Tag: RPG

The Ascent. Restoring order soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

The Ascent is a new solo and co-op action RPG developed by ‘Neon Giant‘ and published by ‘Curve  Digital‘. The Ascent is said to be coming out in 2020 but no specific date. The Ascent is an Xbox exclusive that’s coming out on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC. We normally like games of this style so naturally we checked it out. Let’s take a look.

In the Ascent universe there is a corporation… well a mega corporation known as the ‘The Ascent group’. They are said to own every everyone, including the player. This mega corporation has collapsed… somehow. This effects everything including security and order. So off course with The Ascent group gone, there is chaos and violence as let’s just say… non peaceful corporations and gangs are taking advantage of the situation. So off course you got to get control of the situation and found out what happened.    

Now we definitely got an interest in The Ascent simply because of style. We like the whole top down shooting games thing. It reminds us of Alien Breed for example. Now that game is very good and a lot of fun with co-op action. So far The Ascent has those elements in terms of co-op action (which is excellent and the straight up combat. Games like this are not hard to make good but it’s the job or developers to take it to the next level. Hopefully The Ascent does such a thing.

The Ascent has a number of areas for the player to explore. There are many districts and some are run down and not so great like the slums while other places will be high end luxury places spheres. So make sure to take pictures – we mean be on your guard. Don’t forget that you will have opportunities to make allies and enemies. So be careful, do you really need more enemies, but what do they want in return for being an ally. Some people you can’t trust. Especially if you meet a alien called pablo.

There are a variety of enemies and off course each have their own strengths and weaknesses. She enemies are sower with their attacks. Some are melee only, others just attack from afar. You get the point by now. Off course don’t forget that The Ascent is also an RPG. Enemies can drop loot. The most dangerous enemies are worth slaying as they can drop the best and rarest loot of all. Your characters can also be augmented and customised. How you build your character will pretty much effect how you should approach the enemies. Use cyberware to modify your body, and your equipment makes a difference. 

We checked out some The Ascent gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. Top down, move around, dodge attacks, keep distance, shoot them down and make your way. You explore the area (as you should) and open up chests for items. The shooting enemies don’t seem so aggressive. There’s also abilities like a ground pound attack so you can mix that in to destroy groups of enemies. There is a dome shield that moves with you and offers excellent protection. The Ascent is already setting a huge bar for games to follow with no loading, environment destruction stays and it’s incredibly detailed and this isn’t even the final build yet. As expected we say playstation fans just dumping all over it for no logical reason but hey if you like it, play it and have fun. 

Overall, The Ascent looks amazing so far. It’s incredibly detailed. The graffiti, the environment and as mentioned before the environment damage stays. The graphics are excellent, the sounds are serious and the in game character animations are excellent too. If this is what the Xbox Series X is brining then we are looking forward to it. The developers ‘Neon Giant’ have done an amazing job so far. We at X35 Earthwalker definitely look forward to what The Ascent truly brings. Now The Ascent may ascend gameplay but nothing is as ascended as… the ‘Earth Walk!’ 

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Outriders. Coming OUT in time

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

Outriders is a new third person shooter role playing game developed by ‘People Can Fly‘ and published by ‘Square Enix‘. Outriders is said to be coming out in the fourth quarter of 2020 on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5 and PC. Outriders is one of those games that wants to come in hot with big stuff. Let’s take a look.

Outriders in set in a sci-fi universe. Definitely the future and it’s a dark and desperate times. This place is called Enoch (another inspiration from the Bible but no mention). Things are harsh, death seems to get around a lot. So don\’t expect any rainbows and sunshine (Escanor or not). Simply put humanity is in trouble. They have been described as “bleeding out”. The only lead players have is this weird signal. You need to know where it’s coming from, it’s source. So that’s the whole adventure. In outriders you are travelling across this dangerous world to find the source of that signal. So get walking.

Now yes the trailers and story show three Outriders but it’s confirmed that you can create your own Outrider. So character customisation is confirmed. How in depth is the customisation, we don’t know but it must be facial at least and probably like with most recent modern games, there could be skins and outfits. Now players get to choose from four classes for their Outrider. Each class off course has their own abilities and skill tree. 

Now Outriders is a shooter game so expect the guns. There are some standard guns as in machine gun fire and heavy rounds but there also a twist to some… after all it is the future. There’s even what looks like a chain gun so keep your head down… maybe. The more emphasis is on the powers. There’s many abilities out here. From straight up shooting flames from your hands, causing earth shockwaves, phasing, sort of teleport (become electricity dash forward and reform), blasts, ice freezing and more. Now when you think about Outriders altogether it should remind you of another futuristic game where humanity are also having a tough time but some specific people have powers… Destiny. 

Let’s address some smaller stuff. It’s been quoted “OUTRIDERS offers countless hours of gameplay from one of the finest shooter developers in the industry – People Can Fly.” First of all countless is a real big word and we at X35 Earthwalker take it seriously. They better deliver with countless hours worth of gameplay. Second ‘People can fly’ are good developers but not one of the finest. They made Gears of War Judgement which we really enjoyed and had the best weapons balancing of all the Gears of War games for multiplayer but made some big mistakes that are obvious even to a casual gamer. For example no locust in multiplayer and no ‘Down but not out’ which means no executions. So good yes but definitely not finest unless they have seriously improved over time.

