Rage 2

Rage 2 is a new action first person shooter developed by ‘Avalanche studios‘ and ‘Id Software‘. It is coming out the 15th May on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. This game is suppose to be bigger, more action and more rage than before. Let’s take a look. 

There is quite a bit of information on Rage 2. Rage 2 is set in the year 2165. So basically 30 years later from the first Rage game. There has been some positive changes to the world as humanity has found a way to change parts of the wasteland into tundras, jungles and even wetlands; however the ways and mindset of the people haven’t changed. Gangs now want control of these areas for their resources. 

Rage 2

The authority is back in Rage 2. Just a reminder, they are the main enemy of the previous Rage game. They have a much higher level of technology than the other factions so they are more dominate than them and are a bigger threat. For example the Authority’s troops have personal energy shields and also recharging stations. The authority is fighting everyone and anyone who doesn’t agree with them or gets in their way. 

The players take control of Walker, who is one of the last rangers. The rangers used nanotrite technology to enhance their abilities and weapons. The Rangers were destroyed by the authority. Off course Walker wants revenge. Players will face factions like bandits, mutants and even monsters who have no problems killing.

You won’t fight like a normal person as there is a nice variety of weapons that can be upgraded. Use nanotrites to trigger and use powerful abilities. There’s also the Overdrive which basically forces your weapons past their mechanical limits. These will be useful as the enemies vary in size too. 

Rage 2

Vehicles are off course available in Rage 2. The official website claims that “If you see it, you can drive it.” So whatever wasteland looking vehicles you coke across is useable. We hope that’s true. Players can expect gyrocopters and off course monster trucks. 

We must remember that Rage 2 is also an open world game. There is going to be a lot of areas, territories, battles, different environments and things to do. There is racing too. Not Crash Team Racing but explosive and dangerous. There are some crazy brutal events like Mutant bash TV. Explore cities where activities and life is happening.

We checked out some Rage 2 gameplay and things don’t look as crazy and rage filled as we expected. It’s definitely wild and running over mutants with a monster truck can be fun (from personal experience). The gameplay is definitely action packed but what is quite concerning is that the Rage 2 world looks like the typical open world game. The question is what makes Rage 2 different from other open world games.

Overall Rage 2 does look like a good game. They have lots of room to get creative and we hope to see more creativity. Will the enemy factions fight each other and if yes, will we see it? There’s a lot to say. The graphics are looking very good and the sounds go well. The area design is okay. We hope the tundra and jungles truly stand out. Now Avalanche studios and Id software did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will just keep an ear out for Rage 2. It’s currently not our thing. Now Rage 2 may have faction wars but their wars are puny when compared to the size of… the ‘Earth Walk!’

For more information check out the link below:

The devision 2

The Division 2 is a new action shooter open world game developed by ‘Massive Entertainment‘ and published by ‘Ubisoft‘. The Division 2 is coming out the 15th of March 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The Division 2 is going to need something big in this game to have a stand amongst the other games coming out. Let’s take a look.

So what’s the story? Basically Washington D.C is in trouble (again). A whole lot of instability and that goes very well with lawlessness. This creates lots of chaos. So Washington D.C just might collapse. Even worse and adding to the chaos is that some say a coup will take place. A situation this big and serious requires every division agent on the scene. Time to save the capital.

In the Division 2, Players take the role of a Division member. The Division is a group of civil agents. They are an elite group and they are the last line of defence when everything else goes wrong or fails.

The Division 2 will be quite different from the previous release as this game’s Washington D.C is suppose to be the representation of the real city. The Division 2 aims to be as authentic as possible. So when moving around in the city, players can actually go see views of actual neighbourhoods, landmarks, natural landscapes and off course enemy hideouts. So be a tourist and go look around.

The devision 2

Also players need to watch out for Dark zones. Basically almost anything can happen here. What are dark zone? Go do the research yourself you lazy- what we meant to say is, Dark zones are areas that haven’t been touched for months. It’s a dangerous walled of section. If you go inside, expect enemies in the form of enemy players and even the environment itself. So are you sure you want to go in? Think about it.

Also within Washington are warring factions. There are three. The Hyenas, True sons and Outcasts. The Hyenas are basically scavenger scum. They steal whatever they can and destroy everything else. They target struggling civilian encampments and use violence and intimidation to have their way. Opportunists but of the worse kind. They have a council for leadership made up of the strongest leaders. One thing to note is that they aren’t that organised.  

