Tag: Action

Hive Jump. Jumping to us soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
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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Ultimate Doom. Ultimate fun?

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
Ultimate Doom

Ultimate Doom is one of those games that has it’s place in gaming history. Many gamers know about Ultimate Doom and what it’s about. If you don’t know then you are most likely one of the newer gamers. In Ultimate Doom you run around, kill demons, open doors, kill demons, find keys, kill demons, find new weapons, kill demons and get to the next level, while killing demons. Understand yet?

Players control a character called Doom Guy who later go on to learn that he’s called the Slayer (We wonder why). You start the game with a pistol which was typical of first person shooter games back then. Your first enemies where zombie men who were weak and never a problem. Ultimate Doom goes easy on you for the first level but does a good job at showing players what this whole game is about. You move fast, enemies tend to always be in groups, you must find items and ammo and there are secrets in the levels. Finding the secret location in the first level will reward you with a rocket launcher. Many players have accidentally killed themselves with the rocket launcher (admit it, don’t be ashamed).

Ultimate Doom

Eventually everything goes from “hey not too rough” to “hurt me plenty” real quick. Before you know it the levels feel like “Ultra-violence”. Why? Because there are so many enemies, traps that can result in your death, many secrets you missed and a whole abundance of projectiles coming straight at your face (can’t you sit still in your seat?). So how do you survive? It’s easy… keep moving and move fast! In Ultimate Doom, Doom Guy (you) have unlimited stamina and run really fast. You can even outrun your own rockets. Move around, aim well and take them all down before they get you, then find those medkits and stay topped up.

Many players including us enjoyed this. There were a variety of weapons. many levels, many different vicious enemies, surprises in each level and things got harder as you progressed. There was lots of colours, dead things everywhere and hazards. X35 Earthwalker, the legendary soldier himself played this game when he was very young. This game was fun. We remember getting the shotgun  for the first time and really started dropping those enemies easy. The imps didn’t phase us at all as they were easier to deal with in most situations. We had to dodge those fire balls they threw. Maybe… just maybe… we leaned to get out of the way… sometimes… maybe. It wasn’t long before we ran into the stronger pinky demons who forced you to back off as they just rushed you down but with diagonal movement until they were near you. The zombie men with shotguns was the biggest threat at that point as they had good accuracy and their shots did big damage as a shotgun should. It gets worse.

Doom 3 Resurrection of Evil

By the way we played Ultimate Doom through the game Doom 3 resurrection of evil as Ultimate Doom, DOOM 2 and the master levels were free features. Levels required you to search them completely to find keys, areas, switches and more to make your way through them. Some rooms had traps; for example, you enter a room and see the blue key you need. You grab it and then you hear many enemies. You then realised that a wall had opened up and enemies come out to say hello. Some times they were triggered by grabbing a certain weapon and some times they were triggered just for entering a room. Completing each level and seeing your completion percentage was cool but at times annoying as you always see the many secrets you missed. Today you can see whole gameplay guides showing where the secrets are. Ultimate Doom is Cleary not another shooter game.

This game was really fun. The best thing about Ultimate Doom was that you can play with others. X35 Earthwalker, the one true Earthwalker also played through Ultimate Doom with family. It was funny simply because at first we stuck together making our way through the levels but later on ended up confidently splitting up to tackle different parts of the levels by ourselves which could get chaotic. When one enemy was chasing one of us, one of the family would keep walking behind that enemy as the enemies didn’t change target until they were attacked. We even lead that enemy around the map while two of us was walking behind it. When the levels got real big and dangerous we would all be in danger and since we were far away we will always here our soldiers get hurt, die or us literally calling to another to help. The memories are definitely good ones. One time one of us fell into lava and we watched their split screen to see if they can find the exit out. Spolier, they survived.

Ultimate Doom

The enemies have to be the most memorable thing about Ultimate Doom. Especially the bigger ones like the pinky demon, hell knight, baron of hell, Cacodemon and Spiderdemon. When you see them for the first time you don’t actually panic or get scared simply because all the enemies pretty much ave the same pattern. They always come towards you, normally have projectiles attacks so you have to dodge, can take a lot of damage and give a lot more. 

The first time encountering the Cyber Demon solo was a problem as those rockets seriously hurt and multiple times had to run away to find rocket ammo. one thing about Ultimate Doom is that if the game presents and gives you loads of ammo, weapons etc, you know it’s about to go down. Those side steps to dodge rockets and that Cyber Demon took forever to die. First time facing this demon with a team was a different story. We were running around it at full speed all launching rockets like we didn’t care. It was basically a big bug being surrounded and attacked by three hornets firing their advanced explosive stingers at it repeatedly without mercy.

