Bum Simulator is a new adventure simulation game developed by ‘Ragged Games‘. Bum Simulator is said to be coming out this year 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Now there isn’t any fun in being a bum, hobo, homeless whatever you call it. So gamers will have to see what this simulation offers. Let’s take a look.
In Bum Simulator players take control of a… well… a bum, a homeless guy, a hobo. You are down in life for whatever reason. There are hints that suggest someone or some people are responsible for why you are in this mess though. You literally start from the bottom. Wandering the streets, begging for money, interacting with people, well that’s if they actually want anything to do with you. Things start off rough indeed.
So whats the aim of Bum Simulator? You don’t just be a bum forever. There’s actual options. You can aim to get a job, start over again and make a honest living. Or accept that you are homeless and adapt to the situation making your own home in the streets, gather food and make the best of your situation. Or become a legend, messing with police and have many fear you. Or even go after the very people who got you into this mess in the first place. There’s actually quite a bit to do.
Move around the streets and find drinks and food. Bum Simulator has some grub around. Of course be careful as some stuff might be harmful. Sure you are desperate but life is still important. Just because this liquid is in a Coco-Cola bottle doesn’t mean it’s cola. There may be a burger bun lying around so you know… dinner time. Search dumpsters and piles in a hope of finding anything cool or useful. Like we said, just because life is hard don’t just sit there and complain, get up and do something. Honestly when you are a bum, what do you really have to lose.
If you find or salvage anything good, cool or of interest then you can take it to the pawn shop and get some cash for it. Hey, just because you are a stinking bum doesn’t mean your money is worthless. You can find maybe a sculptor for example and it’s worth £50 or $50. Cash that in and go buy a meal. Find a shopping trolley and use that to easily transport your goods. Gather materials like cardboard boxes or pieces of cardboard in order to build a shelter. The building system sort of reminds us of Sims, with everything highlighted green. Then get some zinc to reinforce that shelter and prevent rain from getting in and soaking you.
There are people around in Bum Simulator so you my want to try interacting with them. Ask money or help from a nicely suited dude walking past or socialise with other bums. There could be strength in numbers. Decide how you react to people also. You can behave better than them or even get vulgar which isn’t good but what do you care… you bum! Form allies, strike fear, give the police some trouble it’s all up to you. Just think about what you are aiming for and do what you can get to there efficiently.
We checked out some gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. An actual homeless game that has progression, options and goals to achieve. Obviously games like this aren’t suppose to be taken seriously. Just for laughs and trying crazy things. We like the amount of mechanics in Bum Simulator from the interactions, to building, top finding and selling at a pawn shop, to decorating your home or shelter and the goals you can aim for. There also some strange abilities too like drinking a certain drink allows for a force blast attack thing. Strange right?
Overall Bum Simulator looks like a silly but good game. Rag doll mechanics, power up drinks, combat, evading police, progressing and building up. There’s actually quite a bit going on in this game. The best part is that it’s an actual homeless game where you start from the bottom and actually can aim for something. The developers ‘Ragged Games’ have done a good job with this game and we at X35 Earthwalker we know that many will enjoy this. Now Bum Simulator may have some silly fun but nothing is more fun than… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Ash of gods is a new turn based strategy and card role playing game developed by ‘AurumDust‘ and published by ‘WhisperGames‘. Ash of gods is coming out this year, 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4 but already out on PC. This game has a feature that definitely makes it stand out. Let’s take a look.
In Ash of gods the story has been described by the developers as “This is the story of “angels” who after being given free will turned the life of humans into hell in the absence of a god”. This doesn’t make sense but it’s a fictional video game set in a fictional world, so go with it. The game wants to centre it’s theme around moral choices and right and wrong. With people behaving like monsters and at times something that isn’t human behaves more human like than actual humans. That kind of stuff.
The style of the story telling is rouge-like but very serious. Ash of gods forces players to really and truly think things through. First things first, all of your characters can die. Yes, even the main character. If you truly mess up you can lose everyone and the game continues even when the main character dies. This is very good and already sets this game apart from others. Next is that every decision you make affects further plot development. It could either be immediate consequences or something much further down the line.
So like in life do not just focus on what’s right in front of you, or what you will gain immediately or you could start a war much later in the game or get someone killed. The developers gave examples, “A rude word may provoke a lethal conflict and a wound in battle may lead to death in a story mode”. That’s not all. Players will need to manage their resources carefully too. If you fail to do so the whole party of characters will die. Scared yet? Well don’t be, it’s a game after all.
You already know that Ash of gods is tactical as it’s turn based strategy. You think about what moves and options you have. What do you want to accomplish in the end? Also as a card game you will need to collect cards, have an effective build and use what you got wisely. Characters have classes which off course determines their moves and what you can do with each one. So turn based + characters classes + cards = quite a deep strategy game.