The True sons are a very militant group. They are a bunch paramilitary warlords, experienced fighters who rely heavily on their high amounts of firepower. They continue to expand and dominate. their leader is a former JTF officer who thanks to his combat expertise and ruthlessness have made the true sons a force to be feared and taken seriously. They are very organised and smart. Take note that since they are ruthless, they might be easier to bait.

The devision 2

The Outcasts are the bitter survivors of a forced quarantine. They hate you, your mother and everyone else. They are all about revenge against society who didn’t help them and those who imprisoned them in the first place. Their leader is all about blood shedding, very charismatic and pushes her followers to bring justice to the guilty ones. They also like to kill indiscriminately and spread sickness, so probably biochemical weapons.  

So yeah, players will have to face these three factions. So you need to be prepared. Division 2 claims to offer fully customisable gear. There will be a variety of armour, cosmetics that can be found, exotic items that are only for high level players, just like in Destiny 2, more gear sets and lots of weapons. Further expansion of abilities and equipment basically at endgame. 

You can customise the abilities and equipment that you bring on your missions. Think carefully about what you use and what you depend on in situations. You can use the Hive which can be used to release small drones that will attack enemies within an area. There’s also the assault drone which can be controlled remotely to target and bring destruction on enemies. Seeker mines are basically mobile mines that chases enemies down within a range. The chem launcher can fire different types of rounds from acid and explosive to repairing nano bots. 

We did mention above that you can face enemy players in dark zones. There are also modes for PvP action like Skirmish which is basically death battle and Domination which is more objective based and capturing areas.  

We checked out some gameplay and so far things look much better than the previous release. The animations are very good. The graphics look very good. The sounds seem good too. It does seem slower in pace than Call of Duty. A nice variety of weapons. The rewards you earn in multiplayer can be used in the main campaign. The health seems fair for now but when you play it, it may be a different story.

Overall The Division 2 so far seems like a very good game right now. The story is like that from a movie. Since it’s open world we can expect lots of quests which we hope aren’t mandatory. Open worlds aren’t easy to get right but we won’t say more. The developers ‘Massive Entertainment’ have so far done a good job. We at X35 Earthwalker aren’t looking forward to the Division 2 as it hasn’t got anything that attracts us. We will keep an eye on it though. Now the Division 2 may have stepped up their game but they are still nowhere near the level of… the ‘Earth Walk!’  

For more information check out the link below:

Phoenix Point

Phoenix Point is a new turn based strategy game being developed by ‘Snapshot Games‘. It is coming out in June 2019 on the Xbox One and PC. Phoenix Point is being developed by not just any group but by the original creator of XCOM. So we just have to check this out. Let’s take this out.

The story in Phoenix Point is sort of complex but we like how they are doing it. Listen carefully. An unusual virus was discovered. Discovered in melting permafrost. It’s described to have a very large genome. The weird part is that only 1% of it’s genes match anything in existing databases. Basically 99% of this virus is completely knew stuff to humanity. Once again humans never learn. If you find something that’s clearly alien, then have nothing to do with it. Destroy it!

Later within the 10 years, after research and all that good experimenting that scientists love to do, the seas transform into something living… something not natural… something “totally alien”. Now aliens called mutagens started invading the land through the means of an airborne microbial mist. These aliens definitely aren’t friendly (when are they ever friendly). They are hostile and must be handled. Now if the Earthwalkers were there, we would handle the situation easily within some hours. 

Phoenix Point

Since the original creator of XCOM is behind Phoenix Point, we know that the tactical side is going to be real deep. Matter of fact we are expecting more than what’s in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. We even want it to be complicated and have many layers that clearly separates those who have deep skill and those who are beginners. For starters players will be controlling different soldiers, taking turns, hiding in cover, taking shots, blowing away cover and all that good stuff but there’s more.

In Phoenix Point, players will be using the Geoscape. The Geoscape is what we use for a strategic view of the world and the different situations going on. It’s also from this that you make your plans and decisions. So research, operations, missions and construction is done from here. As you play make sure to search and make contact with scavenging sites for resources and new things, phoenix project sites for the real good stuff and havens where surely more humans are located and possibly some soldiers. 

