. pic.twitter.com/jk9fvOiNZV

— CNBC (@CNBC) March 19, 2018

The event wasn't just noticed by unfamiliar Twitch viewers but by mainstream media. And I couldn't be happier because of his impact on Twitch and on non-native stream viewers. Though, part of my reason for being happy is due to something Ninja said in that same Forbes interview.

Ninja: The suicide prevention/awareness charity I did was because I had recently lost a longtime friend and moderator in my channel to suicide.

Now, while I've never Ninja before, and honestly know nothing about him, I now respect the man. Not only did he handle becoming 'instantly famous' online extremely well, he also takes the time to donate to important charities like the one mentioned above.

This is what true leadership is about, at least in my opinion. Leadership isn't about making lots of money or bossing people around. Leadership doesn't mean one must have an inflated ego. Leadership is really about how you allow others to grow by giving people the chance to make a difference. While Ninja chose to donate money to very important causes, it isn't the only thing that can be done to be considered a leader.

I'll give another example but this one comes from Rocket League.

Karma and Leadership

Most of you know the Captain of Splyce's Rocket League team, Karma. I consider her to be an amazing leader as well.

At RLCS Season 4 in 2017, Karma had her picture taken with a little girl who was in attendance. (The little girl's father is a Rocket League Commentator by the way).

Easily the cutest girl here!! https://t.co/MVv2qeXi9j

— Karma (@KarmahTV) November 12, 2017

The picture itself may not be significant but the impact of meeting a prominent Rocket professional player is huge for someone her age. You see, Karma is a role model for this little girl. Why is this important? Because I consider her to be a leader on account of tweets like this one:

Fun fact day 3:

During my free time I volunteer at Children's Hospital Boston in the Endocrinology and Urology Departments, shadowing doctors and speaking to kids about various medical conditions and easing their stay / daily lives. #WhoIsSplyce @Splyce

— Karma (@KarmahTV) November 16, 2017

Karma is a dedicated team captain who watches replays in order to improve her skills and those of her teammates. While that is standard fare in any type of sport, it shows that one doesn't have to donate money to be considered a leader. By being a positive role model for her teammates and for little girls like the one shown above, you can see that money isn't what makes a leader.

The persistence and professionalism that @KarmahTV has displayed since the very 1st season of the RLCS FINALLY pays off!

For all of you players hoping to eventually make it into the RLCS/RLRS, I hope you've been taking notes. pic.twitter.com/XHCPOiCdXT

— CloudFuel (@CloudFuel) March 11, 2018

All told, I think that one of the reasons that social media took and immediate liking to Ninja was because of Drake. Ninja then proved his real worth by accepting an interview which showcased how good of a person he is.

Karma doesn't hold a candle to Ninja in terms of viewership. She has leadership skills and compassion in spades. So, when you combine those qualities together, you can see the mark of true leaders.

Both of these people, though they are on completely different spectrums are looked up to by many people. Doing something worthy of admiration is one mark of leadership, but that's just my opinion.

How about you? Who do you idolize and why are they important?

Until next time!

Article by Susan N.

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Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth - PS4 Review

Following where its predecessor Mask of Deception left of, Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth completes the story of Haku and his now not as merry band of friends from the first game. Mask of Truth follows from the first game, and improves a bunch of the major gripes I had with the previous instalment. Fair warning, there are spoilers ahead for the first game.

After the assassination of the Mikado, attempted brainwashing of Anju, and general misfortune that ended the first game, we pick up right where the last game left off. While Haku is dealing with the heavy responsibility of masquerading as Oshtor, and Nekone’s depression over having basically been the cause of her brothers death, a battle is brewing, and war waits for no persons emotional stability. Mask of Truth is markedly more dark, but that doesn’t mean it’s in any way worse than Mask of Deception.

All the story elements and characters that were great in Mask of Deception make their return, provided they’re still alive, and all the great story telling elements are still there. Mask of Truth is still a visual novel through and through, but as a sequel it definitely learns, feeling much easier to get through without feeling forced to sit down and just trudge through. While Mask of Deception often felt like I was halfway forcing myself to play through, Mask of Truth felt a lot more fluid, especially from a reviewing perspective, as normally visual novels have to be something I really want to sit down to, otherwise they feel like a chore. Thankfully, due to more interspersed battles and a more active narrative, Mask of Truth solves this issue.

