Call of Cthulhu - PS4 Review

The adventures of Edward Pierce in Call of Cthulhu is an immersive, unsettling one that shows the development team has a firm grasp on creating a memorable setting and story. The tale begins strong, and though it loses some steam down the stretch, Call of Cthulhu is the perfect game to explore right around Halloween.

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Antigraviator: Viper Trails - PC Review

Not long ago, I reviewed a super fast game called Antigraviator. Cybernetic Walrus recently came out with a new DLC for it, so I jumped at the chance to play the new content.

Viper Trails DLC

The Viper Trails DLC added a couple of new tracks, a new mirrored mode, and a hybrid mode. It also includes one new ship called the Venom.

Now, for a DLC, I have to say that I was expecting a little more from the developer. Sure, this really easy to play racing game is perfect for a certain type of gamer, but it lacks replayability for me – even as a favoured genre.

There are no additional ship modifications and other than adding a couple new modes, there aren't big changes to the game – understandable given that the DLC is priced at $5.99 USD. Since this content seemed lacking, I couldn't even tell that Viper Trails was installed at first!

So let's look at the tracks. There are three added under the new Forest category. These three tracks are called:

• The Last Jungle
• Colliding Pines
• Robin's Wood

All three of these tracks are fun, but they are not ground breaking. That said, I do like that Colliding Pines has a death ring that players must anticipate ahead of time. If they aren't going either fast enough or high enough to pass through it, players will spawn on the track below it because they've crashed into it. Ever heard the saying "It's a trap!" Yeah. That.

The other two aren't particularly special and don't stand out in my mind but they do present their own small challenges when considering competitive play.

Each of these new race tracks include specially composed music by Alex Meza, a Dutch Electronic artist well known for his influence in the Dutch Drum & Bass scene. He is a highly respected DJ, MC, and Producer. Alex Meza has worked with artists like Grooverider, TeeBee, and Pendulum. By using his music as the backdrop to the new race tracks, the development company has brought his music to the ears of a larger network of people. (If anyone is interested, more information about Alex Meza and his tunes can be found on his Facebook page.)

Cybernetic Walrus added a hybrid mode that brings traps back into the various tracks. At the moment, normal mode has the use of traps where pure mode does not. So adding a mirror mode, which allows players a reversed version of a track, adds a fair amount of replayability for most people.

Overall Thoughts

Antigraviator allows players to feel the need for speed without feeling guilty about repair costs or destroying precious high end cars. It's easy to play with friends and online but that is all it is.

For most players already invested in Antigraviator, the price point of Viper Trails at $5.99 USD is worth while. However, I was personally disappointed because I have high standards for racing games. My assumption was that the DLC would make the game more interesting with the addition of new skins or modifications to the ships. But, a couple of tracks, a new couple of game modes, and one new ship (although awesome looking) just wasn't enough to amaze me. But don't get me wrong. This game is perfect for a bunch of friends to compete in.

In short, this DLC actually made me love Antigraviator less, not because Cybernetic Walrus did anything wrong, but because it wasn't enough.

While Antigraviator still ranks relatively high because of its simple concept, Viper Trails on its own receives a six and a half out of ten in my books. It's fun to play once in a while but it's not a game that I frequently return to.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Cybernetic Walrus
Publisher(s):
Iceberg Interactive
Genre(s):
Racing
Sports
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
Consoles later this year

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Susan N.

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The Council: Episode 4 - Burning Bridges - PC Review

One more episode until the end. Once more episode for things to really get good and climax. One more episode to… introduce brand new things? The Council, Episode 4 - Burning Bridges takes Louis’ adventure even further down the rabbit hole and maybe even winds up in Wonderland? There are a lot of spoilers coming up so if you want to stop here? Episode 4 ups the ante and is well worth going through.

*spoilers until the end*

There have been many choices made up until this point and as I’ve previously stated, I’m only running one save file at the current moment in time. I want my first time through to be a culmination of those particular choices and not of two or three different sets that could influence what I decide to do next from perhaps having seen things from a different points of view.

As such, weather for good or for bad I’ve continued down the path that I’ve started and either because of that, or because Episode 4 finally starts off where I personally left Episode 3, I started exactly where I left off. This is the first continuation that I’ve sat down to that starts where “I” left off and not from where the developers figured would be a good place to take back up which sometimes disregarded the choices made right up near the end.

Following my choices though, Episode 4 hits a climax of its own as it quite literally changes the name of the game. You arrived on the Island in order to find your missing mother. You’ve joined in a game of political intrigue. You’ve made alliances. You’ve made enemies. Maybe you’ve managed to stay impartial. Maybe you’ve pushed people away. Have you decided to take a lover? Maybe you couldn’t tell her apart from her twin sister. Who shot who?

All of these are choices that you, as Louis, have had to make but from now on? The visions that you’ve had? Those weird instances of seeing life through someone else? They finally all make sense as all of the hints of the supernatural come out to play as you find out that you are no mere mortal. You are a demon, and you’ve got the power to read the minds of others as well as take control of them.

Wait… back up… you’re a what? Yes, you are a demon. You’re not human. Everything that you’ve been lead to believe at this point is only true to an extent. Honestly up until that point I was hooked because you don’t really know what to believe. Are the ones telling you this truly serious? Or have they simply mastered the art of deception so well that you can’t tell if they are lying to you or not. The answer is they aren’t because not long after you gain powers to be used on top of the “abilities” that you already have. Just make sure to not use them on those that you already know are demons.

Introducing something like this so late in the game was definitely a curveball. While from a gameplay perspective it changes things to a degree, from an everything else standpoint I’m still not sure if it was the right move or not. I mean it makes things cool but the “not knowing” for sure factor, the sense of mystery behind all of these little details that don’t quite add up gave the adventure a mysterious vibe that sadly isn’t there anymore. From the way that things work out I’m also pretty certain that all roads lead to this one before branching back out for the finale. I’ll know for certain later on and write about it, but for the meantime, it’s cool but I’m unsure as to weather or not it was the right move. Chapter 5 will tell for certain.