Concerning the combat with enemies, in Ash of gods, there is something players should know. The A.I has been described as smart. The developers have stated that there is no invincible team build. The A.I will constantly adapt to how you play so the challenges you face will always be different. Rushing in hard and fast won’t work multiple times in a row. This is good because many players like to be cheap and do things the super easy way. Good move developers.
Games like Ash of gods will off course have some risks. It’s up to players to decide if it’s worth it and whether to do it or not. You can save resources by taking the shorter but more dangerous route. Sacrifice some hit points for a all or nothing strike. Even take a smaller team into battle to acquire the better cards have rounds be quicker.
We checked out some Ash of gods gameplay and we like the character animations. They are very good. There’s lots of options and lots to do in Ash of gods. There are shop keepers, a large adventure and even multiplayer modes: PvP and PvE. Communicate with your friends by selecting from text options to let them know if they good or suck. This game is definitely very big and has a lot of work put into it. We even saw powerful magical spell like attacks such as using electricity and fire to shock and devour enemies. Looking good so far.
Overall Ash of gods is looking very good. There is more to the story such as that the Reapers are here and they want to drown the world in blood in an attempt to wake up the sleeping gods (That always ends well). The graphics are very good for it’s style and there is a lot of work that went into the music, so listen up. The developers ‘AurumDust’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an eye on this game. Now Ash of gods may have some real consequences for decisions but the events that take place are child’s play when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Yaga is a new action roleplaying game developed by ‘Breadcrumbs Interactive‘. Yaga is said to be coming out in the fourth quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. This game plans to actually make the players decisions effect the game. Let’s take a look.
In Yaga players control Ivan. Ivan is a blacksmith. While everyone is out living ordinary lives, Ivan lives life differently. He’s working hard at his forge, crafting, building, hammering etc making cool weapons and items. He plans to go on another adventure. He is in a situation that’s effected by three people. The Tzar who is jealous of Ivan and keep giving him impossible quests which Ivan is unaware actually weaken and destroys the magical creatures and ancient spirits, a witch called Baba Yaga who plans to protect the spirits and use Ivan for her goals and last of all Ivan’s grandmother who simply wants him to find a wife. Ivan clearly has his hands full. Oh did we mention that Ivan only has one arm? Yep, just one.
The developers describe this story as one “about greed, manipulation and dealing with impossible odds.” Don’t feel sorry for Ivan though as he knows how to work with his disability. A forged attachments that allow him to wield crossbows, shields and other weapons. So players must equip themselves to suit their style or the situation and head out on a strange adventure. One more thing. Yaga is set in slavic folklore. 14 century slavic folklore through the eyes of Eastern European peasants. So expect a lot of superstition, house spirits, magic (off course), unclean spirits (copying the Bible) and pagan beliefs. This will not be your simple adventure.
Now Yaga is going to attempt to be the game that gets the players decisions to effect the game done right. How you play and what you do effects things. You can pick pocket people, steal, trick, lie, attack and be totally unfair. The peasants and other characters will remember that you did these things and they will act accordingly. An NPC might place a curse on you while another might place a charm on you for helping them out etc. We hope they actually make it so that decisions and behaviour does matter.
There are levels and it’s done by a level generator which produces a mix of combat and roleplaying all from a huge library of quests and special rooms like shrines, merchants and more. Each level is different and has it’s rules. The area or region of the level will effect things, the focus of the story will effect things. Think for a bit first before making your way through the level. So expect different action and levels of drama each time.
While out on adventures make sure to gather all the materials and resources you can find. These are needed for all the crafting that Ivan does. Yaga gets quite detailed too as there are different types of Wood (like Minecraft), different types of ores and enhancements which you can find and even collect from fallen enemies. You can even get charms and curses which are long term effects for your character. They can seriously have big impacts concerning combat and even interacting with characters and things in the world. Some perks may grant different effects depending on your character and how you’ve played already. NPCs can charm or curse Ivan and even witches and priests in exchange for donations. Remember this.
The combat is always one of the main questions. Combat in Yaga is mainly close range. Where the hammers and melee weapons are effective. Where you position Ivan during combat is very important. You have to be just outside of attack range from enemies and then run in at the right moment to do a couple of strikes. Timing is key. We did mention magic before so you know that’s a part of the combat. Talismans and magic items will add in completely new factors like shields, ranged attacks and more.
