Sega To Bring Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis to PS4 in August

Posted on July 3, 2022 by geelw

From “Don’t hold your breath” to “Can’t wait ’til this launches”

File this news under “It’s About Time” if you’re so inclined, but yes, Playstation 4 owners will finally get to play the US version of Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis on August 31st, 2022. The free-to-play online action RPG game will be launching on PlayStation 4 along with an entire year of updates including the newest update, “Frozen Resolution”, which introduces the snowy Kvaris region and a flurry of new enemies, characters, combat and the new “Waker” class. As noted below, the game will also be cross-play between PC, PS4 and Xbox One versions.

PSO2:NGS at Anime Expo 2022

In honor of the upcoming launch, SEGA has commissioned one-of-a-kind art that will be displayed all weekend at Anime Expo 2022 in Los Angeles, from July 1-4. The gallery will also feature concept art, figurines, and additional artwork commemorating PSO2’s recent milestones. There will also be a SEGA photo booth that will transport Anime Expo attendees into the world of PSO2:NGS! Booth visitors will also receive codes to redeem in-game items like ARKS Expo shirts, a mag form, an emote, and a sticker. A limited selection of PSO2: NGS merchandise, including shirts and pins, will be available for purchase; these items are exclusive to Anime Expo and ARKS Expo in Japan.

Players can play nine years of content in Phantasy Star Online 2 and join the newest entry to the series, Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis. Download and play Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis on PC and Xbox One for free today.

I hope they’re just here to sing and dance…

Free to play! (Some optional purchases may be made)
Huge wide-open battlefield environments! Explore a whole new world featuring broad, expansive playfields filled with ferocious enemies waiting for you and your team. Traverse wide-open environments, speed and soar across the giant landscape and skies with new special abilities. Transitioning into a new area is as simple as walking into it — no loading screens.
Enhanced character models! Create your identity with any character you can imagine in PSO2:NGS using the powerful creation engine. Adjust every imaginable characteristic to create your one-of-a-kind avatar.
Redesigned graphics engine! Witness lush environments, amazingly detailed player characters, and monstrous foes in razor-sharp resolution. Watch spectacular new lighting and particle effects as weapons clash with armor. See the world as you’ve never seen it before.
New multi-weapon system and abilities! Combine 2 types of weapons for smoother weapon switching. Battle at lightning speed using a variety of weapons and techniques.
Connects with PSO2! Move easily in-game between PSO2:NGS and PSO2.
Cross-platform! PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 players can play together side by side.

About Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis

PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 NEW GENESIS is a new online action RPG game by SEGA. Set 1,000 years after the events of Phantasy Star Online 2, PSO2: NGS takes place on Halpha, a planet on which ARKS (soldiers of the Oracle colony fleet in the Phantasy Star Online 2 series) are locked in a battle for dominance against the mysterious DOLLS.

PSO2: NGS features new and improved action combat and character customization, allowing for more flexibility and expression than ever before. Choosing from four unique races and eight classes, players can join forces with other operatives to experience unforgettable battles and boss fights in brand new locales, with an emphasis on flowing, flashy mobility to conquer and explore sprawling open environments. Players will be able to do all of this with friends on both PC (Steam / Windows 10 / Epic Games Store) , Xbox One and PS4 thanks to cross-platform play.

The Global version of PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 NEW GENESIS includes fully localized text and character voices in English and will remain content current with the Japanese servers. Details can be found at https://ngs.pso2.com/. For additional up-to-the-minute updates, players can follow @play_PSO2 on Twitter, @PSO2Official on Facebook and @play_pso2 on Instagram.

I think I know of a few folks who might want to play this…

-GW

Review: Nostalgic Train (PS5)

Posted on May 18, 2022 by geelw

Or: The small, strange town and its iron horse.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the term “walking simulator” that’s often used with derision by some players about short, mostly first person game experiences that focus around slower, careful movement and exploration, yet that term perfectly describes the lovely, melancholic Nostalgic Train ($13.99), which is available on consoles and PC. The Unreal engine game was created by a very talented solo developer named Tatamibeya and just so we’re clear, the game’s description of itself is “Two fluctuations at journey’s end – Beautiful countryside novel and walking simulator.”

