…and stay inside playing a lot longer. 505 Games and developer Keen Games have announced a huge new update to their popular family friendly crafting/action/RPG, Portal Knights that includes many requested features such as voice and text chat for online play, remappable controls, and a ton of tweaks and fixes. The new larger islands make the overall game world even more fun to run around in, and my logging in to check out the changes also revealed the game’s visuals have gotten nicely upgraded as well.
Check out the new trailer and screenshot slideshow below.
Developer: Keen Games Publisher: 505 Games # of Players: 1 – ? MSRP: $14.99 ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+) Official Site Score: A- 90%
Even though it’s still in Early Access on Steam, Portal Knights has become something of a phenomenon among its growing user base. According to 505 Games, to date players have:
– Looted more than 232 million items
– Mined more than 103 million blocks
– Killed more than 23 million enemies
– Crafted more than 19 million items
and yes indeed, I’m one of those players having a blast with the title. While it does start out a wee bit slowly, some literal digging around in that first (and later, every) area will have you soon seeing that there’s a great deal under the pretty surface that really goes a long way in making things even more entertaining. While geared towards younger players (note that E10+ rating above), the RPG elements, often challenging combat, crafting and exploration elements have a very wide appeal for novices as well as hardcore gamers looking for the next big deal.
Things kick of simply enough with a character creation screen where you choose your gender and select one of three classes (Warrior, Archer, Mage) before warping into the first randomly generated world. There’s a set of basic tutorial pop-ups that cover a few things and Minecraft fans will probably get wise to what to do a wee bit faster than anyone who’s not played that game. That said, there are enough differences from that game (and the side-scrolling Terraria) that set it apart. For one thing, other than the simplistic character faces and baggy starter outfits, the visuals (which run at a zippy 60fps) are much more appealing and lively here. Rich colors and nifty visual effects abound in each area, making exploration always fun when you make it to new worlds. Monster types are nicely varied as well, changing at night to deadlier varieties once you unlock your first portal. Continue reading →
While I’ve only sunk about an hour in so far to the Early Access Steam build, Portal Knights is so far, pretty darn good. It’s not quite the Minecraft-like game some think (which is a good thing), but a pretty new action/RPG with (so far) smallish worlds and a light crafting element that doesn’t get in the way of players who just want to whack as wee beasties and level their avatar up. Again, I haven’t played enough to write up a decent review or even and solid impressions other than most everything works quite well. My archer seems to have an issue dodging when I hit the correct keys, but she hasn’t died a horrible death by slime or other low-level monster just yet. The game looks and sounds great so far, but it would have been nice to have a few more character customization options out of the gate.
Still, it’s early and bugs will be squashed, feedback will be listened to and when it’s really ready to shine, I’m predicting Portal Knights will be the go-to game for players looking to try something new and hopefully get few friends to give it a go as well. Okay, stopping here for now. I think I hear a level up calling me.
Confession time: other than watching a few friends play and taking over for one when he had to take a phone call (I got to beat up on some Creepers and do a bit of building for maybe half an hour), I haven’t really played enough of Minecraft to have a decent impression of what it’s all about (whaaaaat?!). But I’ve sunk too many hours into many of Fight the Dragon’s short user-created maps and appreciate much of what that game has brought to the table in terms of customization and how easy it is to get into while being incredibly challenging and rewarding.
Portal Knights looks like a ton of fun based on the trailer alone that shows it’s got a bit of backstory to it. The art style is slicker and more appealing than the two aforementioned games, but as usual, graphics are subjective and gameplay is absolute. So it’s in the “What happens when I pick up a controller or mouse and keyboard” stuff where my main interest lies. An adjustable camera view is hopefully in the options mix, as the trailer’s combat sequences are a tad too close in for my tastes. Okay, I hate getting jumped by off screen enemies or not knowing how much room I have to run away screaming when trouble gets too close. Your mileage may vary, as usual.
Mining and crafting aside, if the fantasy elements of the game can grab players from the outset and keep them hooked in for the long haul while getting regular content updates and fixes, Portal Knights could be a contender to the throne. We’ll see soon enough, though.