We checked out some Yaga gameplay and it’s not exactly what we thought it would be. We liked how the folklore changes each time and Ivan has things differently each time. The talismans can be found throughout the world and they can add effects to your attacks and defences, mess with enemies and boost your stats. Magic items have supernatural powers and are rare. Do not use them too much or you will attract attention…
Overall Yaga seems like a good game. It’s quite deep in terms of crafting, materials, multiple play throughs, enemies, combat and in game mechanics. They better pull of the actions have consequences mechanic well. The developers ‘Breadcrumbs Interactive’ did a good job with this game so far. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an ear out for what Yaga will truly bring to the gaming community. Now Yaga may have folklores and different tales but stays awesome is.. the ‘Earth Walk!’
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is a new horror game developed by ‘Supermassive Games‘ and published by ‘Bandai Namco‘. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is said to be coming out in 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. This isn’t just a horror game. It’s suppose to be supernatural horror game. Let’s take a look.
In The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan, players will watch and follow the story and adventure of 5 characters. 4 are young Americans while the fifth is their boat driver. They are on a dive boat and have got some plans. Firstly there’s rumours of a world war 2 wreck which they hope to find. Second is off course a boat party. It wouldn’t be much of a game is something doesn’t go wrong. A storm shows up and causes all of them to be stuck on what’s described as a ghost ship. This is a horror game remember.
This ghost ship isn’t your regular ghost ship at your local supermarket, as once on board the passengers are subjected to some serious terror and immense stress because of what’s going on around them. The objective is simple, they must escape this place and the obviously bad history it has. So expect danger, expect things to mess with your thinking, expect hard decisions, expect quick decisions, expect death, expect mistakes and more.
The ones who developed ‘Until Dawn‘ are the same ones developing ‘The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan’. Therefore if you have played Until Dawn or watched it then you should know what you are in for. This is because from what we have seen they are similar. It’s dark, there’s a bunch of people and players have to pay close attention to certain details and think about what decisions to make carefully as there are repercussions… there’s always… repercussions.
So since you know what to expect there isn’t that much to say but here’s what we think about the whole thing. Games like this which are more cinematic based are good. They are different and offer variety to the game genres. Halo and Gears of War aren’t anything like this and that’s good. What games like this need is to provide enough obvious information about the characters, information that will come in handy for future moments in the game like their skills. There needs to be a good blend of obvious and more subtle consequence decisions and danger. For example deciding whether to walk across an unsafe bridge is obvious while deciding whether to hide or keep running when being chased is more subtle.
Games like The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan also need to make sure that players cannot cheat their way through. Some youtubers and streamers will go back to a previous save if they make a bad decision or get someone killed. This needs to be stopped because when you can simply with two clicks undo a decision it tales away from the tension and stress of playing the game. If they want to redo then they need to start from the beginning again. Also the developers need to not allow pausing during timed decisions as this defeated the purpose of it being times and completely nullifies the pressure a player should feel. Supermassive Games, do these changes or gamers like X35 Earthwalker will have no tension or horror at all as we can simply undo everything and paste giving ourselves 30mins to think.
We checked out some The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan gameplay and yes it is what we thought it would be. We are liking how much darker and serious this game is compared to Until Dawn. The setting is nice too. We saw leeches, skeletons, other beings, holes, traps etc and that’s a good start. The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan has been described as a supernatural horror which means pretty much anything can happen and we hope they get creative here. It’s a ghost ship after all. So we do want to see what else they bring into the ship.
Overall The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan seems like it’s going to be a very good game. The graphics are a step up from Until Dawn and the sounds are also good from what we can see and hear. We will wait for more details though. The developers ‘Supermassive Games’ have so far done a good job. We truly hope the developers apply what we suggested above. Now The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan may have repercussions but even those don’t matter when there’s… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Projection: First Light is a new action adventure game developed by ‘Shadowplay studios, Sweaty chair and Blowfish studios‘. Projection: First Light is said to be coming out this year (2019) on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Mac and PC. Now this game does have a very cool mechanic. Let’s take a look.
In Projection: First Light, players control a girl called Greta. This girl is living in a strange world. Basically it’s a shadow puppet world. Greta is on a journey of “self-enlightenment”. She will travel through different cultures and explore them. The places named are: Indonesia, China, Turkey, Greece and England (19th century). Now these places are very different from each other allowing for level variety and creativity. Off course this shadow puppet world is mythological. So don’t get all historian on the game.
Now Greta will not be completely alone in Projection: First Light. Within each culture she will be assisted by heroes who have been described as legendary. How they will assist you? Not clear right now. They could be a guidance who show up to give help and tips. They could maybe grant a special ability for that culture at the time etc. We have had a bit of fun trying to think who these ‘legendary’ heroes could be.
Projection: First Light introduces players to the main mechanic of the game early. Near the start of her journey, Greta receives the ability to control and manipulate a source of light. Players can use this ability to therefore effect shadows. In Projection: First Light, shadows are platforms and walls. So by moving and shifting this source of light, you can lengthen and even move shadows to allow you to jump across or interact with other things. You can use your ability to also solve puzzles or ruin them and even deal with shadow enemies.
