PC

Review: The Deadly Tower of Monsters – Playing a Monster of a B-Movie

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

DTM_screen1_f

 

Pros:
+Characters are creatively introduced through uses of B-Movie story telling
+Gameplay transitions well as a twin-stick beat ’em up style game
+Use of 1970’s like animations brings the game truly to life
+Hysterical narration

Cons:
–Infrequent frame-rate drops
–Difficulty in finding mission objectives from time to time

 

Ever had that moment where you find yourself digging deep through the list of B-Movies on Netflix or Amazon Prime and just happen to come across those films that you’ve never heard of? You’ve probably even clicked play on one of those movies wondering just how horrendous it could be or even how surprisingly good it could be. Queue SyFy Channel for that tidbit. Well this one isn’t going to require you to wonder over towards Netflix, SyFy Channel or even Amazon Prime for that matter. Instead you’ll find yourself digging through Steam or the PlayStation Store on PlayStation 4 in order to play this rather silly game. Silly here actually is quite a good thing.

You may know some of the movies that inspired this game were B-Movies that existed for pure entertainment purposes. Many of those movies became cult classics. The game is a quintessential piece to gaming as it dismisses the idea of a serious narrative to fulfill it’s need as a game that’s actually a movie that you are playing. Were you able to follow that? Good. If you were ever able to watch B-Movies such as Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, V, or even shows such as the original Star Trek you know the shows were great, the movies that came from them were great, but they weren’t high budget. That’s actually the case with The Deadly Tower of Monsters that came out of the publisher ATLUS by game developer ACE Team who has managed to bring forth a very creative title.

DTM_screen4_f

The opening seconds of the game is quite entertaining as we are introduced to the game as a “DVD” that has been created in order to bring on some rather goofy “DVD” audio commentary. This opening second as the game is introduced is amazingly creative as this bit of detail seems to not just flow through the menus as the “movie director” you are playing as will be narrating the whole game. If you’ve played games like Nihilumbra, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Bastion – you know what you are getting into. As the game gets underway you learn the wacky tactics that the director used, his tips, his tricks, and even how he got the actors as well as the supporting cast to do what they did.

The silly audio “DVD” commentary right from the start helps cement that B-movie feel Deadly is going for. Permeating through the menus, the “director” of the “movie” you’re playing will continue to comment on your actions throughout, much like the narrator from Bastion. This narration however is a bit wackier, and will make fun of everything from gamey elements like finding useful items instantly in unexpected places, why items disappear after you pick them up (the hero “beams” them back to his ship), and how the actors got into a particular costume. He even boasts in one early scene that having his female lead rescue his male lead is progressive, and how he was “ahead of his time” for it. It’s amusing enough to keep one interested throughout. This includes things such as how the main character, Dick Starspeed, had his weapons teleported back to his crashed ship for storage. This includes the fact eventually even Scarlet Nova and Robot are utilizing the same weaponry, but not the same ship? It’s all interesting, but it is a unique twist of things, especially since each character has unique abilities that can be creatively used to create an advantage on the “set”. A nice aesthetic to be quite honest, and even a good one.

What makes this game unique in the top down world that is dominated by games such as Diablo, Sacred, and titles much like them, is the fact that The Deadly Tower of Monsters implores the use of a Deadly Tower. The towers settings, enemies, and tone change drastically as the “director” of the “movie” begin to take the character across this planet. Inhabited by Ape-esque money men, interesting “Energy Imps,” a Ghost Pirate ship, Dinosaurs, and so much more, the game takes the idea of using many, many, classic cult B-Movies  to establish itself. While climbing this tower the game is based around, players will find themselves going across multiple checkpoints while sometimes dropping off the top of the tower to uncover secrets stashed across the games world. From there players will find themselves using the games teleported to get back to where they were or using a “teleport” option to return from the ledge from whence they fell from.

DTOM (24)

But what makes this game great isn’t the fact it literally utilizes classic Sci-Fi movie ideas, but the fact it also has some of the best camera work I’ve seen in a game. Giving the idea that this game is a “movie” players can go into the games option menus and mess around with two of my favourite settings. One is changing the game from the upscaled “DVD” quality to the games horrendously (but great) “VHS” setting, which adds true VHS like camera appearance. Remember watching movies on the old tube and on VHS and getting that fuzzy appearance on the screen? There’s your “VHS” setting. Let alone does the game appeal to this by using it as the default viewing, the game also utilizes a few things that some movies back then would have hit. “Budgetary reasoning”, which “forced the director” to stop using colour for a matter of a few moments, but also the fact that the use of wires actually appears on some of the enemies. Let alone did ACE Team choose to have that in the game, they also managed to pull all the stops in this as many of the enemies in the game use stop motion while some of the scenery looks like plastic set pieces. While many would think that frame rates have gone to Hell when enemies use that appearance, it’s actually part of the game, and the creative minds over at ACE team didn’t just stop there as the game does continue on with these type things.