While New York Toy Fair 2016 isn’t rolling around until mid-February, for months leading up to the event my inbox has been packed to the gills with new product info I’m still sifting through. One of the press releases that caught my eye (ow.) was for an upcoming family game from SCS Direct called Tall Tales: The Game of Infinite Storytelling, which as you can see from that photo above, is packed with possibilities for yep, infinite fun (and not just for the kiddies). Hey, I do love my many videogames to death. But a good board game, party game or something social (not“social”) where anyone can join in and PLAY (gaming’s decline into a paid spectator “sport” baffles me considerably) makes for a more robust experience.
Anyway, playing the game is dirt simple, according to the press release:
Playing Tall Tales is simple- players choose a story card for their setting, draw random story elements from the bag and twist their best tale… just like the world used to do before the technology revolution. Some of the 24 story card settings include: a quirky game show, a colorful ocean, a fun theme park and a crazy circus. The story bag contains a wide range of 3-D pieces, including: a treasure chest, a baby, a unicorn and a rocketship.
Now, I don’t know about YOU, but I thought up a few ideas based on those settings and pieces in the time it took to read that paragraph. Then again, I’m a bit nuts, so I can make an epic novella from the ingredients on a cereal box (it sure beats eating what’s inside, that’s for sure). The game’s release date will be revealed at the show in February and I just may need to check it out on the show floor because it sure looks like a winner. Keep an eye (and an egg) peeled for some sort of update. Your family game nights may never be the same again.
If you’re one of those gamers who demands innovation in your sequels, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 isn’t going to be that game you’ll reach for in your library when you want to play something drastically different from the original. On the other hand, if you’re a kid (or have a kid) who’s a fan of the show or like me, someone who appreciates a solid entry in what could be a yearly or so series that’s fun where it needs to be, then this sequel gets the job done as it should. Of course, there’s room for improvement if this would-be franchise want to have a wider appeal outside the ages 5-8 set (don’t let that E10+ rating fool you one bit), but I’ll touch on what I think is required below…
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 producer extraordinaire Kunito Kimori has a great sense of humor and clearly enjoys his work. As he showed off a few levels of the upcoming game at a recent Bandai Namco event, he pointed out fun additions to the gameplay that weren’t in the original, checking with a glance between playing to see if I was grinning as much as he was. He needn’t have worried, as between the on-rails sky surfing shooting section and the intentionally silly boss battle between a skyscraper-sized Pac and an equally large missile shooting metal meanie, I was more than happy to see everyone’s favorite dot-munching pal back in action… Continue reading →
If you think about it, Babak Forutanpour’s AryaBall is more or less the smartphone of outdoor toys. Like your modern phone is an all-in-one device that does many things, AryaBall takes care of a few popular sports using a clever, innovative design that makes you want to grab one just to try it out. Go take a look at the almost funded Kickstarter and if you like what you see, well – you know what to do. I’m actually surprised that Babak hasn’t thought up ONE sport using everything in that cool new toy, as I could see some network exec slapping himself in the forehead at the very idea of some new (and popular) competitive show that makes for more must-see “reality” TV. Anyway, 45 more hours to go (and counting down) and AryaBall is only a few thousand from its goal… suspense!
I think I only fooled two people with half that headline, but that’s fine by me. Anyway, this July, IDW Games will be getting fans of the show a new BIG box board game based on the first three (and some would say the best) seasons thanks to Pandasaurus Games, designer Kevin Wilson (Arkham Horror, Descent, Civilization) and comic book artist menton3 (Memory Collectors, The X-Files: Season 10).
That box art is sure mighty pretty (and pretty simple) and if the game INSIDE the box is like that art, it’ll keep anyone with even a passing interest in the show back in deep where they should be. Of course, chain smoking as you play like that Cigarette Smoking Man isn’t required, but if you DO get that far into character, make sure you ask your tabletop buddies if it’s OK. No one likes to get kicked out their friend’s place (or even their own home) even if they bought the game with them.
Playing Politics CAN Indeed Be FUN! (Who knew?!) While it’s designed to teach kids about our rugged (but sometimes shaky) presidential election process, The Presidential Game makes for an excellent primer for those political junkies from the book-fed constant reader to the lazy cable news-head who believes every one-sided argument (and it’s ALWAYS an argument) that screeches from his or her speakers. Created by Regina Glocker, the game aims to teach kids and young adults about the electoral college and how it works while delivering a fast paced and fun experience in the process. The cool thing here is Glocker had no previous game creating experience at all, but you know what happens when an idea seed gets planted, nurtured by like-minded companions and grows into a healthy tree with useful fruit, right?
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 