The Wild Eight is a new survival adventure game developed by ‘HypeTrain Digital‘. It is already out, early access, on pc but when on console isn’t clear. so all we can say is keep an eye on The Wild Eight if you want to know. It will however be on Xbox One and PS4. This game emphasises on how intense the survival is. Let’s take a look.
In the world of The Wild Eight players control a group of survivors who were on plane that crashed in the Alaskan wilderness. So lots of snow, very cold and dangerous indeed. The Wild Eight makes it very clear that every second that passes you and the survivors come closer to death. But wait… there’s more… Some are wondering if the plane crash was an accident or all planned. This is because the area they crashed has military bunkers and abandoned government labs which would suggest some government secret experiments may have gone on here and off course, like every other government experiment plan, went wrong. What’s really going on? Or maybe we are getting paranoid.
So if you couldn’t tell by now that starving and the below zero temperature isn’t the worst things you’ll face here. Those military bunkers and government labs we mentioned earlier have dangers of their own. it has been said that inside are fatal surprises. The mechanics of this game in some ways reminds us of Metal gear Survive, which we enjoyed, in that the main things you’ll be doing is exploring, hunting and crafting. Exploring, because there are many places and to discover and things to see. Hunt, because everyone needs food and things to eat. Craft, because tools, equipment and weapons are all needed to survive. Did we say weapons?
Off course Alaska wouldn’t be Alaska without some animals around right? In The Wild Eight players may unfortunately come across some wolves who always hunt in packs. Wolves are vicious and if players under equipped or not careful can wipe you all out. Not scary enough for you? Well players can could be even more unfortunate to come across a bear! Bears are way worse than wolves and they will chase you down. If you see one, do not provoke it. We also have reason to believe there are worse things in the Alaskan wilderness. Monsters and supernatural beasts like werewolves. Check their website for yourself and see.
There are eight characters to choose from and each has their own strengths. For example William has 10% more defence and 5% more protection from the cold. Jeffrey has 50% more durability for all items he crafts. Vivian has a 5% increased chance for critical damage on enemies but 10% if she strikes from behind, she also gathers 20% more wood and stone. Robin has 5% increased attack speed, 5% increased range damage and 10% increased stamina recovery speed. Off course this is only four of the eight characters, so discover and learn the rest for yourself.
We checked out some The Wild Eight gameplay and it’s not exactly what we thought it would be but still interesting. There are crafting recipes, multiple animals like warthogs too, axes are needed for chopping trees, a day and night cycle, torches and light sources which light up the area nicely, basically quite a lot going on. There is signs of progression as well as in at one point you must run from bears and then later on you can face them and kill them. The movement animations could have been better though. We also like that they took temperature into consideration as in without warmth your character will die.
Overall The Wild Eight seems like a good game. Definitely very deep. The story is good, the crafting is good, the graphics are good for it’s style, the effects like torch light glow are good. They should have explained the difficulty regarding playing with friends and solo. We hope the military bunkers and government labs are exciting. The developers ‘HypeTrain Digital’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are keeping an ear out for The Wild Eight. The Wild Eight may have government secrets but even thats weak when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Lost Ember is a new adventure exploration game developed by ‘Mooneye Studios‘. It is coming out in spring 2019 on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC (and Windows 10). Lost Ember has gotten lots of attention. It has even gotten lots of nominee and won some awards already. Let’s check this out.
In Lost Ember, players get to explore a world that has been taken back from mankind by nature. So don’t expect any people around here. Players control a wolf but not just any wool. This wolf has the ability to inhabit other animals and control them. This is where the different perspectives come from. First of all how comes this wolf has the power to control other animals? Did this wolf use to be a person? A nature mage or something? Hopefully the game explains this.
Off course, since this is a exploration game and man is gone, there will be ancient cultures, ruins, forgotten civilizations and more for players to check out and learn what happened, secrets of this world and what’s going on. So being a wolf has the obvious advantages of being fast. So you can cross areas quickly and get from point A to point B. You will come across areas where the wolf cannot go, like high ledges for example. Taking over a bird solves this problem as you can then fly up to see what’s up there.
Control small animals to go through tight spaces, control a fish so that you can explore the waters because wolves can’t go that deep with dying. Even control moles who then can dig underground. Who knows, you may find a cavern or a diamond pick axe (get it?). Either way the main concept of the game is clear and simple. Run around and explore but if there is somewhere the wolf can’t go then control the right animal for the job. Simple. Explore and learn about this mighty civilisation that has fallen and learn about certain characters from the past.