The thing that makes this game not just unique, but fun is quite simple, it’s the fact that let alone does the game have free-falling moments to get to places like the aforementioned Ghost Ship, it also allows players to find secret items that will require them to descend this tower. Ever wondered how much of a rush you’d get when falling down a gigantic tower and boosting at the last second to not die? This game will over just that while you try to collect rings, reach unreachable places before hand, but also the ability to revisit places just for the sake of revisiting them. Didn’t mean to fall? There was an “Air Teleport” option that allows you to return to the point where you fell from. Just note that if in a fight? Enemies will be waiting to knock you off once more whether you want them to or not.

The question at hand though is going to be simple aside from the fact that controls are easy to master, but so are the few little puzzles in the game. How long is play time? In order to beat the game on my first play through, the game got the praise it deserved, but it took me somewhere around three and a half hours to get to the end of the game with almost all secrets unlocked and all weapons upgraded. While the game doesn’t have an option for New Game+, which would be enjoyable, or a way to increase difficulties; The Deadly Tower of Monsters is a game that can easily be enjoyed a second time through. While it is fun to jump off that giant tower from just outside the planets upper hemisphere never gets old, the question of future content can be troubling especially at 14.99 USD or 33% off during the games launch week for those who are looking to buy it.

The Deadly Tower of Monsters –PC, PS4 (Reviewed)
Developer: ACE Team
Publisher: ATLUS
Cost: 14.99 USD
Release Date: Now Available

Despite all my praise though, you should know what you’re getting into. My first playthrough only took me roughly three hours to complete, and I managed to spend an extra hour looking for artifacts and completing additional objectives. There doesn’t seem to be any option for a New Game+ or the ability to alter the difficulty, which definitely stings a bit despite its strong initial run. I can definitely see replaying it every so often however, and jumping off of the top of the tower is something I did many, many times. While the diversity of skills, stats, and abilities from varying titles like Diablo would have been fun to have, the game finds itself as a action title that is enjoyable, fun, and addictive in its short campaign. If being quirky, unique, enjoyable and an unforgettable “B-Movie” experience is what this game was meant to be, it did it perfectly and is one that fans of B-Movies should not pass down despite how it looks. I know I enjoyed it and would have loved to seen a movie based off it.

Our review is based upon the final version that the publisher provided us with.  For information about our ethics policy please click here.

 Final Score: 8 out of 10

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

The Deadly Tower of Monsters Now Available

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

DTOM (24)

Ever wondered what it would be like to see a 1970’s late night science fiction B-movie as a video game? As a loving homage, hamage… Ha-mage? (Yes we know the spelling!) to the genre, Atlus and ACE Team have teamed up to bring this ludicrously fun game to a local dvd player.. I mean.. Uh… Game machine near you on PlayStation 4 and PC. With the game just having launched it will have a 33% discount on it for the first two weeks! Can’t go swinging your fancy VHS tapes at that now can you? Well you can as long as you go hide this game in the deep confines of Netflix’s streaming library, but that’s not what we are talking about!

If you are one for enjoying low budget cinema at its finest, dialogue written by someone who has never heard a single person talk in their life or even just wanted to listen to someone discuss how they “borrowed” their costumes from a local colleges theater department, here’s your game! It’s hysterical, its quirky, and even has a few little puns towards other sci-fi flicks in it. The game is just what it sounds like, a cheesy 1970’s sci-fi flick that didn’t do good, but became an enjoyable entity for people to watch, we mean play!

DTM_screen2_f

So who doesn’t want to go into outer space in this game as the dashing lead man and his not-so-human lady only to overthrow the malevolent lead villain that dares to wear the title emperor? Well here’s your chance starting today!

The Deadly Tower of Monsters is now available in the Americas and Europe! For a 2-week period, the game will be on sale for ~33% off on Steam and PlayStation Network! Steam users will also receive a bonus digital calendar featuring Stacy Sharp!

 

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Opinion: Why Tom Clancy’s The Division Might Just Be the Pre/Post-Pandemic Game We Need

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

TCTD_FS_studios_e3_140609_4pmPST_1402343207

If you’ve talked to me about writers, games, and genres, you know I’m a glutton for RPGs, for MMO’s, and very much-the-same for online cooperative titles. I’ve taken up games like Borderlands, Destiny, Final Fantasy XIV: ARR/Heaven’s Ward (I know, an MMO). I have also taken on countless Tom Clancy games over the years. But what about militaristic games that portray a future worth fighting for when a world has collapsed? What about a game that shows us that the world can still have hope even as a virus continues to spread and militia’s continue to form?