We checked out some gameplay of Projection: First Light and off course many gamers will instantly think about Limbo. Again, another simple game with simple controls, limited colours and travelling in one direction mostly. The graphics are very good for what it is and the sounds are also very good having sound tracks made with antique instruments. At the end of the day it’s another game like Limbo. Meaning most gamers should know what to expect round about. We currently aren’t impressed.
Overall Projection: First Light so far seems like a good game and familiar. We saw giant beings that definitely come of as hostile. Bosses tend to raise the bar of interest for us but it isn’t enough. The developers ‘Shadowplay studios’ and others did a good job. From a game development point of view they did a good job but we will need to see more in order to get us interested. We at X35 Earthwalker have played Limbo and it’s one of those things we play once and we get what it’s about and we are now done with it. Project: First Light will need something more. Now Project: First Light may have light manipulation but even with that power it’s still too weak against… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Golem Gates is a new real-time strategy (RTS), multiplayer online battle arena, card battle game developed by ‘Laser Guided Games’. Golem Gates is coming out in April 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4 but already out on PC. Quite a bit of good stuff is being said about this game. Let’s take a look.
In Golem Gates, the universe is very different. The game takes place in a land that has been damaged and ravaged by wars… ancient wars. There are Golem Gates which spawn and release ancient warrior machines. Players control a character known as the ‘Harbinger’. You are an outcast who has the ability to command manipulate nanites from a remaining power called ‘The Ash’. You will have to face these ancient warriors, these golems and off course learn and solve the mystery surrounding the long lost creators of the Golem Gates.
How the game works is not so simple. Players must collect spell cards (this isn’t Yu-Gi-Oh) called Glyphs. Players must then use to build a deck. This deck is what you will be using in combat. Battles have be described as “fast-paced and highly tactical”. Decks, cards all means that Golem Gates has resource management. The glyphs are a big part of Golem Gates but not all there is. There is more. By the way we don’t look ahead on the PC version of the game as that just ruins out for us.
Players will have to build their army, bulk up their forces and definitely get tactical. Expect some objective styled missions like capturing and holding locations. Head on battles and collision will be everywhere and players need to focus on the battle at all times. These ancient warriors aren’t a joke. Now back to the glyphs. Use the glyphs to call in the buildings which provide that field and presence advantage, traps for turning attacks in your favour, units for off course fighting and even tech for that extra boost and advantage. There is even buffs to make your units plus others more powerful.
Another feature in Golem Gates is that players can make moves and play glyphs at almost anytime and anywhere pretty much. If you are there, then you can do it. You can use the glyphs to do almost anything. You can drop in emergency defences, turn weak scouts into a dangerous army, add a bunch of units to your army and even hide a whole outpost. Don’t get too excited though, as your enemies can use glyphs too. You can literally spawn and build in a powerful army but with one glyph your enemies can make that whole army get destroyed.
We checked out some gameplay and the main thing is how good Golem Gates look. The graphics are very good and the details of these characters, units and even the effects of the lightning and attacks are detailed. Many have commented on how good Golem Gates looks rightly so. We are liking the different size and designs of the units, especially the big one. We liked how the battles come off as really big ones. Units clashing, large units getting a lot of attention and how the battles can easily change in favour and direction through the glyphs. In some ways Golem Gates does remind us off Supreme Commander 2.
Overall Golem Gates looks like a good game so far. The story has some mystery but we wonder how they handle the unravelling of it. The units are looking good but from what we have seen, the enemies don’t look that interesting. The glyphs idea and that you can use them pretty much anytime is very good. The developers ‘Laser Guided Games’ have done a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an eye out for Golem Gates and seeing what it gets done amongst gamers. Now Golem Gates may have ancient warriors but even that army doesn’t stand a chance against… the ‘Earth Walk!’
9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a new beat em up game developed by ‘Sobaka Studio‘ and published ‘Buka entertainment‘. It is said to be coming out in the third quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It’s said the gamers who loved throwing and beating up enemies left right and centre will love 9 Monkeys of Shaolin.
In 9 Monkeys of Shaolin players control a regular man. In fact he is a Chinese fisherman called Wei Cheng in medieval China. Basically a pirate raid happened at your peaceful village. During this raid, people died but also your friends and family. So off course Wei Cheng did what any other regular fisherman would do… get revenge! He sets out to avenge those who were killed. He’s armed with basic knowledge of ancient martial arts and a battle staff (we love this weapon). That’s all he needs.
