#for what could have easily been several dlc packs

[retquits]

1.6 is coming—see you march 19th!!! 🥹🌱

[samtheflamingomain]

free mode enabled

On October 18th, The Sims 4 will become a free game.

I'm not super into the "Sims tea" section of the Sims community. It's always the same take: the game is broken and EA won't fix it. Too much bad DLC. Welcome to the video game industry.

It's been a field day for the tea channels with the announcement of the game being free.

On one hand, I don't think anyone denies that this is a good thing. More players, more incentive to make good content, etc etc. BUT…

What about those of us who paid full price for our base game? Well don't you worry, peon, we're tossing you a breadcrumb: a $5 kit of the blandest shit you can imagine.

Basically, if you purchase(d) the base game before October, you get the Desert Lux Kit for free. I already got it. It's shite.

I'm beginning to wonder if any asset developers at Maxis have ever seen a couch. They seem to think a brick with arms is a suitable piece of furniture a Sim can nap on. Only a few years ago did they start putting pillows on couches. We've been so Stockholm Syndromed that this revolutionary idea had us heaping praise on Maxis.

The biggest hoopla I've seen is over an item that is a goddamn shelf. Wow, now you can make it look like curtains go all the way across the window with this piece of wood! Unlike, of course, the several dozen shelves that could easily serve the same purpose.

Can we talk plants, Mac? I got BOXES fulla plants! But not in this pack. "Duh, Sam, it's in the title, 'desert'." Shut up, this would've been perfect to give us more cacti and you know it.

I don't understand the YTers sucking EA's cock here. We paid likely $60-80 to buy the game. A $5 kit does not equal that.

Here's what they should've done: Base Game is free. You bought it? Pick a pack (not a fucking kit) you don't own and it's yours for free. This offer stands for a year and can be redeemed for any future packs, thus including those who have all the packs they want at the moment.

Free content is free content. It's not the ugliest set I've seen - I think Movie Hangout was an acid trip gone wrong - but it's so boring. It's very safe. They didn't put time into it because they knew it was going to be free. I feel like lots of people didn't put that together.

But honestly, my biggest gripe about the kit I got for free shut up I paid full price for base game I get to bitch about this slap in the face, is that IT IS MORE OUTDOORS SHIT WE DO NOT FUCKING NEED. WHY ARE THERE MORE BBQS THAN TUB-SHOWERS?

I know nobody's listening, but it's so frustrating because I can tell them exactly what to do to make money but they stick their fingers in their ears and scream "LALALALA" when players give input.

Unless we say "we want more chores!" and they give us Laundry Day.

Stay Greater, Flamingos.

[whosyourvladi]

Ideas and Predictions for Dark Heart of Skyrim:

You already know I’ve been screaming since the hinting of a Skyrim-themed year in 2020 for ESO. So, here are some of my wild theories of what it might include, as well as some stuff I think would just be cool.

Whiterun

Each Chapter has a large region of land and several cities. One major capital city with lots of NPC merchants, guild traders, stables, a bank, and crafting stations. Whiterun is centrally located and kind of a fan-favorite as far as cities go. (We all know that people take the same path thru the city to get to Dragonsreach).

Solitude

Another major city, and would make for a good capital. Pretty far north with not a whole ton of important locations nearby... so I could see Solitude maybe being the capital city in the DLC that is traditionally story-based and released in Q4.

Markarth

Yet another major city! But with the heavy Dwemer remnants built into the city, I feel the city is just BEGGING to be the location of some fighting. Perhaps a public dungeon? Although it’s pretty far away from Whiterun, so maybe not in the chapter map... but could be the location of a dungeon for one of the two dungeon DLC packs they release.

College of Winterhold

A chance to see the college in the days before its ruin and decline? Before Nords became suspicious of the people who study there? There is so much room for lore to be filled in surrounding the college and when it was more in-use. Like Summerset’s Artaeum, I could see the College being a place we might travel to for some side quests and maybe seek some advice from a wise mage there. Winterhold itself could serve as one of the smaller cities in the chapter. Not as large as the capital, and lacking the same amenities... but there’s usually a handful of merchants around still.

Blackreach

“Dark Heart of Skyrim.” What’s dark and unique to Skyrim? Blackreach. Buried within, it is mysterious and has tons of secrets... one of which could easily become the ‘problem’ that lasts for the entire Skyrim-themed year.

Dwemer

While it would be awesome to have a real, live Dwemer... I still feel that’s unlikely. (Yes I know Yagrum Bagarn is the last known live Dwemer in Morrowind, but idk if in the timeline Divayth Fyr has encountered him yet). The disappearance of Dwemer from Nirn in my opinion seems like too great of a mystery and an entire can of worms probably best that if opened, isn’t done in an MMORPG at least. Buuuut because I strongly think Blackreach will be a core theme... get ready to dive in some more Dwemer ruins to get there.

Falmer & Snow Elves

Again with Blackreach and dwarven ruins... expect for there to be Falmer. Maybe some Falmer have been sighted on the surface, causing panic and mass confusion to the majority of Skyrim residents who’ve never seen one? Some power has encouraged them to venture out from Blackreach and deep Dwemer ruins? There’s potential for a year-long story in that I think.

Snow elves! We know they declined into the Falmer. And in Skyrim, we learn some Snow Elves survived by living in seclusion. Like King Laloriaran Dynar of the Ayleids, maybe we’ll meet a snow elf. Snow elves would likely know the Falmer best, as they watched much of their civilization turn into them. If Falmer pose a threat to Skyrim, a snow elf ally might be crucial to the storyline.

Lyris Titanborn

We’ve seen the return of Abnur Tharn and Sai Sahan. Leaving Lyris unaccounted for seems... strange. Voice actress Jennifer Hale would be pricey to hire... but for those who follow her on social media, she has recently posted several pictures of herself in the recording studio. Hale is the voice of TONS of characters in a wide variety of video games, so it may not even be for ESO. But... the timing does seem to add up, doesn’t it? Get a few lines ready for the official announcement coming in January??? I hope so.

[slade-neko]

Took a quick break of Pokemon Sword and Shield to finally test out The Sims 4 University DLC.

I literally know next to nothing about this pack. Just what I saw in the two preview trailers. I got it thinking it’s gonna be so much fun, right?!  Well... we’ll see... I’m inserting a “keep reading” because its a looong post.

First off I wasn’t sure who to send to Uni. Ended up playing it as my main OC. 

Bought him a new University laptop and enrolled him into the Fox-trot University (or something like that.) Had to wait a full day or two before he got accepted. That’s a pretty long wait with MCCC cutting my game time to half-speed... Maybe you can do it instantly somehow, but I missed out on that if you can. Turns out you can, with TestingCheats True and shift-clicking to bypass the wait time. Good ol’ cheat codes savin’ the day, hahaha! Only wish I knew that sooner...

Anyways, he arrived at the University eventually. I easily got distracted looking around at all the sims walking around and one of his many classes crept up on him and he was late. Like really late, made it to class with only 3 minutes left for the session. That’s off to a wonderful 1st day.

Turns out it didn’t matter as they were actually just off-screen rabbit holes. Joyful fun, that is. I had signed him up for a buttload of computer-related classes thinking they’d be fun/ playable? Kinda regretting that now. What do the devs expect the player to in a single person household during a rabbit hole event? Are you supposed to just wait there in real life? Stare at the walk-bys? (Y’know I’ll admit the walk-bys were mildly entertaining...)

I even spotted Danny from NSP as the new “Health” teacher, I presume? Just look at those “painted on abs.” Go, Danny!

The classes are only a couple of hours too, so its not a terribly bad wait.

After that disappointing 1st class. I noticed my sim had a bunch of career tasks to do. 

a final exam 

term papers x2 

give presentation 

and homework x4

I misunderstood thinking he had to do it all at once, so I sent him to the study hall to spend the rest of the day doing “career tasks.” Luckily he had a cool study partner.

