thekillerbits

[thekillerbits]

Learning to take on the horde in - Killing Floor 2

With Killing Floor 2 hitting PS4 this weekend as part of it’s beta testing (and with the full game coming out of Early Access in just a couple of weeks time on Steam) the team have decided to arm themselves with shovels & shotguns and take on the Zed apocalypse.

With both Jon and Aaron being new recruits to frenetic zombie FPS, Fran shows the guys how to properly dispatch a Siren and spank those fat ass Bloats.

Watch how the team gets on here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pApeSbts-yU

[thekillerbits]

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends - Trials of Radimus

Watch Francesca take on the next stage of the solo campaign in Chronicle: RuneScape Legends as she continues the - Trials of Radimus

Watch how she tackles ogres and bandit kings here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZAuz3O57j0

[thekillerbits]

Super Dungeon Bros. - First Impressions

Are you ready to mosh your way through some procedurally generated dungeons with your pals? 

Well React Games and Wired Productions may have the game for you as they release their colorful co-op dungeon brawler - Super Dungeon Bros. (on PC, PS4 & XB1)

Somewhere between Brutal Legend and Smash TV this cartoony hack ‘n’ slash has you journeying through randomized dungeon either solo or with your fellow head-bangers in both couch & online co-op. Smashing your way through skeletons & demon bunnies as wannabe rockstars - Axl, Lars, Ozzie & Freddie.

Both visually and gameplay-wise you can tell this game was designed with a sense of fun and silliness in mind but it is a little marred by a few rough edges and a lack of polish. That said it is free during November if your are an Xbox One owner with Games with Gold.

Check out our full first impressions here -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc3Fw65HJKA

[thekillerbits]

How to Make a Hot & Spacey Chicken Burrito in - Overcooked

Fran & Aaron return to the kitchen and it’s all about those extreme temperatures in this episode of Overcooked. 

Whether it cooking rice in a lake of fire or chopping vegetables in cold vacuum of space our courageous chefs are determined to earn those Michelin Stars for their traveling restaurant.

[thekillerbits]

Orwell - Invading Your Privacy in the Name of Freedom & Security

Big Brother and the literary classic 1984 are alive & well (and getting a 21st Century revamp) in Osmotic Studio’s social media snooping puzzle game - Orwell.

You play as a new recruit to the Orwell security program tasked with tracking down a terrorist bomber by any means necessary. Be that intercepting private IM chats or reading personal medical records.

Privacy is irrelevant in this appropriately titled Orwellian look at how we conduct ourselves online and how an unscrupulous government may use those tools of free expression against us.

Watch our full first impressions of Orwell here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG8Z-cQ-y8s

[thekillerbits]

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends - Trials of Radimus

Francesca ventures out on Chronicle’s new single player campaign mode - Trials of Radimus.

Made up of a series of battles against rivals both familiar and new, Radimus marks the first solo campaign for Jagex’s card game. This one is available for free though later excursions are liable to be paid for expansions (similar to the adventures in Hearthstone). 

You battle 13 characters all with different abilities and custom decks, some of which are even sporting new cards that change the focus of the battle. Every battle has a three star rating, with various win conditions and challenges to attain all the stars and receive a new diamond card for completing the campaign.

[thekillerbits]

Shadow Warrior 2 - Review

With a sword in your hand and Stan Bush's “The Touch” blasting out through the car stereo you can't help but smile as you boot up Shadow Warrior 2. (The sequel to Flying Wild Hog's 2013 Shadow Warrior reboot.) Yes, this brutally visceral melee-focused shooter is back and it's just as silly as ever.

Packing more weapons and cheesy one liners than an 80's action movie, Lo Wang returns to the fray. Once again running errands for the Japanese mob before getting embroiled in a demonic plot that threatens to tear the world apart. But none of this phases Wang as he slices his way through wave after wave of hellspawn with the same cocksure attitude we remember from the first game.

The action all kicks off as you are sent to rescue mob princess, Kamiko, who has been working undercover for billionaire industrialist and all round general bad guy Orochi Zilla (the same Zilla that caused all the trouble in the first game) in one of his labs. But something inevitably goes wrong  and Kamiko's body is corrupted by a demonic serum. To save her soul from the same fate part-time mechanic (and full-time quest giver) Master Smith shoehorns Kamiko's spirit into Wang's body. This may sound a little familiar to anyone who played the first game but (rather than being a wise-cracking disembodied Ancient taking up real estate in Wang's head) Kamiko is a less than reluctant riding shotgun with our hero. And this uncomfortable relationship filters through into the writing and story of the game.