If you played old school beat em up games then you will pretty much know what to expect from 9 Monkeys of Shaolin as it’s replicating the old school style. Advance to the next area and beat up everyone who comes for you. Then advance once again and beat up everyone there too. Off course the game has been modernised. Now this beat em up is also multi platformed. So expect more mobility than your average old school beat em up.
There are three styles. Three different fighting styles that players will need to master and use to their advantage: fighting on earth, in the air and magic seals. Already you can see where this is going. So if enemies want to stay on your level and duel then beat them with solid earth combat. If an enemy his launched or above you then take the combat into the air. We all know that magic is games is ranged attacks to buffing so they should really tip fights in your favour. There is also a character development system.
9 Monkeys of Shaolin has been developed in a way that allows players multiple ways to get the victory over the enemies. Variety is always a good option. There are fighting styles to unlock and master, perks to obtain and use, items to get your hands on and apply to the situation. The character development and what can be done goes quite deep. Remember that.
9 Monkeys of Shaolin has more than 25 different levels. So you can look forward to Japanese mansions, Chinese villages, buddhist monasteries, pirate ships, ancient ruins and more. We hope the variety in levels are deep and done well as it makes a big difference in games like this. There are at least 10 types of of Chinese and Japanese polearms. This has caught our interest as we like details like this. What type of wood are these pole arms made from. What about red wood? Interesting stuff. More interesting is that these different polearms have different unique traits.
We checked out some gameplay of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin and it currently looks cool. It also looks quite deep. You can deflect projectiles, switch sides, combos, evasion and more. Magic seals have a variety of effects too and they help with set ups too. The combat is looking good. The art style is more simple and looks alright. We expected a bit better. Our favourite thing once again is that there’s co-op multiplayer. You can play with a friend online or even better play local with someone. Cool right.
Overall 9 Monkeys of Shaolin looks like a good game so far. There’s quite a lot going on in this game. From the combat, to the weapons (polearms), the levels and more. The developers ‘Sobaka Studio’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are looking forward to seeing how 9 Monkeys of Shaolin will be taken by gamers. Off course we love the local co-op. Now 9 Monkeys of Shaolin may have three unique styles but they are all ordinary stuff when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Ion Maiden is a new action first person shooter game developed by ‘Voidpoint’ and published by ‘3D Realms‘. It is said to be coming out in the second quarter of 2019. We know there’s an early access out already but we don’t care about that. Ion Maiden aims to bring back the old ways of first person shooters. Let’s take a look.
The story in this world of Ion Maiden is that there’s an transhumanist mastermind called Dr Jadus Heskel. He has a full fledged “cybernetic cult” with numerous members. He has released them into the streets of Neo DC. Off course this causes chaos, destruction and loads of problems. This is where the players comes in. Players control Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison who’s aim is to take down Dr Jadus Heskel.
Now Shelly isn’t a stranger to explosions as before these recent events she use to defuse bombs for the global defence force. but now she’s causing explosions in her battle against the cybernetic cult. Now Ion Maiden has a lot to live up to as it aims to bring back the style of the old first person shooter games like Duke Nukem 3D. If you couldn’t tell from looking at Ion Maiden, it has the retro style look as well.
Players can expect the old gameplay style too in Ion Maiden. Strafing left and right, running and gunning, all that good stuff. There is no regenerative health, just like in Ultimate Doom, so avoid getting hit at all times. There are no mandatory check points either, so players better learn how to survive. The levels are multiple paths you can take to complete levels and you can expect enemies around every corner who are quite trigger happy.
First person shooters like this need a wide range of weapons and options. Ion Maiden claims to have that. There are grenade launchers that can explode and release bullets like a shotgun, Shelly’s signature revolver which is more unique than your average Wild West gun, shotguns, dual wield sub machine guns, a cross bow, stun baton, grenades a chain gun and more. We hope Ion Maiden gets the weapon options right. Many games have guns that are clearly way better than others. Some guns will never get used unless the others run out of ammo. Options are a good thing.
There is some more stuff going on with Ion Maiden though. It won’t be simply running around. Players can climb, swim, duck and jump. Imagine jumping in ultimate Doom. Some guns have different firing modes and there are different types of ammo too. There are seven different zones to fight through and each of those zones have their own levels so get blasting, shooting and exploding and don’t forget the running.
We checked out some gameplay of Ion Maiden and it’s what we thought. It’s what any gamer who knows of Ultimate Doom and Duke Nukem 3D would imagine it would be. Run around, firing lots of shots, ducking and dodging incoming fire, discovering secret areas, finding new weapons, picking up health, gathering ammo and eventually facing the dangerous bosses that will be more than ready to fight.