All in all the series has been great so far. With plenty of choices leading you to events in which you’re not quite certain how they could have been avoided, you sometimes realize that in order to do something it would have needed to be done way in advance and by the time it came calling, it was already too late. Adding in the new gameplay mechanics and revelations was honestly the cherry on top of an epic frosting which just makes me hope that the final episode will be able to at least keep pace, much less surpass, what the fourth has done.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Big Bad Wolf
Publisher(s):
Focus Home interactive
Genre(s):
Adventure
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Microsoft Xbox One

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Jaggy's Corner - Saturday October 27

As I mentioned last week, I'm covering Halloween game events. This week I'm covering Guild Wars 2's Halloween event which has seen some pleasant additions to this year's festivities.


In previous years, players could only do Mad King Says, the Labyrinth, the Mad King's Clocktower JP, and the Ascent to Madness Dungeon. This year ArenaNet included a couple more activities for players to take part in.

New Activities

First up is the new Mad King's Raceway where players speed through gravestones and fields filled with exploding pumpkins. Its inclusion is meant to showcase the drifting skills of the Roller Beetle mount. That said, I discovered that players can use any mount to win the race since some of us haven't yet mastered the beetle skills. (Believe it or not, I tend to use my precious Griffon for most of my adventuring.) It's fun, it's challenging, and I like that the race has its own map. Though, don't mistake it for taking the place of the race within the Labyrinth! That still exists.

Second up is the Lunatic Inquisition! Players in this area are PVPing but it is designed very differently than other holiday PVP matches like the Dragon Ball event or the Wintersday snowball fight. Players begin alive but without combat abilities. And instead of trying to get a certain number of points to win, players are trying to save the towns people by bringing various supplies. At the same time, players can still pick up items to fight other players who are also trying to save the towns people. Once a player dies, they are transferred to the other team which consists of the now dead players. Eventually the dead team of players will over take the towns helpers, but that doesn't guarantee a win. The objective of the dead players is to kill the players helping the town.

Did that make sense? If not, check it out in the game! I promise it is far more fun to experience than to describe. The concept is neat and I've enjoyed playing it when not farming for candy corn.

Thirdly, another skirmish called Reaper's Rumble was added to the game which requires the assistance of skeletons to assault the other team. There is some strategy to this game mode where players have to decide whether they are going to focus more on the skeleton army or raw pvp skill. Either the skeletons run across the map to take weaken the enemy base or players duke it out on the map. Perhaps the players will use both to their advantage. Stealth based players can hide in the fields which gives players invisibility only while in cover. The moment players step between patches or in the open, they lose their invisibility. As a result of the game mode's different style, it feels MOBA-like and certain savy players would recall that it was originally introduced in 2012!

On top of those new things, players have access to mount skins, new minis, and brought back favorites like the three Halloween Choya mini. If players don't want to spend money in the Black Lion Trading Company, they can get a single Halloween Gourdon Choya for 20 Candy Corn Cobs at one of the vendors in Lion's Arch.

As an aside, if you don't recall Gourdon the Choya, he's the one that wore bikini bottoms during the Festival of the Four Winds. *cackles*

Final Thoughts

I love participating in the Halloween event. It is my favorite time of year and I need that Choya mini in my life! It runs until November 2 and so don't miss out on all the fun activities!

And just to make this time of year extra special, for a limited time Guild Wars 2 is 50% off! Go buy it here if you don't have the new content in Heart of Thorns or Path of Fire.


Article by Susan N.

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Yomawari: The Long Night Collection - Switch Review

If you're looking for a scare with a little bit of a cute flare, then Yomawari is the game to play. This survival horror video game was originally released for the PlayStation Vita back in 2016 and has since been ported to the PC and now the Switch. The Switch version comes with two games inside of one. Yomawari: Night Alone and the sequel Yomawari: Midnight Shadows. Both games basically play the same way with only differences in storyline and slight gameplay mechanics.

In the first game you play as a young girl who goes looking for her lost dog, Poro. Her older sister also agrees to go out and look for the dog, but chooses to go searching alone. After hours of waiting for her to return her sis doesn't come back. She decides to take matters into her own hands and bravely explores the town at night. Only to find out that the town has some deadly secrets once the sun sets.

The gameplay controls are simple and easy to use. You are given a flashlight to brighten up your surroundings and see incoming enemies. Your character can also go around and collect items that are displayed by question mark symbols (?) when they are nearby and exclamation mark symbols (!) when the objects are found or within reach. Some are collectables, others are usable (like pebbles and coins) and some help you progress through the story.

You are given a stamina bar (my worst enemy in any game) that allows your Sprite to run, either from enemies or to move across town faster, but be careful when you're around the ghost monster as the stamina bar will deplete faster due to your characters fear. Your 'FEAR' or 'INSTINCT' will also kick in and cause your controller to vibrate when an enemy is nearby, alerting you to trouble. The monsters will chase after your character if she is spotted.

You have no way to defeat them so your only options is to either out run them or hide behind bushes or large street signs. As your character hides you'll hear their heart beat rapidly or slowly, which indicates if the monster is still nearby or far away. They will also appear as a red blotch walking by. Lastly, you can make a quick save at Jizo statues that are placed along the streets and can also be used to teleport from one statue to the next, as long as you've interacted with the statue at least once.

In the second game you play as two girls, Haru and Yui, who decide to go up to the mountains together to get a good view of the fireworks. On their way back home they get lost and separated from each other. Your goal is to reunite the two girls by swapping between the twos point of view in the storyline. The only differences that were added to the second game were extra items to use and special abilities that boost your stamina and run speed.