Phoenix Point

Let’s focus on more things that stand out. Your soldiers will have endurance and willpower. Will power points are used for heavy physical or mental exertion, meaning that pushing your soldiers too hard will have consequences. You can also use will power points to activate special abilities. This means there are now more stats and resources for players to manage in Phoenix Point. Also there will be times where your soldiers will not go out alone. They may be joined by drones, both aerial and land based. These will make a difference on the field. 

The soldiers in Phoenix Point have deeper mechanics going on. Your soldiers do gain experience during missions and combat. They also gain experience through certain facilities like in XCOM. They gain skill knowledge through interactions with the other human factions like alliances, trading and even conflict. There are skill trees that affect and cover a large amount of stuff in this game. So think careful about your soldier development.

There’s now more equipment and weapons than before. They are based on different technology so don’t expect the same old research. Some of the stuff you develop will be based of old stuff while others will be brand new stuff while some will be alien in nature. In this war, nothing seems to be off limits. As expected you can develop and combine technology through your own research. Who doesn’t want a shoulder mounted missile launcher. Also each human faction has their own technology as well which you can get from them through trading (the nice way) or conflict (the mean way).

mutation2.gif

Now let’s talk about the enemies in Phoenix Point. The Pandoravirus has the ability to mutate living forms. This means sea creatures will get some alien upgrades and come for us. The Pandoravirus can incorporate DNA from multiple species and clone them at a fast rate too. This means expect more enemies than naturally would be in the sea if they are left alone. The aliens will mutate into new forms depending on the tactics you are using. So some enemies won’t be simple melee anymore since you keep your distance, meaning you will then face ones with ranged attacks, increased defence etc. So combat will be different and  dangerous each time. Phoenix point also has a procedural generation system for the aliens meaning, players must expect a whole lot of different surprises and situations up ahead on the battle field. 

There’s more. Players can expect to face bosses in Phoenix Point. These huge bosses are completely new. They have multiple abilities. Expect multiple defensive abilities and offensive ones. Some can generate mist and some can even spawn larvae, which off course means more enemies. This is also where the body part targeting system really comes into play. Players can target a specific limb to disable a certain weapon or reduce their combat effectiveness or for whatever reason. Strategic is just as needed when it comes to the bosses too.

We checked out some early gameplay and it’s looking good so far. From the Geoscape you can monitor the thick microbial mist’s approach from the sea indicating where the alien activity threats will come to. The Alien crabman, mindfragger and mist sentinel are definitely new and interesting enemies. Watch out for those grenades. Almost everything is destructible. So blow up the buildings, structures and more to bring your enemies down. This applies to your soldiers too so be careful where you hide. There’s obviously a lot more to come and that’s good to know.

Overall Phoenix Point is looking real good right now. From the early gameplay alone, the graphics look very good for what it is. The sounds need some work but again it’s the early build. The monsters we hope get more detail and have more clear variety between them. The developers ‘Snapshot Games’ have done a very good job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing Phoenix Point come out. We have very high but reasonable expectations as fans of the XCOM and XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Now Phoenix Point may have lots of strategy but it’s completely simple and basic when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

 

For more information check out the link below:

shovel knight: king of cards

Shovel Knight: King of Cards is a new action adventure platformer game developed by ‘Yacht Club Games‘. It is coming out the 9th of April 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS Vita, 3DS and PC. This is the final campaign in the Shovel Knight: treasure trove saga. Let’s take a look.

Some gamers should know what Shovel Knight is about by now. You run around, collect treasure and attack with shovels but there is some changes here. In Shovel Knight: King of Cards Players control King knight. Now king knight has a different fighting style so he isn’t a clone or skin character. Basically king knight is on a journey to take on and best the current three kings who rule over the land. This isn’t a simple walk up the road as king knight will need to make his way through 4 new worlds. There are more than 30 courses too. Players better be prepared.

shovel knight: king of cards

King knight has a signature bash attack for destroying his enemies and a spinning strike. King knight is definitely a physical fighter. Shovel Knight: King of Cards has lots of in-game stuff. There are lots of abilities, weapons, followers and armours for players to find, collect and use to your advantage and become a powerful ruler. What else is new? Shovel Knight: King of Cards has card battles (big surprise) which are not physical battles but more mental ones. Players have to be strategic and clever to defeat their opponents and come our victorious. There are challenge stages, only for those who want to push themselves. There are challenges that let you take on the bosses again in a rematch. There are also platforming challenges too.