Overall Ion Maiden seems like your old first person shooter game. It looks exactly like those old games but off course with some more modern ideas. We don’t think Shelly is cooler or better than Duke Nukem but she definitely sounds like the “bomb” (see what we did there?). The developers ‘Voidpoint’ have so far look done a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will be keeping an eye on Ion Maiden and see what it brings. Now Ion Maiden may have lots of guns and explosions but nothing hit harder than… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Anthem was released and many gamers had their eyes on it. Almost everyone heard about Anthem and there was some hype for it. Some were already salty because of what they think about Electronic Arts. We at X35 Earthwalker aren’t childish about these things. We look at the game that that’s it. We have checked out what some of these reviewers have to say about Anthem and so far a good number of them didn’t give a good review at all. Some like Angry Joe and others aren’t even that good at it and it shows. Check out what we think of it so far. We say “so far” as we haven’t completed the game yet or anything like that. Also this isn’t a full review as there is literally so much to say.
Anthem can be played both single player and multiplayer. How we see to do it is that when it’s a story based mission, as in it forwards the story, we tend to play it solo but when it’s agent missions and others we then decide if we want others there or not. Now we do prefer single player overall because we get to do things at our own pace, explore around that corner if we want to and even get stylish when facing enemies. You can’t really do that in multiplayer. In multiplayer you have players who just want to complete the mission as fast as possible and so they zoom from objective to objective flying everywhere. If they reach the next area you have around 24 seconds to get there also or you’ll be teleported there. So it’s a rush. This doesn’t mean multiplayer isn’t fun. In multiplayer we have come across some playful and friendly gamers. If we throw a flare, they all do. In fact we once had a flare party where everyone was emoting and tossing flares everywhere. In multiplayer, there enemies don’t stand a chance. You feel powerful. Plus we have to admit that some levels, especially bosses are very difficult to beat alone and off course a team makes a difference.
Now when do you get to play with others? The answer is whenever you want. Every time you go on an expedition you have the option as to whether to play with other or private. What they shouldn’t have done is keep presenting a warning or reminder that Anthem is better experienced with others and if you are sure you want to play private. Yes we are sure, that’s why we selected private and not public. It’s annoying that every time they have to ask you. It’s like they want us to doubt our choices. Just stop please. Other from that, the system works fine. You choose public and they find a team. The levels of your team mates are questionable but not a big deal at all. It’s minor.
We tried three of the four Javelins: Ranger, Storm, Colossus (haven’t tried yet) and Interceptor. These four play very different from each other. Rangers are fighting like actual soldiers using mainly their guns and equipment as backup. Storm normally stay at long range and use elemental based attacks like lightning, ice, fire and even wind. The Interceptor is all about getting fast, do quick damage and then get back out just as fast. The colossus wants to get up in the enemies face and use some melee action while tanking some damage. When you play each one, it does feel different but the principle is still the same as in, don’t die, take cover to recover shields etc. Your strategy and style of play changes with each Javelin type and that’s a good thing.
The enemies are quite similar to each other in some areas. The main enemies are: Scars, Dominion and Outlaws. They have foot soldiers, elite versions of those soldiers, unique units and even a shielded unit. The three main enemy groups are different when it comes to their unique units. The Scars have a big flame throwing unit that uses a big physical shield to completely negate all frontal damage. It’s weakness is it’s fuel tanks. The Dominion have a large animal like thing that has a cannon on his back which is really fast. There are even more enemies too including the wildlife. An Ursix is a giant beast that throws rocks, charges and smashes you with brute force. There are more enemies to but some are passive and will not bother you at all, only until you scare or disturb them.
We haven’t completed the main story yet but so far we do understand what’s happening. The shapers, shaper relics, anthem of creation, what the dominion wants, cataclysms etc. You can learn a whole lot more through the items that have information and lore like scrolls and books found in fort tarsus or certain identified areas in the main world that give the the background story and more. There is a lot of information to find and they do explain quite a lot. Some not good critics like PC Gamer complained that the story was complicated and confusing. We didn’t find it confusing, they were obviously rushing through the game to complete it to give their review. Take your time and you will see that it’s not that confusing at all. It’s a fictional game with fictional rules. So see it from Anthem’s universe perspective.
The characters are interesting. Haluk is straight forward to us and he needs to stay cool at all times and not just on the battlefield. Owen is quite easily understood and his actions can make sense but not justified. Faye its quite realistic, she’s one of those people who’s so into their field of study or interest that people forget she has hobbies like radio series. Matthias is the brilliant but reckless type and the whole manifold incident made him even better. The other characters just add to the social flavour. You can speak to them from time to time and they clearly have their own views, focuses in life and stories. There are other characters that you can speak to and you get to decide how you respond to questions and situations. In one of them we convinced Amal, the bartender, to always do the right thing and be honest. We also couldn’t deceive the old woman (Marelda we think) by letting her think we are her dead son. What she needs is the truth, gentle but straight up truth. We truly helped her in the end. Yes, it has been said that no matter what you choose, the outcome isn’t effected by much but these conversations do test the player themselves, their morality and what they think. Nice touch.