The Trailers do this Justice

Many of you that have seen the Tom Clancy’s The Division E3 2014 Reveal Trailer were probably grasped instantly the moment the trailer portrayed a mother singing to her dying mother. A husband, a father, a simple man angry with someone for the death of his family before he ends his own life. We see the effects of the world as society begins to collapse in New York City before it does collapse and reveals to us for the first time the agents from The Division as the primary character steps out, gun aimed, and ready to protect a man who is being pursued by a few thugs. Within moments his squad steps out and the emotional impact of the trailer truly begins to stick together.

Within the moments of that E3 trailer, I caught myself, just as I have today, watching the trailer on repeat. Picking it apart piece by piece hoping I could learn more than what I’d already known about the game from the press release sheets we’d gotten. Why? This game had sucked me in, turned me into a little kid with the curiosity of a toddler and the hunger of a full grown being that just wanted to know more than what had already been displayed. Within a year? We got to know more as gameplay finally had begun to show up across E3, Gamescom, and many other places, even YouTube.

After having watched even what little gameplay footage was released back in 2013, the curiosity remained as I kept revisiting the E3 2013 trailer, which can be found below. The trailer simply describes what is happening, how it could happen, and when it could happen. The curiosity behind it all remained:

Many of us know now that Dark Winter has happened, the world has gone quiet due to the outbreak and Directive 51 went into effect. Agents, sleeper cells, and the likes have all come out of hiding while people fighting for survival take to the streets. Society collapsed, gas stopped flowing, food became scarce, power outages happened, and so did the entire social structure as well as government structure that kept the United States running. Scared survivors took to streets as quarantine zones failed them. Now they rely on agents to enter the Dark Zone where the virus still lives and breathes in order to find equipment and resources in order to survive. But what exactly has this as the one game that could break the post-apocalyptic scenario game?

The World Ended Because of a Virus that Didn’t Evolve Zombies

Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m a die hard fan of zombie games. I can never get enough of them, but it’s getting to the point that it’s a trend that needs broke, and The Division is looking to do just that with the games story elements. Focusing on a post-pandemic and still rather alive virus; The Division breaks the narrative chain by focusing on the real-life consequences a “Dark Winter” like scenario would have when entire populations sudden go dark and the world becomes one seeming rather familiar (Escape from L.A. anyone?). With the world ending the way it did, we know that The Division aims to once more bring hope to New York City and the survivors within the city as they grow accustomed to their terrifying new setting.

As the virus spread Directive 51 (from what we know from the E3 2013 trailer) has activated. Over the span of three short weeks the world collapsed and over 8 million New York City residents passed away. Eventually the virus wrecked havoc across the world in locations like London. It’s known now that the virus has gone global, but the question is who, why, how, and what is their ultimate goal? We know the virus was Smallpox or rather a mutated strain of it thanks to the short that was released today, but before anyone knew? It was a Pandemic, and unfortunately one that could not be stopped. This is a major change from most recent end-of-world games unless you count Destiny’s end of humanity through “The Darkness”.

A RPG/TPS/MMO from the Tom Clancy Team(s)

TCTD_screen_DarkZone_e3_150615_4pm_PT_1434323960

Sometimes it’s hard to not see where this is going. A part of me has been rather skeptical on why Ubisoft would take this approach, but it’s easy to see thanks to the ongoing trend of online only games that focus on both single player and coop. Tom Clancy’s The Division and the recently released Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six seem to be rather good evidence where this was going.

With The Division focusing on third-person MMO elements, we can only suspect those playing the game will be able to customize not just weapons but armor, gadgets, weapons, attachments to weapons, even abilities that will make their characters all the more viable in combat situations. It almost seems like it would be safe to assume the same when playing alone while traversing the city. While this seems fancy we are also expecting this game to be hefty in content while also being rather hefty when it comes to the games install size. It’ll be a hope that this game is highly optimized and doesn’t eat up much hard drive for those who haven’t upgraded yet.

Will the Game Feature a Tactical Call Out System?

After talking with a reader who has a speech disability, it was interesting to see this idea arise. To be honest, I’d never personally thought of such a thing before until I talked to him, but the idea isn’t that far-fetched due to disabilities that do affect gamers.