Outriders is suppose to have a whole lot of stuff and places for players to see. You will come across, broken down places, slums, cities, deserts, some shanty towns and more. In big games like this, the environments make a big difference. Now best of all, it’s confirmed that Outriders is co-op. It’s drop in, drop out co-op so your friends can join and leave whenever they want. This is the most convenient and best way of doing co-op for the most part. Matter of fact co-op has been pushed and emphasised all over this game. We like this feature for sure. The game industry needs more awesome big co-op made games.  

We checked out some Outriders gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. It does remind us of Destiny. Got a mission, get there and complete it while gunning down enemies of a variety sort. While using your powers and abilities that literally shake things up. You can roam as a team of three or with just one friend and dominate the enemies. Using cover effectively and probably melt enemies with your steady stream of melting flames. Also there are whole lots of gear and guns that can be modded for that extra kick, effects and boosts. So there are some layers to this game. Remember that Outriders all be one of those new games that will come out also on the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5. So already gamers have got expectations. 

Overall, Outriders has got a lot going on and looks like a very good game so far. The theme of ascension is heavy when it comes to the story. Leaving humanity behind and becoming something more. We know how these go. The graphics look very good too. The developers ‘People Can Fly’ have done a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to see what Outriders truly brings to the gaming table. Now Outriders may have powers and guns in a dark universe but it’s still all children stuff when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Maneater. The battle starts soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

Maneater is a new action role playing game developed and published by ‘Tripwire Interactive’. Maneater is said to be coming out the 22nd of May 2020 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and pc. Sharks are dangerous but this is taking things too far. Humans beware. Let’s take a look.

There is a story in Maneater. The story campaign has been described as ‘full narrative’. It’s narrated by  Chris Parnell, the guy who did Saturday night live, 30 rock and even that annoying Rick and Morty. The story is set against the backdrop of a reality TV show. We don’t have the details… or maybe we do but don’t want to share… either way you’ll have to wait fro learn for yourself.

Maneater has a very simple concept. A shark can eat a human so they made a whole game around that with some twists. That’s the whole game of Maneater. Players are a shark and you go around primarily eating humans but you can fight other creatures too like alligators. So basically eat what comes in your way or what you come to. Eat or be eaten basically is the rule here. 

That’s the objective… to eat. You grow and get stronger the more you eat and there’s a lot on the menu as Maneater is also open world. You can go through the whole ocean, finding all kinds of creatures and stuff to eat. Not only that, you can evolve to. Yep Maneater is on it’s Evolve today. There’s multiple evolving paths you can take with your shark. There’s a armoured shark where it has like hardened bone structure on it’s body and face for additional protection and toughness. There’s another where you look like a 3/4 shark and 1/4 glow squid deep sea thing. It’s actually cool looking. They come with new abilities and more chaos.

Don’t get ahead of yourself though. Like with Feeding Frenzy, you don’t start off as the big bad shark that everyone fears. Nope! You start as a small little shark. You then have to eat and survive to grow up, get bigger and stronger, being able to face stronger, bigger and more dangerous foes. Both animal and human. Eventually you will be big and strong enough to take on the humans. You can face the local drunks who are unorganised while the coast guard are a real problem. Like seriously they have guns and proper equipment. 

We checked out some Maneater gameplay and it’s not exactly what we thought. There’s way more agility and unrealistic shark movement and abilities going on and we like that. You have to find loot to evolve your shark. There’s a number of different areas like beaches, the ocean, gulf coast and even industrial docks. We like that eventually you get cool abilities like smashing through boats completely, leaping out of the water to snatch humans off boats. It’s different from other games and definitely stands out.

Overall Maneater looks like a real cool game. We definitely like the simple concept of it. Jaws, but this shark is smarter, more blood hungry, more powerful and far more dangerous because of it. Sharks eating humans can work. The developers ‘Tripwire Interactive’ have a done a great job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to keep an eye on our sonar for any Maneater activity. Now Maneater may have a evolving hungry shark but that shark is a little goldfish when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Final Fantasy XV. The greatest game?

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

Final Fantasy XV is the latest (we are not counting the remake) and biggest Final Fantasy game. It’s developed and published by Square Enix. Now straight up, we at X35 Earthwalker definitely like this game. We had a great time for sure. There’s a lot going on in this game so we will cover all the important stuff (yes there are spoilers but is it really a spoiler at this point as the game has been out for like 4 years now). So check this out.

First things first. The story. We enjoyed the story. It’s one of those stories where if you don’t pay attention you won’t understand the crucial parts. The main parts are obvious though. You control Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum. Son of king Regis Lucis Caelum. The king sends his son and his friends: Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto of a missions. Basically Noctis is off to go get married to his fiancé Lady Lunafreya. The wedding is also a political move too but whatever. As you are in Galdin Quay you learn that your home town got attacked by the empire during a peace treaty signing. Your hometown, Insomnia, got destroyed, many people died, including Gladiolus and your Father are dead. You can’t reach home, nor do you have the power to take back the city. You continue to Altissia to find your fiancé and encounter the ‘Six’.  Who are the Six? It’s a prophecy concerning the chosen king and how the Six, who are gods, the give Noctis power. It’s basically about getting lots of power destined for the king. There’s the ring of Lucis, the crystal, which the Lucis monarchy have guarded for numerous years, power from the six and the royal arms. We won’t explain everything. Just get the power and get to Altissia. 