Finally sent my sim to his dorm to meet his roommates, but before he could do that, I noticed somehow he had got thrown into the E-Sports career and had to do some team gaming? I think I accidentally set him up with a gaming scholarship. I’m not really fond of “competitive gaming” though. Probably should’ve read through the scholarships a bit better.

Several more hours later, I ended up just sending him to sleep because it was incredibly late. Dawn of the 2nd day came and then he finally got to meet his “very epic” roommates! Probably the thing I was most excited for seeing in this expansion.

A Nature-loving hippie boy, a space bounty hunter girl, a space alien girl, and an edgy little jackal...? Oh, boy this will be interesting...

Then well that’s uhh, that’s honestly as far as I got in my playthrough...

The last few days I have been doing more extensive University play testing on my brother’s game and discovered a bunch of annoying things about University. Like how households are ripped apart and individual sims are thrown into single households for the schooling system. I completed an entire term and sims were not re-merged into their original households. Maybe I needed to wait more time after the term is over or something, but if it doesn’t actually re-merge my households that’s reallllly annoying. I don’t want to have to spend time moving sims around to get them back in their rightful households after a term at a University. 

Another annoying thing I’ve noticed is that it would seem my roommates in Uni were creating their own University outfits that were REPLACING my outfits I made for them. 

Why are these not Situational outfits? They straight up replace the Everydays I created. I can’t tell if that’s a bug or maybe an outdated mod. Seems to only affect my active sim’s roommates though, but jeez I can’t have my sims losing outfits. I spend way too much time making nice outfits on them to have my game go deleting them.

Other than those two big annoyances, the DLC is pretty fun to play. As it is now, I don’t really want to go to a University with all the headache of the cleanup duty I’d have after each term. Those two problems go a long way for me. On the positives, I really like the roommates system. It’s funny to enroll into a university and see which random sims get assigned to my dorm. As for the world, Britechester, I love it and the Universities’ designs! I personally prefer the old gothic Garreg Mach looking school way more than the modern design of the Fox-burrow university. 

[gaming2day]

Zombie Army 4: Dead War - Review

Did you notice that just a few weeks ago, Valve came out and said in uncertain terms that there'll be absolutely no Left 4 Dead 3 anytime soon? Well, the terrible news for several is astounding for Zombie Army 4: Dead War, which couldn't have hoped for better timing. He's here to follow those four-player cooperative steps - except that his zombies also are Nazis, and sometimes once you kill them you get a super-gross gross kill. It definitely scratches the itch, although the few new ideas it injects don't really reinvigorate the genre that Bill, Coach, Zoey, and Francis have built.

It may sound familiar on the entire, but Zombie Army 4 manages to separate itself from the already sizable horde of zombie cooperative shooters in some fun ways. For starters, the story is delightfully absurd, with occult forces bringing the Nazi army back from the dead, apparently from the literal bowels of Hell. His campaign of about eight hours ends with a ridiculous and surprising final battle that's worth seeing uncontaminated. there's also a simplified Horde mode if you only want to remain on one position and see what percentage waves you'll face as you are trying out different weapons. I prefer the variability and forward momentum to play the entire campaign, but the Horde offers many opportunities for intense shootings and last-second wins.

The WWII setting is disgusting and filled with blood, but during a creative way during which I could not wait to ascertain what I might have fought after. I enjoyed facing powerful enemies like zombie flamethrowers with explosive gas cylinders on their backs, Nazi zombie generals whose hearts must be removed to stop them from spawning more enemies and managers like tanks that reveal gigantic ribs when their armored sides are made the jump. And it's made all the more exciting by a superb soundtrack that seems straight out of the classic zombie movie George A. Romero from 1985, Day of the Dead - my only complaint about music is that I wish it had been mixed louder and channeled more often.

There is a layer of strategic dismemberment within the brainless massacre.

There's a little quite running and shooting because the way you shoot zombies encourages you to face the walking dead during a more nuanced way: getting a particular number of kills unlocks special abilities, like enhanced sniper shots or reload of superfast rifles, but you furthermore may have the likelihood to recover health by taking close kills. Killing a variety of zombies from afar to realize the proper to run and recover some health adds a layer of strategic dismemberment to the brainless massacre.

Additionally, there's clearly some Doom inspiration that helps keep the action moving, with some zombies offering ammo, grenades, or health packs if you tread on them after they're defeated. This led to some great moments during which I recovered from being cornered by coitus interruptus an enormous wave, healed myself with close fatalities then trampled on enemies on the bottom to recover ammo before rushing to subsequent target. Where it appeared to me that it had only been done a couple of moments before, I found myself at my best and prepared for everything that happened afterward without even an ammo cache pitstop.

The layouts of the eight levels of Zombie Army 4 (and the smaller final comparison) are neat and do an honest job of contextualizing why you would like to maneuver from point A to point B beyond basic survival. Sometimes you're exploring an abandoned zoo, other times you're getting fuel for a ship so it can make its way down a canal, or you're learning pieces of a bomb to mix at the top of the stage. the amount doesn't look radically different, but all of them have interesting layouts that are fun to explore and are disturbing and disturbing in their own way. The goals are simple enough where you and your friends will never be confused about what to try to next, but interesting and varied enough that it doesn't appear to be you're always doing an equivalent thing. There are never times when cooperative play is required - you'll easily play alone if that's how you roll - but the more players take part the action the upper the problem it automatically climbs and therefore the more important teamwork becomes.

You can easily play alone if that's how you shoot.

I like the crazy sprint to finish this sort of goal, but I used to be less hooked into the areas where you've got to carry your position for a particular period of your time. These defensive scenarios aren't all that common, but curiously enough Zombie Army 4 constantly offers you anti-personnel mines and electric cables that are not that useful when you're on the run rather than preparing for an assault. And even during the checkpoints once you have time to put the traps, most of them went after the primary wave and returned to plain shooting anyway.

The upgrade system is additionally rewarding, to some extent. The persistent progression of the character allows you to deepen across the board, so whether you're in Horde mode, playing the campaign alone or with friends, you'll add new skills like better defense or faster positioning of anti-personnel mines, among others. There aren't enough options to permit you and your friends to diversify and occupy classes with wildly different and synergistic abilities, but it's still worth increasing your skills from one level to a different.

Why should I exploit a machine gun when my rifle electrocutes zombies?

The gun upgrade system, however, is initially exciting but can hit a wall. the ditch Gun may be a personal favorite: by the top of the campaign, I had sped up my refill, boosted damage output, and added bonus damage to electricity. I added similar upgrades to my precision rifle, but after a short time I ended up with a load of weapon upgrades that I wasn't getting to use. Why should I take two steps back and begin employing a machine gun when my rifle electrocutes zombies? Since there are not any lessons, I even have not felt the rationale to travel back to the start line and alter things.

It's a nice touch, though, that once you die you switch into a zombie and watch, without control, as your character approaches the gang and becomes another obstacle for your friends to beat. Once they kill you, you'll regenerate (as long as they do not die first), so it works as a fun handicap to stop instant regeneration - and let's face it, it is also fun to kill your friends' zombie versions.

Microtransaction reaction

Zombie Army 4 at launch represents a good package with a considerable campaign, but a primary season of DLC is already planned and a Season Pass is out there for $ 34.99. alongside new characters and guns and new skins for all characters and guns, the primary DLC also will add three new campaign missions. There also are additional free levels for Horde mode, although at the instant it's not clear exactly when these new contents are going to be available. In terms of what is immediately available, there's a little selection of cosmetic items and alternative guns that are included within the Deluxe edition or which will be purchased individually for $ 4 or $ 5. So far, it doesn't appear to be the DLC content is going to be an enormous problem.