Like many MMO’s we’ve seen systems that are put in place to allow disabled gamers in one form or another cooperate so that coordination through the squad isn’t thrown off. That doesn’t limit the game to the inability to provide players with full teams a way to make call outs, but also even a way to help each other understand what’s going on so that mission progressions go smoothly. We do hope this is something that happens soon if it isn’t there on launch.

Character Choices

TCTD_screen_Bronzon_e3_150615_4pm_PT_1434323958

Many of us are familiar with character options. It seems that The Division is going to have us choose from a few characters; primarily John, Mia, and a few of the others from the trailer, but the biggest question at hand – will we be creating our own characters? This is something that will be extremely important for many as the game will be approaching itself as an MMO on consoles and something we really hope stays true to the game.

The Short film Sets it Up Perfectly

If you haven’t seen the prequel video that leads up to the game, it’s a good thirty minute watch and a solid one that will leave the fans reeling for more. With the main characters being in display we are first introduced to the collapse of New York while it is happening. We are introduced to the agents such as John who is a sleeper agent that has to explain to his family what is going on, and as he does so he leaves for his mission. The short film is based around John, Mia, Daryl,  the enemy factions, and the complete break down of the city as the bad guys begin to take over.

This short film, exclusive to Amazon Prime members, is called Tom Clancy’s The Division: Agent Origins. The short film takes place over what seems like a couple hour span as it all begins to go down. In the short we learn that each member has a reason behind doing what they are doing and how they are going about it. We already know that gas masks, Division tech, and weapons will play a huge supporting role in this game thanks to the short, but also the gameplay trailers we’ve seen.

Survival Matters

We already know working alone will be an option for players who decide to go through New York on their own in search for glory or simply to complete a few missions. The game as we know will not focus just on a small portion of New York such as “The Dark Zone”, but the game will focus on a much broader aspect of the game where players will be clearing out streets from enemies, undertaking missions in order to provide a safer and close to normal New York that’s post-pandemic.

While it’s nice to hear that gear will play a huge role, it’ll ultimately seem like it’s up to players when to acknowledge that they will need their gear in order to survive. Be it that they need a gas mask, gadgets to distract enemies, or simply their map – gear will be playing a huge role in this game whether it’s knives, pistols, rifles, and or shotguns. We know that players will have to work together, but also keep their wits about them as they attempt to free New York.

Closing Thoughts

TD_screen_GC_cleanerfight_20140813_10amCET_1407886685

It’s hard to say that I want to put my faith in another MMO to hit consoles. I’ve already spent plenty of time with The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited with my friends, I’ve spent a lot of time in these past few days between a review title, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn/Heavensward. It’s hard to say that an MMO can or can’t get it right; that’s up to a players perspective on the matter. The biggest question will be in regards of how quickly content will be released. We know that content such as Rainbow Six Siege’s first expansion should be coming soon while The Division could potentially adapt the early-access season pass where players who own it will access content a week, month, or however-long before the rest of the players.

While Destiny has shown potential and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn/Heavensward has mastered this capability, we know that these games have both failed, and succeeded in multiple areas. We know The Division shows promise, we know where it’s going, the biggest thing to wait and see will be how the game is executed in the long run with its content. Afterall, it is an MMO at heart that will be on consoles and PC. We’ve seen this go numerous places with titles like Defiance that eventually killed over due to having released so close to Next Gen consoles, but also the fact its content was just not enough to keep it alive. We’ll just have to wait and see how Tom Clancy’s The Division does when it releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on March 8th, 2016.

Stay tuned for our review for Tom Clancy’s The Division: Agent Origins and our Hands-On Impressions of Tom Clancy’s The Division Beta.

 

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

 

 

Tom Clancy’s The Division gets Live-Action Film on Amazon Prime

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

 

29_copy_1452966161

If you’ve been following The Divison as tightly as many have, you already know the game is going to be massive, and many already know that Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid, Zone of the Enders) stated he was impressed by the game and that it made him feel he had to work harder on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain(via Ubiblog).

To help draw more interest in the game, Ubisoft has announced today that the live-action film was developed by them, produced by Corridor Digital in collaboration with top talen, RocketJump and devinsupertramp. The film will be called Tom Clancy’s The Division: Agent Origins. The show will show the backstory behind the four Division agents and will be viewable on January 19th, exclusively for Amazon Prime members starting today. The show is a thirty-minute short film, as well as five minute exclusive scenes via the Amazon Video app on TV’s, connected devices and even mobile devices. Don’t have any of the above? Just head on over to Amazon Prime Video to get into the show!

17_copy_1452966142

“We’re excited to be able to offer our content across multiple platforms,” said Corridor Digital’s Niko Pueringer. “It has been an adventure to bring the world of Tom Clancy’s The Division to life.”