My only complaint about the game is the lack of indication of where your objective is during the whole playthrough. I found myself aimlessly wandering around the streets and clicking around to find ANY clues to help point me into the right direction. Sure you can open the menu and a star icon will blink saying 'FIND SISTER' or 'FIND PORO' and you could read your diary saying that you need to 'HEAD TO THE SCHOOL', but once you're there your path is usually blocked and... That's it... Nothing else. Now you must continue to search blindly to find your next motive. It made me frustrated and I thought they would have fixed this problem for the second game, but they didn't.

Overall the game was good. It was short and sweet to the point. Each game is anywhere from 3-4 hours long and could easily be won in a single playthrough. The jumps are scary and the suspense is killer. Yomawari: The Long Night Collection get my score of 7.5 out of 10 for being cute and frightening.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go turn my power back on due to a sudden power outage. Where did I put that flashlight...?

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher(s):
NIS America
Genre(s):
Horror
Survival
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Vita - Night Alone
PS4 - Midnight Shadows

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Natasha

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SoulCalibur VI - PS4 Review

I realize that fighting games often find their longevity in the multiplayer scene, and I think that makes a great deal of sense. To that end SoulCalibur VI holds up well, but the single player experience is so robust is what really sets this title apart from so many other fighting games and makes it one of my favorite titles this year.

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ROCCAT Kone Pure SE Gaming Mouse - Hardware Review

ROCCAT has been in the gaming business for quite some time, from hardware like the Kone Pure gaming mouse to Team ROCCAT, an eSports team that plays League of Legends, StarCraft II, and Counter-Strike professionally. The Kone Pure SE mouse is an extremely lightweight that easily glides along any surface you place it one while capturing the surface at an adjustable rate, up to 5,000 DPI. Being slightly smaller than a "standard" full sized mouse, the Kone Pure SE is quite well suited to be a professional-grade traveling companion, though the non-nylon wrapped cord does pose a bit of a problem when traveling. As a sub-$70 USD gaming mouse, the Kone Pure SE makes a spectacular addition to any gamer's library of hardware; with its incredibly low weight and small size I myself use it to travel with my gaming laptops, though it can just as easily fit in with any standard desktop compliment. The ROCCAT Kone Pure SE is a wonderful bit of hardware that for some, may even replace their old, decaying hardware.

I had to laugh a bit when I pulled the Kone Pure SE's box out of the shipping box; it was wacked to the gills with actual bubble wrap, and to be frank, I love me some bubble wrap. Then as I began to cut the tape on the actual packaging I had to laugh again; ROCCAT used 9 pieces of tape on this tiny little box. They apparently wanted to make sure, between the robust packaging and insane amount of tape, that the mouse was shipped with the best of care. Might seem strange or inconsequential, but it is far from either; the care taken by ROCCAT to protect your new gear is quite apparent and by packaging the unit so well, they are clear in their message … your confidence can be placed in ROCCAT as they protect your investment as it is important to them.


Beyond the packaging, the Kone Pure SE is most surprising in its weight. At only 88g, the damned thing feels like a bubble of air and after using it for 30 or so hours then switching over to my Mionix Naos, I was absolutely dumbfounded and how moving the loveable Naos felt like I was trying to roll a small boulder around. One can really get used to the relative absence of discernable weight; honestly I was a bit shocked as I am tend to be more "heavier is better" in my hardware habits. Speakers, keyboards, mice, desks, etc. all tend to be on the hefty side as the solidarity feels good to me. The Kone Pure SE's light weight and smooth coating makes it feel like a small puff of air gliding across the slick, smooth icy surface of a newly frozen mountain lake. Not only is it refreshing in its weight, but it is an attractive mouse to simply look at.

Though the awesome ROCCAT logo is backlit (and with ROCCAT Swarm, the software to run the ROCCAT library of devices, can be changed to suit your desired mood) and the silky-smooth matte coating of the mouse catches the light just right and looks excellent, I did find that it tends to show hand oils (or oils from your Cheetos, whatever floats your boat) quite well. I am far from a dirty person, nor do I regularly secrete oils in copious amounts (puberty was decades ago), yet it is easy to see the natural oils left on the mouse and it drives me absolutely bonkers. Even after having the mouse only a few days I have cleaned the thing well over a dozen times. It is beyond irritating… On the flipside, the mouse looks so nice and fits my small hands so well, that it is not necessarily a bad thing to you know … clean your hardware. I am confident that many of us have not thought about regularly cleaning their gear, so the ease with which oils are seen is a good reminder to give the mouse a good wipedown after a long gaming session.

A few things to note; the ROCCAT Kone Pure SE is a gorgeous looking mouse, even if those good looks come at the price of having to regularly clean it. The lightweight aspect of the mouse is nigh-lifechanging even if the smaller size might be a bit of a stickler for folks with larger hands; for me the size was perfect. Overall the mouse, with its adjustable high capture DPI, small form factor, low weight, and wonderful click-action, is a solid traveling gamer companion or secondary unit for those with multiple PCs. The ROCCAT Kone Pure SE is a unit of choice for those FPS and MOBA gamers out there.

Hardware Information

Platform:
PC
Publisher(s):
ROCCAT
Type:
Mouse

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Robert

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Deep Sky Derelicts - PC Review

SPACE: THE SPINAL ENGINEER. Or wait, maybe that’s not quite right, but in Deep Sky Derelicts, it can be eerily accurate sometimes. Do you like space? How about mysterious alien creatures? Dystopian setting? How about yelling at RNGeesus to give you what you want/need? Well then, Deep Sky Derelicts may be what you need.

As a stateless outcast, you dream of living a better life in the “rich people area”, instead of vying for scraps. Lucky for you, you’re given an offer, a chance to make it into a life of luxury, all you need to do is find a fabled derelict alien spaceship. Sounds easy, right? Well, you don’t exactly have much of a clue where this alien ship is. As such, you need to go around investigating all the more local decrepit alien ships, hoping that they contain some clue to the location of the ship that you’re looking for. Thankfully, that just constitutes finding coordinates, but there are others looking for lost treasures aboard these vessels as well. Some are friendly, but most of them aren’t. It’s time to grab your customized team of fellow outcasts in order to fight your way through the derelict spaceships in order to earn your lunch ticket.