If you’ve played Mask of Deception, then you already basically know how the game plays out. Essentially, you’ve got story, the occasional battle or two, some more story, some more battles etc, etc. The battles take place as a turn based system on a grid, a la Fire Emblem. Higher agility ratings mean that characters turns come faster and more frequent. As I mentioned in the other Utawarerumono review, I actually really enjoyed the battle system.

There’s nothing particularly complicated or convoluted, you have your basic attack combos or skill combos, and an overlimit gauge that’ll give you an immediate turn and stat boosts while filled. The combos unlock as you level up, and are “active”, similar to Legend of Dragoon, where you actually have to hit the X button at the right time to either score a critical hit or continue the combo. Longer combos and skills may use Zeal, which is your MP gauge and overlimit gauge, and will mostly fill up while attacking. You can choose how far through a combo you want to go through as well, in case it uses Zeal and you want to save the Zeal for something else.

The game is also really kind about notifying you what the expected outcome of an attack will be, which is useful for determining future strategies, or using limited usage per battle type skills. Always better to evade an attack that will kill you over one that does little damage if the evades are limited. It’s also useful for checking elemental weaknesses and resistances. Utawarerumono has the standard elemental circle, where one beats another, but the in-battle indications can be a little confusing at times, as it says adv for advantage and dis for disadvantage, but doesn’t specify for whom, so trying an attack on an enemy with an indicator and one without will let you know which is which if you check the expected results.

A lot of the time in these styles of Visual Novels, my biggest concern is proper leveling of characters, because battles are normally limited, so if you spec a character wrong or make a mistake it needs a restart in some cases. With both Utawarerumono’s, this problem is solved rather handily. Basically, units gets experience from performing actions, so if you attack an enemy, you’ll still get experience.

Also, unlike Mask of Deception, you actually earn exp from buff and healing moves this time, making leveling those “battle medics” on your team that much simpler. Additionally, battles can be re-fought basically whenever the game provides you the opportunity, which is incredibly often. This means you can either replay a stage you had fun on, or simply grind for more items and levels so that you can progress. Coupled with the bonus points you earn every time you complete a stage, which can be used to enhance character stats, you’re given all the tools to succeed as long as you make use of them, even if strategy type RPGs aren’t your thing. Also including a rollback function that’ll allow you to return to previous moves makes planning easier, as if you forgot about that enemy near your healer, you can rewind to the healer’s turn and move out of range either before or after an action.

Coupled with a really fitting and well-composed soundtrack, and wonderful hand drawn backgrounds and anime stylized character portraits, Mask of Truth also has its artistic aspect on show. While Mask of Truth fleshes out a lot of the problems with its predecessor, it suffers from a lot of the same problems that most visual novels do, which mainly consists of the fact that it has to be something you really want to sit down and play, and generally not something you’re told to.

Between the helpful synopsis and fact that it isn’t mandatory to play the first game, if you’d prefer to pick up with Mask of Truth and ignore Mask of Deception you could, although I feel as if you’d be significantly less invested in the characters. I can honestly say that the battle system was good and, above all else, the story is really engaging, so you’d be left out if you didn’t at least either read the other media available or watch the anime.

That being said, there are some fairly major changes between the game and anime, and the game is more canon. If you’ve played Mask of Deception, you want to play Mask of Truth. Not only is it the conclusion, it’s vastly improved. Even if you haven’t played Mask of Deception, Mask of Truth is a solid entry in the visual novel category for sure.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Aquaplus
Publisher(s):
Atlus
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
None

Source:
Purchased

Article by Richard

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Titan's Quest - XB1 Review

Titan Quest drops you into the role of a warrior working through Ancient Greece, Egypt, and Asia for you to slaughter hundreds, if not thousands of beasts, men, and monsters alike in your quest to defeat the reawakened Titans. Playing off of the traditional tropes of "good versus evil," Titan Quest will pit you against familiar foes like the Gorgon sisters, Medusa, Euryale and Sstheno while sending you to exotic locations such as Olympus and the City of Rhodes. Though the likes of Diablo III proved that hack-and-slash/action RPG titles can, with care, have a home on consoles, Titan Quest though an excellent game in its own right does not quite meet the formula for overwhelming success. That is not to say it is a poor game, but rather that the port is far from stellar. Graphical anomalies and an absolutely horrendous control scheme plague what could be an excellent console hack-and-slash title.