It’s a big journey. You even need to get and repair a boat to travel the sea and reach the island.The story does make sense and it’s easy to understand except for the ending which is sort of cryptic. Unless there’s content that explains what happens or a sequel is coming, games should let the players know what’s happening. Did Noctis really die, if so, him marrying Lunafreya was that in heaven, another realm, his wish granted as the chosen king to be with his fiancé or what? The dossier doesn’t explain and neither is there additional information. It’s not good to leave your players who are paying attention with giant question marks, especially when we worked hard to beat the game and more. This is a small negative though. 

Concerning the  Final Fantasy XV characters, we like them. Especially the four main characters who we follow around. Seeing how the four interact with each other was excellent. Noctis is the prince who everyone must protect and care for but he isn’t the most mature guy around and clearly has an attitude problem. Ignis is the greatest of all time and our favourite. He is the cook, the driver, the advisor and has the most wisdom. He is also the most educated and has an amazing accent and way of talking. Gladiolus is the big strong guy, focused and super stern and militant in some ways. He’s the big brother of the group. Prompto is the joker, the best friend of Noctis and most cheerful member, bringing the laughs and keeping spirits high. They joke with each other, pick on each other, make fun of each other like Ignis’s hair in the wild wind, or Noctis having a scrawny body and no muscle according to Gladiolus. They act like actual best friends and like best friends they even have arguments which we will get into later.  You will end up caring about the four and their safety. There was a hint in the game where Ignis got hurt and he lost his sight. This actually hit X35 Earthwalker personally as he cared for Ignis. That’s what this game does to you. You care and possible relate to this characters based on their traits. 

The Final Fantasy XV world is huge and definitely beautiful and amazing. There is firstly the cinematic scenes which are beautifully done and the details are top level. The desert area is dusty, mountains in the distance, the sand stormy areas do effect vision to some extent, there is a deep pit of water and the whole area literally looks like a good wild wilderness area. The next area is a very green, water pit area with literally large lakes, giant fossilised bones , bushes, lakes for fishing and more. Expect rain too. There’s even a simp like area and a mountainous place where rough wyvern enemies dwell. Multiple cities and towns for you to visit as well. All looks good. The roads, the world, as you travel, the graphics, character design is all very good. From time to time and especially when we entered a new area, we would stop and look around at the environment and area to see the design and the hard work that went into it.

Now a large game and world like Final Fantasy XV needs ways to traverse it right. There are cities, a coast, forests, sandy desert areas and more with numerous side quests all around. Well Final Fantasy XV has provided such means.  Off course you can just hoof it and walk and sprint to where you need to go.Better though is that you can get access to Chocobos, which are the famous loveable giant chicken birds that you can ride. Chocobos can even do sprints which under the right conditions can bring some real speed. Next is the Regalia, which is the royal car. So actual horsepower right here. The regalia also has some options. For example, you can have Ignis drive you, drive yourself or even use fast travel. Now this is good game design. You have on foot, chocobos, car and a fast travel. Also when you turn the Regalia into the type D which becomes a serious off road monster truck like vehicle that can even jump. Yes… a jumping car. Final Fantasy XV has multiple options and ways for you to travel and get around. You can literally set a route for Ignis to drive and he will automatically drive the car there while the player can put down the control and quickly go do something else. Does come in handy.

Final Fantasy XV rewards players who like to explore. As you travel by car, chocobo or foot you will come across treasure, items, ingredients and more. You may even discover a dungeon containing a mighty beast to face. You can come across fishing spots too. Now the fishing is whole new game in itself. You need to put together your fishing rod and even decide what bait to use. Some bait will only attract certain fish, few have special effects etc. You throw in your bait and see what is paying attention to it. Then you need to reel in your bait at different speeds to attract the fish to it as some prefer fast moving bait while others prefer slow moving bait. Then when they catch, you see what fish it is allowing you to decide if you want to try and catch it or not. You have a brief moment to decide though. Then when you actually try to catch it, it’s a battle. The fish will move right and then left, back and forth to try and make things hard for you. You must tilt the control stick in the same direction it is moving to prevent your fishing line from taking damage. You must wait for the right moments to start reeling in the fish which reduces it’s stamina. Once their stamina reduces to nothing, you win. Fishing isn’t simple and it can actually be real hard to get the biggest strongest fish which also requite Noctis to have a higher fishing level, which increases as you fish. We have caught the Vesper Gar (we hate that thing) and something bigger. 

Probably our favourite thing at the end of each in game day is the camping. Final Fantasy XV does have a day night cycle. It gets real dark so you make your way to a camp site. Gladiolus puts up the tent, prompto helps set up and keeps the chatter going. Ignis, the main man, stands by the grill and thinks about what meal to cook. You select the meal and Ignis with the click of his fingers gets straight to work. The way he does it is art. Then you see the meal made and presented in a bowl, plate or whatever is appropriate. Then you see all four characters actually eating the meal you selected and having a good chat. The developers went and did all this work. For example if you choose a meal that’s skewers then you see them holding the skewers and taking bites. If cup noodles then you see them with the cup and getting those noodles down them. Also the details on the food is very good too. Some meals makes us want to eat it too. We also liked the idea that you get buffs from your meals. Some meals increase your max health, attack, magic, spirit or a combination temporarily. Some meals increase the amount experience points you get, others make your tech meter fill up faster. So get tactical and decide what  you need… when it comes to food.

