Trailblazers – The Future Comes At You Fast on PC, PS4, & Xbox One

Posted on May 1, 2018 by geelw

Futuristic racers are starting to repopulate the gaming landscape once again as a welcome subgenre, but developer Supergonk’s Trailblazers has a few fun things going for it that may set it ahead of the pack. Take a little F-Zero, a dash of WipEout, a splash of Splatoon and shake well, then release onto PC, PS4 (May 8) and Xbox One (May 9). The game’s got a more colorful look all over the place (it’s nice to see some of these newer games not go the industrial drab route) and those rides rock a solid retro sci-fi design with appropriately quirky drivers to boot.

Painting the track as you blaze along allows your tide to gain a speed boost when you drive on your own color. Naturally, you can paint over your opponent’s color (and yes, they can paint over yours), but you’ll very likely be doing your best to win at all costs when you’ve got friends over elbowing each other in the ribs because your couch is too small. Family friendly seems the way this one’s going (a great thing) and the game is set to pack in 10 tracks set over 3 wolds, couch co-op play (split screen is in!) and yes, online modes are also on board.

While it indeed looks like Supergonk and Publisher Rising Star do indeed have a solid hit here, that’s actually up to you folks to hop in and take this one for a spin. Go on, kick those tires and do the test drive thing. You know you want to. Heck, I certainly want to zip around a funky, colorful race course laying down bright colors and hoping for a supreme booth that blasts me past the opposition to a clean finish. Or a not so clean one – a win is a win (as long as you’re not cheating, right?).

-GW

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

Posted on May 1, 2018 by geelw

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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.

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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

Review: Devious Dungeon (PS4/Vita)

Posted on April 30, 2018 by geelw

Sometimes a review writes itself before you even get a chance to take a single note. That can be both good and not so good, but let’s see where this automatic type-fest leads now, shall we? Devious Dungeon ($7.99, Cross-Buy) is great fun because of its solid combination of easy to grasp gameplay, crafty, challenging randomized levels, and single-minded enemies set on “kill”. There’s a very reliable straightforwardness to the game in that, as a port of a mobile game from a few years ago, it’s not focusing on gimmicks and boxing you in with arcane rules and overly complex gameplay. This is more or less, side-scrolling dungeon 101 and because it works so well, that’s all it needs to be.

There’s no character creator here – you’re just a musclebound chap sent in to clear out an ever-changing dungeon other adventures have fallen prey to. You start out with an old sworn and crappy armor and yep, killing monsters nets you gold and experience. The gold is for buying better gear, the experience levels you up. You’ll also need to find a key to unlock the sealed doorway somewhere on a level. Sometimes you’ll find the door before you find the key, sometimes it’s the other way around. Either way, death lurks everywhere thanks to monsters, traps and other hazards. Combat is simple, but you’ll need to time your attacks carefully lest a foe or foes do you in with their own well-timed hits. Ranged weapons or spells are especially painful, by the way.

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Review: League of Evil (PS4/Vita)

Posted on April 30, 2018 by geelw

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I’m here to inform you that Woblyware and Rataliaka Games’ excellent, tough as heck League of Evil ($4.99, Cross-Buy) is not messing around at all. This high action speedrun focused action/platform/puzzle hybrid has one goal: to crush the weak players and reward the flawless and strong. Okay, well… it’s not that serious, but if you love a challenge, you’ll certainly get more game out of that measly five bucks this costs right from the start.

Here’s the deal: you’re a bionic super agent who needs to simply reach the evil scientist at the end of each level and dispatch him with a single punch from your big metal fist. Simple, no? Nope, it’s not. One shot kills from armed guards protecting him, one hit kills from spikes, lasers, swinging axes and other hazards will stop your progress countless times, forcing you to replay many of the sort, deadly stages. At least the retro visuals, excellent music and general sense of “don’t even try to take this seriously” all keep the game fun.

And yes, once again, I had to call in my ringer.

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Review: Megadimension Neptunia VIIR (PS4)

Posted on April 26, 2018 by geelw

While not flawless, I’d say outside of the Tamsoft developed action-heavy games, the overall best game in Idea Factory’s long running Hyperdimension Neptunia series and its assorted spinoffs was 2015’s Megadimension Neptunia VII, which has just received an nicely enhanced update in the form of Megadimension Neptunia VIIR (that’s pronounced V-two-R, by the way).

New features include partial PSVR support, tweaked gameplay, prettier updated visuals, and some new music. If you don’t own a PSVR setup, fear not. The game plays absolutely fine without the need for VR and the new VR dialog segments can indeed be enjoyed using the standard Dual Shock 4 to input basic look and zoom commands. The main game is as loaded with fun as ever and makes for a solid upgrade to the original.

If you’re coming into this from the old version of VII, nope, you can’t transfer that old save data or DLC content at all. I’d gather the number of changes being what they are plus a few other factors prevented this, but it ends up a great excuse to replay the game as this updated version just to see the new content and experience those cleaner visuals. If you’re coming into this as a new player, it’s a game packed to the gills with fan service galore with an oddball tribute to game companies, game consoles and game history that may go way over the heads of some. Part JRPG, part visual novel, and good for a few to plenty of laughs when you settle in and let the kooky humor do its thing.

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Fox n Forests: Out of the Woods May 17th

Posted on April 24, 2018 by geelw

Who said time travel was impossible? After a super successful Kickstarter campaign and a busy development process, Munich-based Bonus Level Entertainment and publisher EuroVideo Medien GmbH have announced that their gorgeous slice of 16-bit retro gaming nostalgia, Fox n Forests is headed to consoles and PC May 17, 2018.

Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux will all be supported and yes, this is yet another game I’ve been dying to get my own paws on. Check out that teaser trailer below and yes, add it to your watch and wish lists.

Hey, it’s very likely this will be the closest some of you will get to an actual fox and you won’t need to worry about rabies at all. Well, you may get a nice blister on your thumb from playing this too much, but you’ll survive.

-GW

Review: Where Are My Friends? (PS4)

Posted on April 18, 2018 by geelw

Don’t let the childlike look of its hand-drawn visuals fool you one bit. Where Are My Friends? ($5.99) is going to absolutely break those gamers out there who take it for a spin expecting an easy Trophy hunt. Between the wordless storytelling that requires paying full attention when exploring the game’s point/click adventure segments, to some insane platforming sections, this one’s a hardcore challenge well disguised as a more light, family friendly affair. Actually, it may take an entire family to complete some of the fiercely tough sequences here, so get everyone together and maybe even the family pet can even give this a shot after everyone else fails.

My own reflexes aren’t as sharp these days, so at one point after discovering the somewhat challenging (okay, brutal) platforming sections, I actually made a phone call, packed up my PS4 and hoofed it over to a friend’s place so his 11-year old kid could do what I couldn’t. Let’s just say that kid earned his free pizza after that, but he also wanted me to note (and I quote): “This is one of the most crazy games I’ve ever played in my life, and I’m only 11! You should pay me more next time!” Hey, kid? There won’t be a next time (until the next time I get a game like this), and you didn’t get paid, per se (don’t child labor laws prevent that sort of thing?) . You’re a ringer, pal – you’re supposed to do your thing, do it well and zip it. Well, I didn’t say that, but I’m thinking he’s now thinking he’s getting pressed into service whenever I need some game-related help.

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Review: Reverie (PS Vita)

Posted on April 14, 2018 by geelw

With Reverie, New Zealand-based developer Rainbrite has cooked up a fantastic, fun and must-buy game for the supposedly ‘dead’ (but still defiantly breathing) PlayStation Vita. Everything here clicks from the Earthbound-inspired visuals to the gameplay that references The Legend of Zelda‘s puzzle, enemy and trapped-filled dungeons and overworld map. Adding to the perfection, you get an interesting take on the Māori myth Māui and the Giant Fish woven throughout the game that makes the adventure all the more interesting.

Sure, the main character is just a nondescript kid named Tai who just so happens to end up spending his summer vacation saving the tiny island he’s on visiting his grandparents from all sorts of evil during his stay. But Rainbrite has wisely made the kid quite the young man of action on his trip to this new Adventure Island. You’ll get a cricket bat, yo-yo, a sort of Nerf gun and other goodies as you take on the game’s six nicely-sized dungeons and a somewhat dangerous overworld packed with local wildlife out to gnaw or peck you to death. Spot-on controls help out here, but you’ll need to be constantly on your toes because some enemies (such as angry hopping statues) won’t react until you’re in whispering distance.

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Review: Tiny Metal (PS4)

Posted on April 12, 2018 by geelw

Console owning fans of turn-based strategy games, specifically the late, lamented Advance Wars and similar military themed titles set in fictional scenarios really haven’t had too much to cheer about (well, other than still having the ability to go back and replay those older games whenever they like). PlayStation-only owners have a handful of games like this, but Area35’s very solid Tiny Metal ($24.99) is the coolest and closest thing to Intelligent Systems’ games you can get on the PS4. It takes inspiration from Nintendo’s series (which needs a new version one of these days) and adds a few nice gameplay twists to the formula that keep the battles past the early tutorial maps pretty engaging overall.

There’s a story here that basically pits an initially small force of troops and hired mercenaries against a powerful nation’s military after their president’s plane is shot down over enemy territory and the mission is to find out if he, along with a great military hero traveling with him are still alive. The game is set up so you’re going to get lengthy static manga cut scenes pre- and post-mission with the occasional mid-mission break when the story wants to nudge in some more dialog. There’s a lot of back and forth communicating here and everyone is suitably wrought to overwrought as they sell their lines in pretty melodramatic fashion. Interestingly enough, You can only select English for in-battle squad commentary – the cut scenes are all subtitled. This isn’t a bad thing, mind you (especially if you like your games in their native language as much as possible and don’t mind subtitles).

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Review: Metropolis: Lux Obscura (PS4/Vita)

Posted on March 27, 2018 by geelw

Hooooooo boy. If a mature game that successfully mashes up Sin City and Puzzle Quest seems as if it’ll be right up your dark, rainy alley, have I got something for you, pal. Sometimes You has ported Ktulhu Solutions’ previously PC-only (and very NSFW) game Metropolis: Lux Obscura over to consoles (it’s coming April 4) and if you’re in the mood for a totally lewd and somewhat amusing in terms of its wall to wall profanity game experience, go whip out that wallet and pony up that dough. Leave the kids out of this one, please, as it’s absolutely not for them. Unless, of course you want them quoting the racier lines from this at family gatherings or in places where someone might keel over in a dead faint from the ear-searing dialog.

While it’s a bit on the short side, you get four endings and the game excels at paying somewhat intentionally cheesy homage to Frank Miller’s graphic novels (although the art here is a lot less impressive) with that reliance on shock value profanity and a few topless and/or scantily clad females as well as some more salacious content that may make your eyes pop a few times before all is said and done. Amusingly enough, as raw as this game is, PC version owners can get a patch that turns that version into a er, how shall I put it… “somewhat Stormier” experience. And nope, you won’t see that patch coming at all to the PS4 or Vita (or Nintendo Switch, for that matter).

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