For all of my love of the Diablo franchise (specifically Diablo 2) and its style of hack-and-slash/action-RPG, I never actually played Titan Quest when it initially released back in June of 2006. Fast forward 12 years and THQ Nordic has brought Titan Quest and its expansion, Immortal Throne, to consoles and I had the chance to sit down and give the game a spin. Honestly I was pretty excited since Titan Quest has been sitting in my Steam library for about a thousand years and I have, on numerous occasions, thought to myself "Man, I really need to sit down and play that …" I'm fairly certain that we have all done that a time or two in the past. That said, the 10.6GB install happened pretty quick and I was able to hop right in and (hopefully) get to smashing hydras and Medusa and all that jazz.

Loading in was actually quite quick, though a part of that may be my own perception because I have been playing quite a bit of Kingdom Come: Deliverance on Xbox One lately and its loading screens are so long and so plentiful that I grow a 5 o'clock shadow between playable sections. Anyhow, character creation is pretty simple; choose whether you are male or female, a name, and a tunic color then you are off! I naturally created a female avatar named Miriam because why not? I like the idea of a woman in Ancient Greece coming to save the world. That and I would rather stare at a female character model for 30+ hours than a male character model. It is just who I am. Back on track … So I load into a stunning, if a bit heavy on the tans / sand colors, little hamlet that is being attacked by crazy pigs and satyrs and I get all excited. "Here I go, off to save the village and slay the beasts!"

Or so I thought.

So I go running up to kill this ravenous boar, right? I am ready to really lay down the stabby-stabby with my starting butter knife when I move the left stick and go running up to the boar (that, once I got close enough, was highlighted blue) slamming on the X button to get my stabby on. Imagine my shock when I go rocketing past said boar, that was goring a terrified horse mind you and then my target auto-switched to some carrion bird that was on the other side of a low fence. I was bewildered! So I am slamming on all sorts of buttons, hoping to deselect this bird that is on the other side of a fence that my 2 year old niece could vault over with no issues (yet I could not take a dainty step over it) and get to pokey-pokey'ing the boar that, by this time, should have mauled that poor, poor horse by now.

Since there is no deselect option I tried turning around but rather than standing in place and turning like you do in literally every other video game on the planet (minus the NES game Hydlide), instead when tapping one of the cardinal directions on the left analog stick, rather than turning … you take 3-4 steps in that direction. This means a lot, and I mean a LOT, of running in circles hoping the stupid autotargeting mode somehow locks onto whatever you are hoping to attack. That poor horse stood getting gored by that ****ing pig for a solid 6-7 minutes while I tried to figure out the controls. "New game, new controls, I'll get used to it" I told myself.


Nope.

They are just that bad. Try picking up one specific item out of a group while your inventory is near-full. Not going to happen. At all. You will have to run to a clear portion of the area, dump a bunch of things, run back to what you wanted to select, pick up all the items until you get what you want, then run off to another clear part of the map to empty out the junk, then finally run back and get your original inventory (assuming it's not been wiped due to weird-as-hell spawning / respawning methods) then you will need to truck it back to town since there are no Scrolls of Town Portal (an issue that has been beaten to death since the game came out in 2006). Whatever … the controls freaking suck and are almost bad enough to make you want to die a little inside.

But the game is, hypothetically, still good, though I gave up trying to use my skills a long, long time ago. The wheel selections do not make sense, nor do D-Pad selections, because the user interface for the consoles is so convoluted and poorly arranged that I placed some buff or another in my Y slot somehow and, after getting a half-dozen skills or so, have not bothered changing it because it is damned-near impossible to use skills in a quick and efficient manner while in the heat of combat. 15 hours in I was still using the basic first-level buff you get in the Hunting tree all because it is so damned difficult to get in and change things to how I want to use them.