If you’ve ever played “Darkest Dungeon”, you’ll probably have a good feel for what you’re getting into, as well as the art style. You start the game off by choosing your three members that will venture across the cosmos, although more are hireable at the hub town. In the hub town, you can also purchase gear to outfit your crew, heal, buy and sell miscellaneous items, and accept or turn in requests. Once you’re all set to go, you head on out to the spaceship of your choosing. Once there, you can open your PDA to view a map of the area you’ve scanned/explored. You use this map to move through the ships. You have a few basic options, such as skip turn or scan area. Basically, scanning an area will show you what’s in the panels in your immediate vicinity, if anything is there at all. Enemy units will show up as red blocks on the map, and every “action” you take, they get one as well. If you come in contact with a hostile life form, battle will commence.

The battle system is an interesting mash up, where you and your opponents work on a turn system, with higher Initiative values taking faster and more frequent options. When your turn actually rolls around however, you have a series of cards to choose from, which will determine the action your character will take. These cards are based on your equipment and class, usually containing a buff/debuff, normal and gun based attack, as well as something “special” associated with your class. These cards are shown when equipping gear, and there are “multiples” of the cards, meaning that you could get a few of the same options on a turn, despite the fact that you have a default one action per turn.

Unfortunately, this also means you could get into a fight and only get buffs/shield regens, because RNGeesus can be a bit mean that way. On the plus side, that doesn’t really happen all that often. Units will generally have a shield value and a health value, the shield getting recharged after a battle, whereas health will remain the same until healed. Most battles don’t usually take too long, which is good, because you will consume energy every turn. You also need energy to move in the spaceship, as well as scan the area. I think you can see where I’m heading with this. Essentially, energy is your defining factor while exploring a ship, with multiple possible landing zones that you can go to and from after discovering them.

For the most part, the game is rather “basic”. You find a new spaceship, explore it, get new coordinates, rinse and repeat. Most of the fights don’t really require much strategy, at least at first anyway, and you can fairly easily get into certain tactics that you’ll more than likely be subbing out depending on whether the enemies you’re fighting happen to have shields, or whether they are organic or robotic in nature. While nothing is done wrong, per se, I found a distinct lack of drive presented to really explore the spaceships you visit, and I’m the sort of person that has to 100% explore a map, so you know it’s getting bad when I stop exploring the ships and the map isn’t fully fleshed out.

That being said, the combat is smooth, although it can be largely non-existent depending on how things go. I spent a greater deal of time than I would like to admit trying and failing to actually get into a fight so I could get some drops I needed for a side quest. The graphics are pretty good, looking like something you’d see taken out of an old gritty comic book, the music is ok, if not a little bland, and the deck building aspect is pretty neat.

Deep Sky Derelicts sits in a really odd place for me, as I can’t really say it’s either good or bad, or even just “meh”. There was a lot I liked, such as the way they handled the deck building, but there was also a lot I hated, like the awful and unintuitive user interface. The pacing can be really slow, especially during the exposition segments or ship exploration if there aren’t any enemies, but picks back up again if you have a lot of events or combat in a ship. The energy consumption is generally negligible, moreso feels to be there to keep you from ending up with a massive horde of cash, since you now need to go and pay to recharge your energy in-game. The battles alternate between clunky and tedious, to fun and interesting.

Essentially, Deep Sky Derelicts suffers from what is essentially a pacing whiplash, alternating between being rather bland and being rather addicting. If anything, I’d suggest trying to get some more variety in battles, whether that be on your own part or from the devs, and increasing the encounter rate, or at least providing an option to adjust it, to help make the game not feel like a purely exploration game instead of a turn-based strategy style. While certainly not for everyone, it does have the draw for those who enjoy turn-based, strategy, and deckbuilding style games. Those coming from Darkest Dungeon would also probably find Deep Sky Derelicts a good next step in their game list.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Snowhound Games
Publisher(s):
1C Entertainment
Genre(s):
Strategy
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Richard

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Pathfinder: Kingmaker - PC Review

Paizo's Pathfinder is a spectacular tabletop evolution of the 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset and the latest release carrying the Pathfinder name, Pathfinder: Kingmaker by Owlcat Games, continues the tradition of excellence that Paizo. Barring some technical oddities and simple textual/grammatical errors, Kingmaker is a traditional yet utterly fantastic roleplaying game. Based in the Pathfinder universe, Kingmaker is about your main character just as much as it is about the companions you will meet along the way. While largely a traditional RPG, the focus on your party members with the addition of some kingdom management aspects, Kingmaker is a wonderful evolution of the cRPG genre; let us hope that with its success we see more titles based in the Pathfinder universe.

I will swear up and down that the absolute best release of Dungeons & Dragons is the 3rd edition. While I was introduced to D&D via its wonderful 2nd edition, 3rd edition is what really did it for me. I spent the majority of my high school years playing D&D quite heavily and 3rd edition was where it was at; detailed, full of rich history, and largely focused on TSR's core player base. Subsequent versions, like the abomination that is 4th edition, and the good, if (in my opinion) overly simplified, 5th edition, seem to have missed something. Perhaps it was the purchase of TSR by Wizards of the Coast, perhaps it due to the extreme growth found in video games in the late-90's, early-00's but largely the releases in the D&D ruleset post-Wizards of the Coast release went downhill after 3rd Edition.

Enter Paizo in 2009; after a change in the game license with the release of D&D 4th edition, Paizo struck out on its own, after publishing the Dragon and Dungeon magazines for nearly a decade, and released the first Pathfinder roleplaying game, based on the vaunted D&D 3.5 ruleset. Nearly ten years later, the first cRPG in the Pathfinder universe is released … and it is about damned time, as Pathfinder: Kingmaker stands toe-to-toe with the traditional greats of the cRPG franchise. Easily comparable to the Neverwinter and IceWind Dale games, and in some respects can stand alongside genre-greats like Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Planescape: Torment.