Shovel Knight: King of Cards is taking the retro approach. As you can see, the graphics are 8-bit style which we are sure older fans would definitely appreciate. Gamers aren’t done yet as there is a new game+ mode. This will give the players new challenges and there are more secrets in the world. So those who like to complete and get 100% will need to beat Shovel Knight: King of Cards twice. There isn’t really much we can say about Shovel Knight: King of Cards. It’s a shovel knights game, you are either a fan or not.

We checked out some Shovel Knight: King of Cards gameplay and it does look retro but definitely advanced. The music is very good and fits what’s happening on the screen. The graphics are definitely 8 bit styled and looks good. Controls seem simple and the action is simple too. Jump on enemies to destroy them. Spin and jump to destroy projectiles, bash through blocks, take on other knights and explore these worlds. There are hidden areas, hidden behind breakable walls. Some areas can only be reached by timing your jumps on projectiles to reach the higher area.

Overall Shovel Knight: King of Cards looks like a good game filled with action. There is some replay value and things look good. The developers ‘Yacht Club Games’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not looking forward to Shovel Knight: King of Cards simply because like the previous Shovel Knight games, it has shown or got anything that makes us want to play it. Just seems like another good action platformer but nothing special. This one is a good game though. Now Shovel Knight: King of Cards may have the king knight but that king is a peasant when compared too… the ‘Earthwalk!’  

For more information check out the link below:

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Hive Jump

Hive Jump is the new action platformer developed by ‘Graphite Lab‘. It is coming out the 11th of January on the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch but already out on the PC. It seems like it’s about running around and blowing up aliens. Sounds fun. Let’s take a look. 

The story in the world of Hive Jump is a typical one. Basically it’s set in the 24 century. Humanity is in a serious battle against a hostile alien race called Ordovicians. As usual, the aliens are in big numbers. Matter of fact, humanity is outnumbered, a million to one. It’s clearly a one sided battle and the aliens don’t want to share the galaxy with humanity (We wonder why). The J.U.M.P corps is here to fight back against the aliens and bring victory.

Players control the, Jumpers, who’s mission is straightforward. Beat the aliens, hive by hive and planet by planet. Now straight up Hive Jump makes it clear that it’s all about multiplayer. That’s right, you can play local multiplayer with your friends in Hive Jump. It’s four players. We love to see games do this. We need games like this that gives you the option to just play with family or who else is around (More fun than angry online players).

Hive Jump

Since the emphasis of the Hive Jump is on multiplayer know that if you do play with friends, one of you is the team leader and therefore carry the Transponder backpack. This pack is very important. Basically that backpack allows your command ship to send “soldiers and supplies” to your location. We assume it means that as long as you have the packsack, your team can respawn. If the leader dies then the backpack is just sitting there and can be destroyed. Don’t let that happen (and tell your leader to stop being a noob).

Your standard Jumper comes armed and ready Hive Jump. As we already made clear, the leader has the Transponder backpack. All soldiers have a multi-gun which has it’s standard fire but can be modified and switched up to be a rocket launcher and even a flamethrower. It does get crazier though. The Jumper alien infiltration suit offers some good protection as attacks get deflected but only for a while. The suit can be repaired but the means to be able to do that can be found deep in the Hives. Also your suit has a limited blast jetpack to give you a boost in the air. Lastly there are grenades (who doesn’t want grenades against aliens?). These grenades deal big damage to enemies but also have a special function like the explosives in Aliens Trilogy. They can destroy weaker walls which have treasures, goodies and hidden areas. Keep your eyes open.

Hive Jump

There is a wide range of location for players to be fighting in. The Hives are different and look different but there are also different biomes too. You say biomes, we say Terraria. There is the volcanic wasteland which is where the aliens use the temperature to quickly hatch their eggs from the cold storage. The mushroom forests is basically the giant food store as the Ordovicians eat fungus. The crystal caverns is where the aliens produce and get their power source for their interstellar travels. The frozen underground acts as the cold storage room for the unhatched alien eggs. It’s clear that the aliens here in Hive Jump are quite organised.

The aliens themselves, the Ordovicians, are numerous as they are dangerous. Clearly hostile and will stop at nothing to stop you from completing your mission. They will hunt you and your transponder backpack throughout the hives and they can get to you no matter where you are. The aliens have four classes. They are: minor, mini, major and elite. These aliens get stronger and more powerful as you progress. So players need to keep getting better and more prepared.  