Ultimate Doom

Ultimate Doom did have some interesting features that can help out. For example you have a map of the level. We actually never knew we had a map for the longest time. The maps weren’t always clear as it’s 2D while we play in 3D (yes we know Doom was a 2D game they made 3D through smart coding). So when you enter a room you see some recognisable parts but mainly use the map when you are either lost or completed the level but was searching around. The map was a good feature though. Another feature which was much cooler was the fact that the demons can turn on each other and fight amongst themselves. This can be done when you make sure a demon of a different kind gets hit by an attack from another. If they are different types of demons, there is a high chance they will turn and fight them instead. We got to see who would win in a fight of one Cacodemon vs five Imps or two hell knights vs a mixed group of imps, pinky demons and zombie men. If you play your cards right, you can sit back watch the fight and place your bets (gambling is bad and we don’t encourage it). 

Overall Ultimate Doom was a super fun game. There is so much more we can say about this game. Ultimate Doom had unique features, variety in levels, weapons and enemies, there were secrets, multiple difficulty settings, boss monsters, useful power ups, surprises, monster betrayal and best of all multiplayer. We at X35 Earthwalker can safely say that Ultimate Doom was not ultimate fun but tons of fun. Now Ultimate Doom may have you fighting demons but even Doom Guy working with the demons is no match for… the ‘Earth Walk!’

For more information check out the link below:

Doom 4 gameplay?

Dauntless. Big hunting coming soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
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!’  

For more information check out the link below:

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Super Meat Boy Forever. Coming soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
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. Foes coming soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
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!’

For more information check out the link below:

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Hell Warders. They are coming soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
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!’

For more information check out the link below:

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Deathgarden. Getting opened soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
Deathgarden

Deathgarden is a action first person shooter game developed by ‘Behaviour Digital‘. It is coming out in the first quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Sure there is early access for PC but we don’t really care about that. It’s the whole hunter vs hunted theme. We hope they do this one well. Let’s take a look.

Deathgarden is set in the so called near future. In the world of Deathgarden, the most popular sport in the world is actually a dangerous one where people can and do die. A powerful hunter must hunt down and kill a group of people called Runners. These people are willing participants in this. The Runners must hide, evade the hunter and escape the arena, the garden. Sounds fun right? We are sure normal (stupid) people would love to take part in this type of sport.   

Deathgarden

The rules are quite simple. The Runners must avoid and the Hunter and escape from the garden while the Hunter hunts them down and kills them. There are objectives for the runners to complete which will open an exit for the them to escape through. The hunter isn’t going to let that happen though. Does this sound familiar? Well it should. remember Dead by Daylight? Yeah, that’s right sucker.

There are three phases to every match so far. Phase one: the Runners are sent into the garden before the hunter. they can use this time to locate the objectives and mark them for the whole team to see and look for crates to upgrades their abilities. Then in some seconds, the Hunter comes in and things get real. Phase two is where the Runners must complete the objectives. There are two game modes: ‘Gather & Deliver’ and ‘Capture’. In Gather & Deliver the Runners must go to dispenser stations to gather keys which they must deliver to certain points in the garden. In Capture, Runners must stand in the designated areas for a period of time to capture it. All this is happening while the Hunter is chasing them down, shooting, shocking and trying to kill them. The last phase, if the Runners succeed in opening the exits by completing the objectives, is the blood mode. Now all runners are revealed and the Hunter can execute a downed Runner straight away. If the Hunter kills three runners, the runners lose. Sounds intense right? it is. 

Deathgarden

The Hunter is powerful and too much for the runners in straight up combat. He has powers, dangerous weapons, abilities and some perks too. The hunter plays in first person and cannot be killed. He must stop the runners from escaping the garden by straight up find and killing them.

Let’s go deeper though. The hunters have different weapons to choose from: shotguns, LMGs, sniper rifles and assault rifles. For example the “FR574 Devil’s breathe – Bolt action sniper” has a slow rate of fire but very long range and deals large amounts of damage. The Passam Hacksaw T24 LMG has 150 rounds per magazine and has an effective range of 30 meters. The two permanent abilities of a hunter costs stamina upon use. They are Super Charge which increase movement speed and jump distance and the other is Stun which (you guessed it) stuns and deals small amounts of damage within a short range. Hunters can do more.