The combat in Final Fantasy XV is simple on one side but also deep on the other side. Let us explain. Sure al you have to do it hold down attack and everything is automated, then hold down block to dodge and survive. At it’s core… that’s it… but there’s more. While attacking, use the control stick to adjust where Noctis attacks and shift around to the back of the enemy. Why? Because striking the back does trigger a blindside which if an ally is near you both do a fancy powerful tag team move that does lots of damage. o always aim for the back. If you successfully block an attack that alerts the player by telling you to block, you can parry right afterwards which if an ally is nearby leads to a tag team strike which again does lots of damage. So fight near your allies. Next jumping and then attacking in the air triggers different kinds of moves, especially with certain javelins. Once unlocked through the ascension with AP points you can even air step, dodge and block in the air while striking from above. You can warp strike into enemies which while warping you are invincible so time your warps and you can avoid lethal attacks while dishing out some damage. Best of all though is that you can  perform link strikes if you have filled up your link gauge (which fills as you attack and defend). You can unlock and then set what link strike you want each ally to have. For example, Prompto can have piercer, Gladiolos can have dawn hammer, and Ignis has enhancement. You choose which you want and they will do it. You are invincible while they are doing the move. If you wait for the prompt at the end of their move you can perform your tag team strike right afterwards for additional damage. It doesn’t end there. You can use the armiger which fills as you fight, then unleash to increase your attack strength and greatly boost speed and mobility. You literally end up dashing around, and striking with great power (this isn’t even your final form). Then you can do a armiger chain where you use your remaining armiger “fuel” and deliver a strong attack with your allies. You can also do a cross chain with your allies where you warp strike into a vulnerable enemy and you all then take turns striking the enemy, increasing the damage with each successful pushed attack button when prompted to, leading up to a final flashy finishing strike, normally kills the enemy. 

Final Fantasy XV also has summons. After you gain the support and help of the gods you can then summon them in combat to help you. They each have conditions though on how to be summoned. This sadly wasn’t explained in the game and we didn’t even know until recently. For example when you get Ramuh’s mark, he can only be summoned when a fight you are in drags on for a long time then you will see the prompt to summon and he will show up. Titan can be summoned when your allies are down or in danger and only in certain places of the world like a bog open place. Leviathan can only be summoned when your allies are in danger and when you are near a good amount of water. We aren’t entirely sure about any of this. This is a big fail of Final Fantasy XV. They didn’t;t make the summons clear or how to do it. We get shown Ramuh’s summon because it’s part of the story only. While playing we saw Ramuh once and that’s it. We then kept seeing a bird goddess thing because we  unlocked her through completing a cool special event story. We never saw any other summon. 

Last of all Final Fantasy XV has the greatest battle scene of all video gaming time. When we first saw the Leviathan show up and take us on, we were amazed. We knew we can’t beat that thing. It’s too big and has the advantage of going in the water. When we the got our kingly powers unlocked and could fly, launch powerful explosive attacks, dash and practically teleport and strike with immense force we knew it was a serious battle. Combine this battle and the weather, the environment and the epic music. It was a battle that you will never forget. literally no other game gave us an exciting moment like this. Final Fantasy XV has the greatest not just combat but gaming scene in video game history. We were amazed the whole way through. More games need epic moments like this. Sadly there wasn’t anything else like this in the rest of the game even though this game has the room and potential for it.

Final Fantasy XV is also relatable and one of the few games that really brings the emotions at least for us. We will give two examples. When Gladiolus and Noctis had a major disagreement and they almost fought on the train after some exchange of words you understood both sides. Noctis lost his fiancé and was really down about it as anyone would be but the events on the train took place several weeks after that though. In that time he was so focused on that, that he ignored and forgot about his friends, mainly Ignis who lost his sight and was badly wounded while trying to help Noctis. Ignis was blind and it seems like Noctis almost paid no mind. So we understand why Gladiolus was mad and frustrated with Noctis. He was basically being the harsh big brother getting his little brother to get his head straight and be more considerate of others. When we saw Ignis blind, walking slowly and even falling over… it actually hit us sort of hard. We didn’t dear run ahead, we made sure to keep him close by. We cared about Ignis… all of them and you can clearly see how this is a brothers moment. Gladiolus was harsh, heart in the right place and was right but was too harsh and needed to handle things with more gentleness. Noctis had every right to mourn and be sad but that’s no excuse to forget about and show no compassion and concern for others, especially those who will lay down their lives for him like Ignis did. The second example was the camping you had to do before entering the home city of Insomnia. It’s the last camp the four will do together. It, as usual, gives you the choice of what to eat. You then realise that this is literally the last meal the four friends were going to have together. They won’t get this again. No more laughter around the camp fire. All of a sudden you had to think carefully about what you would eat. It was an emotional moment.    

Let’s sum up. Final Fantasy XV failed to explain summons properly and the conditions of the summons concerning the ‘the six’. There also wasn’t enough summons. The camera when you was driving the car (the Regalia) was too close to the car and when you went up steep hills, you couldn’t see anything as the camera was in the car. Your line still taking damage even though you stopped reeling and turning the rod in the direction is stupid. Either make us turn faster or reduce or give a heads up of when the fish turns as some turn to quickly without any warning and showing no time to reel in. Also when the fish jumps up and you get a prompt to press a button, it does little to no effect on the fish’s stamina. The ending needs to be cleared up as after spending lots of hours into the game, you deserve to know exactly what happened and understand it. A bit of cryptic for details is fine but the end result should be clear. AP points needed to come more frequently as we finally got the two link strike abilities which cost 333 and 999 AP points but by that time we were basically near the very end of the game. Took too long to get there and have much more to unlock. Also we hate that the empire’s forces can drop in while you are fighting a bounty creature. Regular travels and enemies are fin but not when you are facing tough monsters as bounty. That was super annoying. We hated that. Enemy targeting in combat wasn’t perfect and was annoying when your character starts shining at an enemy far away instead of the vulnerable enemy on the ground right next to you… but when you fully understand how the targeting works, that happens way less.

