Dead Island 2 Announced at E3 2014

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Dead Island 2 Announced
Originally Posted on the Official Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page
Written by Aaron Johnson

The Sony E3 show was good, not great though. They spent a good chunk with the indie games, which are great but we need and want more titles we know and love. Then came a Dead Island 2 trailer that just made me smile, especially when this decked out 70’s van rolls up, this guy starts getting super pumped on a pair of kicks he sees on a dead zombie, so he snatches the fresh white shoes and off they go.

According to the developer there will be a 30 day beta and an exclusive character class and level on PS4. Also 4 player Co-op, who’s ready to save California from the zombie apocalypse? Dead Island 2 is set to release on XBox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in the Spring of 2015.

No Man’s Sky Announced at E3 2014

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No man’s sky
Originally Posted on the Official Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page
Written by Aaron Johnson



At the Sony E3 press event Hello games had the opportunity to show off their newest game, No Man’s Sky. The developer touted not one person will have the same experience due to the game being procedurally generated and infinite. In the game play footage shown the game has planetary exploration, spacecraft dog fights, and predators on each planet you discover each with a unique ecosystem. I am very excited after seeing the gameplay and expect great things from this title.

Mario Cart 8 Sales Come Speeding By

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Mario Kart Sales Come Speeding By
Originally Posted on the Official Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page
Written by Aaron Johnson


After much waiting and hype, Mario Kart 8 sells one 1.2 million copies worldwide on its first weekend. A much needed boost for struggling Wii U sales, though Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says “The early response to Mario Kart 8 demonstrates that the best days for Wii U are still ahead.” I’m really hoping for Reggie that he’s right.

 The seven games that launched previously in the series have combined to sell more than 100 million total units worldwide. E3 will be a good preview of how Nintendo will do over the next year and if they will remain a viable threat to Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s Ps4.

Review: Mugen Souls Z – Quirkiness at its Finest!

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Originally Posted on the Official Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page
Review By Kennard Daniel Prim
 
 
 
 
 Pros:
  • A quirky and interesting cast of characters, with the party from the original Mugen Souls returning.
  • Various levels of customization, from clothing and accessories to the ability to make a character at the Peon Salon
  • Greatly improves upon several key aspects of the previous title.
 
Cons:
  • Level grinding becomes necessary, especially at later chapters.
  • As of the current version of the game, there is a bug that causes the game to freeze on occasion while in the Mugen Field.
  • The voice acting can be, at times, grating. 
 
 
 Final Score: 7 out 10
 
 
 
  Mugen Souls Z opens with the player taking control of the “Undisputed God of the Universe” Chou-Chou through a few short tutorial battles. One on a ship called a G-Castle which can be completed in just a few turns. Followed by the player taking control of the G-Castle itself to take down an enemy ship. The battle is preceded by a tutorial explaining the different functions of the G-Castle during a battle. Again this battle can be won without any degree of difficulty since it’s just a tutorial stage. 
 
  After a short cutscene we are introduced to the first of the new cast in your party. A hero from the Rose World, the same world we find our new primary character, Syrma. After controlling Nao for just a few brief moments and progressing to several cutscenes, control shifts to the Ultimate God Syrma. After a few more brief cutscenes in which Nao steps on a Shampuru, the result of Chou-Chou “peonifying” various creatures and objects, Syrma ends up in a battle with Chou-Chou which is quickly decided.
 
 From here the game truly begins, upon your defeat Chou-Chou in all her greedy nature demands to be given Syrma’s coffin. Which promptly pulls her in and absorbs her of all her powers once opened. The nonsensical quest to regain the power of both Syrma and Chou-Chou begins as Chou-Chou essentially guilt trips Syrma into doing her bidding. 
 
  The tutorials of abilities extend well into the fourth chapter of the game, covering various topics from an ability called Ultimate Soul, to random shops on G-Castle and what you can do at them. Functions are unlocked slowly as the game progresses, with the majority of content aside from Ultimate God Abilities being available by chapter four. In addition with each chapter a new selection of items becomes available at both shops.
 