From a technical point of view, I didn't encounter any connection problems, but I had some general bugs. On quite one occasion I found a scenario during which the zombies were coming to infinity, albeit the goal had been completed, forcing us to start out over. I also had a few times when large black bars appeared, obscuring my view of ammo reserves and when my special skills would be available. it had been quite annoying.

The verdict

Zombie Army 4: Dead War feels largely familiar among the horde of Dead 4 Dead-style cooperative shooter, but it isn't without its clever mechanical touches and runs on the oldest computer game clichés: killing Nazi zombies. Between his varied election campaign and a fun horde mode, there are many opportunities for heartbreaking teamwork and gory, disgusting X-ray kills. The weapon's progression system doesn't provide many reasons to expand, therefore the attraction of his replay value isn't as strong because it might be.

[lostsummerdayz]

Lost Summer Archives - DJMAX Respect Review

by Nay Holland

Originally written: 01/26/18

Foreword: I was cleaning out my laptop and I came across an old review I wrote as a sample for an opportunity that sadly never took off. I wrote this review based off of the Asian version of the game as the NTSC version did not come out yet. A lot of content hadn’t come out yet, so expect a lot of things to be outdated here. Two years later and we now have both the NTSC PS4 and the Steam versions. Effing.... POP/STARS is in the Steam version! Time flies. Anyways, enjoy this for the first time seeing the light of day!

“Glory Days” are here again, indeed!

The year is 2009. I remember that hot Summer day, cashing in my final paycheck from my Summer job two weeks before senior year in high school, and immediately spending it on two things, a new PSP and DJMAX Fever. What fueled my purchase at the time, was that I wanted a game to play during my train rides to and from school and I’ve heard through word-of-mouth that this game would fulfill my button mashing needs. What kept me a fan for over eight years, was the music, the game play, and the overall love that the fans, developers, and composers have for the series.

Whether it was in the arcade with Technika, on a mobile device with Ray, or on the PC with Trilogy, the series proved a gateway to other rhythm games outside of DJMAX, yet I always found myself coming back to it. That was why the reveal of Respect was one of the main reasons for me to own a PS4, much like how I purchased that PSP with Fever eight summers ago. Since the release of Respect, it’s a purchase any fan of rhythm games, both new and old, will enjoy.

DJMAX, a franchise and a household name in the South Korean gaming industry since its humble beginnings as a PC game in 2004, had long since staked its claim as a driving force for rhythm games worldwide. For several years it had filled a void in the rhythm game scene with its Portable series.

The vibrant colors, intricate FMVs which played in the background, flashing effects, the various genres of music, and overall presentation featuring the eccentric announcer JC gave players an arcade experience at the palm of their hands, easily attracting newcomers to the game. The game play, being easy-to-learn yet sometimes unforgiving-to-master, serves as an addiction to keep playing. At some point, every single player of DJMAX have heard these taunting words echoed through their headphones any time you reach a Game Over.

YOU NEED MORE PRACTICE, NEVER GIVE IT UP!

Yet, far from discouraging, those words only fuel your resolve to keep playing, and playing, and playing, more and more, until you finally cleared that song that you have been stuck on for an hour. You come for the pleasing aesthetics and awesome music, but stay for the near masochistic game play until you conquer that roadblock and amp up the challenge, pushing yourself, and your blistering thumbs, to the limit.

Neowiz, formerly Pentavision, in this regard have giving fans both veterans to the frantic high-octane five-hundred notes per minute action, and beginners clearing charts at a reasonable crawl, enough content to last for years, if not potentially decades.

This was what Neowiz aimed for, with the release of DJMAX Respect in the Summer of 2017, a compilation of songs ranging from DJMAX Portable 1, Portable 2, and an entire soundtrack of new songs specifically made for Respect. The intent for Respect, however, is not meant to be just a “last hurrah” for the legendary franchise, but also as the title suggests, a Respect to the series and its fans.

Boasting the largest song list of any DJMAX game to date right out of the box with well over a hundred songs, Neowiz adds on to the already robust soundtrack with DLC ranging from their second PC game, Trilogy, to the “Metro Project” Portable games, including Clazziquai and Black Square, and their arcade flagship series, Technika.

At the time of this writing, the Trilogy and Clazziquai Edition DLC are available for purchase. Aside from their entire catalogue from their respect games, the DLC also added UI tweaks. This included entire overhaul to the user interface to reflect the games of the past. With every pack there is also a new song or two, exclusive to Respect, further empathizing Neowiz’s vision of respecting the legacy that they created, while also embracing the new.

The game play for DJMAX Respect follows the “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” formula as it does little to deviate away from its core game play. There are four modes, 4B[utton], 5B, 6B, and 8B. 4B utilizes the left and up buttons on the d-pad as well as triangle and circle buttons, 5B adds the option of using the right d-pad or the square button, 6B makes it a necessity to use both of those buttons, while 8B adds the shoulder buttons to the game play.

Certain quirks affected game play for the Portable series are fixed for Respect, with the addition of utilizing the two trigger buttons. For example, 8B in the PSP version utilized the L and R buttons, which are also the same buttons used to change the scroll speed in game. The only way to change the speed in 8B was to pause the game and do it from there. Since the trigger buttons are mapped to speed up and speed down, this means you can change your speed in all modes, including 8B, during game play.

Another quirk that was addressed was the utilization of the analog stick for certain charts that needed it. Now, instead of using the singular analog nub, you utilize both analog sticks for the PS4 controller, although this could be fine-tuned some more as there is no strategy in any of the analog notes. I’ve found myself simply holding the stick in any direction I pleased, rather than twirling the analog stick as it was a necessity in the Portable games.

Lastly, sticking to the “tried but true” formula, you must play through the game to unlock content, including songs, note skins, gear skins, and other elements. A personal problem I had with this, is that some of the unlocks you won’t see for a long time as you’d have to grind to unlock said songs through “achievements.”

There are milestones that you must complete within the game, ranging from how many songs of a specific difficulty you play, how many missions you cleared in Mission mode, and even how many times you missed a note. There are 24 different achievement categories in the game, each ranging from as little as five tiers for the more “challenging” tiers, to the average of ten tiers. After each tier cleared within a specific achievement, you unlock whatever is underneath that tier, then you move on to the next.

If there’s a specific song you are aiming for, you often find yourself grinding songs just enough time to unlock the song you want to play in Free Mode, otherwise the only chance you can get to play these songs are whenever they appear in Arcade Mode.

Thankfully the DLC packs all come with the songs readily available in both Arcade and Free mode so there isn’t any grinding, but, DJMAX has always been a series about grinding for content. You get the most out of your money this way as you won’t be able to unlock everything within the first couple of hours, but it is a game meant to be played in bursts, much like, again, how the original Portable games were.

At the current moment this game is only available to the Asian, Japanese, and the Korean market. All versions of the game are in English, making it highly import friendly. The great news is that there is a US release on the horizon as it was revealed during PSX 2017, so expect that release sometime during early 2018.

Regardless what region you pick this game up for, I highly recommend this game to anyone. It’s a grind fest, it’s brutal for the first time playing, and a PS4 controller isn’t a PSP so one would have to get use to the aerodynamics of the PS4 controller. With so much game play and content meant to last literally years, it’s a worthy investment and a proper sendoff to a franchise near and dear to me.

[eggoreviews]

Nintendo Direct Feb 2019 BREAKDOWN

So, that direct was pretty okay right? If you missed it or even if you didn’t, I’m gonna be taking a look at everything announced and giving it a vague excitement rating! Enjoy!

Super Mario Maker 2

This was a pretty great way to kick off this direct. With the promise of a host of new features coming in this entry to build upon the first, including the introduction of slopes (finally) and a new texture pack based on Mario 3D World, I reckon this is definitely one to mark in the calendar. Mario Maker 2 is slated for a, gratefully soon, June 2019 release.