Hive Jump

Lastly the planetary campaign is not so straight forward and more strategic. In order to win you must manage carefully the amount of jumpers you have and alien goo. The alien goo is the resource you use to build fortifications, request jumper reinforcements, get new weapons and off course upgrades. When you look at the map, m you will see three things, alien hives which are orange, human bases which are cyan (light blue) and grey which is a free space for either a human or alien base. If you destroy a hive then you “jump” there and start a human base which brings in more resources and a random one time use bonus ability. These abilities are strong and must be used wisely. After a successful jump (destroying a hive), the aliens then have their turn and they could expand, buff up their defences or even come attack you!  

We checked out some gameplay and the action looks good. Each Jumper in, Hive Jump, can equip only one utility at a time. So expect a utility to grant shields another to allow quick teleportation while another boosts fire power or even your mobility. The Hives are procedurally generated (random). The A.I has been classed as intelligent and challenging (we will be the judge of that). You can also get your hands on experimental weapons and explosive. So getting those resources and research is very important. There is permadeath simply because if you lose your bases then it’s all over and also if your Transponder backpack gets destroyed then you definitely lose as you can’t call in any more soldiers.

Overall, Hive Jump looks like a real cool game. It looks like it’s a difficult game as the aliens are many, the deaths are high and there are also traps for players to match out for. The big boss enemies look like big battles and requires a learning of patterns probably. The developers ‘Graphite lab’ have done a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what others will think of this. It does look fun. Now the Jumpers may have technology and a big mission but those things are tiny when compared to… there ‘Earth Walk!’

For more information check out the link below:

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Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled is the new remake of Crash Team Racing, developed by ‘Beenox‘ and published by ‘Activision‘. It is coming out the 21st of June 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. This is the game that many PlayStation 1 gamers loved back in the day. So you know that this remake has really high expectations. Let’s take a look.

Crash Team racing was according to X35 Earthwalker, the one true Earthwalker by the way, was the best racing game. We haven’t played a better racing game. It was fast, fun, colourful, great variety of tracks, useful and fair weapons and challenging. Be honest, most of you didn’t even beat Nitros Oxide in time trial on ever track but X35 Earthwalker did it. Crash Team Racing was game that even families played together. Players who were masters at the game would always be ahead of the other racers but less skilled players stood a chance thanks to the weapons. Nothing is worse than getting hit by three homing rockets in a row, bouncing for an eternity.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled

So remaking a game like this and claiming it will have the “authentic CTR experience” is a big order to fill. Fans like us remember everything about this game from the tracks and characters to how the power sliding felt. So we will be watching. So don’t mess up. Crash team racing wasn’t perfect though. We felt that the stats of car types didn’t matter. We could out speed high speed characters like Tiny Tiger with handling cars like Polar. We hope that Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled makes the stats matter. That faster cars actually feel faster but not too much faster to the point where everyone only picks the fast cars.

What we do know about Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled is that the developers claimed that it will have “the original game modes, characters, tracks, power-ups, weapons and controls.” This is good to hear. Let’s go through this one by one. Game modes: That means there will be a story mode filled with races, CTR challenges, boss races, time trials for relics and gem cups. Characters: So Polar, Crash (off course), Tiny and the others are here… but what about the unlockable characters like Papa Papu? We do know that you can play Ripper Too though so many it’s the same for the others. Tracks: Crash Team Racing had some memorable and awesome tracks. We especially liked the tracks in the Nitro cup, the more difficult ones.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled

Power ups: Well the only thing that really counts as a power up is getting 10 wumpa fruits which then increases your speed and upgrades the items you get. Weapons: They can save your life or ruin it. Players of different skill can all compete in this game thanks to these things. Potions and ant crates for those in the lead, while missiles and a lighting orb for those in the back. Don’t forget about Aku Aku and Uka Uka. We hope they still have their signature music. Controls: The controls had a specific feel. The power sliding was different depending on the kart type. You can feel a resistance as you try to pull around that corner. It’s something you have to feel. 