 
 
  Progression through the game requires two things. Capturing a planet by turning it into a peon. You do this by essentially appealing to whatever fetish a particular node may have, trading a certain item or even having defeated a specific number of enemies. The seduction system of the game, characterized by what’s called the Fetish Pose system, is an upgraded version of the Moe Kill function of the original game. Being more streamlined and easy to understand, the Fetish Pose system also offers an alternative to winning battles. The second requirement for possession is the defeat and absorption of each planet’s Ultimate God. While it is possible to defeat a boss using a Fetish Pose, it’s much easier to just defeat them with combat. As you would expect, the further you progress in the game the stronger enemies become. However this can be a difference of just a slight level adjustment, and a giant leap.
 
  Combat is turn-based and progresses relatively smoothly. Battle is decided in one of three ways, defeat enemies by reducing their hitpoints to zero, peonify enemies using the Fetish pose system and peonify the large crystal in the battle field. Each enemy has their own preference when it comes to a personality. This preference is located above their HP bar and to the right. Syrma is capable of switching personalities during battle the same way you would on the field with a quick tap of the L1 button and cycling through a wheel. As you progress through the game each personality increases in level, marked as a percentage. Attacks are categorized into several types. A standard attack, physical skills, magical skills, Blast-Off Attacks and Special Attacks. Beyond this is a special attack available exclusively to Syrma known as Ultimate Soul. Blast-Off attacks allow the player to send an enemy flying around the arena, hitting the borders, other enemies, characters and the gems. All of which cause additional damage with each bounce. Ultimate Soul is a last resort move, dealing massive amounts of damage to every enemy on the field. Beyond this is the usual item use, stat buffs and debuffs and healing spells.
 
 
 
  While early on the game provides an appropriate amount of experience to leveling, this quickly changes as you progress further. Grinding becomes a necessity, which makes the Mugen Field both a godsend and a curse. It’s a godsend in the sense that by limiting actions and reaching a marker called a Damage Carnival, which is when you hit a specific amount of accumulated damage, you can gain multipliers for experience, money and Mugen Points. While in the Mugen Field you can experience any of a number of events. Whether they be regular battles, a battle involving your G-Castle, harmful or helpful events and even rare enemy encounters. As good as this is, as of the current version of the game there is a chance of the game freezing while in the Mugen Field, making frequent saving your best friend when the chance arises. This can be especially frustrating when midway through a run and nowhere near a checkpoint and the game decides to freeze. Rest Spots in the Mugen Field, which are reached at a certain checkpoint on your journey, house a strong enemy known as a Keeper of Death, a Shampuru that will sell you various unlockables such as skill upgrades and character classes, treasure chests and sometimes a regular shop or a medic. You are also able to adjust any seals you have selected at this point to make the fight against the boss easier or more difficult. 
 
  Overall the sound for the game is good, each world has its own tune to fit the setting, and depending on the severity of a battle you may get one of several battle themes. Boss fight themes are typically separated by the level of difficulty of the boss. However, the voice acting can sometimes be a bit grating and can wear on the player rather fast. Aside from actual speech, growls and hisses are vocalized as well which adds to how overall silly the game can be. If you aren’t terribly fond of one set of voices, you can switch between an English and Japanese dub.
 
 
 
  The overall story is mildly amusing, but at times becomes a bit convoluted with the various cutscenes. In a single chapter you can have cutscenes involving not only the party, but the primary antagonist at his home, characters you’ve yet to encounter on a completely different planet, and even a character on the current planet you’ve yet to run into. There are several running gags, including Syrma’s inability to explain the situation of the Ultimate Gods without being interrupted, as well as characters being shoved into Syrma’s coffin whether they’re an Ultimate God or not. Each planet adds one or two new characters to the party, often following a cutscene in which someone gets injured or tricked.
 
  More content is unlocked for the game through absolute completion of planets, which may sometimes grant special tickets, and completing a run through the Mugen Field. These tickets may be redeemed at a Shampuru on the central platform in the G-Castle. This content ranges from extending how long a run through the well-mentioned Mugen Field can last, different game modes and even permanent modifier bonuses. One game mode in particular worth mentioning is the Mugen Souls 7 Worlds Redux, which allows you to revisit major battles from the original title.

Telltale Studios is Making the Next Gen Jump!

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Telltale studios is making the next gen jump!
Article written by Josh Turner.