“Agent Origins and this first of its kind collaboration with Amazon is exciting and we’re thrilled that Amazon Prime members will be able to take advantage of watching exclusive footage that won’t be available anywhere else,” said Adam Novickas, VP of marketing at Ubisoft. “Agent Origins will provide the opportunity to introduce the game lore to consumers and immerse Amazon members into the world of The Division before the game’s anticipated release.”

Tom Clancy’s The Division will launch on March 8, 2016 for Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. Stay tuned for our upcoming review of Tom Clancy’s The Division.

 

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

 

Thoughts about Far Cry Primal

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

Hunting_Elk_GOLD_1080p_1449171013

Revealed at E3 2015, Far Cry Primal will become the newest entry to the Far Cry franchise this year, next month to be exact. As we know Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry Primal is taking us away from the streets  of the modern world and into a true survival situation thousands of years ago. Unlike the more recent titles that gained major popularity among fans – Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4 – Far Cry Primal seems to take a bit of a turn in how we know the games will play. With the gaming giving up explosives, vehicles, and even guns; the title seeks to possibly reinvent the series. To be honest? This is a good thing.

How Reinventing the Franchise Could Keep it Alive

As many of us are accustomed to games hoping time lines, i.e. Assassin’s Creed, it’s not hard for us to imagine the fact Far Cry could go down the same route. This time? It did, completely, and from everything we’ve seen from trailers, artwork, commercial spots, and gameplay videos, Far Cry Primal is taking a few notes from where Far Cry 4 took us. Primarily in the fact we are thinking woolly mammoths just might be our primary mode of transportation across this olden world that has become extinct in our modern day. The question here is going to be weaponry, transportation, dialogue, and locations. All of these are viable questions and ones that have already begun to be theorized on in discussions when brought up with other fans. We know you will be taming beasts such as saber toothed tigers who will joining the fray as companions, but what else can we expect. Perhaps a woolly mammoth?

So what weapons can we imagine seeing? As we know in the time frame that the game is in, we know that spears, axes, and even bows were rather common, which is something we know we should be seeing making a major return. We even expect to see weapons as crude as stone knives, bone knives, or other related items making a possible showing into the game. We wouldn’t be surprised if we also see traps from Far Cry 1 making a return as these would be viable forms of survival in the time frame that Far Cry Primal will be taking place. The next question here is – how will we see the map? Will it perhaps be a leather hide that will be lifted up marking where we are at in a rather olden way? Perhaps we will find stone markets that identify where we are at on the games map? Whichever way they do it, we know we are thoroughly excited for the new weapons we could see as the game approaches its release soon.

Change of Scenery

Vista_GOLD_1080p_1449171034

We’ve all gotten used to seeing tropical islands, foreign lands, and even mountains third world countries where some madman has begun to take over. This seems to be changing when it comes to Far Cry Primal we know you will be taking the role of Takkar, the last surviving member of his group (tribe perhaps?), and he has set off to exist in a world that is cruel, punishing, deadly, and humanity is at the bottom of the food chain. When humanity isn’t trying to survive against things such as woolly mammoths and saber toothed tigers, they are fighting against each other, attempting to gain control of the land and growing their numbers to better their livelihood and their tribes chances of survival. This will be witnessed as players roam through forests, freezing mountains, but also beautiful planes where beasts run rampant.

This setting could possibly provide us with a look at the Ice Age, which is something we do hope happens, but wouldn’t be surprised to see if it is a post Ice Age setting.

Growing your Tribe

Much like the recently released and critically acclaimed Fallout 4, Far Cry Primal is seemingly taking some notes from the game, and ones that we are proud to see. The game is about growing your tribe. This might be completed through story missions, side missions, or simply just over time. At this point? We do not know, but we do hope this brings in a village editor so that we might be able to make a village, set up offenses and defenses in order to protect, or simply just because we want to edit the crap out of this time period we used to fantasize as kids. Regardless, we know Takkar will be playing a huge role as he tries to survive the harsh lands of Oros while becoming the deadliest hunter within the lands.

Multiplayer – Could this Benefit the Game or Harm it?

SBTiger_VS_Mammoth_GOLD_1080p_1449171019

Having played Far Cry and other open world adventure games over the years, Far Cry has become by far one of my favourite franchises easily putting it on par with Fallout and The Legend of Zelda. Ranking in as my third all-time favourite open-world adventure franchise, it’s hard to not fall for the creativity behind this franchise. One of the most famed parts about this series is not just the meticulously created story lines, but also the multiplayer portions of the games where fans have come together to bring this part to life.