What they did well was: excellent top level graphics and wonderful looking cutscenes. Great details on the food which makes you want to eat it too. Good options in traverse the game like the Regalia and chocobos. Epic boss battles including the greatest boss battle and game moment in all of history. Characters are relatable, stand out, unique, got own stories and history and you actually care about them. Lots of relatable lessons and moments in the game like friendship, bonds, trust, loss, betrayal, mystery, laughter, victory, love, pain, depression and more.We loved the camping and it’s mechanics. Final Fantasy XV rewards you for exploring. Lots of customisation for car and characters. Can change gear and abilities even during combat. Has epic summons. Combat is smooth, simple but can get real deep. There’s fun activities too like chocobo racing, fishing (can be challenging though). Loads of side quests with most not be same or simple fetch quests, except Dave and his dog tags which makes sense though as being a hunter is a tough job and many will die. Nice interesting story with some mystery. Even something unusual like a proper political meeting between the king of Lucis and the first secretary of Accordo, Camelia Claustra which requires a different approach. Final Fantasy XV has pictures that Prompto takes which you can decide which ones to save and they can bring back memories or reminders of the journey.You can save anywhere and there is a new game plus with more stuff to do end game so it isn’t ver. The game has the right difficulty. Some moments and enemies are real easy but do side quests and level up and you can fairly face the strong monsters. Cool enemies with variety… we got to fight a flaming griffon bird thing. Now that’s cool. An abundance of items granting powerful effects. There’s even a monster arena where you can place your bets and watch creatures you’ve met and thought on your journey battle each other to the death. Bet on the winning monster and you make a lot. There’s even items you can buy to help your chances of winning in the monster arena. There’s more to say but that covers the basics.

Overall Final Fantasy XV has basically everything. It’s positive way way way way overcomes the few negatives which aren’t even that serious. We truly enjoyed playing the game, taking our time and exploring. We like facing cool monsters and enemies. We will never forget facing Leviathan the Hydraean. When it comes to design, details, variety, hard work put in and share fun… we crown Final Fantasy XV so far as the greatest game we have ever played. We know, that’s a most serious statement to make. Is it our favourite game… no. Is it best game ever made, possibly no because it has way more than Halo 5 because of the type of game that it is. Final Fantasy XV being an open world RPG has room for anything and everything. You can have racing, exploration, underwater levels, huge stories and more because open world RPG are built like that and always require the most time spent in them with numerous side quests and levelling up to do. It’s a true adventure. Halo 5 is a set first person shooter game. You complete each of the levels, shoot some aliens and you end the game. It’s linear and set. Open world RPG like Final Fantasy can have multiple stories within one game and has room for DLC and expansions like it already has. It’s just way bigger and allows for so much more. So it’s the greatest game we have ever played wee have yet to decide if it’s the best game ever made but it’s definitely a strong contender. We had so much fun and would recommend it to anyone. Literally anyone. There is a few puzzle elements, racing, explorations, beautiful moneys and environments and action. It has everything. The developers ‘Square Enix‘ have done an awesome job with this game. Final Fantasy XV deserved way more credit from reviewers and way more attention. We didn’t cover everything but this is good enough. Now Final Fantasy XV may be the greatest game ever made but it’s still worthless when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition is a turn-based strategy RPG developed by ‘Snowhound Games‘ and published by ‘1C Entertainment‘. Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition is said to be coming out the 24th of March 2020 on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PC. We have never heard of this game. We hope it’s good. Let’s take a look.

Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition is set in a dystopian future. Mankind has been scattered through the galaxy. Human society is also changed. There are two classes, basically the poor and those who are well off and cozy. Well players control someone who’s poor and a stateless outcast. So you live off scraps wherever you can find it. Now rumour has it, there is an alien derelict ship rumoured to be somewhere in the deep sky sector. Why do you care? It’s what’s going to help you get citizenship and a better life on a decent planet. Yep, simple story.

Simply put, Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition is all about recruiting others to join your team. You must build them up, train, get stronger and gather items, materials, weapons and more. Scavenging is the main thing here and you must travel from room to room, which is procedural generated by the way, to find stuff and fight of attackers. You can return to home base and that’s where you can upgrade your gear.

 We aren’t going to say much about this game as it’s really clear what to expect from this. What also stands out is the art style. It’s comic book art style and it’s good to see something different from time to time. The most interesting thing for us about Deep, Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition has to be the monsters you can fight to get loot. How a game presents and design their monsters makes a big difference. Players can also explore alien ships, space stations and also planets which aren’t very safe. 

We checked out some Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition and it’s what we expected from a game like this. This definitive edition is the base game plus two downloadable content: “New Prospects” and “Station Life.” These off course add new gameplay features, enemies, character upgrades, missions other stuff. We just need to something bigger or more interesting to get us to want to play it. It has a very different style but art style isn’t enough. 