Excitement Rating: YEEHAW

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

The long awaited third entry in the MUA series, to the surprise of many, is in fact a Switch exclusive. For those who don’t know, this is a hack-and-slash fighting game, of course tied heavily to Marvel comics. This entry seems to be riding in off the back of Infinity War, with Thanos and the Black Order showcased as central villains. Honestly, this game looks like it could be fun, especially with friends, though I don’t think it’ll turn out to be anything special.

ER: Sure, why not!

BOX BOY! + BOX GIRL!

This adorable little puzzle platformer is making its debut on Switch this spring, with the promise of local multiplayer and more levels than ever before. Looks to be a goodun for fans of cute, minimalist art design and box-based puzzles and the like.

ER: Cool! Those boxes can move!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Ver. 3.0

Nintendo sort of slapped us in the face with a lovely, welcome announcement of a new Smash update! Oh boy! New features! And then they turn around and say they aren’t gonna tell us what they are.

Oh.

Kind of makes me question the point of putting this in the direct a little, but I’m sure whatever they’ll add will be cool! On top of that, a tentative release window for Joker was given (before the end of April this year) and we got a cheeky look at some of the new spicy amiibos, being Snake, Simon and the Pokemon Trainer lot.

ER: Yay?

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker Updates

Here’s one that definitely caught me offguard, but I’m more than happy with it considering I just picked up the game. Part of the new Captain Toad content is free, adding in proper 2 player co-op where you can both play as Toad. The paid ‘special episode’ stuff struck me as a little odd, considering this game was already a Wii U port that’s now getting even more paid DLC. Regardless, it’s not too pricey and you can even pick up the first DLC course now, with the rest coming March 14.

ER: That’s cool! 

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

This not-quite-Castlevania game could easily be mistaken for a knock off of that franchise, but seems to have some defining elements of its own. The art style is bold enough to make it unique and the game seems to have an interesting variety of puzzles and side quests to make this more than just a run of the mill 2D platformer. An obvious choice for those with a Castlevania shaped hole in their hearts.

ER: You go bouncy vampire lady

Dragon Quest Builders 2

What is basically just Dragon Quest Minecraft with a story mode apparently, this oddly charming sandbox game was seemingly popular enough to warrant a sequel. And I won’t lie to you, it got me a little excited. As a fan of Dragon Quest its art style and general building-ness, I think I might have to pick this one up. And it’s got a cool retro map!

ER: I’m not excited, you are

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age: Definitive Edition

In case you hadn’t guessed, I literally adore Dragon Quest. The bright colours, the developed characters, the expansive world, awesome monster designs, great soundtrack and lame sense of humour, it all just gets me. It just sort of sucks I already own this on the PS4, where I can’t access all this new content. Oof. But yeah, pick this up if you can. You won’t regret it if you’re a JRPG fan.

ER: More like echoes of an exclusive age amirite

Disney Tsum Tsum Festival

Oh.

I won’t lie to you right now, nothing screams ‘soulless’ to me more than small Disney plushes with all the personality taken from them being stuck into totally random minigames. Don’t get me wrong, I love Disney (mostly through Kingdom Hearts but that’s besides the point) but I don’t think this elicited much excitement in anyone.

ER: I guess this exists, huh?

Starlink: Battle for Atlas - Spring Update

This was another one that surprised me. Considering how mind meltingly badly Starlink bombed, partly down to its odd reliance on the whole ‘toys to life’ craze that died out in 2013, I really didn’t think there’d be any further support for the game and they’d just sort of slip it under the rug. But nope, we’ve got some more Switch exclusive missions involving some more Star Fox characters, as well as the introduction of Wolf’s buddies. Honestly, I think Nintendo needs to do themselves a favour and just release a new Star Fox game.

ER: Great, if for some reason you bought this!

Rune Factory 4 Special & Rune Factory 5

Here’s a series I’d literally never heard of until last Wednesday, but the only way I can describe it from what I’ve seen is it looks to be a cross between Animal Crossing and kind of also Dragon Quest. You cook stuff, you farm stuff, you fight things and you can get married if you want, so definitely cool if you’re a fan of the series. But also cool if you’re someone who wished Animal Crossing was a bit more JRPG. Alongside the announcement of a remastered Rune Factory 4 later this year, as well as confirmation of Rune Factory 5 sometime in the future.

ER: Cool! Plants and stuff!

Oninaki

An action RPG with an intriguing premise and a rich, dark colour scheme, Oninaki seems very eager to set itself apart from other JRPGs on the market and still manages to stand out just a bit, even in a direct that’s basically been packed with JRPGs. Oninaki explores themes of reincarnation and grief, following the story of one grey-haired dude saving lost souls from a place called the Upside Down the Beyond to stop them from turning into monsters. Another one to add to the list if you like edgy RPGs!

ER: Edgy and cool

Yoshi’s Crafted World

Another update for this adorably cardboard entry into the long running Yoshi series, we’re finally getting close to actually being able to play it. Nintendo showcased some of the more interesting variants of gameplay, with the use of rafts, cars and planes definitely making this seem that there’s some substance here to go with the style. Alongside this, a demo released on the eshop so go play that if you haven’t already and decide if it’s for you!

ER: Wow, this game has a Labo costume! I’ll definitely grind for that!

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Finally some more info about Nintendo’s latest instalment in their anime Game of Thrones series Fire Emblem, we got a big ol infodump about some of the stuff to do with the game. While the video itself will explain everything better than I can, this time players will be able to interact with three kingdoms and three main protagonists, all of this centralising around one academy the game is set within. Overall, this game certainly looks interesting to play, but one I’m not quite sure I’ll be picking up just yet. Basically, if you’re unfamiliar with the games but love a tactical RPG, this one is a no brainer.

ER: Edelgard’s design is pretty cool. If one of them has to get into Smash, I hope it’s her.

Tetris 99

The game many have been calling Tetris Battle Royale, this is the very first Nintendo Switch Online exclusive offering and it’s totally free if you’re a member. It’s Tetris and you have to win against 98 other people, also playing Tetris. Nice!

ER: Tetris block for Smash

Dead by Daylight

As a game I got for free through Playstation Plus, it should be fairly obvious that this port isn’t one that excites me greatly, especially after seeing the quality of the graphics in the trailer the direct showed us. While the concept of an online match with several survivors and one killer sounds good on paper, it seems as if the quality of this port may leave a lot to be desired. But still, this could still only be early development footage and we really have no idea how it’ll look by the end.

ER: Tentative

Deltarune

Undertale is one of my favourite games of all time, so of course it excited me to find out I’d finally be able to play the sort of sequel, Deltarune, which Toby Fox has taken in the interesting direction of splitting the game into chapters. The first of these chapters will be free (yay I like free) and it certainly seems like the same abstract sense of humour and charm present in Undertale has been carried over to this sequel. Definitely one to watch.

ER: Always excited about cartoon doggo

Daemon X Machina

This mech-fighter has been floating around in various Nintendo directs for a fair while now and it’s encouraging to see the game come close to release. In a commendable move, the producer of the game has offered a free demo of the game allowing you to pilot your own custom mech and experience a boss battle in the demo known as ‘Prototype Missions’. The aim of this to gain feedback from potential players in order to make the game as good as it can be, which is amazing! It’s honestly a bit of a dream world where every game developer and publisher is as open and transparent as these guys, so kudos to them. As well as this, the game looks pretty heckin’ fun so it’s definitely worth picking up the demo off the eshop and giving these guys your feedback!

ER: Big ol’ robots hell yeah

GRID Autosport

As of yet, the Switch has lacked a realistic racing game. Enter Grid Autosport, which seems to be packed with a variety of cars, tracks and game modes, including all DLC from the original release of the game. Not one for me, but I’m sure there’s plenty of Switch owners out there whose racing fix isn’t quite satisfied by Mario Kart.