Earlier today the fine folks over at Telltale had a major announcement about their top titles.


“Today, we can confirm that The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series – Season One, The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series – Season Two and The Wolf Among Us: A Telltale Games Series will be coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year. Furthermore, The Walking Dead – Season Two and The Wolf Among Us will be released as retail discs for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 following their continuing success as digital downloads.
We will have confirmed release date availability soon, but in the meantime, you can pre-order disc versions now from your favorite retailer.
Stay tuned here and follow @telltalegames on Twitter for the latest news on all of our titles!” 

Now, for the most part. This doesn’t come at to big of surprise to me. TWD season two was released extremely late in the current gen’s life cycle, and seeing that Telltale is all for releasing it’s adventures on as many formats as possible.

I do find it a little surprising though that they are bringing yet another re-release of season one of TWD. I understand that it is needed to have Clem’s full story, however we are now up to our third disc based release of the same game. Which honestly fells like a complete cash in at this point.




I think what should be done, for next gen gamers that is, is for seasons 1 & 2 to come on the same disc. I think that would be both fair, and understandable from not only a consumer standpoint, but also a business one as well. One assumption I can make from looking at Season 1’s box art, is that it’ll be the same “GOY” edition that was released at the beginning of this year. That edition did come pre-packaged with “400 days” expansion, as well as a digital art book.

In other news from this announcement. They are bringing the fan favorite The Wolf Among Us over to the next gen as well. What waits to be seen on any of these titles is if they will be receiving any short of a graphical face-lift, or if this will be a one-for-one port.

One burning question that I have however. If we are already porting these titles, then wouldn’t it be safe to assume that their next two projects, (Game of thrones, and Tales from the Borderlands) will eventually make the same jump, if not released on the formats originally?



Only time will tell exactly what Telltale has up their sleeves for these titles, what can be confirmed is that you will be needing some tissues and maybe someone to hug. Because the feels knows no ends with these titles.

Review: The Walking Dead (The Game) Season Two: Episode Three

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Originally Published on the Official Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page
“Dead in the Water” – A review by Josh Turner
 
 
Pros:
+ Enjoyable new character.
+ Great voice acting… as always.
+ Surprisingly more violent than the others.Cons:
– Story drags along, and can be predicted at every turn.
– Very little interaction in this episode.
– Actions taken during the episode are mostly pointless.
– Frame rate issues are STILL present.

Final Score – 6.5 out of 10.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

(Recap)

During our last outing in this zombie filled fun-land. We made a few major advancements in the sense of plot progression, I.E. main bad guy was revealed, as a team you decided to hit the road, you encountered other survivors including an old friend. For the most part however, the episode seemed to drag it’s heels in the dirt feeling like the developers had an overall idea of what they want the episode, but failed to really figure out exactly what they needed to do between their pivotal plot points.

The overall fallout at the end of the episode was expected, for the most part. However it was a welcome change of pace. What wasn’t expected was when they started killing off so many characters. This was exciting. This was The Walking Dead that I remembered, not this toothless zombie that has been trying to scare me.
At the end of the episode we find everyone being led off back to “Home” as it’s called, Alvin, and Walter lays dead after the stunt you and Kenny try to pull, and Luke is now seemingly separated from the group.

(Current Episode)

We open on our band of misfit survivors being hogtied in the back of a moving truck, currently on a bumpy road to “Home.” (Carters stronghold in which everyone had escaped from.) Everyone is panicked, and fearful of what Carter has in store for them once they are behind locked doors.

True to his character, Kenny isn’t about to take whatever is coming lying down. After an extensive argument with the others on finding something to free themselves with, Kenny spots a break in the metallic interior of the truck, and begins to cut his hands lose. Now logically there is only two ways out of this situation. Option one: Kenny somehow pulls some really sweet Matrix move, disarming/killing all guards and you guys get to walk away unscathed. Option two: In a attempt of being the hero, Kenny will get shot, and we lose yet another character.

What happens though was unprecedented. The van comes to a abrupt stop suddenly, catching Kenny off guard and making him become one with the trucks door, rendering him useless for those few precious moments when the door was opened. Even though it was a welcome event to be able to sit there, and be blindsided by an event for a change, there was a slight bit of annoyance left in it’s wake with the realization that you weren’t truly in control of this characters destiny. Be it you talked him down from the proverbial cliff, or you egged him on your outcome will be the same.