There’s also a bit of a mystery with some semi-supernatural elements and even some time travel tossed into the mix, but the game is actually a text-based record of the town’s origins using a few life stories and key events scattered over a few centuries. The game starts off as its sole playable character wakes up in the tiny (and fictional) Japanese village Natsugiri, which is entirely vacant save for the sound of cicadas, dandelion seeds floating about and the scent in the air of mystery. As you walk around, you can use R2 to reveal glowing orbs that reveal more of the story and lead you to the next hint and more of the story. Visually, there’s a solid sense of reality in the visuals, but I can imagine some players used to ray tracing and other effects griping that certain elements of the game aren’t realistic enough. Whatever, it all looks like a series of gorgeous postcards in my book.

This guided experience format works well for the most part. It makes the game playable by anyone, provided they love to read and can activate their imagination during certain sequences. As you explore the village, you’ll come across some items that need to be used to advance the story. For example, early on you find a discarded life preserver near a schoolhouse by a lake. Touching it reveals a past memory of a child picking it up to attempt to rescue another child which soon turns fatal for one. At this point, the formerly inactive train’s chime starts sounding and that’s your clue that you need to get back to the station and take a ride.

In true Twilight Zone fashion, you end up back at the station and yep, you need to R2 yourself back to find out what’s transpired. The entirety of Story Mode is like this, so it’s almost impossible to get lost. The village is so small, that you can spend maybe less that five minutes walking around if you’re not using the hint system. The story gets more fascinating with each chapter as you’ll encounter others who need assistance, but the village remains empty as you only read about your encounters and have to imagine past, present and future encounters, just as if you’re reading a book. The story takes a few dark turns as it continues and you find out your character simply trying to find out who and where they are and travel back to what’s seen as “normal’ reality can’t keep you from uncovering what’s going on. In fact, there’s a link to everything and the constant cycling back to the village the train takes is somewhat important. Or: “You can check out anytime you like, you can’t ever leave (guitar solo not included)”.

Bring you walking shoes, folks…

There’s also a Free Mode where you can stroll around and find glowing orbs that reveal some historical and other bits and (if you’re a completion fanatic) nab that Platinum trophy. This won’t take long at all, but I’m guessing based on the completion stats I’ve seen, some players haven’t done this yet. Well, it’s certainly not for every taste, but it’ll stick with you like warm summer wind. Cicadas are harmless, by the way and with all those dandelion seeds blowing around. I’d guess you can pocket a few to remind you of this short trip you’ve taken. Recommended.

-GW

Review: Gleylancer (PS4/PS5)

Posted on October 26, 2021 by geelw

probably the sole good use of the word “Pow-Wow” these days.

While the SEGA logo is nowhere to be found (they only published the game way back in 1992), Advanced Busterhawk Gleylancer looks, feels and plays like it’s 1992 and that’s a great thing. Ever busy publisher Ratalaika Games and veteran developer Shinyuden go above and beyond the call here with a flawless English translation plus a slew of gameplay improvements that range from a horde of video customization options to some all-new game modes that make this an instant buy at its low $6.99 price point (the original Mega Drive version will set you back about $200, and yes it’s solely in Japanese).

The game is pretty story driven with a lengthy opening movie, but in s nutshell: The story follows Lucia, a 16-year-old star fighter pilot in the Earth Federation. A war breaks out between humans and an unknown alien race in the year 2025. Lucia’s father, Ken, a high-ranking admiral in the Federation Navy, is captured after his ship is warped out of the combat zone with 4 alien modules which have the ability of teleportation. Lucia, heart-broken after hearing of her father’s disappearance, decides to hijack the prototype fighter CSH-01-XA “GleyLancer” with the help of her friend Teim and go after her father.

Like any decent classic shmup, a good player will complete the game in under an hour, but a smart player will deep dive this and go back for more and unlock every trophy. The fast but methodical gameplay is also customizable to the point of letting players cheat right off the bat if they so desire. There’s also a handy rewind function that’s excellently implemented and like the cheat mode, optional. The really amusing thing here is very likely, a good deal of modern gamers may not have heard of this until this release and may automatically snap it up for the quick trophies Ratalaika games are known for. My bet is they’ll be surprised at the challenge the game presents on its standard mode.