Like any good roleplaying game, you start Kingmaker in a character creation screen; anyone familiar with the cRPG genre will be right at home here and will likely spend the bulk of their opening hour or so fiddling with options and recreating characters (I know I did; I have a dozen characters that I started and know the first hour or two of the game). OwlCat does implement a fantastic group of prebuilt character builds to choose from, and for those looking to simply hop in and play through the story without worrying about the more intricate aspects of leveling your character, then you can actually turn on an auto-level feature and instead just focus on getting in and bashing all manner of enemies.

I did, though, find that there is something of a craptastic bug related to the auto-level feature; for example, I set Jaethal, one of your companions, to auto-level but about a dozen levels in (which is no easy task) I ran into an issue where she had 1 skill point left and the auto-leveling function only seems to work if they have 0 skill points left,  otherwise the "Next" button does not work to continue through the leveling screen. This forced me to permanently disable the auto-leveling feature and manually level her for the rest of the game. Given how intricate character development is, having to manually manage a dozen characters through all of these levels can be extraordinarily time consuming (hence the auto-level feature …) so running into an issue like this is off-putting.

While on the topic of little issues, I would like to take a moment to shake my head at the pathfinding in Kingmaker. I find it a bit chuckle-worthy that a Pathfinder game has utterly horrific pathfinding, but sweet Mary Moses it is bad; Stand in a room, click in the hallway, and your genius pathfinder will walk to the wall closest to where you clicked and just stand there like a turd. The frustrating part is that you can save the game, exit it to desktop, then reload the game, fire up the save, and do the same thing and *poof*, issue is resolved for a while. Trying to click across the map (rather than macro-clicking throughout an area you have already cleared) can yield interesting results; sometimes the characters will run right to the targeted click across the map, other times they will walk to the nearest obstacle and just stand around.

It is MADDENING. 

Other fun little tidbits I found would be that environmental checks (say there is a fallen tree in your path; you can make a dexterity check to bypass the tree, else you would not be able to pass) will frequently have the icon for said check being "stuck" on screen. I ran into an issue during the early stages of the game (the Old Sycamore tree exterior) where the dex check icon simply stayed on screen; I even tried restarting the game but unfortunately that did not solve the issue. Eventually the button went away on its own about three "screens" away. Speaking of screens, Kingmaker could do with a bit more optimization as its loading screens can be a bit long; I ran Kingmaker on two different machines, one running a GTX 1060 the other running a GTX 970 and both were comparable in their loading screens, but some could run 3-7 minutes. I made a bag of popcorn, poured myself a delicious Cherry Pepsi, then came back to the loading screen just about done; seriously, would LOVE to see some optimization … because these little hiccups prevent me from getting into the game, and that is bad, because this game deserves 100+ hours of my time.

Great character creation is not the only reason to spend 100+ hours in Kingmaker, starting in a Lord's manor, you are essentially tasked with assassinating the neighboring robber baron named "The Stag Lord." What I absolutely love is that the opening sequence will actually define the first party members that you get. Throughout the tutorial stage there are a series of actions that you can take, both obvious and obscure, and depending on how you react to the actions, the various characters will respond and choose to either join you or will chastise you and go their own way. It is BRILLIANT and it shows the importance of choice in Kingmaker; nearly every action and dialog option can have an effect on your surroundings. For example, you might be a Chaotic Good or Neutral Good character, and Valerie (one of the potential opening companions), who shares Good-aligned aspects, and if you continue performing those actions Valerie will be pleased. However, if you perform an Evil action, like murdering innocents or stealing too much, then she will be combative and may even leave.

There is also the fact that some classes, like Paladins, require you to not only roleplay as a Lawful Good character, but you will also need to surround yourself with Good characters, else you will run into incredible consequences and issues; to be frank, it is GREAT. While I am naturally Chaotic Good, I actually find it far harder to play Kingmaker as an Evil-aligned character, which is normally the opposite of how things go; traditionally speaking playing a "Good" character is more difficult than an "Evil" character (see: Fable franchise, Mass Effect franchise, Dragon Age franchise). Seriously, the focus on choice and consequence is absolutely spectacular and with such a massive range of choices in game, Kingmaker stokes the player's fire for replayability. While I am currently running as a Sword Saint-build (a type of lightweight fighter that enchants themselves to enhance their stabby-stab and cutty-slashing capabilities; rather than a glass-cannon, it is more like a glass-hammer, since it is melee focused), I am absolutely diving into the Monk, Paladin, and Sorcerer classes next (I may be recording those sessions so keep an eye out for future posts).

Throughout your mission to remove the Stag Lord you will visit various posts, fight random encounters, build and manage your kingdom, but most importantly, interact with your companions. Though the overarching story is excellent and full of intrigue and suspenseful moments, learning more about your characters is where the real "story" is at. Each character has a unique and wildly detailed background; from Valerie's time in the Order of the Rose, a group of artists and sculptors that value beauty above all else, to Amiri's self-imposed exile from her barbarian tribe, each companion is rich in history and in some way, small or large, a bit "broken." Their flaws and oft-tragic backgrounds are what really brings the group together. Just make sure that whomever you decide to party with, you keep an eye on their alignment type; too many choices that oppose their alignment can result in catastrophic consequences with companions.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is exactly what the roleplaying genre needed; an excellent evolution to one of the most respected and beloved genres in gaming. Though there are plenty of little technical oddities, the level of detail put into every single aspect of Kingmaker is something many other studios should take note of; if you are looking to create a rich world that is utterly encompassing, then look to OwlCat's Pathfinder: Kingmaker. With a world full of consequence, for good or worse, with tactical combat, extremely deep character customization and growth, and some of the best micro-stories I have seen since The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Pathfinder: Kingmaker is here to stay. Watch out Larian Studios, the Divinity franchise is no longer alone in its excellence. In fact with a little optimization, Pathfinder: Kingmaker can, and will, give you a run for its money …

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Owlcat Games
Publisher(s):
Deep Silver
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Robert

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Jaggy's Corner - Saturday October 20

Rocket League Halloween and More!

