Torchlight Frontiers: An Eyebrow is Raised – Hopefully, a Banner Will Follow

Posted on August 9, 2018 by geelw

This one came as a surprise because I thought the Torchlight games were dead and gone. But it seems Perfect World Entertainment, Arc, developer Ectra Inc. (which includes some of the team behind a few classic ARPGs including the Torchlight and Diablo games) are going to be dropping an all-new online centered experience in 2019. Here’s the promo trailer for Torchlight Frontiers (which isn’t gameplay, sadly):

(Thanks, Play Torchlight!)

Here’s the official word so far:

Introducing the next iteration of the award-winning Torchlight series: Torchlight Frontiers!

Set in the same beloved universe as Torchlight I and II, this shared-world action-RPG brings back many of the franchise’s signature features and mechanics that captured the hearts of ARPG fans around the world. Led by former Runic Games and Blizzard North co-founder, Max Schaefer, the team developing Torchlight Frontiers is comprised of veteran developers who were responsible for the games that defined the ARPG genre, including the original Diablo and Torchlight franchises.

Torchlight Frontiers combines the heart of the beloved Torchlight series with a shared, persistent and dynamically generated world. In true Torchlight style, players will team up with friends and devoted pets to hack and slash their way through a vibrant world, discover ancient ruins of lost civilizations and brave dungeons filled with riches and dangerous creatures. Additional details about Torchlight Frontiers will be revealed at a later date.

The good news is the pedigree along with Perfect World’s generally solid track record in the MMO scene. The shared, persistent world business means this will likely be an online only game with solo play as an option similar to what’s found in Neverwinter (a game I’m currently playing and enjoying). I’ll gather this will also be free to play with paid content, but we’ll see where that all goes. I like the art style in the trailer, although I’m hoping the game goes for a look closer to Torchlight II and/or won’t require a super-powerful PC to run. The console plans mean it should look similar across the board, which is a good thing in my book.

Torchlight Frontiers will be available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at some point in 2019, but we’ll need to definitely get some hands-on time with a build at some point to see what’s what. Fingers crossed (and yes, cross-platform play would be keen, Sony).

-GW

Dark Souls Remastered: Get In On That Server Test, Folks

Posted on May 1, 2018 by geelw

DS_REMASTERED_TM

FACT: I’m absolutely awful at the Dark Souls games, but I forge on nevertheless. Bandai Namco is indulging fans with a tease of a network test coming up for PSN and Xbox Live users that’s going to give those servers quite the workout. Details below. I’ve downloaded the client, but know what to expect already: me dying a lot and getting my game invaded by players looking to add a few notches to their belts. Some of us are pincushions for other’s win-cushions, I guess. Ow. Ow. Ow.

DS_Remastered

DARK SOULS: REMASTERED NETWORK TEST DETAILS REVEALED

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. has confirmed today that the DARK SOULS™: REMASTERED Network Test will be running May 11-12, 2018, at specific times listed below, for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One. The network test will take place within the Undead Parish location and have players summoning co-op partners or invade others’ games.

More details regarding the DARK SOULS: REMASTERED Network Test can be found below:

What: DARK SOULS: REMASTERED Network Test for PlayStation 4 system and Xbox One
When: May 11th and May 12th from 6:00pm PDT to 11:59pm PDT each day for the Americas
How: Download the DARK SOULS: REMASTERED Network Test client from May 1st through 11:59pm PDT on May 8th on PlayStation 4 system and Xbox One (Xbox Gold subscription required to participate) to be part of the test. At 11:59pm PDT on May 8th the network test client will be removed, and no new participants will be accepted.

DARK SOULS: REMASTERED will launch for the PlayStation 4 system, Xbox One, and PC via STEAM® on May 25, 2018. The Nintendo Switch™ version of DARK SOULS: REMASTERED, network test, and Solaire amiibo™ will be available later this summer.

So, yeah, sure. I’ll see you online in a bit. Or not see you because you’ll be sneaking up on me while I’m trying not to get slaughtered by some bossy boss. Be gentle or at least tap me on the shoulder before you conk me on the head with that weapon or whatever.

-GW

TERA Online Headed to PS4/Xbox One April 3

Posted on March 26, 2018 by geelw

After dabbling in a few too many online games on the PS4 for about a year plus, I’ve narrowed down my focus to the upcoming free TERA Online, developer Bluehole Inc. and publisher En Masse‘s successful PC MMO that’s finally headed to consoles on April 3, 2018. I had the great fortune to try the game on three occasions when it was in beta over the past few months and while the test phase was sometimes a bit wonky, as things were tweaked and polished based on user feedback, the experience became a great deal more enjoyable to the point it was hard to put down.