Now don't get me wrong, this is definitely not the sort of game you play for its story but at least in the first Shadow Warrior it had a little more direction to it. Each chapter drove you forward to your objective with the back story told in some nicely animated little cut scenes between levels. In Shadow Warrior 2 the format has changed significantly, leaving the linear game design and storytelling behind for a more open world approach. This means the narrative is broken up into lots of little side quests and sub-missions. Though this is a forgiveable compromise given that the player now has a lot more choice in how they approach the game the lack of focus in the overall narrative arc has meant the writing has suffered.

Wang himself maybe a one dimensional walking penis joke that you're never really meant to like or even empathise with but at least in Shadow Warrior 1 his odd couple relationship with spiritual passenger Hoji resulted in some fun banter inbetween battles. In Shadow Warrior 2 every character interaction you have, even with Kamiko, feels like you're talking to a rejected NPC from some half-baked MMO. Whose only goal in life is to send you out on fetch quests. All the jokes seem to fall flat and returning to the hub world to pick up new missions quickly turns into a tiresome chore. Even the fortune cookies that are dotted throughout the levels that used to be a fun little collectible (as they'd always have some bad pun written in them) have been replaced with a bunch of stock quotes from the likes of Oscar Wilde, Douglas Adams and Charles Bukowski. Clearly the writing staff from the first game have been lost somewhere in the Shadow Realm and they've taken with them all irreverent charm that accompanied the original.

What about game design then? Well as I mentioned the game has had a fairly significant structural overhaul leaving behind its linear, almost corridor shooter origins to embrace a more open world format. It feels less akin to the old school shooters like Doom and more like Borderlands, especially in the fact that every enemy you kill explodes into a shower of loot and you can play entire game in 4 player co-op. You bounce between the hub world at Dragon Mountain (where you buy supplies and pick up new missions) and the 3 large maps - a futuristic neon city; a more traditional looking village; and a mountainside forest filled with caves, swamps & shrines. These maps are all quite large with a good degree of verticality to them and thankfully, given the size of them, you do get a mini-map that guides you to your objective and points out pick ups along the way. (This was a feature that was sorely missing in the first Shadow Warrior.) You also find that some of the maps are interconnected in some way, though they do spend most of their time as closed off loops depending on whatever mission you are on.

Also the linear upgrade path for your weapons and skills is gone, replaced by gems you can slot into your dizzying arsenal of guns & blades and skill points you can spend on perk cards you can pick up from mini-bosses or from completing quests. These gems give you nearly infinite customization options for you weapons and can be found in the countless crates scattered throughout the world or more likely as drops from vanquished foes. And each one gives you various buffs such as faster reloads or explosive ammo or some kind of elemental damage. And as you go through the game you not only choose that better suit your play style but are also better suited for taking down enemies with various resistances and vulnerabilities.

This game is definitely a lot bigger in both scale and scope than it's predecessor. Though at times it feels like it may be a little too big with too much choice. You may well spend half your time just wandering around the map looking for the next objective. Or spend ages swapping out gems into that new weapon you found 5 minutes only to revert back to your tried and trusted sword the moment you get into the thick of battle. Infact if it weren't for the 4 main bosses in the game (that require some form of ranged combat) you could probably play the entire game just using melee weapons and your Chi powers.

So if we're not playing the game for it's story or the way it's designed how about the look and feel of it. Well Shadow Warrior 2 is definitely not a bad looking game. It may not be as slick as other high profile shooters this year, like Doom or Overwatch, and it definitely has a few bugs here and there (clipping issues, texture pop-in, and flickering images as the lighting engine struggles in certain areas). But the environments are engrossing, from the Bladerunner-esque city that houses Zilla Labs to the Yakuza filled streets of old Japan. They all have a distinct feel and you will find yourself happily wandering around them for hours hunting for secrets and a little pockets of enemies you may have missed. What makes it even more impressive is the level of destruction you can wreak upon the world around you. Not only can you blow your enemies up into huge meaty chunks that ragdoll hilariously into the air, lots of the environmental furniture can be smashed, shattered and exploded too.

Though this too causes issues as the Havoc engine buckles under the pressure of too many physics objects on screen. On more than one occasion I had the framerate tank (and even freeze altogether once) after detonating a large group of enemies into a shower of viscera and loot. It only happened occasionally but it is definitely something to bear in mind if you are playing on a lower end PC or even looking to buy the game on console next year. (That said it is a lot more stable than a lot of AAA titles I have played recently.)

Okay then, so what makes this game so appealing?