Skill assignment and use should be quick, easy, and rewarding and this port of Titan Quest has none of those. I still have no clue what any of these skills even look like or what they do in a practical setting. I honestly recommend that whomever ran the port for the Xbox seriously reconsider their control scheme, and do so quickly. Personally? The controls would make more sense if they were laid out a bit like this:

Attack: Right Trigger
Primary Skill (Special Attack): Left Trigger
Skill Wheel: Left Bumper
Assigned Skills/Hotkeyed Items: Face Buttons
Assigned Skills/Hotkeyed Items: D-Pad

AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CHANGE HOW THE LEFT ANALOG STICK MOVES YOU. When I press Left, I expect to turn in that direction, not move in that direction.

Targeting is another issue as well; unlike other hack-and-slash/action RPGs, Titan Quest uses an automatic lock-on system that the player has no control over. When you move into range, the lock-on function will select one of any of the enemies that are directly in front of you. This can be especially troubling when you find a rare/elite creature surrounded by minions; it becomes a free-for-all of wild swinging on random enemies and instead of allowing you to go for the biggest threat, you might lock on to some random unit, even if they are not in the actual fight yet. This means you will likely run off to another mob which often results in death.

Other titles, like Diablo III or Dungeon Siege 3 allow you to swing at any time in any direction where in Titan Quest you cannot swing / attack without being locked on to an enemy. It is frustrating as all hell. More often than not I found myself simply using a bow while trying to slowly move into sight (which is extremely difficult given the craptastic controls) and then trying to pick things off from a distance. The AI is dumb enough that they just sort of stand there and no other mobs are pulled.

The lack of control is not limited to enemies though, as picking up loot is the most frustrating thing ever. While I am fine with the limited storage space and the lack of a town portal scroll, the fact that I cannot easily select a specific item in a pile of loot is maddening. In Titan Quest if you run through a dungeon you will fill up your inventory, which is fine, often dropping those of low worth to pick up higher-quality gear. The issue is that you will get to a treasure chest (which are liberally placed literally everywhere) or you will kill a boss and a massive pile of gear will fall and many of the items will likely be whites (common) with a few higher quality pieces strewn throughout. Having to pick up everything, space it out, drop it, then reorganize your inventory to fit the new gear is a stupid time waster. I hate it. THQ Nordic and the team behind the port really need to rework the selection mechanic in order to make the inventory management aspects bearable on the console.

Titan Quest is a gorgeous and potentially fantastic title but suffers from horrific controls and strange graphical issues. The shadows were blocky, doodads magically appear when in combat, and fire/status effects are presented as colored squares. I know on PC the game is lauded as a spectacular hack-and-slash/action RPG but the port is simply frustrating. I could run around in tall grass or farmlands for hours because of the spectacular environment, but the issues with the port are greater than the game itself. Titan Quest even covers a theme we do not often see but players will give up before it is made apparent. The reality is that because the port was failed by its development team to be an "almost great" title, I fear that unless they push updates to allow customizable controls or fix directional issues, Titan Quest will suffer from an unshakable and horrible stain.

Game Information

Platform:
Microsoft Xbox One
Developer(s):
Iron Lore Entertainment
Publisher(s):
THQ Nordic
Genre(s):
Hack & Slash
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch
PC

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Robert

*Note: Screenshots

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Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception - PS4 Review

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception is a really interesting and very difficult to pronounce Visual Novel in the guise of an SRPG. While fuelled by an engaging story and interesting characters, Mask of Deception fails to really grab hold of its audience. Despite having a solid basis for the gameplay mechanics, the extremely sparse use of that basis can sometimes make going through the game feel heavy and forced.

Utawarerumono is a series of media that started with the first game released for PC, and has since spawned manga and anime adaptations. Mask of Deception is an indirect sequel to the original game, set in the same world and shortly after the events of the first game, but dealing with an entirely different set of characters, although there are characters from the original that make guest appearances.

Mask of Deception is the first in a two part set, followed by Mask of Truth, and is stand alone from that first PC Utawarerumono game. Mask of Deception is, broadly, a story of a man and his cat. While traveling through a snowy mountain Kuon, an insanely strong girl with cat(?) ears and a tail discovers a man freezing to death. Upon learning that the man has no memories of his past, Kuon names him Haku, and so their adventures in the land of Yamato begin.