Key to the overall experience is the game’s real-time combat system that’s quite responsive using the PS4 controller and allows for plenty of creative offensive and defensive moves. Given the ferociousness of the enemies here, you’ll need to have fast reflexes as well as sufficient healing and buffs at the ready. The game won’t hesitate to hit back hard with creatures that just won’t quit until you’ve beaten them or vice versa, and if the beta is any indication, both solo and group players should feel quite at home.

Yours truly ended up recording way too many videos during the betas on my YouTube channel (go sign up and feel free to send me a friend request on PSN – my handle there is GeeLW), but my body is ready for the full game when it lands on PSN shortly. Those of you interested in playing TERA on consoles can go all in for free or snap up one of a fewFounder’s Pack options that will give you some cool gear, in game money and other fun stuff along with the ability to start playing a week early.

Alrighty, then. Guess I’ll (hopefully) see some of you online at some point. I’ll likely be soloing this for the most part (I’m liking that Mystic class a lot, but the Archer is solid as well), but I’ll certainly need assistance with the 5-player boss maps.

-GW

Star Wars Battlefront Trailer: Yes, The Force Is Strong With This One

Posted on April 18, 2015 by geelw

Well, it looks as if some of you holding out on getting that fancy gaming PC or new gaming console may want to consider upgrading if you’re wanting a new Battlefront to play in. While this isn’t actual gameplay footage (“not actual , this Star Wars Battlefront trailer uses the in-game engine to spectacular effect and shows how developer DICE intends to bring the look and feel of classic Star Wars to the masses this November 17. PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC via EA’s Origin service only on this one, meaning you old console owners are going to have to make some new friends or finally retire your old beasts to a closet somewhere.

This one’s going to be huge. HOW huge? Well…

Is that huge enough for you? I thought so.

Firefly Online: The “Little” MMO That’s Gonna

Posted on March 14, 2015 by geelw

Even though I don’t play online games these days, Firefly Online has had me intrigued every since I heard there was an official game underway. Oddly enough, no one from any PR firm contacted me about covering it, so I assumed that was some sort of warning sign or worse, someone not wanting to do the hard work of getting the word out on something they thought was going to be too niche for its own good. Well, I was wrong on both counts as I found out when I bit the bullet and signed up for Firefly Online Cortex, the companion pre-game app currently available on Steam, Google Play and the App Store.

There’s not much to do in Cortex other than collect digital trading cards and points playing mini-games on a map of The Verse or reading news updates. That said, the cards are cool, there’s a second series coming soon and you can also score some even better bonuses by ponying up five bucks to attain Big Damn Hero status. This status will get some some great perks for the main game when it launches this spring on Windows, Mac OS, iOS and Android OS. What kind of perks? Well, exclusive gear for your crew mates, access to items non-BDH players won’t have and some other neat stuff. Hey, they got my five clams without hesitation. I’m not here to babble about anything you can read in the FAQ here other than to add I like where this is all going and if you ever were a Firefly fan at some point in the past, you may want to think about signing up yourself.

What I like about the game based on the descriptions and video above it that it’s NOT at all forced social interactivity. You can play along with your virtual crew as you rise up in the ranks, taking your customized ship into charted and uncharted territories for fun and profit. The game is in fact, a single-player experience that just so happens to have some social elements added in like the ability to create and share quests with others. As it’s also powered by Unity, this means there’s a slim chance it may end up on other platforms (as in consoles) if it does well enough on the initial platforms it launches on (and there’s enough demand for a port in every port, of course).

Right now, my own personal choice will be what to play this on when it does ship. I’ve been eyeballing a few inexpensive tablets recently (primarily for gaming purposes) as well as dinking around on devices owned by a few friends while I decide to make up my mind. I suppose I could just run the game on the laptop just fine. However, I want to keep it freed up to write and have something else dedicated entirely to FFO. So, it may be a mobile platform after all that’s bigger than a phone and smaller than a breadbox. We shall see, but whatever I choose, Firefly Online will be played. At my own pace, of course.

Project CARS’ New Trailer: Stare Into The Skid!

Posted on January 19, 2015 by geelw

Nope, I didn’t forget about you, Project CARS. I’m still holding out hope that the Wii U version is as wonderful to play as it’s promising to be and makes those who only own that console and not an overpriced gaming PC at least happy to have a decent licensed racer. While other consoles and PC have gotten some stellar realistic racers, the amount on Nintendo’s home consoles is embarrassingly low. Well, the amount of GOOD licensed racers, to be precise. Yeah, yeah, I’ll check this out on the PC, and PS4 at some point. But my Wii U needs this game just to shut down the haters who don’t own one who still think it’s “underpowered”. So, Bandai Namco Games… let’s do this! March 2015 is rolling up sooner than you think…

Gauntlet is BACK. Just Buy It And Bring Some Friends Along For The Ride!