Simply put – the mechanics. This is a balls to the wall, fun as hell shooter that has had the already solid shooting mechanics from the first game beefed up somewhat. With a wide selection of armaments available to despatch your foes however you see fit. And right from the start you zip about the map and feel like some super human ninja. You can't describe the enjoyment there is to be had dashing into a group of enemies and turning them into a selection platter of what I like to call “fillet-o'-demon” with a few well placed shotgun blasts and a flurry of my katana blade.

So this somewhat average FPS with a mediocre story, a lot of aimless wandering and often times grindy loot-focused RPG elements certainly redeems itself with an inane sense fun and incredibly satisfying first person hack 'n' slash combat. This is not for everyone and if you are after an old school shooter you may well still want to pick up the new Doom but if you were a fan of the Borderlands games and are after some brainless fun you can maybe play with your friends this is certainly worth the money. The campaign will take you between 12-16 depending on how many of the side missions you do and there is definitely some replayability here if you are an obsessive achievement hunter or looking to challenge yourself on the harder difficulties.

And as such I'm giving Shadow Warrior 2 an often time flawed but still devilishly fun 6 out of 8 Bits.

[thekillerbits]

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends - Ariane Beginner Deck v2.0

After a couple of weeks break, Fran is back in the Chronicle saddle and bringing us a revamped version of her Ariane Beginner Deck. 

So will all the recent card changes make this a viable build for new players? You’ll just have to watch to find out.

Watch the full video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-K5NBg7vQo

[thekillerbits]

Hue

Yacky looks to add a little color to a dull, dull world as he tries out the vibrant puzzle platformer from Fiddlesticks in - Hue.

Watch the vid here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CtnOxXASTE

[thekillerbits]

Join us as we read the Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor over at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiD6AGHFFY4

[thekillerbits]

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor

Dear Diary - Today I took some illicit substances and made a new friend.

That's right, it can be tough working garbage disposal in an alien spaceport. Especially when your only companion is an accursed flying skull that constantly follows you around. Join us as we flick through the first few pages of the - Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor (from Sundae Month & TinyBuild)

Watch our full first impressions here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiD6AGHFFY4

[thekillerbits]

Explore the famous (or should that be infamous) Mos Eisley Spaceport from Star Wars Episode IV. Lovingly recreated by a group of developers from Obsidian Entertainment in the Unreal Engine 4.

Watch the full video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcv_affvaKY

[thekillerbits]

“Mommy, where do droids come from?”

Watch Star Wars: Docking Bay 94 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcv_affvaKY

[thekillerbits]

Gang Beasts Goes Online

Boneloaf and Coatsink start to roll out the much anticipated Online Multiplayer Beta for Gang Beasts.

From the press release:

Independent developers Boneloaf and Coatsink open the online multiplayer beta for Gang Beasts, the silly multiplayer party game with hostile gelatinous characters fighting in the hazardous streets and buildings of Beef City.

Opening the online multiplayer beta to Steam users will give players access to game modes for fighting with friends (and enemies) without needing to leave their home. The initial online multiplayer build is limited to three test stages with new stages, game modes and additional server capacity coming in subsequent releases. The support for online game modes will be merged into the default Gang Beasts Early Access builds when the online multiplayer beta testing has ended.

“We are frequently asked to implement support for online multiplayer game modes in Gang Beasts but couldn’t commit to publicly testing online support without securing the necessary infrastructure and technical resources,” said James Brown, Director at Boneloaf. “With Coatsink’s support and the support of platform holders, we are now in a position to extend our internal play testing to the Steam community.”

“It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Boneloaf on this project throughout, and now we’re really excited to help bring online multiplayer to Gang Beasts,” said Tom Beardsmore, CEO at Coatsink. “Not only is it a natural progression for the game, but we know the community has been clamoring for it - and it always feels good to be able to deliver something that players really want.”

Gang Beasts is currently available in Early Access on Steam. Steam users that want to participate in the online multiplayer beta can find more information athttp://j.mp/beefcity

[thekillerbits]

Quantum Break - Review

So its been a long wait for Remedy’s genre breaking third person shooter / TV show but does it stand the test of time or crumble like the walls of reality. Time to find out as we take a look at Quantum Break

Watch the review here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Hb_msC_UU

[thekillerbits]

Samorost 3 | PC Gameplay & First Impressions

Time to head out on a cute little adventure as we check out Amanita Design's gorgeous point & click game - Samorost 3

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Zombie Vikings #4 - Game Breaking Squid | 3 Player Co-Op Gameplay

This week Fran attempts to break the game (whilst once again stealing all the gold) in Zoink Games' - Zombie Vikings