Now what’s different? We we do know that there will be more karts than before. There will also be more tracks than before too which is sort of exciting. There will be online racing too, so if you are good enough then you can literally trash (or crash) the competition. There will also be leaderboards too which off course doesn’t prove anything but adds to the competition. What’s also different is that characters aren’t stuck to one kart. Players can select a character and then select the kart that they want. This is a good change. Also it looks like players who are left bouncing from a weapon like a missile have an opportunity to get a boost as soon as they finish bouncing which is excellent and we hope the timing for such a boost is a small gap giving an advantage to players who practice it.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Feuled

We checked out some gameplay and we can say that we are happy with what we saw. The levels look the same but off course remastered. Papu Papu pyramid looks wonderful and more greener greenery (yes, we said that). There is still some stuff we are wondering about but as we get closer to the release date, those things should get answered We are happy to see that split screen is back too as that was how we could play with out family to settle who was the best. This means gather your friends, bring out the cola, juice, water and let the fun begin. Trash talk is encouraged! 

Overall, Crash Team Racing Nitro-fueled looks real good so far. Graphics are very good and the sounds seem okay for now. The characters look good, more cartoony and Polar has gotten so much fluffier (probably used a hair dryer). The developers ‘Beenox’ have done a wonderfully good job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker are off course keeping an eye on this game. Now Crash Team Racing Nitro-fueled may have some hype but nothing is more hyped than… the ‘Earth Walk!’ 

For more information check out the link below:

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Dauntless

Dauntless is a new action role playing game (RPG) developed by ‘Phoenix Labs‘. It is said to be coming out in April 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4; however you can download and play now on PC. There are said to be some monsters who need to be hunted down. Let’s take a look.

The story in Dauntless isn’t really clear from what new can see on their official website but basically the world has be broken up in to islands by a cataclysm. These islands are floating. Many of these islands haven’t even been explored yet and are dangerous. Also the islands themselves are in danger. What could endanger an island though? The answer are large creatures called Behemoths. They will consume the islands. It’s up to the players to prevent this from happening. 

Dauntless

In Dauntless the players control Slayers. Slayers as the name suggests do quite a bit of slaying but their targets this time are the Behemoths. Slayers are mankinds best defence against these creatures. The slayers won’t be easy to beat as they are armed with some serious weapons. Your slayer can wield Repeaters which is basically two and guns. It’s said to be difficult to use but you can hand out debuffs to enemies and fight at both close and long range. The sword is all about staying close and slicing everything up. Then with a full meter go crazy with pure speed. There’s more weapons.

Chain blade users have the highest speed of all relying on their mobility. Their weapons can off course extend for longer ranged combat and even pull yourself in to get close. Hammer wielding slayers can smash and deal heavy blows to enemies and also use blasts from the same hammer. Also you can use your blasts to dodge attacks. Slayers using the axe have immense damage potential. They can fill their meter to get a damage buff that can be stacked. The War pike is one of those that have great potential when used correctly. Keep attacking to fill your meter which is then used for your mortar attacks.  

Dauntless

There are a number of places to explore. There’s ramsgate which is the frontier settlement. There is also the Maelstrom which has a completely different climate going on over there. There are some continually changing islands. Some islands have a flourishing habitats as in their are lots of plants, wildlife and as everyone says, “flora and fauna”. Dauntless has many islands and they all just want to be explored but there’s a catch… 

The Behemoths in Dauntless are a real problem. Firstly they are endangering the floating islands because they just can’t get enough of the aether that they are consuming. This aether is what keeps the floating islands floating. Another thing that’s bad is that they are dangerous to face because well.. they are big. They are a serious threat. Some go about on all fours, others can roll like a ball, others can fly around, some look and move like dinosaurs while others are like angry bigger sloths. So taking these guys on alone is quite the problem. 

Dauntless

We checked out some Dauntless gameplay and it’s a bit less than what we expected. The graphics aren’t impressive at all even for the graphic style used. The characters remind us of the ones in Fortnite. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad game though. Dauntless is a multiplayer game and encourages working together with other players. You can play with three friends or get teamed up with people online. We like that you can use the parts you collect from defeated Behemoths and use them to make armaments like transom stones, dyes and even cells. So get creative.

Overall Dauntless looks like an alright game. We haven’t been impressed yet. We like the multiplayer options and the using the parts from defeated monsters. We definitely like the visuals and the environments but that’s it really. The developers ‘Phoenix Labs’ did an alright job with this one. We at X35 Earthwalker aren’t looking forward to this but there are gamers who are. Now Dauntless may have floating islands but even those aren’t as epic as… the ‘Earth Walk!’  

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Super Meat Boy Forever

Super Meat Boy Forever is the new action platformer game developed by ‘Team Meat‘. Super Meat Boy Forever is coming out April 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Epic Games store but April 2020 on Steam. The challenging and meaty action seems to be back. Let’s check it out.