Now let’s talk a bit about what we don’t like. We don’t like that you can’t really decide what you can craft. From the earlier parts of Anthem we happened to find a harvestable source during a mission (we played in private) and it released a crazy amount of masterwork ember. We had a lot of crafting material but couldn’t craft anything great. We later learned that you need to collect and then upgrade blue prints by completing certain weapon challenges. That wasn’t made clear to us. It should have been spelt out to players.
Another issue is that moment in the story where you needed to enter four special tombs and those tombs can only be accessed by those who are worthy. You are worthy by completing specific challenges. Now what’s the problem? The challenges can take quite a while especially if you haven’t started anyone of them while you are playing missions. This whole section feels like a wall. Until you complete the challenges you cannot progress. We were fortunate to have only three more challenges remaining: melee kill a certain amount of enemies, complete world quests and find 15 chests (15 we think). It took quite a bit but not that long but we know other players had to spend a long time on it which isn’t fun. If they made it so that getting into the temples unlocks you weapons, upgrades, blue prints, techniques or whatever then it would be better and feel like rewards, instead of making that the actual main mission. We weren’t happy about this part at all.
A small sized complaint is that we can’t feel that much of a difference when we equip gear that increases our armour and shields. We even crafted a couple of stuff and really increased both armour and shields but enemies seem to kill us at pretty much the same speed (we always play on hard difficulty). Maybe when we get much better gear we can feel the difference.
Another issue is that the story could have included more encounters with the different groups like the regulators and how messing with them could have consequences. The outlaws could have their own branch of missions along with the scars; giving players the opportunity to know more about them and their whole system. There’s opportunities in there and we want to see Anthem take advantage more of what they have in their universe.
One more issue is the items drops you get for beating certain enemies. X35 Earthwalker, the legendary soldier himself, literally earlier today in free play mode defeated an Ursix and got two epic items from it but later X35 fought a War Titan and beat it solo and the reward was a rare and uncommon. The war titan was stronger, had way more health, can do way more damage and took five times longer to beat but the drops were inferior. That needs to be fixed as that’s clearly not right. By the way we will show that fight against the war titan in a video in good time.
Now some critics were complaining about the characters and the conversations you have with them. Let’s be real, the characters do what they need to do. They said the characters just stand around. Well what do you want? You want the characters running around in a route in fort tarsus so players have to chase them down just to get a mission or talk. Some really slammed Anthem for not having big story effected consequences based on your responses to some characters. This isn’t that kind of game (what’s wrong with these reviewers). Anthem isn’t about meeting clans, persuading them to join your cause and them lead an army and if you anger clans then they become enemies. It’s just conversations to keep things fresh, different and these conversations are interesting. People go through different things and it’s good to talk to others. Others slammed Anthem for having repetitive missions. We don’t find them repetitive. The developers can’t keep adding in completely different gaming mechanics all the time, there needs to be some sort of formula. Rescue and protect missions are not fun at all. There are limits on games especially those that are open world, RPG with world events and stuff to come. It can’t go on forever that’s why DLC have to come in bringing new stories and adventures. It’s sad that reviewers and critics don’t understand this. Like we said, ignore the critics and reviewers and certainly you tubers like angry Joe who just hop on the hate train to get views. Do your own research check out some gameplay and if you like what you see, try it for yourself.
Now another thing that’s good is the Javelin customisation at least in terms of the colours. You can change the colour of each limb separately. It gets better. You can decide what shade of the colour, the fabric, patterns and even the texture. Players who have some level of creativity will go to work with these options and we still haven’t seen a javelin that’s just like ours. Even better we haven’t see one that looks like ours. What we don’t like is how long it takes to get different helmets and javelin body parts. Keep doing missions to get coins and then rely on those. Or you could buy shards but we aren’t doing that.
Overall we are really enjoying Anthem. The option to play with others is easy and just as easy to play alone. The Anthem world looks very nice and it does make you want to explore. Little things like how flying in rain helps your thrusters and reduce overheating while going in water or waterfalls completely cools you off, extending the amount of time you fly for. The weapon types definitely feel different. The pistols don’t feel like the scout rifles. The LMGs don’t feel like the assault rifles either. We like how much of a battle it is to take down a titan and when you finally do, it feels like an achievement because of how strong they are as enemies. The rabbits and other wild life creatures are cool. You can walk up to them, chill with them and even follow them around. The world definitely feels alive. Anthem has way more positives than negatives. Don’t forget that we haven’t gotten to the end of the story yet and we still have more to see.