I have no idea what Shinyuden has planned for the future, but there are a ton of other shooters for the Genesis out there that can use this sort of very proper localization. I can name way too many here, but let’s not go over the moon with wishful, wistful thinking just yet. Recommended!

-GW

Double Shot, No Chaser

Posted on June 23, 2021 by geelw

Oh. I’m doing fine, (mostly), thanks.

So, I got my second vaccine dose last Thursday and feel pretty good overall, but I think I was a wee bit too tired the last few days. I actually slept most of Monday and part of Tuesday away, which was bad for a few reasons – I was so out of it that I missed the primary election (oops), which I thought wasn’t happening this week, but my sense of time has been off with all this self-quarantining stuff. Oh well. Been playing quite a few games of late, so expect some reviews. All I’ll say is Disco Elysium-The Final Cut may be one of the best-written and consistently surprising games I’ve ever played, but it needs a less expensive physical version and I don’t think I can do a game this great much justice in a brief post, but I’ll try.

-GW

Review: Ord. (PS4)

Posted on June 4, 2021 by geelw

From ever-busy publisher Ratalaika games and indie developer Mujo Games comes Ord.($4.99), a minimalist adventure game that tells its short stories three words at a time. Split into five tales with a bit of replay value in each (Quest, Dimensions, World, Foul Things and Heist), the game will also have you brain filling in most of its visuals. It’s also part memory test in that there’s a Groundhog Day-like loop to overcome where choosing certain answers won’t advance the story, but instead, send you back to choose differently.

That said, there are no “wrong” answers here. In fact, choosing every option will lead to some surprises and abrupt (sometimes fatal) endings. The minimalist thing in taken to extremes here on both the visual and aural fronts. Other than the title screen, visuals are just text on a black background with some stylistic touches like thunder, lightning, rain, a bit of fog and yes, you’ll want to have a drink in the tavern just to see the blurred result. For me, the sole flaw here in there’s no story tracker, so on a replay, you may get temporarily stuck (a notepad will come in handy here). Playing the game through once won’t take long and those trophies drop pretty quickly once you get rolling.

Overall, Ord. is a pretty decent and nicely experimental bit of fun. Ratalaika’s been on a roll lately with more hits than misses of late. So I’ll have to get to covering more on their interesting titles from it’s rather intriguing lineup shortly.

-GW

Review: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (PS4)

Posted on August 7, 2020 by geelw

The Chaos Engine, or Circle of Life in action, if you will…

Well, this one’s a pleasant and goofy surprise. Sometimes the silliest and most simple games ideas just work and Mediatronic’s Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout ($19.99 on Steam for PC, Free this month on PSN) reinforces this perfectly. The 60-person enter, one person wins element is pure battle royale insanity (a genre I usually avoid), it’s weaponless mix of puzzle, sporty and trap packed levels offer up some tough and hilarious navigational challenges and overall, it’s just about as good as it gets for a game of its type.

Sure, there are micro-transactions here, but they’re not at all necessary to jump in and start playing. You can get some cool cosmetics with currency earned from just playing the game, or you can pay real money for stuff if you’re in a hurry to look cooler as you fall or get knocked off assorted hazards multiple times. In other words, there are no performance-enhancing purchases here (so far and I hope there won’t be in the future). Besides, the developer and publisher need to make SOME money with this one, but it’s actually nice that PSN users at least get to more or less play free and not choose to pay… well, until they need some of the stupidly cute skins and outfits that pop up.

fall-guys-ultimate-knockout-screenshot-08-ps4-04may20-en-us

It’s all fun and games, especially if someone gets cartoon hurt.

A constantly rotating set of 24 levels means you can’t predict what’s coming, but loads of dying and plenty of practice await. You just need to hope you can survive the chaos as it happens. Yes, there are some super-skilled players out there who can dive and dash through areas and as you play, some tasks get easier to plow through than others. But the lack of voice chat thankfully keeps one’s ears from burning off from what I’d imagine is some hefty amount of creative cursing taking place at some ignominious last second defeats. Although, yours truly actually screamed “Oh, Bugsnax!” at my TV after one terrible but funny loss because I’d exhausted every curse word I knew and that upcoming PS5 game’s name just popped into my head.