Super Meat Boy Forever is a sequel so it’s basically Super Meat Boy 2. The story this time is that Meat Boy and Bandage Girl have a daughter. Her name is nugget. First of all how is the dad named Meat Boy and the Mum, Bandage girl but the baby is Nugget. Someone clearly hasn’t played Kindergarten. Anyway things look all normal but then Dr Fetus shows up and attacks both parents with a shovel and then kidnaps Nugget. So the villain knocks out his two enemies but instead of killing them when he had the advantage instead runs away leaving them alive (smart villains these days). So now Meat Boy and Bandage Girl set off to rescue their daughter.

Super Meat Boy Forever

Now if you liked the previous Super Meat Boy game then you should like this as it’s basically the same formula in many ways. You run, jump, avoid enemies and dangerous traps and spinning blades etc. There are some differences and new things though. For starters both Meat Boy and Bandage Girl can defend themselves. If an enemy is right next to you, why not punch them. They can punch, jump attack and even slide into enemies to take them out and keep up your mobility. Some would have figured this out from what we just said but Super Meat Boy Forever’s controls now have two buttons. So veterans of the game will need to make some adjustments.

Super Meat Boy Forever

The levels have been described officially as “dynamically constructed based on difficulty. Each time you beat a level, it reconstructs into a harder version of itself.” Off course they only get harder up to a certain point. More details? Okay. First of all Super Meat Boy Forever isn’t infinite. There’s an end to this. Each level is made up of 100 chunks. These chunks are little levels with difficulty ratings. It has been said that there are a total of 7200 chunks. That’s right. Don’t say you didn’t know what you got yourself into. This isn’t a game you can complete in 20mins. So have fun fighting through the 7200 Super Meat Boy Forever levels.

We checked out some gameplay and it’s exactly what we thought it would be. We knew infinite levels isn’t going to be the case this time. It’s good that we can play with both Meat Boy and Bandage Girl. The platforming is familiar. Being able to fight back is a good decision made. The enemies are simple but the boss fights are big and quite chaotic. Makes you wonder what the others will be like. It’s still Super Meat Boy but with some additional features and better looking.    

Overall, Super Meat Boy Forever looks like a good game. The graphics and visuals are improved. Let’s make this clear. We at X35 Earthwalker have never played Super Meat Boy games. They never interested us once but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it. The developers, Team Meat did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not interested in Super Meat Boy Forever. Now Super Meat Boy Forever may have odds of levels but it’s not as big as… the ‘Earth Walk!’    

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Dark Devotion

Dark Devotion is a new Action adventure RPG developed by ‘Hibernian Workshop‘ and published by ‘The Arcade Crew’ and ‘Maple Whispering’. It is coming out the first quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. Dark Devotion is suppose to have some serious fights. Let’s take a look.

It’s not fully explained bu the story in Dark Devotion is that a templar sets out on a religious calling. The story must be pieced together by the players. Every item you find and every chest opened contains another piece of the story. You can find clues, a letter and even weapons. All will help piece the story together. This should tell gamers that exploration is required.

Dark Devotion

The action takes place in a fallen temple. This temple should have been boarded up and sealed by the way. There are four worlds. Your character must prove himself and dedication to his god. This won’t be easy as this temple is full of danger, answers to your questions and off course secrets. Rumour has it that this temple sort of has a mind of it’s own in a way. So learn it’s ways or have a really hard time.

Now off course this isn’t going to be your Indiana Jones adventure movie. This temple is real bad. Everything in it wants you dead. Players have to make the right decisions. Knowing when to handle curses, knowing when to retreat, knowing when to heal and when to thrust your blade through the monsters face. Every world in Dark Devotion has multiple paths. Each path is its own but you can’t turn back once you go down it.

Dark Devotion

The developers have left lots of rumours and secrets in this game that makes exploring a must. What you find can either be real good or real bad. You might find a monster that kicks your butt in 5 different countries or you may find an altar where you can save the game. Or maybe you find Doctor Who (not really). Either way, players need the items and secrets so you have to take the risk.

Dark Devotion doesn’t leave you at a complete disadvantage as there are a good dozen of weapons, armors, and relics which will give your character the boost she needs. These relics, weapons and armours can be customized with mystical runes. Each of these different items and equipment off course has their own stats and attributes. A game having attributes means that strengths and weaknesses amongst enemies is a mechanic here.