Now what’s our current verdict? Anthem is currently 8/10. We recommend it to other players. It’s negatives especially the challenges to enter tombs does hold the game back as it makes certain things annoying. There is so much more we can say about the game but we want to leave it here for now. Now many have a lot to say about Anthem but there’s way more to say about… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Biomutant is a new third person combat, action, open world RPG developed by ‘Experiment 101‘ and published by ‘THQ Nordic‘. Biomutant is said to be coming out in the second quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. This game certainly stands out from everything else at the moment. Let’s take a look.
Not a lot is known about Biomutant right now. Concerning the story we know that there is a tree. Not an ordinary one. It’s called the tree of life (once again getting their ideas from the Bible). This tree is for some reason bleeding death from it’s roots. A plague is also on the loose and it’s negatively effecting everything, including the land. There are different animal tribes and are currently not in agreement and against each other. So it’s up to one, the player to solve this. Either unite everyone or put everyone down.
Now since Biomutant is a open world game players will assume there are ways of traversing the world. There is. Players can get around by foot (off course), jet-ski, mechs and even a air-balloon. Interesting since the game is set in an post apocalypse world. There are more methods of travelling like mounts but you’ll see for yourself. There’s more to this world than what you see. There is more under the planet surface and even high up. There are mountains to climb, tunnels to explore, the wildland which has seen better days, bunker networks and even an archipelago which looks cool by the way.
So if it isn’t clear by now, players will need to be big on exploration in a game like this. Biomutant has a lot to do. First of all you have to learn what’s happening with the tree of life, handle the plague and deal with the tribes… but wait… there’s more. There are more mysteries to be solved, probably concerning the inhabitants. There are certain characters for you to find and meet. Some creatures need to be dealt with and discoveries to be made. The players action are said to play a part in the story, a major part. We have heard this all the time. Most games don’t do a good job at handle the “actions and decisions effect the story” system. We hope Biomutant can do this well. By the way, the story will be told through a narrator.
Biomutant does remind us of Metal Gear Survive in one very particular way. Areas that require certain equipment for the player to explore safely. In Metal Gear Survive you had the dust which was toxic for humans and you need an oxygen tank to temporarily survive. In Biomutant, players will need an gas mask and oxygen tank in order to explore the Dead Zones. Equipment is very important in this game. Players can equip protective hazard like gear to protect from bio-contaminated enemies and substances. You can even equip thermos-resistant clothes to handle those really cold areas. So the kind of gear you equip and wear is completely up to you but it makes a difference.
Biomutant wants to keep things new and exciting and here’s how. It’s third person combat and there’s some good emphasis on mobility and agility. You can move how you want and that’s how it should be. Combat is a mixture of melee, shooting and even powers and abilities from your mutations. The melee is martial arts. Your character can learn new Wushu combat forms through natural progression or from master fighters. Some make sure you know some kung-fu. Decide when to get up close and beat your enemy down and when to get some distance and range down the pain. We are looking forward to seeing how they mix these things together.
If you was paying attention you would notice that we mentioned mutations. Your character is able to have his genetic structure re-coded. This will off course effect many things. For starters how you look will be different. Your attributes will be affected. If you receive exposure to radioactivity like the kind found in bunkers you” experience psi-mutations, your mind will be affected and you’ll learn abilities like elevation and telekinesis. If you get exposed to bio-contamination that will cause physical mutations like getting a barbed tail or even mantis claws. So there are many ways to develop your character.
There is crafting in Biomutants too. Developers claim players are “totally free when crafting weapons”. You can craft guns like shotguns, revolvers and rifles (off course). Craft melee weapons, whether they be heavy melee type, or sharp like slashing and piercing. You can add different parts to add modifications like a battery powered chainsaw (Gears of war inspired) and go even further with bio-contaminated sludge vials. We did say players should explore, as you may encounter a character who might craft some stuff for you. These things can include, a jump pack, bionic wings (sounds awesome) and even upgrade your automaton.
We checked out some gameplay and from what we can see, things look great. The graphics are very good, the world and areas look really interesting. The sounds are just good so far. The different animal mutant enemies don’t look so tough. The customisation and outfits your character can wear are showing some good variety right now. The giant monsters look like a real problem though. So far we are seeing high potential with Biomutant.
Overall Biomutant seems really good. Not much information on the main character though. This open world looks like players will have lots to do. We hope the creativity expands more. More interesting mutated animal enemies and a good amount of super dangerous enemies that players can’t face in combat. The developers ‘Experiment 101’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what Biomutant fully has to offer. Now Biomutant may have some kung-fu but their skills are nothing compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