As we lead up to Halloween, I thought it'd be fun to cover some of the in game events in various video games. This first week, I will talk about Rocket League with all its changes and the Halloween swag.

Rocket League Overall

So far, this year has brought some exciting changes like the introduction to the Rocket Pass and a new competitive playlist. We've also seen the revival of a familiar organization coming back to the Rocket League scene, as well as Psyonix sponsored monthly events!

Renegade Cup

Psyonix graced the Rocket League community with a new tournament called the Renegade Cup, a $5000 prize pooled event with players who are not already competing in RLCS. That said, those who compete in the Rival Series are allowed to play in the Renegade Cup. These monthly tournaments will be running for a couple of months until there is a true Renegade Cup Finals, which will be announced closer to the main event, so keep your eyes peeled!

This tournament is split into two regions, one for North America and one for Europe – with some exceptions, and there are clear rules as to which countries are permitted. All of the relevant rules regarding these monthly tournaments can be found here.

The first Renegade Cup has been showcased on Rival Esports Twitch channel and it wraps up on October 24th and 25th. Be sure to tune in on Twitch for the finals! Also keep an eye out on their Twitter for all the information about the Renegade Cup.

Final Bracket A is set!

These 8 teams will be competing to get a piece of the $5,000 prize pool and to clinch a spot in the Renegade Cup Finals.

We'll see you back here on October 24th and 25th.

📝 https://t.co/jtbrUyqTHj
📺 https://t.co/PrabA45MBM#RenegadeCup pic.twitter.com/NnCnD7TFNz

— Rival Esports (@RivalEsportsGG) October 19, 2018

The Nexus comeback

Late in September, Nexus Gaming announced that they would be returning with Bi-Weekly tournaments. These tournaments have been going on strong for the last month and the community is happy that the organization came back from an unknown hiatus.

To make things juicier for the organization, Nexus applied for a spot to showcase the Renegade Tournament in November.

Nexus Gaming Presents:
Fall Frenzy - Sponsored by Psyonix
The North American Renegade Cup November Monthly!

Prizepool: $5000
Format: 3v3 NA
Signups open now until Oct. 30th!https://t.co/N7UsiQM4RG

We hope you're ready for all the action we have in store for you this November! pic.twitter.com/Q8NAWchqVT

— Nexus Gaming (@NexusGamingRL) October 17, 2018

Sign-ups for the tournament will continue until October 30th. It also has a prize pool of $5000. Any teams interested in signing up for the tournament can go to this link to register. Don't miss out!

Halloween Event

Tis the season many of us love, really I'm talking about myself here, which is the Haunted Hallows event! Players can collect candy corn from playing any online game, allowing the purchase of decals, banners, toppers, etc...  

The list of candy corn bought items are:

Decals

• Octane: Trick or Treat
• Breakout: Ghost Fever
• Mantis: Megabat
• Any Car: Arachnophobia

Toppers

• Candy Jack
• Haunted House

Wheels

• Demon Disc

Rocket Boost

• Night Terror

Banners

• Ghost Story

Titles

• Demolition Demon

Players can also purchase five Golden Pumpkins for 150 candy corn each. These are limited crates, though I've yet to discover their contents. (I know.. First world problems! There are so many awesome games to play!)

The Haunted Hallows event started on October 15th and will continue until November 5th so be sure to collect all the items!

Spoopy Thoughts

Psyonix also included another competitive playlist tab which allows players to rank in Dropshot, Hoops, Rumble, and Snow Day. Since implementation of these competitive modes, I've heard that many players have been playing them more than solo standards or standard!

Overall, I think Psyonix has scored when it comes to Rocket League updates. They continue to add more fun content, tournament possibilities, and quality of life changes (like better information about server connections to help with troubleshooting).

Anyways, over the coming weeks I'll cover a couple of other games and their Halloween events. Hopefully, there will be plenty of time to farm all the special rewards in each game. Personally, I'm trying to juggle four different games for the Halloween events (because I'm awesome like that!)

What do you guys think about the Halloween events? Which game has your favorite event and why?

Until next time!


Article by Susan N.

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The Bard's Tale IV - PC Review

Starting off with a bit of an admission, the most of this series that I’ve ever played was a whole ten minutes of the first back on the PS2 before my optical drive started to give out and even the briefest puff of wind would stop it from reading a disk. So a little to my surprise, there were two sequels before the now third that I didn’t even know about! So diving into the forth title of the series with very little to compare it to in the sense of its predecessors, The Bard’s Tale IV was awesome and I’m really going to go have to go back and sit through the first three.

Starting off like basically any good tale, in a pub, it’s not long before things go sideways in said pub as the local powers that be declare that everyone who doesn’t believe in what they believe in is wrong. You would think by this point in time that they would learn better as what else is there than a hero in their midsts just waiting to take them down! Well that may be a bit of a bold statement as you are totally a level one whatever you decide to pick as you escape to the undercity in order to run away from the witch hunt. But you’ll be back…

Honestly before winding up in my lap, as I played this generally on my laptop, heh… get it? Sorry… moving on… I didn’t know much about The Bard’s Tale IV other than it was an RPG. Moving around and being able to talk to people or interacting with objects in first person, there’s a duality to the system. While moving around everything pretty much runs in real time. NPCs will move about their daily lives, guards will make their patrols, and evenies who are all represented on screen while you move through the environments will attack you on sight unless you attack them first which moves the real time into turned based scenarios.

The environments are very well detailed and a pleasure to move through. The textures of the buildings on the ground just looks good. There are not many buildings that you can really go into but once you get into the “sketchier” locations which essentially acts as dungeons, things get good as you start to learn new abilities either of your own or from allies that join up with you. Adding in some bardic music just seals the deal as once you’ve launched into battle? The tempo speeds up and it becomes time to either sink or swim.