Going into this season of TWD, we were told that we would have more options to shape the outcome of these characters, however this episode more than the others proves contrary to that belief. I felt like I was stuck in a rail cart for the major majority of this episode, watching cut-scene after cut-scene of dialogue, only having input on what is being said from time to time, and never having a chance to truly control Clem till later in the episode. Now don’t get me wrong here. I love having this story progress, and have a feeling like it’s building to something bigger, but this episode pulls the same stunt about three times.

What stunt you might ask? Having the group work towards a goal, just to have the rug pulled out from underneath you, and everything that you just did for the past thirty minutes is completely void. I can not begin to express how frustrating this was to me. I really didn’t mind it the first time with Kenny getting knocked out, but two additional times is a bit uncalled for.

Also, just like the previous episode. This episode finds a way to drain every last second out of every event that happens to these characters, making it feel extremely drawn out at some points. I know that some people will disagree with me, and say it was building the human aspect of the game. Which I am all in favor of, but a five minute sequence about cutting dead branches from plants is a little overkill.

One thing I do tip my hat to the team to is the introduction of the amazingly awkward, yet awesome character Reggie. From the awkward pat on the head he gives you, to the “I’m going to burn this place down” personality he has make him a very fun character to interact with. There is another few characters that are introduced, and yet to be known how much of a major roll these individuals will play in future episodes. One of the characters seems to be this seasons version of Chuck, (the homeless man from season one) due to a few lines of dialogue that was revealed in the closing moments of the game.

(Character Development)

I’m proud to say that this episode has the most character development that I’ve seen so far this season. Most notably is how Clem, as well as the others as beginning to accept her as their group leader. Though, the whole notion of a 11 year old becoming the leader is still absurd to me. The developers seem to be all for this idea though, even putting a lengthy conversation in here where Carter lectures Clem on how they are more alike then they think, and how her words hold the most sway in the group.

Besides that, Kenny is becoming more unstable as the episodes drag along. He is beginning to have a homicidal side to him, which could lead to a heartfelt showdown one day. Sara is starting to lose grip over her already fragile emotions.

All in all, the characters in this story arch are starting to develop in one of two ways. Either they are becoming stronger, and harder to the situation around them. Or they are growing weak under worry, and are beginning to give up.

(Final verdict)

I’m starting to grow concerned with the future episodes. I can’t help it. While episode one started strong coming out of the gates swinging, episode two, and now three has been lackluster at best. Granted, just like any Taletell game there is always those few moments of “Oh my sweet baby Jesus!” but playing through a episode that quite literately had me dozing off just to get to said moment isn’t exactly exciting.

My biggest gripe with the series, which is the random fluctuation in frame rate, still has not been addressed which does take the player out of the experience when some of the larger plot points of this episode in mangled under a choppy frame rate.

We are just now reached the halfway point in this season, and there still isn’t a clear reason for their journey except for the soul fact of survival, which yes is a story to be told, but not exactly what I was signing up for. Hopefully the next episode that is released will begin to move things forward in the way of a cohesive, continuing story arch. Which I honestly think it will with the tease they have at the end of this one. However, I did think the same thing about this episode…

Ubisoft Offers a Glimpse of Their E3 Lineup

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Ubisoft Offers a Glimpse of Their E3 Lineup

Originally Published on the Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page

Written by Dustin Murphy



 When it comes to E3, we are always excited, and that’s because developers always have something to steal the stage with. This year, that will make no different, and Ubisoft is set to not disappoint us as a community. Today we have discovered they will be showing their upcoming titles such as Assassin’s Creed® Unity, Tom Clancy’s The Division™, The Crew™, Valiant Hears The Great War™, and well we hope Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Patriots™ due to its absence as of late. For those of you who can’t make it to E3, Ubisoft has made it so you can actually join the experience the even through the company’s Uplay® Lounge for you members of Uplay!