Then again, this is a game where you’ll watch someone winning a match and then lose it by accident when a platform vanishes suddenly, or they get beaned by a falling slice of parachuting fruit. Some players seemingly try to take out other players by lurking near an exit (grrrr!) and lunging at them or maybe hoping to be as threatening as a giant jellybean in a funky getup can. It’s all good though – sometimes you get the last laugh (well, until you lose in a future round) when the game decides to drop random survivors at the results screen to get the next stage kicking.

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Review: Demon’s Tier (PS4/Vita)

Posted on June 23, 2020 by geelw

Instructions for real life, as well.

Nostalgic is the good word here.

The latest pairing from COWCAT and Diabolical Mind, Demon’s Tier+ ($9.99, buy it!) is an excellent example of a really good game that got much better with a slew of quality of life improvements. While the game follows a clear Gauntlet meets Diablo style of play, a strict time limit and intense difficulty combined with randomly generated levels make for quite the thrilling, replayable ride.

This isn’t a simple “one and done” trophy hunt at all. Rather, the game is an equal to Diabolical Minds’ other retro-inspired pixel-packed releases, Riddled Corpses EX and Xenon Valkyrie+, two other solo or two player co-op team-ups worth a look. It almost feels like the developer has captured a trio of long lost late 80’s arcade machines in these three titles, all of which demand practice and patience to master, just like the old days.

Story:

Thosgar, a hated king attracted by demonic rituals, turned into a dark and diabolical being… destroying almost all of humanity and flooding the world with monsters. This story became a legend and peace returned to the land.

A thousand years later, a mysterious pit appears in a village after a huge earthquake where an evil aura emanates from…

Will you be the hero to save this world?

Don’t you hate it when that happens? Well, good. Grab your PS4 controller or Vita, and let’s send those demons back to where they came from, pronto.

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Presents of Mind II: Some Gifts Just Speak for Themselves

Posted on June 12, 2020 by geelw

Uh, would you like something to eat, game?

…And some gifts just sit right down on the nearest loveseat when they walk out of the box. Yikes. I saw this Death Stranding Collector’s Edition on sale at a local shop when I was poking around on ebay listing a few games I’m selling and yes, the price was right, so I bought one. The shop actually wasn’t the lowest priced one I saw, but Best Buy RAISED their crazy low price of $89.99 before I could buy it. I literally slept on the deal and thought about it, decided it was a go the next morning, but I was surprised to see them jack the price back up up to only $30 off the original 199.99 MSRP. Oh well. Adorama, you have my thanks for keeping your deal where even with tax, I made out all right and got free shipping in the process. Oh, and a LOT or air packing bags in the rather huge box, too.

I still need to find time to play this, but with a copy now on hand, it’ll happen sooner than later. Actually, I need to find a space for the box as it’s so huge, it takes up more room than I thought it would. At least Sony put the steelbook right on top so when the box in opened, it’s separate from the other goodies inside. Back in a bit – I need to go find out where I’m going to put this thing.

-GW

That PS5 Reveal Made Me Hungry

Posted on June 11, 2020 by geelw

(Thanks. PlayStation!)

So yeah. The PS4 looks like an overstuffed fancy sandwich on Wonder Bread, there’s no way to get around it. Well, it also looks like it can hold the Eye of Sauron when it’s standing upright, or it looks like a building in a big city (Dubal, as a friend suggested). No price was revealed for either the disc-based or digital-only model, but the disc-based model I’m looking as as we speak also looks like it’s about three months pregnant and showing. Fortunately, it can lie on its side. where it looks like an over-baked pastry still three months pregnant:

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Evan’s Remains: Logic Dictates This Will Be a Nifty Puzzle/Adventure

Posted on June 11, 2020 by geelw

If you’re into some games that don’t rely on pure horsepower or an overdose of visual flashiness that shows off every graphical trick in the book, don’t let games like this get buried under big console announcements. Whitehorn Digital has what looks like a sleeper hit in Evan’s Remains, a game that’s also on PC, Xbox One, and Switch. I’m in the process of playing and so far, it’s quite a lovely experience with some stellar hand-drawn pixel art and a relaxing soundtrack. I won’t go into details about the story, as I’m not far along and there seems to be a few surprises I won’t spoil, but I’m truly enjoying the game so far. I’m going to shut up here and try to get more time in before the PS5 reveal, but yeah – go check this one out as soon as you can.

-GW