Overall, Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition does seem like a good game, not our kind of game but still good. It’s got some deep mechanics but we need more for us to get into it. The art style is done well and looks good. There are two modes, story and arena players will play it more than once because of the procedural generated rooms thing. The developers, ‘Snowhound Games’ have done a good job with this game. Now Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition may have comic style graphics but what will always look better is… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Element Space. A battle in the future

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Element Space is a turn based strategy role playing game (RPG) developed by ‘Sixth Vowel‘ and produced by ‘Inca Games‘. Element Space is said to be coming out the 24th of March 2020 on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It’s already out on PC. This game is suppose to be a futuristic battle, so let’s see what it’s got. Let’s take a look.

In the universe of Element Space, the year is 2199. That’s not as far future as Halo but still far. So basically earth somehow was close to being destroyed, so humanity had to expand into space. An organisation called the sixth vowel, the movement of light, made space travel and their missions possible. Suddenly though this same organisation turned on humanity. There was a big war which lasted years. Now the factions that worked together are now having tension amongst each other. There will be another war. The players job, is to bring the starship inspiration which is the symbol of the galactic war to the city of Truce so that the first galactic congress can be held to unite all the factions. 

Element Space all turn based combat so players need to take their time and think about what to do next with what options they have. An excellent example of turn based combat is XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Information tells us that there is a variety of strategies and approaches because there are 32 ranged and melee weapons and character skills that can help mx things up. Games like this need vary and options in abundance. 

Another factor that’s important is the enemies. Element Space is said to have a range of enemies. Some have blasters, others have rifles, some have a great sword, others have two short blades, some have multi hits and fast, basically there’s stuff to be concerned about in this game. The factions have different uniforms and we hope that there co meat style and strategies are different and distinguishable too. So expect to see these guys across 24 different levels.

For more variety and flavour you can unlock and acquire new weapons and perks as you make a name for yourself with the galaxy’s factions. Get the best equipment for your squad. Speaking of squad, throughout the world of Element Space you will encounter and recruit new allies who will aid you in your mission and off course combat. Each companion has their own unique skills. The developers have also given them their own story and past so you can know it if you want.

This is tough but Element Space is trying the whole, your choices and actions effect the story or characters mechanic. Most games don’t pull this off well and fail at it. We hope this isn’t the case. Aid factions will make their leaders support you and unlock you those perks and weapons we talked about but if you fail them, they may turn against you when you need help.

Your companions have upgrade trees where you will decide what they would be best at. Also decide what roles to take with you into combat like: Duelist, flanker, tank, support, gunslinger or assault. The cover system is here too in Element Space. Full and half cover. Full is obviously better better but both are destructible. All cover is destructible so keep this in mind when on both the offence and defence.

We checked out some Element Space gameplay and it’s not exactly what we expected. It’s definitely more action packed than we thought. There’s some awesome hand to hand combat animations for moves, we mean proper fighting. It looks good. You can use grenades, rockets and abilities to really do damage and we like that. The bullet trajectory and hit detection is better than XCOM 2’s but the overall flow and quality isn’t on the same level but it’s still very good. We are only comparing it to XCOM as it’s the best and Element Space is doing very well. We hope it’s even better for the console releases.

Overall Element Space looks like a really good game. We actually like what we see. The graphics are good, the sounds are nice we wanted more but it’s nice. The environments make sense and a good amount of cover for options. We hope there are even more dramatic enemy designs so it isn’t just all people in armour. The developers Sixth Vowel have done a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an ear open for this game. Now Element Space may be a battle in the future but it’s still miles behind… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Death’s Gambit. Reaping soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

Death’s Gambit is a action role playing game developed by ‘White Rabbit‘ and published by ‘Adult Swim Games‘.  Death’s Gambit is said to be coming out on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch 2019. Is already out on PS4 and PC but we never heard about it while it was on these two. This game is said to be challening. Let’s take a look.

In the world of Death’s Gambit, players control Death’s right hand guy. You are the agent of Death. Sounds cool? Maybe, maybe not. After all what reward does a faithful servant of Death gets? Think about it. In this place called Siradon there is a big secret, a way to gain immortality. Now off course such a secret and mysterious place won’t be left uninhabited or unguarded. The player must visit these guys. 

There are knights, beats, monsters and even more horrors. Don’t be surprised, after all this place has been described as an alien medieval planet. The battles are the challenging part. The combat requires precise actions and decisions. Think of it like Dark Souls. If you don’t time your dodges, blocks and attacks you can suffer and die real quick.

Now concerning the weapons, each one has their own set of abilities. So combine your weapon abilities with different equipment to find the style that works for you. There are many areas for you to explore. Death’s Gambit is an expansive world. There’s the obsidian vale, sanguine city, witch woods all containing some interesting characters who have stories of their own. 

There are seven different classes for you to play in Death’s Gambit, multiple talents from the skill tree. You can customise your character with swords, scythes, halberds, bows and more. Spells and all. 

There’s game modes like new game plus and heroic mode which is basically a tougher boss fight mode. There are side areas and multiple things for players to do. Developers claim Death’s Gambit is non-linear. 

We checked out some Death’s Gambit gameplay and it’s what we thought it would be. From when we knew it was 2D we knew what to expect. There are some real dangerous bosses who will give quite the fight. There are huge monsters who will always look down on you while others are famous beings, practically legends. Each boss has their own trick for players to figure out and they force you to mix up what you do. 