ER: V big if ur a car person

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

This game was notably created in collaboration with neurologists and those who experience psychosis in order to properly portray the main character and her mental health struggles. Following the quest of Senua as she fights to save the soul of her dead lover, this game created a huge wave through the industry when it first launched and won major awards for its artistic design and performance. While this isn’t one I’ve had the chance to try yet, it certainly looks as if it provides a brilliant, emotional experience from beginning to end.

ER: A lot

Mortal Kombat 11

This was one everyone basically already knew about, but this direct gave us a reminder of the release date and various features such as custom characters. For fans of this long running, brutal fighting game, get April 23 in ur brains.

ER: Cool

Unravel Two

This adorable puzzle platformer sees you and, optionally, a friend take control of two little creatures made of yarn as they navigate a colourful world and help each other pass various obstacles. For those fans of platformers like the Yoshi series, Unravel is definitely one to consider.

ER: Cool

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered

This is the iconic stealth fighting series Assassin’s Creed’s first outing on Switch, but if this footage is anything to go by, it’s not looking brilliant. While this once again could be put down to unfinished development, the first look at a game is often the most important, and a slow frame rate shown during the direct could mean this game isn’t what fans want it to be.

ER: Tentative

Final Fantasy Release Dates

For fans of the legendary and slightly intimidating JRPG series, several games in the series both new and old will be coming to the Switch in 2019:

Final Fantasy VII on March 26th

Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon EVERY BUDDY! on March 20th

Final Fantasy IX is out now!

ER: Cloud is my favourite twink

Astral Chain

Admittedly, at a first glance, this title in a brand new franchise didn’t particularly excite me. But after having another look, I can definitely see where all the hype is coming from. This looks to be a hack-and-slash sort of action RPG with all the edgy story elements and setpieces of that ever so popular steampunk genre that players seem to love these days. With all these mechs, explosions and edgy voiceovers, it makes me think that Xenoblade Chronicles and Deus Ex had some kind of torrid love affair. On top of this, with a dev team that has Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101 and NieR: Automata under their belt, this is a game that will almost certainly impress when it finally comes out on August 30. Platinum Games might just have another winner here.

ER: Big yes

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

oKAY, let’s be real, this is the one that really knocked it out of the park. At least for me it did. As the final reveal, this made me scream a little tiny bit. I think we’d all heard the rumours of a 2D Zelda coming to Switch, but I was highly skeptical to say the least. But a wonderfully charming and artistically bloody P E R F EC T remake of Link’s Awakening?? HHHHHH. They even kept all the Mario enemies for some reason! Oh boy, whenever they release this in 2019 apparently really can’t come soon enough.

ER: AAAAAAAAAAAAA

That was all for this direct! I hope you enjoyed my silly, unplanned breakdown of all the cool things that happened. Til the next direct!

Oh and if you’ve got a craving for more game news, be sure to check back on my blog March 1st for the second ‘issue’ (lol) of my monthly viddy game mag!

Stay hydrated my dudes.

[captainderyn]

A Friend In Ferelden

AO3 Link

Summary: Disbanded entirely...absorbed into the Orlesian army... try to continue as they are and face war from the powerful nations on either side of them like a vice. Nothing fit. There was no other option. This is the dilemma Tucdela Lavellan faces stepping into the Exalted Council until a third path opens in the form of a letter and the words:“Their Majesties Alistair and Baraneth Theirin wish to extend an offer to you, Your Worship.”

Notes: I continue to play around with Alistair and Baraneth’s rule and continue to break canon to my liking. Spoilers for Trespasser DLC.

“Arl Teagan,” the tension was thick enough that if Tucdela concentrated hard enough she may be able to scoop it out of the air. Biting her tongue as best she could to keep quiet against the glare that cut into her, she kept her voice pleasant. “How does Redcliffe fair?”

“We are managing. Despite the mage rebellion we continue to rebuild.” The Ferelden arl’s voice was tight, his hands fidgeting with the hat balancing upon his head before his hands settled on tightly lacing in front of him. Despite the warm air and sunlight bathing Halamshiral in a yellow glow the temperature dropped several degrees and chilled her to the core. The arl was anything but amicable towards her, or the Inquisition and had demanded to speak with her almost as soon as she had handed her horse off to one of the stablehands. “I am glad that you arrived, the Crown is anxious for news.”

“I am as well, I believe this Council has everyone on the edge of their seats.” Tucdela said delicately, shifting her weight from the side the side under the harsh glare of the arl. With the events at Redcliffe with the mages and the Venatori things had been..interesting with Alistair Theirin. His letters had conveyed no lingering ill will except in the occasional barbed comment and he hadn’t shown much concern in the politicking of the Inquisition until after the Winter Palace. That letter had been filled with barbed warnings as to the boundaries of the Inquisition and a dirtied, half torn note signed by the queen Baraneth had bolstered it. She had not heard of any interest in her leadership since.

If the Arl wanted to talk...well, then she might as well take the opportunity to try and gauge how Ferelden was going to side.  “What are your thoughts on Ferelden’s position in this?”

Teagan scoffed, his eyes breaking away from drilling into her to fix at the array of people mingling in the courtyards, finding those in Inquisition heraldry with a deepening scowl. “The Breach is long gone and yet Skyhold still remains with a fully functioning army. On Ferelden borders may I add.”

Realizing that perhaps she had stumbled into a hole she had no wish to continue digging in her attempts at what Josephine had suggested as “subtle inquiries”, Tucdela held her hands out to try and smooth ruffled feathers. “While I understand that the Inquisition has grown and I understand that may cause some fear I believe--”

But there was no calming the fire now, nor stopping the harsh sting of words that her inquiry had opened the floodgates to. Tucdela could only stick her tongue in her cheek and fold her hands demurely in front of her as the words pelted her. “Clearly then you must understand why Ferelden must demand a reduction in your military? This power without allegiance cannot be allowed to stand. Not when your power is used to invade our territories…”

“Crestwood was a bandit occupied fortress. The Inquisition only wished to offer aid to Crestwood’s main providence. And we succeeded.”

As though she had not spoken the arl plowed on, giving her no respite to correct his ranting misinformation and left her with hardly a moment to intercede. “Invading under the pretext of aid is exactly what the Grey Wardens did centuries ago, and now your forces do the same with the Wardens in your midst. It is hardly a clever ruse.”

Just as Tucdela opened her mouth to finally retort in full--perhaps a reminder of who exactly the Arl’s king and queen were--an acidic reply building in her throat, a form slid from the shadows, a smooth voice cutting in and beating her to her own point. “I’ll remind you, my lord, that both your king and queen are the Grey Wardens in which you slander.”

Taking in the newcomer, with her soft spoken words driving Teagan’s rant to a standstill, Tucdela’s brows knit. She was a fellow elven woman, but with no vallaslin across her skin or any heraldry printed across her armor. It was anyone’s best guess as to whether she was a city elf or someone else entirely. Though she was dressed in the furs and leathers of Ferelden she offered no clue as to who she was or who she swore allegiance to.

“They aren’t--” Teagan dropped his eyes to the ground, boots scruffing the cobblestones as he rescinded whatever he had thought to say before dragging them up to Tucdela again with a furhter deepening scowl. Any more and perhaps his face would collapse entirely into itself. “I won’t keep you longer, we’ll have words enough when the Exalted Council comes to pass.”

Simple as that, with only a cursory inclination of his head, Teagan turned on a dime and disappeared into a group of his fellow Fereldens, who swallowed him with only suspicious or pitying looks spared towards the Inquisitor.