There are four powers for Hunters to choose, only one, from. They are: I see you, Fade, Spawn Turret and Drop mine. I see you reveals all nearby runners for 11 seconds. Fade makes the Hunter invisible and he makes no sound, this also cure the hunter of all negative effects like slow for example. Spawn turret lets the hunter place up to two turrets which ca and will fire at any and all runners within the range of 40 meters. Drop mine allows the hunter to set up proximity mines, up to ten. The Deathgarden got a whole lot safer right. Finally the perks. Hunters can choose two always activated passive perks. For example you can have increased magazine size and have downed runners revealed to you for 6 seconds. There are more perks though.    

Deathgarden

The Runners are agile and off course fast. They can also climb any surface too which is a much needed skill. They cannot kill the hunter but have equipment and devices that can halt, distract and harass the hunter. They play in third person and rely heavily on communication and teamwork.

Let’s go deeper though. There are three runner classes: Torment are all about harassing the hunter, messing with him, debuffing and stopping him from messing with your team. Support who can heal and shield their allies from a safe distance. Control who are best at handling objectives and messing with the Hunters focus and actions. Each of their abilities have three tiers. For example the support has healing bolts that, at tier one, just heal allies, tier two has an increased radius, but at tier three can revive down allies. Another example is that the torment class has a blind ability which at tier 1 blinds the hunter, at tier two the radius is increased, at tier three the hunter’s weapon has maximum spread so basically blind and little accuracy.

Runners also have perks. More available perks than the hunter. Like with the Hunter Runners can pick two of them. For example you can have ‘revivalist’ which lets you revive with full health instead of the standard 1/3 and ‘Damage Dodger’ which reduces damage you take by 40% while evading. Or you can combine ‘Lucky Charm’ which gives a 25% chance to receive an additional weapon upgrade part from a crate and ‘Quick Rescue’ which increases rescuing speed by 50%.So get creative, communicate with your team and work out what will work smoothly together.

Deathgarden

The gardens themselves are never the same. Like with Spelunky, Deathgarden has procedurally generated arenas. So you can’t really plan ahead as much as you want. This garden can simulate a whole forest. Some matches can have fog, others have rain, others be daytime while other matches can be at night. Let’s not forget the bloodpost. Basically the hunter can send a Runner to a bloodpost if he has enough bloodpost charges. Each time the Hunter downs a Runner, he gets a charge. Charges can be stacked. Once you have three then a bloodpost can be used in order to execute a Runner. Runners can save other runners from a bloodpost but they are revealed to the Hunter while they are rescuing. If a Runner is rescued, then the bloodpost loses three charges. So the game has some mercy for Runners. 

We checked out some gameplay and it is looking good so far. The runners moved how we thought they could. They can jump, scale any surface and scatter like rats. The Hunter is real fast, powerful, jumps high, strong weapons and a real threat. You truly can’t kill the Hunter. The Runners need to look out for crates with provide ammo and also weapon upgrade parts. There are some discussions concerning the balance of the game. The Hunter does seem really strong right now.. we do like that Runners capturing an objective are revealed to the Hunter. It definitely looks better than Dead by Daylight right now. You can’t just run around that same block and the Hunter can never catch them. No! The Hunter will kill you if you try running around a big rock thinking you are safe. The Hunter is faster.

Overall, Deathgarden looks like a good game. We definitely preferred this over Dead by Daylight. We never liked that game. The executions are quite brutal. The graphics look good and the fog does give Runners an advantage most of the time. The sounds though, especially the sounds of the guns firing. The developers ‘Behaviour Digital’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing this game come on the consoles for some real gaming. Now Deathgarden may have a powerful Hunter who has powers but even the Hunter would get stomped against… the ‘Earth Walk!’ 

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The Forbidden Arts. Soon un-forbidden

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The Forbidden Arts

The Forbidden Arts is a new action adventure platformer game developed by ‘Stingbot Games‘. It is coming out in the first quarter of 2019 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch,  PS4 and PC. There was early access on PC in 2018 though. We’ve never heard about this game before but let’s take a look.

The Forbidden Arts has a story. Players control Phoenix, who’s protagonist (obviously). He  was getting visions and didn’t understand them, so he sets out to find a druid and get answers concerning the visions. This druid ended up awakening the pyromancer abilities that were within him. This journey that Phoenix will take will be all about him mastering his new hot powers while becoming something much more important and powerful.