 For those unfamiliar from earlier articles, the E3 event will be held at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, but Ubisoft specificly will be on stage June 9th, starting at 3 p.m. PDT. They will have the amazing and humorous Aisha Tyler hosting their media briefing! For those of you wanting the live broadcast that do not use UPlay, you can easily find their broadcast live through the official Ubisoft YouTube Channel, here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcu6PBvshoM , or on their official Twitch Account here,http://www.twitch.tv/ubisoft 


 There will be a pre-event highlight show that will be bringing in speakers to answer fan questions and discuss their upcoming titles a bit more. For those interested and attending E3, you can actually visit the Ubisoft Booth starting June 10th at #1023, which will be placed in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. This will allow you to learn more of the titles below. The information provided is official Ubisoft information.

Assassin’s Creed Unity: Re-imagined and built from the ground-up for the new-gen of gaming, Assassin’s Creed Unity will immerse players as never before into the terror and brutality of the French Revolution.

Far Cry 4: The sequel to the top-rated shooter of 2012*, Far Cry 4 players will experience the most expansive and immersive Far Cry ever, in an entirely new, massive open-world.

Tom Clancy’s The Division™: The Division is set in a chaotic and devastated New York City. Players assume the role of a sleeper agent activated to help save a failing society, and discover an immersive open-world game that combines the Tom Clancy series’ signature authenticity with RPG-action, exploration and teamwork.

The Crew™: The Crew is a revolutionary action-driving game that takes gamers on a reckless ride throughout a massive, open-world recreation of the United States brimming with exciting challenges and 
populated by other real players.



Official Continued Ubisoft Information: 

Finally, the Uplay lounge is back and is being expanded to enable more Uplay members to experience E3 firsthand. More than a thousand members will be able to, for example, enjoy a hands-on experience of Ubisoft’s E3 line-up and other titles or talk to Ubisoft’s development teams about their favorite games. The Uplay lounge will be located at The Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. For those not able to be in Los Angeles, a version of the lounge experience will be available via uplaylounge.com, an immersive website that will feature exclusive content, live streaming on Twitch — including online chats with Ubisoft’s development teams — and more. Fans can register and begin submitting their questions to the teams here

“2014 is the most exciting year the gaming industry has seen in a while. At E3, we can’t wait to share our future of gaming,” said Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO, Ubisoft

“Ubisoft teams have fully embraced this new generation and will demonstrate how they are bringing breakthrough innovations to our beloved franchises and beyond in order to offer players the most original and memorable gaming experiences.”

*based on Metacritic as of 12/18/12

Ubisoft generated sales of €1,007 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

© 2014 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Valiant Hearts The Great War Logo, The Crew logo, Tom Clancy’s, The Division logo, the Soldier icon, Assassin’s Creed , Far Cry, Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries. Far Cry: Based on Crytek’s original Far Cry directed by Cevat Yerli. Powered by Crytek’s technology “CryEngine.”

Trials Frontier Now Available on Android Devices!

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RedLynx and Ubisoft Release Free-to-Play Trials Frontier on Droid!

Originally Published on the Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page

Written by Dustin Murphy




 If you are one of those that absolutely love Trials games like we do, we definitely want to let you know about this. As of today, owners of an Android device can download this best-selling and award-winning series now. For those of you who love to play on the go, this game will definitely peak your motorcycle needs and of course your need to take on your friends.

 In Trials Frontier, players are transported into a future much different than we’d imagine, and of course find themselves as the awkward stranger in the falling apart town, which is in desperate need of a savior. Can you save this town as needed?

 Trials Frontier, the series’ first appearance on mobile devices, has been very well received on iOS with more than 10 million downloads and an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. With today’s release on Android devices, the Trials Frontier community continues to flourish.



Official Ubisoft Information:

 Players will practice their skills, learning how to race, flip and cruise through tracks as they earn new gear for their bikes and complete missions for the townsfolk in order to prepare for a face-off with the town villain, Butch. As players progress through the game they will unlock new maps, tracks, bikes and fine-tune their racing skills.

 Trials Frontier will receive regular post-launch updates that include new bikes, missions and the introduction of infinite multiplayer brawls to keep players competing and racing on the newest bikes. Stay connected with friends through time challenges, leaderboard sharing capabilities and social network integration to prove who has the fastest time.

 Players can connect with Trials Fusion, available on both consoles and Windows PC, to gain access to bonus rider gear and see what some of the tracks looked like in their prime.