Posted on September 24, 2014 by geelw

Nice. Arrowhead Game Studios has done classic and current gamers a solid by making their Gauntlet reboot a more than worthy nod to the original arcade classic. I sure hope to heck this sells REALLY well and someone has had the foresight to get the developer some console dev kits, as this game is PERFECT for some solo or offline/online couch or not co-op play sessions. That and some of us old fogies like playing the game with some sort of joystick and not a keyboard/mouse setup. Also, it would be excellent to have the ability to take this one on the road as a Vita or (if it’s not too much trouble to do a new version down the road) 3DS game. Eh, we’ll see what sales figures and company heads say, I suppose. The game was made for the masses back in the day and there’s NO reason it shouldn’t be available on anything else that can handle it, I say…

Lords of the Fallen “World” Trailer: Not Quite 100 Places To See Before You Die (In Them)…

Posted on August 28, 2014 by geelw

My own hands-on time with a build of Lords of the Fallen reveals it’s a pretty damn hard game in the Dark Souls vein and developers CI Games and Deck 13 have cooked up a nasty little next-gen gem that’s going to test the best players to defeat some pretty crafty creatures. Like the Souls series, monsters lurk in both plain sight as well as in choice hidden spots, they’ll hunt you down once they spot you and are pretty relentless overall. Of course, you can use the environments to your advantage, knocking away some boards to create a death drop pit you can lure what was chasing you into or using magic for ranged attacks as a wee or over-sized beastie is closing in for the kill. And yes, blocking and dodging are skills you need to master, as these monsters aren’t playing at all.

The game is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 28, 2014 and looks to be the first next-gen (or is it now current-gen?) chase & chop of the more cerebral kind. I only saw ONE person get close to defeating the demo Bandai Namco had on display and that guy was using every once of skill he had. Looks as if this one’s going to be one of those sleeper keepers for those who can play it. I predict a few broken controllers among those who may have missed out on FromSoftware’s series and have CI to blame (and their own lack of skills) for those formerly functioning chunks of plastic and components. be brave and fight onward, I say. You only have the fate of some fantasy world on your chosen customizable character’s shoulders…

Hive Jump, Huh? Hmmm… Color Me Highly Interested!

Posted on August 25, 2014 by geelw

Nope, despite that idyllic GIF above (twang, twang!), Graphite Lab’s upcoming PC/Mac/Linux and Wii U (yay!) game Hive Jump isn’t about some space cowboys sittin’ around a blazing campfire strumming a gitbox and singing bean-related songs (although that might make a fun mini-game now that I think about it). In fact, this in progress Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight game is the exact opposite of low key and gassy. One to four player alien blasting action reminiscent of X-Com, a bit of Slime World, Spelunky and Contra is the name of the game here (EDIT: Hey! I thought this was called Hive Jump?!) and based on that Kickstarter video, thing certainly look pretty thrilling.

See? Now THAT’S more like it, huh?

However, with a mere 931 backers and only $27,030 pledged of their $50,000 goal and ONLY 11 days to go (Eeek!), it seems this game needs MORE people hopping on the bandwagon. Granted, I bet some of those non-pledgers own a Sony or Microsoft console and are wondering why Nintendo is getting the love and they aren’t. But hey, I love it when a developer picks the more under-appreciated console and gives it the old college try. The Wii U needs games like this to stand out, and if it does well across the board, who’s to say Sony and Microsoft won’t be calling them up and getting a few dev kits out via some speedy shipping method? As much as I’m wanting to grab this download on the Wii U next year, I’d actually LOVE to play this on the Vita just so I can take it on the road to show it off and convert a few skeptics into new fans.

I’d say there are a lot of bugs in this game (and that’s a compliment.)

Anyway, internet? Go do what you do so well (no, not THAT complain about meaningless crap in the wrong places!) and FUND THIS GAME! I’m broke after paying a few bills, so I’ll be one of those picking it up once it’s all done. It sure looks like it’ll be a total winner no matter what it appears on. Anyway, stop throwing money AT the screen, as all that does is crack you monitor. You need to do a bit more than that (or: give ’til it hurts or you get hurt) if you want to see this one live to fight another day (and perhaps on other consoles?). You go do just that – I’ll be here, awaiting your progress report!

WIN FREE STUFF! Want An Orbital Gear Steam Code? Act FAST!

Posted on August 11, 2014 by geelw

Sooooo… I happen to have three download codes for Orbital Gear, a new fast-paced multiplayer only arcade run ‘n gun game by indie developer Night Node Software that’s available via Steam. All you need to to to get ONE code is leave a reply below. I’ll know who you are and where to send it because I have spies everywhere! Anyway, get to it, as once these are gone, they’re gone for good. One code per person, of course. Sure you can ring up a friend you want to play with and have him or her reply as well. I can always use the additional traffic!