From things such as fan created maps to co-op, Far Cry has successfully become enjoyable and intriguing in both departments. It’ll be very interesting to see if this latest installment allows fans to return to this time period, edit multiplayer maps, set traps, creatures, and weapons across the map in order for teams to obtain and use against their enemies. The biggest issue here? How do you balance the control of such creatures? Easy, take a look at Ark: Survival and have them in the back ground as volatile creatures that can be tamed.

Closing Statement

As you can see from the trailer above, Far Cry Primal is going to be gorgeous whether or not it has multiplayer or cooperative gameplay. The game, utilizing Cry Engine, will be a game that surely puts itself above and beyond the titles that it has seen before it. With this new engine, new era we are being placed in, and an all around new approach – Far Cry Primal could possibly alter the series in a way we hope it stays since Ubisoft has seemed to have mastered the ability to pick multiple timelines and have them work in a rather amazing and artistically challenging manner.

Far Cry Primal will be available on PlayStation 4 system and Xbox One on February 23, 2016, and available on PC on March 1, 2016.  Stay tuned for our pending review.

 

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

 

 

AIPD Coming to PC and Consoles Jan. 29th

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

aipd_SC01

Are you one that takes joy in top-down-twin-stick shooters? If you are there is one coming right up your alley in the very near future. Announced by AIPD – Artificial Intelligence Police Department – is on its way allowing players to take on visual styles that reflect Tron. In AIPD players will take on specialized weapons, equipment, and even take on the virtual trail of criminal AI’s in order to once more bring peace to this games world.  Weapons range from powerful howitzers to precise lasers, reactive armor, and boost-modifications so that players may increase their array of deadly skills. As players grow more dangerous with each round, they will take on a whole new array of options that wll come in their equipment loadouts, but also allow the player to individually customize their gaming experience to what they want.

This upcoming title is all about unlocking new weapons, equipment, one after the other, and ultimately attempting to take the highest score possible. The game will be running using Unreal Engine 4 while expecting to impress players with high speed graphics as well as an iconic 80”s style finish.

aipd_july_08

It’s all about unlocking new weapons and pieces of equipment, one after the other, and hunting down the high score – either on your own or in local co-op mode with up to four players at a time. Unlike the good old arcade classics, AIPD’s timeless look is generated by the Unreal Engine 4 and impresses with its high speed graphics. It’s an iconic 80’s style with a high-gloss finish.

 

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

 

Legends of Callasia by Boomzap Greenlit for Steam

/ Dustin Murphy / 2 Comments
Legends_of_Callasia_SC11
If you’re one for indie titles as we know many of you usually are, Boomzap is setting up to release their latest game Legends of Callasia, which will release on PC, MAC, iOS, and Android, with full multi-platform multiplayer as well as persistent account usage between the various platform. So far the OSX and Android versions have been set up over the holidays with the team as they’ve been playing it in QA to see how it will play out in the end.
Also due to user interest, Boomzap has also announced that due to user interest, they are working on a Linux version, which will release at a later date once it is complete. Currently the latest Beta build is in QA and will be released once ready for users to try out. For those of you interested, Boomzap has been making a few rounds on YouTube, and will be hosting a Reddit AMA with the creative director Chris Natsuume on January 12th at 7PM EST (6PM CST and 4PM PST).
Stay tuned for more info about Legends of Callasia in the near future.

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Opinion: VR is Near and it’s too Expensive

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

You’ve probably read in the latest news from websites like Game Informer, where Oculus Rift will be launching at a very steep 599 USD this year, which for some is a rather large price point to try and enjoy. Let alone is this piece as expensive as it sounds, it also means a lot of PC gamers with low to medium end PCs will be looking at heft upgrade costs in order to enjoy VR titles. Many gamers may already be meeting these specs for those that are true diehard PC gamers. Why? They like graphics and power to go with those graphics. Plus, who wants to upgrade every few months just for a few more “hours” of enjoyment?

When looking at the cost of VR gaming, I can’t say that I’ve not been excited for this since it’s coming to consoles also through both Microsoft’s HoloLens, Sony’s PlayStation VR, HTC’s Vive and the well-renowned Oculus Rift announcements. But the question comes down to why. Why would someone want to spend a few hundred dollars to thousands for VR attachments that may or may not stay alive for long? While I was fortunate enough to go hands-on with Oculus Rift at QuakeCon 2015 thanks to Tigerdirect and a few other kind folks there, the reality of it is? It’s fun, it’s new, and it allows us to feel as if we are truly in the game or even creating a game. The question now is, how much will HTC, Sony, and Microsoft push down their prices to compete with Oculus’ steep 599 USD? That’s to be debated since Sony’s leak on Amazon, which pointed at a nasty 800 dollars, double that of the PlayStation 4 itself. If that’s the case? It’ll be crippling to the company as Oculus Rift will have already been outselling them for quite a bit at 200 dollars less before taxes applied.