For the latest information on Trials Frontier, please visit:www.facebook.com/trialsfrontier.game andwww.trialsgame.com.

For the latest on all of Ubisoft’s games, visit the UbiBlog:http://www.ubiblog.com/

About Ubisoft:
 
 Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman and Far Cry. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2013-14 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,007 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

© 2014 Ubisoft Entertainment. All rights Reserved. Trials Frontier, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries.

Dynasty Warriors Orochi 3 Announced for PS4 and XBox One

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Warriors Orrochi 3 Announced for Next Gen Consoles

Tactical Action Franchise to Make Inaugural Debut on Current Generation Consoles, Handheld and Return to PlayStation 3 with New Characters, Gameplay Modes, Stages and Story
BURLINGAME, Calif. – MAY 22, 2014 – TECMO KOEI America today announced that WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate is in development for PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®4 computer entertainment systems, PS®Vita and Xbox One. WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate marks the tactical action series’ first launch on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One worldwide.

Fans will experience WARRIORS OROCHI 3 in a brand new light as they enter the fray with the implementation of new generation console features, new storylines and scenarios. There is enough new gameplay content and depth of replayability to satisfy warriors of all levels including special cross over characters such as Sophitia from the SOULCALIBUR series and battle stages from ATELIER, DYNASTY WARRIORS, NINJA GAIDEN Sigma 2 and SAMURAI WARRIORS. The next evolution of the OROCHI universe, WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate, awaits fans this fall 2014.
New Features in WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate:

–       One Warrior against a Thousand Battles— Densely populated battlefields with up to 100 enemies on screen, each with progressive AI add to the exhilarating battle, amplified by new moves including Aerial Special attacks, Triple Rush (a system which allows the player the ability to switch between individual characters or unleash attacks as a party of 3 and True Musou Burst, the powerful finishing move executable by up to 6 characters

–       New and Crossover characters— The legion of warriors is larger than ever with 145 playable characters including the introduction of Abe Seimei and Shennong, just 2 of 9 that are new to the series, cameos include Xu Shu from the DYNASTY WARRIORS franchise and Rachel from NINJA GAIDEN Sigma 2 with more to be announced including the Atelier and SAMURAI WARRIORS series

–       Captivating Lands and Stages— Lands and battlefields are dramatically rendered drawing from the dark, sinister imagery in the OROCHI series totaling 51 distinct stages with cross-over stages melding universes including Atelier,  DYNASTY WARRIORS, NINJA GAIDEN Sigma 2 and SAMURAI WARRIORS, furthermore, Musuo Battlefields allow for customization including character models and battle cries

–       The mythology of the OROCHI universe expands— A new main storyline brings the heroes together again after the death of the Demon Snake as they are called upon by a mysterious stone to return to the chaotic din of battle. Additionally, new side stories provide a multitude of new scenarios and uncover secrets, the story extends with the ability to battle from a different point of view or even “what if” hypothetical stages that exist in a parallel world

–       Gameplay modes— Adding to both Online and Offline competition, new modes include Duel Mode, a fusion of team battles (up to 3 vs 3) and card battles, Craft Weapons function to alchemy even more powerful weapons, Officer Requesting and Summoning, Formation Skills and Dragon Portals that can be used to escape the battlefields, weaken enemies or recover party members Life Gauge

–       Share experiences Online— PS4™ system players will be able to capture screenshots and live stream, share and see live comments which can impact either players’ games or co-op in Story mode, Free Mode and the new Gauntlet Mode

–       Cross-Play and Cross Save functionality— Co-op, data sharing and saving, and save data is now possible between PS3™ system, PS4™ system and PS Vita system versions, including save data importing of the original WARRIORS OROCHI 3 on PlayStation 3

WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate is developed by Omega Force and published in North America by TECMO KOEI America.  The PlayStation 3 and PS Vita versions will be available exclusively through the PlayStation® Store for $49.99 (PS3) and $39.99 (PS Vita) respectively and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will be available for $59.99. This title has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

For the latest WARRIORS OROCHI 3 Ultimate news follow us on www.facebook.com/koeigames or @TecmoKoeiUS or visit http://www.tecmokoeiamerica.com/.