Overall Death’s Gambit seems like another 2D difficult action game where a number of players will most likely rage. The graphics are alright and the sounds are alright too. Again this is a game for specific gamers. Not everyone is going to be on this. We need to see something special to get X35 Earthwalker into this. The developers have done an alright job with this game. Now Death’s Gambit might have mysterious dangerous lands but what’s more dangerous is… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Code Vein. Seeing blood soon

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Code Vein is a new action role playing game (RPG) developed and published by ‘Bandai Namco‘. Code Vein is said to be coming out the 27th of September 2019 on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Code Vein is out here trying to be a good vampire game. Vampire games tend to not do well. Will this be any different? Let’s take a look.

In the world of Code Vein you control a Revenant. A Revenant is basically a vampire. So you are a Vampire in a ruined world. It’s been described as “gone”.  In the center of all this is a group, or should we say society of Revenants called ‘Vein’. These Revenants fight for survival. They do this by trading their memories for gifts of power. Doesn’t sound like a good trade to us but when it comes to survival it’s up to you. Not only do they get power but they also get an increased thirst for blood. A Revenant who gives into the bloodlust fully risks becoming one of the ‘Lost’. A lost is a “fiendish ghoul devoid of any remaining humanity who wander aimlessly in search of blood.” So yeah, avoid that. 

In Code Vein players must team up to survive this journey… a journey to some dangerous and dark places which some describe as hell. You must find a way out of the mess the Revenants find themselves in. You must work with a partner: A.I or a real player and work together to survive. You will go through dungeons as this whole game is about the dungeons. Facing many enemies. Some are tto powerful for you in a straight up fight while others wait for the right moment to strike you unprepared and unawares. Watch out. 

Now off course your Revenants can be customised. Character customisation is always a good thing. You can change their accessories, face paint, make up, eye brows, hair, mask frame. purifier mask and clothing off course. It doesn’t end there. You can also customise concerning combat and weapons. So what do you want? Spears, bayonets, axes and more. You can finish of enemies with your blood veil. A blood veil is a blood draining tool and each one has their own attack style and looks different. Your blood veil will open up the means to new strategies concerning combat.  

Remember when we mentioned gifts of power? Well Code Vein takes that seriously. You can enhance your characters abilities with blood code enhancements. Each blood code enhancement has their own various gifts, that you use to weaken enemies, gain super powerful attacks, increase your strength and even utilize new weapon abilities.

We checked out some Code Vein gameplay and there’s quite a lot going on. There’s quests for players to face together. Mechanics in combat like dodge and parry which off course require timing. The A.I characters have their own plot and fighting style. Like Final Fantasy 13 (the story so far) you can switch up your build at any time (oh so they claim). There’s difficult bosses and hordes of Lost. The graphics and visuals is very good. The action in combat is nothing special. The range of enemies is very good. The sounds are good. Some players may feel like it’s some combination of Final Fantasy and Dark Souls when it comes to combat.

Overall Code Vein seems like a good action Role playing game. There’s constant action, nice environments to look at. A range of enemies with different designs, multiple combat styles and strategies and options concerning character design. The developers ‘Bandai Namco’ have done a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what Code Vein has to offer. Now Code Vein may have blood lust but something as simple as that can be cured by… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Decay of Logos. It starts soon

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

Decay of Logos is a new action role playing game developed by ‘Amplify Creations‘ and published by ‘Rising Star Games‘. Decay of Logos is said to be coming out the 27th of August on PlayStation 4, 29th for Nintendo Switch and 30th for Xbox One and PC. Decay of Logos is looking like a real adventure, a serious game. Let’s take a look.

Players control a lady named Ada. Ada is on a journey… of revenge. Her village got attacked and destroyed. You only have faint remembrance of the banners of the attackers but you need more information. You were when up by a mystical Elk. Ada feels an overwhelming sense of calm and safety. There was no reasonable explanation for it, but Ada somehow felt connected to the creature. So the whole game takes place in a very fantasy styled world. Expect fictional stuff everywhere and lots of imagination. You are in a ancient kingdom. The ruler is a king who is a big fan of wars and military affairs. We do know that the king was that good of a father and showed little affection for his sons.

Things get worse for him as his wife the queen died during childbirth. Now this child is his only daughter. He pays attention to her and sees to only care about protecting her. So off course the sons now bigger are becoming more distant from their dad. You can see where this is going. Eventually the family divides. The sons all hate their sister, they themselves separated from each other with each prince controlling their own part of the kingdom. All have a huge thirst for power and heavily influenced the parts they rule, “each territory reflecting their particular idiosyncrasies.” 

We like the story so far of Decay of logos. It’s got a lore and some deep situations going on. It believably explains the world and why the kingdom is the way it is now. You can understand the sons and why they hate their sister, even though they are wrong to hate her. It’s the dads fault in this case. The player starts in Laetus grove. Players will also quickly learn that the world in Decay of Logos is not an ordinary world. You will see all kinds of beings: mythical creatures, wizards, ancient species and even knights.  

Now remember that Decay of Logos is an action role playing game. Decay of Logos shows a lot of emphasis on exploration, inventory management and off course tactical combat. The elk is also a big part of the gameplay as it’s needed for combat, puzzle interaction and definitely exploration. Your greatest ally. We’ve played enough video game to know when somethings up. Clearly this elk isn’t just an elk and it’s probably going to be someone from her village and it being an elk is a result from the attack on the village. Either the person died and is now an elk spirit or they became an elk through mystical means or whatever. This was sort of similar in terms of the game Never Alone with the fox being a boy all this time… oh what… we are suppose to say something?… that’s right… spoiler alert. 