Dark Devotion

Now off course let’s get to the main dish. The enemies. There are a bunch of them. There’s simple zombie acting ones that approach you and takes a swing at you. All you got to do is time it and dodge. Then there are some big enemies who are chained to a spot, but that doesn’t mean it won’t strike with a mighty slam of their weapon. There are bosses who will make you sweat (probably). Some can teleport and then strike from the other side, some use magic and mystical powers. Powerful swordsmen with flaming swords and more. Each fight can go so badly if you aren’t careful so don’t get to cocky now.  

We checked out some gameplay and it’s sort of what we expected. It’s 2D off course, the level design is very nice, everything looks responsive. You can either block or dodge. A variety of enemies who are definitely dangerous, like the pirate looking one who can dash attack. Multiple little areas to explore and items to find for sure. Dark Devotion definitely looks like it’s going to be a difficult game. We so far like what we see. 

Overall Dark Devotion looks like a very good game. The graphics are handmade pixel art. The sounds are done well. The temple has traps like swinging pendulums, spike pits and more. One boss enemy looked unreasonable but it’s good to have at least one ridiculous boss. The developers ‘Hibernian Workshop’ did a very good job with this game so far. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing this game come out. Now the templar in Dark Devotion may be very devoted to what they believe but there is way more devotion in… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Hell Warders

Hell Warders is a new action strategy game with some RPG elements, developed by ‘Anti gravity game studios‘ and published by ‘PQubed‘. It is coming out the 17th of January 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. There has already been early access on PC. We at X35 Earthwalker like action strategy games and have been playing some recently so let’s see if they do this right. Let’s take a look. 

In Hell Warders, players control… well… a Hell Warder. Hell Warders are a group of powerful heroes who have mighty powers and abilities and their job is to face and stop the hordes of demons. That’s pretty much it for the story from what we can see. So those demons are going forth as an army (conveniently in waves) and players are the only things standing in their way.

Hell Warders

Now if you like tower defence, with the whole taking some time to plan, readjust and set up well, then you should be happy here. If you like controlling a character and running towards the enemy to back hand them yourself then you should be happy here too. Honestly this game right now reminds us off ‘World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap‘ and ‘Dungeon Defenders‘. When it comes to tower defence + action + RPG elements, these two games are excellent examples.

In Hell Warders, there are more than one type. For example you can control Dead Eye who is a longer ranged fighter using cannons. Samson III who has been described as an explosive specialist. Ash who specialises in melee combat and slicing everything with his sword. There are more. That’s right, you guessed it. These different Hell Warders have different abilities and powers to offer in your goal to destroy all the demons.

Those defences that you build are not cannons, ballistas and walls but instead your soldiers. Players can set up soldiers who are melee based and will run to attack any nearby enemies. There are archers who fire arrows quite accurately from a respectable distance. Catapults which brings in that heavy impact damage. Let’s say some big enemies will have problems with this weapon. There’s also mages that bring those effects and some magic to give you the advantage.

Hell Warders

In terms of the enemies, we know that it’s demons. Demons come in all shapes and sizes. There’s the off course pawn small ties that just rush you, then there’s the bigger ones that require more special attention, then there are the massive towering enemies. There are some magic welding enemies like lychee. There is also Wurms who are very large and will anger some gamers.

We checked out some gameplay. It so far just looks alright. In terms of character animations it doesn’t seem on the same level as the other two games we mentioned earlier but this is all early access gameplay though, so expect everything to get better. We like that soldiers fight with you on the field but actual towers would be great to have as well and it’s something we prefer but it’s good to try something different. The variety of enemies so far looks interesting. We wonder what new abilities and powers the Hell warders will get as you play and progress.

Best of all about Hell Warders and if you been following us for even a short time you would know what that is. It is multiplayer. You can play with three more players to form a mighty team of four having explosives, melee, range and magic. You can just straight up invite and get your friends in the action but for those who want other options can use the match making to find more players. We need more multiplayer games with good options.

Overall Hell Warders looks okay right now. It’s early access but we are getting closer to the release date and we hope that Hell Warders becomes the next very good action strategy game. The developers ‘Anti gravity game studios’ have done good work right now. We at X35 Earthwalker will be looking forward to seeing this game game out. Now Hell warders may have heroes who face demons but these Hell Warders are a joke when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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