Like the exploration, getting into fights is not only fun, but different than the norm. Starting off with only three “action points”, you are the one to decide what your party does. Does the Bard take all three of the actions? Do they take two and leave one to the fighter? One to the Rogue? It’ll honestly depend on what is needed as the enemy plays their turns out the same.

It was a bit weird to get settled into at first, but once I did, the combat was a lot of fun. Sure you only start off with three points but some of your actions are free to use. Drinking booze as a Bard in order to get your spell on, I would often break out a tune that would cause a decent amount of fire damage to anyone that decided to hit me or any adjacent ally physically. So that’s two actions for the price of one. After that there are a few other abilities that can be used but where things can be a bit tricky is that abilities, and even standard attacks have cooldowns meaning that you can’t just use them every turn. You can make attack patterns based off of the cooldowns, but can’t just spam the exact same move turn after turn which is why I was grateful to have party members.

The other factor to the turned based approach is that you are also on a grid with your enemies. You can move your characters left or right, forward or backwards and each of these moves cost one action AND can only be done once a turn, so honestly? Make sure that you remember to put your ranged units in the back row BEFORE the battle starts as your starting positions are defined in the menus, NOT where they ended up last.

From that point it somewhat becomes a rinse and repeat of checking out how badly your characters were hurt during the battle and then validating if it’s worth going back to a save point or using some of the healing items on hand. Even these though can become a bit of a decision later down the line as the save points / check points that you respawn at during a party wipe can be consumed for experience. If you do this, the point stops being usable as you “ate” it for experience but as you open up new paths some of these points become redundant so why not?

If there’s anything really negative to say about The Bard’s Tale IV it would be that it’s bloated. Load times can often be lengthy enough even on performance machines with more RAM and CPU power than they know what to do with. Further to that, the main reason that I spent more time on my laptop than I did on my desktop is that it ran much better on an NVidia based machine (laptop runs a GTX 1060) than it did on an AMD (Desktop runs an RX 480). Once loaded everything runs smoothly but it’s getting there sometimes and running on a laptop without being plugged in is not recommended as not only was my battery dead in no time flat but the screen tearing was enough to give a headache.

Overall The Bard’s Tale IV is a great title. Well drawn environments, dialog and an awesome accompaniment of bardic music make it worth playing for long stints at a time. Adding in elements such as a customizable leveling up system in order to style your characters just right, and the rest of the adventure is simply waiting for you to explore it the way you want to.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
inXile Entertainment
Publisher(s):
inXile Entertainment
Genre(s):
RPG
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Pierre-Yves

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Star Wars: Empire at War - Gold Pack - Retro Reflections

Star Wars: Empire at War is an interesting, and brutally difficult, strategy title. With 4x elements tied into more localized ground and space battles that are straight out of an RTS game, Empire at War will challenge every aspect of your strategic thinking. Though ground battles are relatively dull and managing your empire in the galactic view can be mindbending, where Star Wars: Empire at War truly and indefinitely succeeds is in its space battles. In a game as large as Empire at War, happening upon a space battle is an exciting reward for the grind that is empire management and ground combat. With the help of the cinematic camera angles and deep tactical thinking, combat in space between your forces and those of the enemy, are so incredibly rewarding that they put some of the combat in dedicated RTS titles to shame. The core game is just the start, as Star Wars: Empire at War, a game released almost 13 years ago, is still standing strong due to an extremely passionate modding community. If you have a few dozen hours of free time and are looking to crush the Rebel Alliance or stand firm against the might have the Imperial army, then Star Wars: Empire at War is right for you.

While the base game for Star Wars: Empire at War is an excellent game that was critically underappreciated, likely due to it being incredibly difficult, what has really given it its sustainability over the past decade has been its modding community. That very mod flexibility is what is driving this particular Retro Reflection, as the base game is so simplistic when compared to the mods. The base game seems to focus less on a large-picture and more on the localized, "in-the-moment" battles, as I feel each "mission" is a linear step-by-step process for Galactic domination. In mods like Awakening of the Rebellion, Thrawn's Revenge, or Republic at War, the base game is expanded to incredible levels, making the game far, far more dramatic and makes the small-time battles far, far more significant. In many cases, a loss in one of those battles can cost entire portions of the galactic map to be lost, or a win can lead to complete galactic conquest. In all likelihood, this article will focus more on the mods than on the actual game, largely due to the fact that the core game is far "smaller" in scope and scale than the mods that are keeping the game alive. For that fact, this Retro Reflection will be largely based on the Awakening of the Rebellion and Republic at War mods. Seriously, spend an hour or wo playing the core game then play 30 minutes of either of those mods and you will understand why the focus of this article is less on the core game and more on what makes the game truly special.

Note, If you are into board games and have had a chance to play Star Wars: Rebellion then you will find a ton of similarities between it and Empire at War - Awakening of the Rebellion or Republic at War. Now … on to the good stuff.

First, I am going to tackle the Awakening of the Republic mod, as it changes the timeline of the base game from pre-Death Star to post-Death Star. The core game starts while the first Death Star is still being built and it is up to the Empire to crush the fledgling Rebel resistance or, as the Rebels, race to destroy the rumored Imperial super-weapon. Awakening of the Rebellion though, takes place around the same time period as Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, where the Empire is trying to maintain control of the Core Worlds while the Rebel Alliance is gaining momentum and working to crush the Imperial menace for good. What I love about AotR is that every single ship is immediately recognizable (where as many in the base game seem to have some creative liberties taken), and the overall "feel" of the galaxy *feels* like it belongs in Episode V. The mod team really captured that rough-around-the-edges Rebellion feel and I love it. Where it also changes things is in the scale; by playing as the Rebel Alliance (which you should do, rather than the Imperials or the Black Sun mercenary group), you start in two separate locations, Hoth and Mon Calamari (and the surrounding planets for both).