Now throughout this world there are some friendly NPC’s which are said to be a good source of tips, game lore and even some items so make sure to check them out and socialise. Now remember that this whole game is filled with monsters, mythical creatures, wizards and even ancient species. So you will face many dangers and different foes. The combat is confirmed to be difficult… but also worth it. Players must take into account that the type of enemy you are facing and your location. Those are factors.

Decay of Logos allows you to fight back. Your character Ada has got some mobility to her name and a good fighter. She jump, parry (learn this), roll, sprint, backstep and slide. So use this stuff. It will save your life. Players can have different long and short range weapons. There’s more. There’s defence equipment too like shields. Elemental effects are here too so take this into account when facing certain enemies. Ada can also perform powerful combos so make sure your timing is right. 

Now to make the game more realistic, and force players to pay more attention, there’s also stamina. Your actions requires stamina. Evading and counter attacking requires stamina so don’t run out. Decay of Logos is also quite a magical world as Ada is able to also use magic but that’s something you’ll discover as you progress through the game. So combat mobility, stamina, elemental effects, magic and powerful combos.

There’s more though and we do like this feature. When you get hit by enemies, your stats decrease making you weaker until you find and use a camp and rest. When you die you will wake up from a nightmare at the last shrine or camp used. Since you wake up some enemies will respawn and your stats will be reduced temporarily. 

Remember that Decay of Logos is also as role playing game (RPG). There is a level up system. Your stats grow as you interact and activate mechanism, off course kill enemies and even finding chests, we mean secret ones will boost you up. Don’t forget that getting hurt reduces your stats temporarily.  Lastly know that Camps and Shrines aren’t the same thing. Shrines are basically checkpoints while Camps can be used to save the game and sleep to recover which has it’s risks as you can get ambushed during your sleep.

We checked out some Decay of Logos gameplay and it does looks cool so far. We like the design style. We like that you have to gain the elk’s trust through protecting it and feeding it. There are secrets in the lands, your interactions with some NPC’s may effect your game later on, it’s pretty much an open world and that there’s a good variety of enemies so far. The graphics are good and the environments are cool too with the variety.  So far Decay of logos is doing some stuff right.

Overall Decay of Logos seems like a very good game. It’s doing it’s own thing and not a Zelda: Breath of the Wildclone as some internet people have said. The developers ‘Amplify Creations’ have done a good job with this game so far. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to keep an eye out for this game. Now Decay of Logos may be a fantasy world but one more awesome world that’s completely real is… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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Aggelos. 16-bit adventure soon here

Posted on by X35 Earthwalker

Aggelos is a 16-bit style adventure RPG game developed by ‘Storybird Games‘ and published by ‘PQube Limited‘ and ‘Look At My Games‘. Aggelos is said to be coming out the 12th of June on Xbox One and PS4 but already out on Nintendo Switch and PC. This game clearly has a particular target audience in mind. Let’s take a look.

In the world of Aggelos there’s a huge battle going on. Basically the battle takes place in a peaceful kingdom called Lumen. Beings from another dimension has shown up and are invading Lumen. So off course the hero must set out and defeat this evil threat. As you can see, the story is simple and traditional. Everything about this game is suppose to be about the old gaming days. From one look you could tell this was 16-bit styled. That’s what Aggelos is all about.

In Aggelos, players must find magical elements in order to save the world from total destruction. This won’t be easy as the levels and how the game plays should remind some players of Metroid and even Castlevania. You will go past multipolemplaces that you can’t initially explore due to a lack of certain abilities and upgrades. Players will to take note of certain places and what’s required before revisiting. 

Now Lumen isn’t some simple plain place. Players will end up traversing and exploring seas, caves, forests and even temples… ancient temples. We do hope that these different locations show clear diversities amongst them. From the types of enemies, to the types of secrets to the types of hazards. It may be a 16-bit styled game but it’s the year 2019 so we expect up to date type stuff implemented into this game. No excuses. 

Now there’s the main quests that you follow concerning the Aggelos story but there’s also basically side quests which come in the form of tasks and job offered to you by the citizens of Lumen. So it’s sort of safe to say that there’s almost always something to do. We just hope that the rewards are actually worth it. 

Now concerning the enemies there is certainly a variety. Expect fishes, turtle like things, scorpions, little dragons, flying creatures, and much more. There are also large bosses in Aggelos. We have seen a large squid creature, humanoid flying bird, a armoured armadillo thing, large dragon and more. It definitely has old gaming style written all over it. This will off course instantly appeal to some gamers straight away.   

We checked out some gameplay and it does look like an old 16-bit old game but not exactly giving of the same feeling though. You can obtain magical abilities and some powerful high-level attacks. There’s also a chaining system where chaining these abilities you can destroy entire screens worth of enemies in seconds. There’s quite a bit to this game. Sort of deep.

Overall Aggelos looks like a fun game. I’s simple but sort of deep and pretty much accomplishes what it sets out to do. The graphics are good for it’s style and the sounds like an old game for sure. The developers ‘Storybird Games’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker will have to see what becomes of Aggelos. Now Aggelos may have 16-bit style but it looks lame when compared to the style of… the ‘Earth Walk!’

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