The elven woman beside Tucdela watched him go with a exasperated look, before her eyes, already narrowed in thought, turned to Tucdela herself. She shrank from the attention, feeling as though those dark irises were tearing her apart without touching her. That is all anyone had been doing here after all, picking her apart for any weakness that could be used to dismantle the Inquisition. She fought the urge to shake her hair over her ears despite being stared at by a fellow elf, and to slip her Anchor-ridden hand behind her back. But no barbed remark came, no questioning of her title. “The arl may speak for the Bannorn, but he does not represent the Crown.”

Watching as the arl clustered with his fellow countrymen, the Inquisitor tilted her head. “I believe he is the representative for Ferelden’s interests, unless my Ambassador has proven malinformed.” her dry comment fell on deaf ears, the elf shaking her head and waving her confusion away with a flick of her hand.

“The representative the Bannorn elected to send. However, the Crown has different views. Both have more..open opinions than the Bannorn as a whole are willing to take on.” Then a realization hit her and her eyes widened, the hand previously waving away Tucdela’s confusion pressing into the side of her head as if scolding. “Apologies, Your Worship, I am Sybil Veran, liason to the Crown’s interest at the Exalted Council.”

“A pleasure.” Tucdela hedged, watching the elf inquisitively. “You may know me as Tucdela Lavellan. I’m afraid I have heard nothing on the Ferelden Crown having any opinion on the matter of the Inquisition. I was only informed of one ambassador.”

“With the queen returned from her quest and two little girls wrapping Denerim around their pinky fingers Ferelden is putting their guard down. The Crown sees the remaining threat the Bannorn does not.” Rummaging around in the pack at her side, Sybil pulled out a neatly folded letter and held out the vellum to her. “This was sent to you, though you did not arrive when it did.”

The wax seal--two lions wrapped around a shield, the Theirin family heraldry--broke easily under Tucdela’s nail and she scanned across the elegant lines of writing, mouth moving silently around the words. An offer, of all things, to gain the Crown’s support under the table to aid in the lingering troubles should the Inquisition require it. All she needed to do was pull major Inquisition fortress power from Ferelden territory.

At the bottom, signed in bold, swooping lines of ink, read:

Consider our offer Inquisitor.

-Baraneth Theirin

Baraneth Therin. The Baraneth Theirin, better known as Cousland that all the Ferelden’s and even some Orlesians spoke of with adoration and respect respectively and the very same woman that had briefly graced Skyhold’s courtyards. She had assumed that it had been only to speak to Leliana on whatever her quest with Warden Commander Ruinel had produced, or even to speak with Tucdela herself on what had transpired in the year since she had left. She hadn’t expected further correspondence. Any further letters from Ferelden she had expected to be penned by Alistair Theirin as they all had been before.  

“Their Majesties Alistair and Baraneth Theirin wish to extend an offer to you, Your Worship.” the liaison to the Crown, whose official words Tucdela held in her hand, explained as if the very claim wasn’t laid out in front of her in the elegant hand of the queen herself. “They see the use yet for the  Inquisition and do not wish to see it formally disbanded as Arl Teagan suggests. Especially since your Spymaster’s reports were received, though I know not what they said.”

Solas. Everything now was searching for Solas.

“Perhaps they would have appeared formally, but I believe His Majesty’s exact words were: I will not poke Halamshiral with a ten foot stick with Orlais, Ferelden, and the Inquisition all in the same room.” She gave a small laugh at her own joke. “And the queen stated that their presence would be overbearing.”  Falling somber again she said, “I know that the Orlesian ambassador also wishes to speak to you Inquisitor, but please, do consider this alternative. I will be around if you wish to find me.”

---

She made her choice. Made her bed and now she must lay in it. The Inquisition--no, all of Thedas now faces what might be the end of the line if they don’t succeed, if they don’t find Solas...Fen’harel she reminds herself bitterly, and and end his plan before it even starts.

Disbanded entirely...absorbed into the Orlesian army... try to continue as they are and face war from the powerful nations on either side of them like a vice. Nothing fit. There was no other option.

Marching into the Exalted Council, head held high despite the knotted, empty, left sleeve of her coat and the color that had yet to come back into her skin, she called to the entire room the end of the Inquisition.

Arl Teagan all but clapped in glee, blissfully unaware of the letter tucked in her pocket, and Duke Cyril de Montfort wilted, expression unreadable underneath his mask.

Outside the doors of the Council Chamber the Inquisition forces still stood tall, still stood unified. They knew of the letter in her pocket with it’s elegant writing and offer, they knew that things were far from finished. They had rallied around her the night prior, tucked away from prying eyes.

No, the Inquisition wouldn’t put down it’s sword until the final threat was dealt with--a loose and fraying end that had gone too long unacknowledged.

Half-hearted condolences on her loss of stature were offered as she left, earning a nod and undisguisable murmurs from who some would call the ex-Inquisitor. In the shadow of Halamshiral’s looming buildings she found an unassuming elven woman, dressed in the fur and leathers of Ferelden.

“I’ve made my choice.” Tucdela slipped a folded letter, sealed with wax bearing the eye of the Inquisition, into the elf’s hands. Looking up in question, the Crown’s liaison slyly smiled at the subtle incline of her head.

“Very good, mistress Lavellan. I will see that this reaches their hands.”

Within three weeks time a letter was slipped into Baraneth’s hand under the high rafters of Denerim’s palace. Breaking the seal she unfolded the vellum and scanned over the short, scribed message with the unsteady and messy signature at the bottom. Touching Alistair’s arm she passed it to him with a secretive grin that was missed by the assembly of Ferelden nobles.

Addressed to their Majesties Alistair and Baraneth Theirin,

The Inquisition accepts your offer. The threat we face is larger than any politics played at the Exalted Council.

-Inquisitor Tucdela Lavellan 9:44 Dragon. 

[acradaunt]

Wanted to gab about Monster Hunter World for a while. It's probably going to be really rambly and sound overly negative, but hey. I tend to be like that. Super negative. It's easier to pinpoint and hammer on a weakness than a strong point.

I guess let's start at the very, very beginning. While it doesn't bother me even slightly, the concept of Capcom pouring all this money and focus onto Monster Hunter, but then not even remotely trying any sort of lip-syncing for the very first cutscene was... jarring. I don't really get complaints about it being too hand-holdy, though. You're fighting Jagras by the third quest and maybe an hour and ten minutes, compared to like three for Jaggi/Jaggi/Maccao in the previous games. Yeah, that first hour is like 105% cutscenes and scripted as heck, but that's them trying to be 'cinematic'. It's not great, but it's better than kicking you back and forth between town and the plains level for ten missions of gather honey/bones/ore/Aptonoth. NPCs tend to feel kind of like completely worthless human beings, but that's just a global videogame issue. Of course nobody else could actually show up and fight something. I guess not showing up at all is better than the Huntsman/Field Leader/Ace Cadet getting bodied time and again.

While yeah, no loading zones are nice, and most of maps are absolutely stellar (though Forest has that confounding middle floors region and Coral Highlands has waaay too many huge pointless regions), I think weapon and quality of life changes are what matters the most. While I think I prefer Gen's (Guild style for both) SnS (World's feels a touch too spammy, and the backleap suuuucks now; Gen's SnS required some finesse) and Greatsword (in spite of the fact that MHWorld's GS is designed around my 'stay in there' playstyle and not running away like everyone else does), almost every other weapon feels at its best. I've found love for Dual Blades, Gunlance, Bowguns, the Bow itself, and even slightly the Katana in this one. Still hate Insect Glaive, but at least they fixed the bugs. I like the LBG and Dual Blades enough to break them into regular usage. Hammer is just so pure and powerful that it kinda makes the Greatsword's damage feel woefully inept. Lance is amazing with guard being worth a damn and being more mobile than ever. Switch Axe makes actual use of both switching and axing. All shields are good. Blocking Nergigante's dive with a SnS shield like it's no huge deal is glorious and refreshing, because that would NEVER have flown before.