The Forbidden Arts

Now since The Forbidden Arts is an adventure game with platforming elements, expect to do some exploring. There are areas to discover and collectibles not far away. One of the collectibles by the way is gold which literally looks like a solid cube block of gold (that’s your rent money right there). So be patient as the worlds in The Forbidden Arts are very large. The different locations look and feel different. From swamps, to fields to deserts to dungeons and more.

There are secret locations and items that will unlock abilities for Phoenix so make sure to find them. By the way, this won’t be easy as there are lots of ancient magic and arts out there. We know for a fact that the necromancer Voltair is evil and he believes in a world that’s all about death. He is bound to show up eventually. Especially since he got kicked out by the council of magic. Bad guys never stay down.

Don’t forget, that The Forbidden Arts is a platformer. All action on the world map is 3D but all action in the dungeons are 2D. So expect lots of running, jumping, pits, wall calling, vine climbing, many obstacles, pits, spikes and more. Lots of opportunities to save your game, as in you can save almost anywhere at any time, which is both a good and bad thing. Good because then less chance of gamers losing progress but bad because some gamers are cheap who save every two seconds to undo all mistakes.

The Forbidden Arts

There are 5 different worlds, 5 big boss fights and many different enemies. You have enemies with shields, enemies that charge like a bull, flying enemies, melee enemies and enemies that only use projectile and some others can even teleport basically. We do like the variety though. Wolves, goblins, tortoises, bird looking enemies all around. Once you know it’s an action adventure performer you pretty much have an idea of what to expect. 

We checked out some gameplay and it looks good. Remember, The Forbidden Arts is in the alpha development rage still so it will get better. You can  use your pyromancer powers in a variety of ways. Use fire defensively to protect from harm, hurl fire balls at enemies, charge up your flames and even manipulate the environment. The Forbidden Arts doesn’t look like a hard game though. Timing is required though when it comes to certain enemies. The game better get difficult.  ​

Overall, The Forbidden Arts look like a good game. The graphics for it’s alpha development stage looks good. The music is very good. The environments and even designs so far look very good too. The enemy variety and story are interesting. The developers ‘Stingbot Games’ are doing a good job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what else The Forbidden Arts has for gamers. Now the Forbidden Arts may have magic and different arts but even when working together they are no match for… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Dead or Alive 6. Fighting starts soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
Dead or Alive 6

Dead or Alive 6 is the latest action fighting game, in the Dead or Alive series, developed and published by ‘Koei Tecmo Games‘. Dead or Alive 6 is coming out the 15th of February 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. What will the latest Dear or Alive game offer? Let’s take a look.

Dead or Alive has been a long running series. There has been lots of discussions and forums concerning Dead or Alive 6. What we at X35 Earthwalker hope is that the developers focus on making good mechanics, balancing everything as best as possible and throwing in some new things to make everything exciting. Developers have to know when to it’s time to listen to fans for feedback and when to go ahead with what they wanted for their game. 

Dead or Alive 6

Now when it comes to the story of Dead or Alive 6 that’s quite complicated and all over the place. Not to mean that it’s a bad story, but it’s like Tekken, where every character has their own story and something going on. For example Helena who is the president of the new DOATEC is threatened by a person who has special powers. Kasumi left her clan and is now a runaway ninja who’s secretly living in a mountain village. So you’ll have to play as the characters to learn and see what’s going on, which isn’t a bad idea.

Dead or Alive 6’s fighting mechanics is based on a triangle system. Throws, strikes and holds. Holds beat strikes, strikes beat throws and throws beat holds. If you successfully land a attack on the type it is strong against then you deal more damage and is counted as a hi counter. A completely new system is the break gauge system. The break guard is a new special attack meter that gets filled up when landing or taking hits and even blocking. Players can use the break gauge to execute moves like the break blow and break hold. The break hold is the strongest hold in the game and can return lower, middle and upper attacks. The break blow can parry an strike while delivering a powerful strike. There’s the fatal rush is basically four punches or kicks stringed together as a combo.  

Dead or Alive 6

In terms of the characters, there are three new ones shown on their official website while hinting there is more. They are Kokoro, La Mariposa and Nico. La Mariposa, the ‘Immortal Butterfly’ is a luchadora wrestler excels at Aerial attacks and having tricky movements. Nico, the ‘lightning Technomancer’ is naturally skilled at martial arts and has three EMF rings that boost her speed and attacks. Kokoro, the ‘Ba Ji Dancer’ specialises in Ba Ji Quan using mid range elbow and palm thrust attacks. Watch out as she also has number of throws that could mess you up. The variety amongst characters so far look good. 