Generally speaking, the mod also maintains a lot of the lore surrounding said planets. This means that those mentioned in canon content that have been liberated by the Rebels or are under the rule of the Imperials; a nice touch, rather than the seemingly random mish-mash found in other mods or the base game. The one critical issue I take with both the base game and the AotR mod has to do with the ground combat; in both cases the ground combat seems to take forever, which is a shame because the space combat is where it is at in those versions of the game. Some planets are hit constantly (to a point that only a few moments can pass between combat sessions) and become so repetitive, especially in the early phases of the game where ground battles can take upwards of an hour at a time (compared to the 5-10 minute space combat sessions). It is incredibly annoying but as the game goes on and those contested planets are upgraded, combat on the surface eventually just turned into rushing your units down to the invading army's spawn point and blasting them as they land their troops. Repetitive indeed.

Upgrading planets is something unique in Empire at War when comparing it to traditional 4x titles. In say, Distant Worlds or Galactic Civilizations you upgrade commercial, military, or science elements and from there you gain influence, economy, or open access to more powerful military vessels. In EaW and its various mods, "upgrading planets" is largely military-oriented, with a few planets (like Bespin, which is a massive money-making planet) that can build mines or casinos. The ground-based upgrades are essentially mines, barracks for infantry, or factories for vehicles. Some planets can sustain ion cannons or hyper velocity platforms which though expensive, are utterly crucial to defending important locations; a well-timed ion cannon blast can disable an Imperial Star Destroyer or strip its shield, allowing a few wings of Y-Wings to swoop in and lay waste to subsystems (and unless you have some MC80's in your fleet, hope to high heavens there is not a hyper velocity cannon is not in orbit, else whatever it aims at will be insta-dead).

Planets can also have systems built in orbit, space stations, Golan defense platforms, refineries or casinos, and on the production side they can build starfighter shipyards (B-Wings, X-Wings, T-95's, etc.), frigate/corvette shipwards (woo hoo blockade runners!), or in some planets, capital shipyards. Though I am a sucker for the big flashy battles between capital ships, I am a HUGE fan of racing a giant pile of X-Wings, A-Wings, Y-Wings, a few blockade runners and a dreadnought or two, as Rebel fighters are heinous. However that fleet is often demolished after taking on a mixed Imperial fleet; fortunately it is not super expensive. It does, though, prolong battles as it is far more important to have a solid mix of support vessels, damage-tanking vessels, and fast attack craft. Pinpointing subsystems, like shield generators and engines can take a lot of the wind out of the larger starships, which then in turn prevents those crafts from escaping if the battle is not going their way. If you are looking for a *true* Star Wars experience, then Awakening of the Rebellion is absolutely the mod you want to dig into. You can find it on the Steam Workshop.

Moving back a few years in the Star Wars universe, the Republic At War mod is essentially The Clone Wars + Rebels, in game form. Replacing the Empire and Rebel Alliance with the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) and while I know very little about that period of time (I have seen the first three episodes of the Clone Wars TV show, and did not even know that there was another called Rebels …), I can say that I absolutely love the models in the Republic at War mod. In fact, I have had *dreams* about the Venator-class Star Destroyer, which I did not even know was a thing prior to Republic at War. I like it so much I am currently working on finding the appropriate instructions (and pieces) to build a Venator LEGO set (because buying one, if you can find it, is financially irresponsible). Anyhow… Republic at War is a grand campaign with a host of heroes (Yoda is seriously over-powered on the ground) that has more balanced ground-based combat that is far faster than the Awakening of the Rebellion mod, and given the host of ground-based heroes (so many named Clone battalions, seriously … so many), it is far more interesting.

Not to say space combat is not as awesome as it normally is, because it is, except CIS droid fighters and bombers are literally the bane of anyone's existence. They drop buzz droids. Tons and tons of them, and they are the absolute WORST. They will swoop in and drop buzz droids on your corvettes and frigates and given the slow turn and acceleration rates, the ships just sit there while buzz droids just chew away at shields and hulls. They are so bad that other modders have taken it upon themselves to release mods that nerf the buzz droids by reducing the number that common ships can drop, or in some cases, limit them by reducing their damage to certain ship-types (like, buzz droids are nasty and all, but why the hell can a handful of them burn through an Acclamator, Arquittens, or an Interdictor?). I did find that space combat in Republic at War feels far, far more tense; possibly because the units are a bit more balanced.

In AotR X-Wings or Tie Intercepts are downright godlike; hell, playing as the Empire you can plop an Imperial Star Destroyer into orbit, maybe one or two small support ships, and you can utterly wreck a fleet two or three times its size, or as the Rebels, a few blockade runners, maybe a Nebulon-B, an MC80, and two or three Quasars will shred through the enemy … but not because of the big ships, but because of the FIGHTERS. In Republic at War it is not nearly as raunchy, but rather more balanced … Though it IS awesome seeing 4 Venators dropping in and roughing up a few Lucrehulks, because sweet, sweet pew-pews in space. Love it! Star Wars: Empire at War - Republic at War mod can be found on the Steam Workshop.

While the vanilla Empire at War is rich with Star Wars goodies, the mods are what really bring Star Wars: Empire at War to life, and if you are like me and are looking to maybe play a similar game but with a different franchise, fear not as there are plenty of cross-franchise mods out there! I myself am partial to the Covenant at War mod, which is a conversion from Star Wars to the Halo franchise (which is AWESOME), or if you are not afraid to be a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek, there are plenty of Star Trek mods. Heck, there are Stargate mods, Battlestar Galactica mods, or, if you can find a working version of it, even a Mass Effect mod! So. Many. Mods. … and that is why, 12+ years later, Star Wars: Empire at War is still alive and kicking today. You can pick it up regularly on sale through Steam.

Game Information

Platform:
PC
Developer(s):
Petroglyph
Publisher(s):
LucasArts
Lucasfilm
Disney Interactive
Genre(s):
Strategy
Mode(s):
Single Player
Multiplayer
Other Platform(s):
N/A

Source:
Purchased

Article by Robert

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