Seeing the weapon tree is great, even if what's on the tree is a bit barren. Like, really, I'm not even gonna whine about the boring weapon designs; why are old designs like the Rathian Switch Axe and Dual Blades missing? Poor things don't even GET poison without Awakening. Lots of weapons have huge holes without Awakening. The clear winner is armour skills. It's just so simple and intuitive, it's honestly baffling they didn't do this ages ago. My only quibbles are that you might possibly get TOO many skills now. You're packing more goods than an endgame G-Rank character in 4U. Also, sometimes some Alpha pieces feel exceptionally dumb. Like, is anyone ever going to take the version with, like, freaking Entomologist on it over a free socket? I do think I'd have preferred seeing more Set Skills to scale things down slightly so you had to get a few subpar pieces to get a better, prominent skill, but hey. Set Skills only needing typically 3 makes them a lot more palatable to me.

I might be in the minority here, but I like the switching of decorations and charms. Getting that one good charm completely changed your armour sets, and the 5000 others you got until then were wholly worthless. With decorations, you can equip multiple at a time, sometimes nearly a dozen. You can actually get lots of use out of 'okay' ones. The weekly gold tickets for free gems is really fair. And kinda necessary for upgrading charms. A couple skills really stand out, which I guess isn't anything new. Health Boost went from wholly worthless to the single best skill, allowing for 200 HP, Fire Res stops fire's constant burn damage and near global usage (especially with Bazel and Rathalos' interruptions), and Stun Res is more useful than ever, with Stun taking thrice as long to recover from. I'm sure the 'metagame' is still herp derp handicraft and crit boost or whatever, but I prefer not dying. Ever. I can run all that stuff handily and still get a pricier skill like Elemental Crit or some serious Guard points and not look like complete clownshoes, so that's always a huge plus. Oh, however. Female armour design is at its all-time low. One of the plusses of switching primary genders every game is that I dodged that bullet. Course, in Gen, I knew going in that I wanted Tigrex for Hearing and Eating, so I could use the name Amber quite fittingly. Two armour styles helps sometimes, but. Just. Stop. Making. Everything. Be metal thighhighs and have random-ass patches of bare skin.

A lot of the new monsters are mostly just rehashes. Which is... reasonable, really. There's only so many moves and so many ways to do stuff. Legiana is a less threatening ice Rathalos. Anjanath is a more aggressive, less burly Deviljho. Even Paolumu is Kecha Wacha with a few low-grade Kush attacks. Bazelgeuse  certainly stands out among the crowd, because his moves are wholly unique, and he's actually a threatening party-crasher, unlike Deviljho. The fact he's mostly about area of effect makes him incredibly dangerous (and/or helpful) when you're preoccupied, but when the focus is on him, he crumples surprisingly easily. I think most people have a love/hate relationship with him and the 3-monsters in the field. It does spice things up, but it also sometimes turns into an absolute fustercluck.

What's less thrilling is the near universal amount presence of fire. It's one thing that ALL the old guys are fire (minus Diablos, Kushala, and Kirin), but the fact that several of the new monsters (Anjanath, Bazelgeuse, Xeno'jiiva) are fire too is just pouring gasoline on the, well, fire. Kirin, Paolumu, and Vaal Hazak are the only three weak to it, I think, while each weapon gets two-four trees for fire. The free DLC doesn't change matters, with both Lunastra and maybe Alatreon doing fire too. I don't actually remember if Alatreon can light you up. For the other elements, Thunder and Ice get two (plus Oroshi, later). Water has just Jyuratodus and nobody even does Dragonblight. This means if you want elemental weapons, you'll be killing a shitton of Jyuratodus, Tobi-Kodachi, and Legiana. It also makes Fire Res probably the second best general-purpose skill, but I've already been there.

One thing I really did like is how HR just opened up pretty completely. It was fun seeing if you could immediately tackle Rathain or whoever to get some solid HR armour right away. The only shortcoming was the sad, sad excuse at 'oh no, monsters are invading other envir-- Anjie and Pukei are the in desert. That's it. It would've been a nice change of pace to see different guys different places, not to mention it could better use certain otherwise barren rooms and cause 'party chambers' to sometimes be more or less dangerous. Because I've never once fought Dodogama without in the main crystal room without it being a four-way. Lavasioth won't go there, but the three others are mighty fond of the room, too. On this thought, why the hell doesn't Nergigante show in the desert? They had his AI working there for the beta, and you first find traces of him in the swamp. :|

Investigations, Expeditions, and Bounties are all nice enough ideas, but I really think it would've worked better if they reworked how they functioned. Expeditions are kinda... pointless? Other than stupid gather-y bullshit like the ultra-rare endemic life and tempered tracks only show up there. Bounties are an alright way to guide your hand to specific quests, but it's flow breaking early on, and once you don't need armour spheres, you can just forget all about it. Investigations giving bonus rewards with stricter demands is genuinely nice, although there's always the issue of running a quest dry before you have enough Jyuratodus Fins or whatever. I'd more prefer these be like sliders that you can play with to set it to be as hard and rewarding as you can handle, but hey. I'll take it any day over 4U's Guild Quests.

It's kinda a half-baked idea, but I could sort of see a revision of these ideas into one bigger thing. Like, you'd choose a set of three or so investigations at once (like bounties), and when you go to a viable locale, those goals slot themselves in. If it's 30 minutes for Rathian and 50 for Barroth, she'll leave at 30 minutes and Barroth will stay for 50. Or once room opens and Diablos shows, Diablos' timer starts. I'm not sure how death would work. Take ten minutes away? It's not perfect, but it would flow a lot better than having to reload the same map twice every ten minutes when something dies.

Tempereds are just the stupidest attempt at harder monsters yet. Frenzy wasn't great either, as they gave nothing better compared to their normal counterpart, but at least there was a mechanic beyond 'hits harder'. And I seriously think half the G-Rank monsters don't have non-frenzied quests, so it's not much of an option. Hyper was never explained at all, but its heads above the other two. Specific stronger attacks with weaker weak points. Further, with Hypers, you still needed to fight the appropriate monster to get their parts (with some more variety for semi-generic parts like Hyper Horns). With Tempereds, your goal isn't to get parts, but horrifically rare drops, so there's no reason to do anybody but the easiest guy of that tier. You gain nothing more from fighting Radobaan versus Jagras. While I can live with never getting those amazing decorations, streamstones and augmenting are just awful to be linked to luck. Yeah, it's post-postgame, but that junk alone makes me feel I'd rather see a new game that refines World's new ideas rather than it get a G-Rank expansion. Generations was content to have the end be the end, not involving any roulette crap. ...Double Cross might've done some wacky random-luck bullshit. I don't know, come to think of it.

I feel like I had other, nicer, things to say, but this is already waay too damn long and sounds bit too bitter, so I think I'll just stop. Oh yeah, and needing a subscription to play online sucks, so I haven't even attempted to enter or use an SOS out of curiosity. But from what I hear about it only having two scales, one for one player, and one for four, is really stupid. It reeaallly favours single player, which, hey, is working for me, but might've missed the point of the series. See? I can't even end this without sounding negative. :|

[emmajustin20]

Learn Everything about ‘Creeper Winter’ DLC of Minecraft Dungeons

Minecraft Dungeons is an addictive game that is packed with loot, enemies, locations, and many more things. Apart from watching the gameplay, playing the game itself is a deeply interesting thing that looks more attractive. In the future Hero Edition pack of Minecraft Dungeons will bring two separate DLC packs in which Creeper Winter will be included. It’s a new chilled frozen area that acquires several variants, new gears, injections, and also unique artifacts. Well, these things for a new location are the regular items that come along with a new area, but few more interesting things are releasing.