In terms of the stages, in Dead or Alive 6, there are some and they look very good. There’s ‘The Muscle’ which is a large wrestling ring which as the words muscle spirit on the walls of the building. Didn’t Zangief talk about muscle spirit in Street Fighter V. There is ‘Lost Paradise’ is basically a cool jungle setting with some unfinished wooden structures around as well. There’s even a dinosaur in the area too. ‘Forbidden Fortune’ is a old pirate ship that has bones and a lot of history. These ruins are not safe and that’s a fact. The ‘DOA’ colosseum is new, ready looks great. The roaring fans cheering for their fighters and ring ropes that have some hot consequences for whoever touches them. ‘Zero’, research facility, ‘Miyabi’, an old street in a Japanese village and ‘Hidden garden’ a secluded and calming spot are all new and ready for fighters.

Dead or Alive 6

We checked out some Dead or Alive 6 gameplay and it’s definitely a step up from the last ones. There are even danger zones in some stages. These zones are bad news for any fighters who get knocked into them as some animation takes place dealing that fighter big damage. This reminds us of Injustice 2 and their stage animations. For example, remember that Lost Paradise place we mentioned well that stage has a danger zone and it’s a large dinosaur that attacks which cause an explosion that deals bit damage. Another stage has what seems like a kraken which uses it’s tentacles to attack fighters. These are definitely worth using against your enemies.

Overall Dead or Alive 6 seems like a good game so far. The graphics are very good and how the stages look very detailed. The sounds are good too. We like how the fighters have varied fighting styles with some real martial arts like Jeet Kune Do, T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Taekwondo. The developers ‘Koei Tecmo Games’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing fully what Dead or Alive 6 has to offer this time. Now Dead or Alive 6 may have a fancy tournament but even that is completely lame when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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The Sinking City. Coming to the surface soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker
The Sinking City

The Sinking City is a new action adventure game developed by ‘Frogwares‘ and published by ‘Bigben Interactive‘. The Sinking City is coming out the 21st of March on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. This game has something deep going on and it will come to the surface soon (se what we did there?). Let’s take a look.

The Sinking City is set in the United States in 1920s. Quite a suspicious time if you ask us. Players control an investigator named Charles W Reed. Eventually you arrive in Oakmont, Massachusetts. Before you know it, you are practically called to investigate the city. Not just any city but one that is suffering from mysterious floods. These floods will get rid of the city. It’s up to the player and Charles W Reed to figure out what’s going on.

The Sinking City

Now there has been rumours about a sort of darkness that has not only kept the city under it’s control but also effected the minds of the people who live in this city. It might just corrupt your mind as well. So be careful. By the way, The Sinking City is also an open world that was inspired by the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. So fans will have an advantage of whats going on including the lore.

So what can you expect in The Sinking City? This whole world is pretty much fully explorable. So go down the streets and in buildings on foot, travel from port to port and explore the waters with a boat, or even go under water and see what’s happening with a diving suit. Your characters mental health is a factor in the game, so possibly like Visage, some events or activities could possibly effect what you see or your performance. 

The Sinking City

Now it’s been made clear that there are monsters in this world. The Sinking City isn’t the safest place on earth (in case you haven’t realised yet). There are dangerous monsters that will destroy you if you aren’t prepared for them. Some look like spiders that move pretty fast, while others are more like medium sized kraken monsters while others are massive king king sized krakens with tentacles and everything. It’s most likely called a cthulhu as they were introduced in the H.P. Lovecraft books, specifically the ‘call of cthulhu‘. Also there are weapons. Lots of weapons and thank goodness as they are needed. The weapons are from the 1920s so don’t be expecting a M16A2 assault rifle. Expect the Thompson and it’s automatic fire. 

We checked out some gameplay and it’s a bit more than we expected actually. The whole world in this game is quite creative. The setting is good too. A number of people have an issue with water, throw in a mystery and water based monsters and you have something quite good. Also each case you faced can be  solved in different ways and there are a number of endings too so players who enjoy the game can replay The Sinking City. So as we said, this game is quite deep. Your character can also do strange things like see and hear things from the past, which is like the ultimate ability for a detective or investigator. There are more abilities too. 

Overall The Sinking City looks like a good game. The graphics adequate good, the sounds are better. The environment and world look sort of bland but we know improvements are coming. Looking forward to more information concerning the weapons in this game. The developers ‘Frogwares’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not looking forward to this game. It looks good but we will wait until we see something real interesting. Now The Sinking City may have water and monsters but even those combined are nothing compared too… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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