But this article isn’t about cost effectiveness or even the competition between four companies, rather the question – are we ready for this technology? Is this to be the future of gaming? Let’s take a look at that in all reality.

Early Days of VR

When glimpsing at VR gaming, we know it has been around for quite sometime. We saw this happen with Virtuality, which released in 1991 to arcades. The device, at the time, costs companies up to 73,000 USD in order to put in each multi-pod Virtuality system. This system featured pods, as stated, exoskeleton gloves and headsets that were the first “immersive” headsets to allow gamers to go on their virtual reality experience. Following this transition SEGA joined in as well as a few other companies to bring VR a bit more to life. Even Nintendo attempted this in a few forms; Virtual Boy and Power Glove. These feats were among the first attempts to bring VR to the home-consumer, but failed miserably in its days. Now? The technology is here thanks to these pioneers and now we are about to experience them in their fully developed appearance.

It’s still questionable if VR is even ready for the home experience. Back then? It was used as a money maker for arcades and companies wanting to bring in a few crowds at the mall. Now it is heading to the family household.

It’ll Break the Bank

It’s hard to say VR is going to be cheap when looking at the Oculus Rift PC specs to even use the headset. The headset alone requires an NVIDIA GTX 970 or greater video card, for AMD users 290 or greater video card. For processors you’ll need Intel i5-4590 equivalent or better, 8GB+ RAM,Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output, 2x USB 3.0 ports, and Windows 7 SP1 or greater. For some? This has already been accomplished and easily done, but for those who haven’t? This just made things a bit more complicated due to most users not having 2x USB 3.0 ports – especially laptop gamers with those extreme high-end laptops. Now this could be different for those who’ve purchased their laptop within the last year or so. For the rest of us? The requirements are a bit of a doozy. This can easily meet up to a staggering 1,500 USD depending on the price-tag and hardware you are wanting. If you are looking to get there? Newegg is always a great choice thanks to their daily deals as well as their tendency to mark down items.

With another price-tag having fallen there’s speculation from Tech Insider, there’s a possible leak that the PlayStation VR may run you a very steep 800 USD, double the cost of a PlayStation 4, and one that may just deter many possible users away. If that’s the case? Oculus Rift may just seem like the better option since a computer that meets the minimum Oculus Rift requirements could be quite accessible for those who already own desktops and are looking to upgrade to a few compatible components. While both Microsoft and HTC have yet to announce their costs for their VR devices, we can only expect that they won’t be far behind the Oculus in price in order to keep the competitive market balanced out. The downside to all this? It’s expensive and will easily set your wallets on fire to try and meet the requirements or even meet the expected qualifications for these devices.

Health Risks are Questionable

Lets just say for a moment we didn’t know jack about eyestrain and the damage it can cause if you don’t take break from your games. Not many of us knew about Digital Eye Strain, which can cause the inability to focus on long range items, sever dry eyes, blurred vision, double vision, neck and or back pain, and even those irritable headaches. While this does happen from staring at computer screens, phones, and even, guess what, TV screens. The health risk for VR? We don’t know.

Considering you’ll be staring at LED or LCD screens at extremely close proximity to your eyes, we can only imagine this would make the problem worse. Especially for gamers over the age of 40 due to the strain the eyes will have trying to focus on objects both far and close. We can only assume that the need for breaks will be quite the requirement for those of you wanting to go on long-end sessions. This is a very rocky road users walk and we can only hope that some studies are done with health risks outside of the potential motion sickness.

What Games Will Release for VR

When looking at VR it’s going to be hard to comprehend games outside of first person views to be acceptable for this platform. The issue there is not everyone likes to play FPS titles or even in FPS at all for that matter. This will make VR a hard-sale for those who prefer over-the-shoulder titles. However, for fans of titles like Elite Dangerous, Allison Road, EVE: Valkyrie, and a few other titles? You’ll be busy for hours. There’s plenty to do there, but for those who are extreme fans of Call of Duty, Star Wars, Battlefield, and a few of the other big titles? This really isn’t going to be a big seller as those players binge the games in order to become the best of the best, and with the unstudied health risks? We can only assume there will be trouble here trying to make the sale on VR games.

The best bet? To wait and see if there are any major VR titles worth considering outside of the few that will be hitting the digital stores and shelves in the very near future. Though it’ll be regrettable to see if the platforms don’t lift off as early as they are launching. Given a few more years? The time would be right as big name developers would be able to prepare their games a bit more and offer a much more diverse library for fans to enjoy. It’ll definitely be hard to sale games like Gears of War, Tomb Raider, Bloodborne, Uncharted, and Gravity Rush in a VR enviroment using third person.