Mask of Deception has a great storyline filled with entertaining characters, a lot of hilarious dialogue, and some really nice visual backdrops for the exposition, which you’ll see a lot of. Ultimately, Mask of Deception is a Visual Novel with some combat thrown in to keep you interested, but the main focus is clearly the story. Since Mask of Deception is the first part, don’t expect a solid conclusion at the end of the game, although it did finish on a rather solid footing.

While not everything will be explained in this first game, I felt there was enough to be comfortable with. If you are already aware of the plot, either from watching the anime or reading the manga, you may be pleasantly surprised with some of the differences between the game and its counterparts. Unfortunately, trying to sit through Mask of Deception while already knowing how things turn out is both interesting to see, and occasionally incredibly painful.

As a game that I played “to review”, trudging through this was a serious chore, as the battles are so far and few between that I started getting antsy. However, if I had thought “I want to read Utawarerumono in high definition”, I almost assuredly would have had a much more enjoyable time. Mask of Deception is truly a game you have to “want to sit down to” as apposed to either told to sit down to it or being made to sit down to it, although the overall experience was positive.

While very few, there are battles in Mask of Deception. Seventeen, to be exact, for a roughly thirty hour or so game, meaning you have, on average, about one battle every two hours. Except some fights are back to back, so it’s closer to one set of fights every three to four hours. Despite this, I found the battle system to work really well. Encounters are set up on a grid type field, and units will take turns moving and attacking, similar to: Disgaea, Fire Emblem, or X-Com. In this case, you only have three base stats: attack, defence, and speed, which should be rather self-explanatory, as well as health and zeal.

Attacking enemy units is really interesting, as you have chain combos, which will increase in length as you level up. Longer combos dish out more damage, and may also give more zeal points. Combos can be adjusted to exclude later hits in the combo after they’ve been unlocked, which is useful because some moves require zeal in order to be used, which you may want to stockpile for special moves.

Hitting 100 zeal will send you into overzeal, which gives you an extra turn and allows you to use a super powerful finishing move, if you have it unlocked. In addition to the standard rock-paper-scissors element effectiveness, Mask of Deception features a few things that I really liked seeing. The first of which is an “expected results” notification, which will tell you what the outcome of an action will be if you don’t successfully hit the action combos. These action combos are similar to Legend of Dragoon; you have to tap or hold and release a button at the right time to initiate a critical hit and continue the combo.

More often than not, I find this style of Visual Novel/Game to have on seriously glaring flaw: lack of good leveling. Yes, characters have levels and grow through either smacking enemies or earning the post battle bonus experience (surprisingly not for healing or buffing though), but a lot of the time I find that this style of game won’t make areas available for getting exp off of monsters very easy to come across, or the gains are really small, especially if enemies in a stage you need to beat are particularly smart or can smack you around (I’m distinctly remembering trying to new game Agarest War on hard).

Mask of Deception takes care of this in three ways that are great to see. First is the ability to replay any stage you’ve beaten as a “free battle” at any point in time, even right before starting another story mission. This is really great if you want to level some lesser used characters, or need a chunk of experience for a lot of units. Second we have the “retry battle” function, which lets you retry the battle from the beginning, but you keep all earned exp/levels, in case you just needed that little boost to get you through.

Finally, we have the ability to “rewind” actions taken, up to a large number of turns back. Fighting a boss, but put your mage a little too close? No problem, simply roll back the other 12 units’ turns and repositi

on and try again. It’s really helpful if you misjudge a units actions, or effective attack range. As an example, on the second last encounter, I didn’t notice an enemy with a spear, who snuck beside my back line units and proceeded to kill three of them in a single combo. I had to roll back to the beginning of the battle, but I managed to save them.


Mask of Deception is an incredibly easy game, although if you’re used to fire emblem and not wanting units to die, it may get a little trickier, but ultimately not that challenging. While the battle system and story is really nice with some great visuals, ultimately the game is held back by being more of an interactive novel than a game, which can be quite misleading. The battles are too far in between, and if you’re not prepared for the heavy text, it can seem like a pain or chore to make it through all the exposition or talking.

I feel really divided about Mask of Deception, since I really enjoyed it, but it really bothered me at the same time. Honestly, everything is there to make Mask of Deception a solid game, but it isn’t a game: it’s a novel, and that’s what you need to be prepared for.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Aquaplus
Publisher(s):
Atlus
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
None

Source:
Purchased

Article by Richard

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