What’s Up with Creeper Winter DLC for Minecraft Dungeons?

The Hero Edition pack will come with two different packs in which Creeper Winter is one, and another one is Jungle Awakens. Both of these new edition packs will pack some new items and a new environment. Furthermore, players will have new content in the game to play in which unique gears, mobs, areas are included. Everything about this new pack should be clear to every player, so here is the update to learn more.

New Levels

Most of the player who knows about Jungle Awakens knows that it has three levels; however, Creeper Winter currently has two areas. From the guesses and sources of game, it is slightly confirmed about two following areas which are:

Lone Fortress: In the following area, you might find a boss mob who is known as “The False King” of Creeper Winter. On the sideways of the walkway, the decoration and gaping between the statues are part of the entrance, but for what exactly is not sure.  

Frozen Fjord: From the word ‘Fjord,’ the level seems to be more expensive and open. The area of this level could be wide where frozen mobs and some polar bears will be found.

New Gear

In the area, there is an all-new weapon available that is named Ice Want and another one is an armor, which is Snow Armor. Both of these gears fit in the area and probably the best fit for Creeper Winter. Even if these gears will be available on the level, this is still a mystery what Ice Want will do. It could be a melee weapon that can cast ice shields. Well, the guesses are numerous, but more importantly, the new edition is bringing something, which matters the most. In terms of working of armor, it looks like the armor will have some frozen abilities that might protect the operator at every cost.

New Challenges

You can have all the fun in Minecraft Dungeons, and if you play with friends, you can enjoy it even more. The variety of gameplay and areas makes the game more entertaining than other games. Currently, there is no possibility if players will have new events as of the area wise. The daily challenge and the weekly challenge will work the same way and encourage the players as well. If players finish the seasonal tasks, it can provide the rewards as well.

New Mobs

Same as the Jungle Awaken, Creeper Winter mobs are also not sure how many there are. Still, some of the mobs had been counted. There are some similarities to the Jungle Awaken, but still, two new types of mobs just got added. Some new pet and hostile mobs are part of Creeper Winter so far. This is the only detail for now about mobs in which these following mobs are included.

Frozen zombie

Icy creeper

Arctic fox

Wicked wraith

Polar bear

Two self-explanatory mobs are icy creepers and frozen zombies that players will easily recognize. More importantly, what icy creepers do once they explode is a thing to discover. The animation and quality have improved a lot that players can judge by seeing the mobs.

This new edition will indeed come out after fully planned, and right now, assumptions are the only reliable source. This new edition of Minecraft Dungeons will surely make some great moments for players, but for that, players have to wait until the release.

I’m Emma Justin . I’m a web developer living in USA. I am a fan of technology, entrepreneurship, and web development. I’m also interested in education and writing. You can visit my company website with a click on the button above.

Source: https://brownpilot.com/blog/learn-everything-about-creeper-winter-dlc-of-minecraft-dungeons/

[mistresstrevelyan]

You recently stated that W3's environments weren't much livelier than DAIs. How so?

Alright, time for the gaming industry hat again.

There are several CAUSES for one seeming livelier than the other when they’re actually not. A quick list:

1) The Witcher 3 didn’t just cut corners on NPC models and voices (It’s esp. egregious when they use YEN’s VA to voice a quest NPC in a DLC) but also on ambiente chatter. Bump into several people in a row, chances are the SAME line will be uttered by the SAME VA more than twice in a row. 

2) In The Witcher 3 Roach makes roaming around a lot easier and faster. But didn’t DAI have mounts too? Yes, I’ll get to that. 

3) After a while “Find obvious clue using your Witcher senses” becomes tedious. Esp. when it takes forever. 

4) DAI is a party based RPG highly dependant on the relationships between party members & the protagonist to keep you engaged. Hence HOURS UPON HOURS of banter having been recorded. Which ran into two issues:

a) The now long since fixed Banter Bug 

b) Using your mounts in DAI locks banter down due to hidden companions

These aren’t considerations TW3 had to keep in mind as Geralt usually travels alone and when he doesn’t, they did add in some BioWare style banter.

5) Call me whatever but IMHO the Hinterlands are far more engaging than most parts of Skellige with its pointless loot caches and the BLOODY SIRENS made me hate it all the more.

6) I’ll admit that DAI’s landscape style is more “gamey” than TW3′s (Well, until Blood & Wine came along) but I never really got the “DAI is a wannabe MMO!” criticism, esp. when TW3 committed many of the same “sins”. Without hours of banter to entertain while you slog through the “points of interest”. These are in NO WAY more fun than DAI’s easily skipped fetch quests.

And something else I wanna add that makes me wonder……and these are things DAI actually did far better than TW3:

1) Both had the “shady elven sage” character……and I’m sorry but Avallach (Esp. without book knowledge) is rather one dimensional compared to Solas.

2) The cliche villain (LOL, DAO’s main villain was a tainted dragon but okay) in The Wild Hunt (Eredin really could have been so much more) and how EASILY you defeat them after ONE huge setback. Again, Haven was IMHO done better than the battle of Kaer Morhen, esp. given how Vesemir went out. (Where’s that IGNI, c’mon, a dingy DAGGER?) Not that the battle of Kaer Morhen wasn’t done well (I like the variables and the LADIES getting to SHINE) But Corypheus? A smokescreen, a red herring, a tool used by the actual antagonist……who has been using you this entire time. Yeah, I like that much better than the Wild Hunt/White Frost…..and as much as I love the Witcheress ending….in what universe would the emperor not hear of this betrayal? Or not care/exact revenge? C’moooooon. 

I guess what I’m getting at is that TW3 and CDPR get away with the same things and worse BioWare is crucified for because on one hand CDPR makes cute celebration videos, gives out free horse armor DLC (While preparing a pack laden card game depending on microtransactions), caters to the dudebros on the basest of levels and then there are some rather troubling things like…..them being infamous for INSANE crunching periods and underpaying their employees on shameful levels: 

https://www.glassdoor.ie/Reviews/CD-Projekt-RED-Reviews-E644250.htm

https://www.glassdoor.ca/Overview/Working-at-CD-Projekt-RED-EI_IE644250.11,25.htm

https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/398j9s/i_found_this_cdpr_company_review_very_interesting/

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-3-studio-responds-to-crunch-accusations/1100-6422841/

https://www.glassdoor.ca/Reviews/Employee-Review-CD-Projekt-RED-RVW7865560.htm

This has been common knowledge since 2014. And no, this isn’t normal for an AAA studio. Also, frigging EA has a higher rating on Glassdoor than CDPR does. 

I know I’ve gone on a tangent here but permit me one further argument, the bias of both reviewers and players. CDPR literally flew big name Youtubers to Poland/Italy to buy their good will, literal bribery instead of letting their work impress on its own. What is the result? Flaws that would get other studios shredded remain unaddressed OR, at best, are downplayed with phrases like “It’s an unfortunate fact that games of such magnitude are bound to have a fair share of bugs……” (Oh btw, the crit path was bugged for over a year). 

CDPR is not the exception. CDPR aren’t the “good ones”. CDPR does what they do to make money. They’re not a Polish Indie studio with ten devs making magic. They’re a HUGE company under the CD Project umbrella (Who are no better than EA), the guys who own GOG. They are also heavily funded by the extremely conservative Polish government and they are GamerGate’s Pet Studio.

I have enjoyed all three Witcher Games. I have enjoyed all three Dragon Age games. Both fandoms have irritated the hell out of me, it’s true. But tbh? I hope the “CDPR is the only trustworthy dev studio today” illusion frigging chokes and dies. Because they’re not. IMHO they have regressed since TW2. My love for Yen, Ciri and Geralt as a family doesn’t change that. Esp. since that wasn’t due to CDPR, that was due to the novels.