Closing Thoughts

I can’t say that I’m not ready for VR. I really am, but with the health risks that are unknown, and even the questionable price tags? It’s a boat that I’m not ready to jump on and set sails with. While I think there is a chance for VR to hit the market and those that are enjoying it, and doing quite well doing so, there’s still a lot of if-and-or-but situations there. I can’t recommend for fans to place all their eggs in this basket till we see a bit more about it and how this will happen. With the current cost of gaming? I do see this being a hard market to sell to and if the Oculus Rift specs are anything we can expect out of HTC’s Thrive? This’ll be a market that makes or breaks these companies due to developmental and production costs.

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Post-Holiday Game Ideas for Kids with Giftcards

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

animal_crossing_happy_home_designer_artwork

With 2015 out of the way and we’ve already begun our adventures into 2016, the question comes on what you can do to start off the New Year, but not for yourself, but for those young gamers in your house that you may just happened to have gotten consoles for during the Holiday Season. With giftcards and cash in hand, it’s hard not to see the enthusiasm in a kid’s eyes when they see the walls of games at stores, and the endless possibilities to what their money could go towards. However, when it comes to glancing at what games are available for them to get their hands on, parents may come to recognize a forewarning regarding age restrictions. These restrictions include the following: EC for Early Childhood E for everyone, E10+ meaning everybody 10+, T for Teen, and the ever-so-popular and plastered everywhere – M for Mature. There are ones such as AO (Adult Only) and RP (Rating Pending), which are rare, but do happen depending on the title in question.

The crucial part of game shopping is always finding what is right for your kid or the kids in your life be them children of your own, cousins, nephews or nieces, or even grandchildren. For some this has been hard when it comes to finding games good for kids between the ages of 10, so here we are about to break down a good list of games we think just might be right for those kids who are getting into gaming, and love their newfound hobby. So what can you expect us to show you? Below is a list of games that have been compiled and found suitable for children wanting to go on a little bit of a joyride. Granted there are more titles than listed available, but these are our top 20 picks for kids to play.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival (Wii U)
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo 2DS or Nintendo 3DS)
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (Nintendo 3DS)
Cooking Mama (Nintendo 3DS)
Disney’s Frozen: Olaf’s Quest (Nintendo 3DS)
Disney Infinity 3.0 (Nintendo Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4)
Lego Dimensions (Nintendo Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4)
Lego Franchise ((Nintendo Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4)
Little Battlers Experience (Nintendo 3DS)
Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo Wii U)
Minecraft (PC, Android, Apple iPad/Phone, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4)
Nintendogs + Cats (Nintendo 3Ds)
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby (Nintendo 3DS)
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Titles (Nintendo 3DS)
Poptropica Forgotten Islands (Nintendo 3DS)
Skylanders Supercharger (Nintendo Wii U, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4)
Splatoon (Nintendo Wii U)
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes (Nintendo 3DS)
Yokai Watch (Nintendo 3DS)
Yoshi’s Wooly World (Nintendo Wii U)

With this list having focused mostly on consoles and the Nintendo 3DS, there are always great alternatives on PC, Android or iDevice depending on the app or title you are looking for. While there are also hundreds of other games available, the ones that were picked are the more recent ones that seemed more reputable based on gameplay as well as word of mouth. We hope you enjoy and please feel free to let us know what games those gamer’s in your life found themselves enjoying.

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Deadly Tower of Monsters Falls onto Consoles and PCs in January

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

DTOM (24)

Ever wondered what it would be like to have the option to go up or down a tower filled with insanely creative monsters that include a giant gorilla? The Deadly Tower of Monsters has you covered as you decide whether you want to whack your way up it, zap you way up or simply just burn everything to smithereens. This creative game will put players in the place to decide how they want to approach the towers of planet Gravoria as they decide whether they want to freefall or simply explore their way up it while taking every abomination possible out with the towers.

For players that decide to undertake this games form of exploration, fans will be able grab a jet pack and go flying up in order to take a leap off the side of a ledge in order to descend to their next level. Just remember to take care of those pesky enemies near your landing zones in order to do so. Otherwise Dick, Scarlet or Robot just may not be your friends anymore. Just remember, as the developers say, use your boosters wisely – gravity is a harsh mistress.

The Tower of Monsters is set to launch on January 19th on PlayStation 4 and PC in both North America and Europe. The game will run 14.99 USD on both platforms.

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.