Our Thoughts by Aaron Johnson: 
  
  With a long solid history in the hack ‘n slash strategy games, Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and even the Dynasty Warriors Gundam franchises have set bars that none-other could expect. For die hard fans that will remain unfaltering. Thanks to the launch of Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Complete Edition for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4, our expectations have never stopped soaring. We can only hope this game does the same with upgraded graphics, features, and even new mechanics.

Review: Fluidity: Spin Cycle – Spinning in the Review

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Fluidity: Spin Cycle – Spinning in the Review
Originally Published on the Blast Away the Game Review Facebook Page
Written by Jonny Walker Red
 
 


Pros:

  • Continued story from previous title. 
  • Makes you think with the physics based mechanics
  • Playing around with water jets


Cons:

  • Having to turn the 3DS completely upside down for some of the levels.
  • Fairly straight forward and not as open world as implied
  • Goop not being sinister enough


Since this is a continuation of a previous title, one of which I never had the pleasure to enjoy, its niche of fluid based and gravity driven mechanics were a little lost to me. Albeit the game is very well designed, I had no hiccups or bugs while playing. The game was a little simplified for my tastes. Maybe that is why I was so persistent in my attempts to collect everything and get a 100% clear. For those that enjoy puzzlers, color stage design, and a great story to wrap it all up in, this game is worthy of a look-see. 

Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.

 Do you remember a Wii Ware game from back in December of 2010 by the name of Fluidity? Well, if you’re one of the lucky people who actually played this great title, you might want to take a look at its successor, Fluidity: Spin Cycle. 

 Nintendo decided to go with the flow of the game market and take the small title and give it a good ‘ol spit shine and put it on the 3DS system. This title is a physics-based puzzler that’s jumped from twisting and turning the Wii Remote to move the fluid and turned that mechanic on its own head. Now to transgress the levels you must turn the handheld console changing the direction of the gravity in the level. Sounds pretty simple right? Oh how naive was I to think that. Being a self-advocated “pro puzzle solver” amongst my friends, even I was stumped a few times as how to collect everything in the levels. 

 


 Now that might not be something you’re interested in. To me it was more of a challenge than the core of the game. Being a fairly straight forward game I didn’t get much of a feel that it was as open a world as advertised. 

 That being said, the world and the story were very well put together. They kept with the motif of the game, the doings of a wizard. This title being the same as that of a story book that the wizard liked and wanted it to come to life. He used some rainbow spirits to almost literally bring the book to life. However, there were some evil spirits or Goop that the wizard also had on a shelf above the book, which were jealous of the rainbow spirits. They managed to tip the container they were in and invaded the book holding the rainbow spirits hostage. You play as Eddy, the cheerful water sprite, trying to rescue the rainbow sprites. That right there is something that as a child would have driven me wild with excitement. 

 


 So being a water sprite in a physic based puzzler, what can you do? What can any blob of water do? To travel around the levels and solve the levels conundrums you gain abilities as you progress increasing the depth of the puzzles. There’s switches you have to flip to flood cogs that you must wash down to the appropriate socket. In later levels you can even turn into a gaseous vapor! Not only that, but turning into a block of ice can help you plow through certain obstacles. 

 Now, as you solved each level being a fluid you’re bound to get some of your body trapped behind a door right? That’s where they have you collecting water droplets throughout the level to use as reserve, should you get spread a little too thin. They even give you the ability early on to accumulate yourself; don’t be too hasty in using that button though. Be cautious. Using that ability too much can cause you to boil away some of your own fluid. This was done to counter the player just holding down the button to not lose any droplets for a higher score. On top of that as part of the physics system you can tilt the 3DS system left and right to affect gravity. There are some spots in levels where you’ll even have to tilt the unit completely upside down. Well, not as much as 100% upside down. I was able to manage those parts just tilting it quite a bit. Now if I had a 3DS system with a recording cable attached it would be a bit more cumbersome to actually do that. Thankfully they didn’t force the mechanic on you a lot. Same could be said for most of the other gimmicks of the game. It is pretty well balanced and doesn’t feel like you’re doing the same things over, and over again.

Fluidity can be found on the Nintendo 3DS eShop for 10.99 USD