Now let’s talk some details because games like this, we are sure you know the formula by now, so there isn’t much to really say about it. It’s an exploration game with some mystery. Lost ember is built using Unreal Engine and they did a good job because the looks and art style is one of the main things that got so many people’s attention. Many have said it’s a beautiful game and others have made some really big claims about it’s beauty (calm down now).
Lost Ember will also be compatible with VR (Virtual reality). People have asked and they delivered. The game has been tested with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift and according to the developers “it’s awesome”. They are also looking into being compatible with PlayStation VR. Lastly gamers can pre-orderfrom two options: the regular where you get a digital copy of the game and two karma points which you can spend to unlock free rewards. The digital plus bundle gives you a digital copy of the game with the digital soundtrack and art book along with 4 karma points. Take note that pre-orders for windows is only available right now.
We checked out some gameplay and it’s what we expected. We expected a colourful world, lights, animals and fictional stuff like creating structures a light companion etc. It looks very nice. Not as impressed as those critics were though. This game reminds us of the other exploration games we have already written about. We haven’t seen anything that makes us want to play Lost Ember though. Fans of exploration will probably love this and rightfully so. Once again it’s down to the gamers and their taste.
Overall lost Ember looks like a good game. Designed well, people waiting for it, supported and will have VR. Definitely got some stuff going for it. It isn’t our thing though and we believe it needs more going on in the world for it to be exciting. Exploration doesn’t mean that’s all the game should have. It needs to stand out from the others. The developers ‘Mooneye Studios’ clearly did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not looking forward to Lost Ember but we know for a fact there are some who are. Now lost Ember has a wolf that can control other animals and that’s cool but it’s lame when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Skyforge is a very large game and it’s got the content and game world to make a Battle Royale possible. If you didn’t know about the Skyforge Battle Royale by now, then just read our previous G-Blog about it right here. We mentioned that there is a lot of strategy in this battle Royale which sets it apart from the others like Call of Duty‘s Blackout, Fortnite and Pubg. Let’s take a look into that.
The first thing that clearly makes a difference in gameplay is the character abilities. The first three that are available from the start are the recruits. Tough, agile and accurate. Now only two of the recruits have good abilities.
Tough Recruit – is the weak link here as this character class only bonus is having 10% more health. So instead of having 100 health, the tough recruit has 110. This honestly makes almost completely no difference in combat. There are some moments when you survive a firefight and thanks to the extra 10 health you come out with only 6 health left. So it isn’t completely useless, just the least useful.
Agile Recruit – has 25% more stamina and also has faster sprint. The accurate recruit (as the name suggests) grants slightly increased accuracy with all weapons that you must fire. So with agile recruit, you can get to weapons faster than anyone else early game because obviously you are faster. You can also traverse the battle field better because of the larger stamina. This means heading from place to place to find weapons and more is something easy with this character.
Accurate recruit – When playing as the accurate recruit you should feel more confident in combat as you will always have the advantage in terms of aiming. Some weapons like the plasma thrower have bloom as you fire, meaning your shots get less accurate as you hold down the trigger. This character class will suffer less from that thanks to the slightly increased accuracy.
Now the other nine character classes are much different with more various abilities. They must all be unlocked though, by spending in game currency called ‘Token of the king’. You earn these every time you play. Depending on what place you get after a round of Battle Royale determines how much you get. For example if you died 5th, you get like 490 while winning you get 700. It coasts 500 to ‘rent’ a character for one match. Strange but here’s how it works. You can rent for one match and then after using them, spend 500 more. If you rent a character class 50 times, you permanently unlock the character. That’s too much in our opinion but if you keep playing and have fun, you will horde up those token of the king currency and be able to purchase a character every time. Let’s look at those characters.
Morgan, the Filibuster – has a special weapon and item. The weapon is a explosive cocktail which can be thrown at enemies to light them and the ground on fire. they will take serious burn damage and reduce their accuracy. The item is a bottle of rum that when you drink restores a small amount of health over a few seconds and it also increases your melee damage. The cons of the Filibuster is that you can’t use other grenades or medkits you find in the match. A great way to use the Filibuster is in ambushes. Lead them around a corner, or wait behind a rock or tree and throw your cocktail at them, then shoot them as they panic. Then heal up after the fight. She is also the best character at the start of a match as she can drink to increase her punch damage and kill enemies who try to pick up weapons near you. Fun fact, the cocktail does so much damage that players having maximum armour shards and full health will get brought down to 60 health meaning you yourself only need to fire a few shots to finish the kill.
Dolph, the Mercenary – has a ability and perk. The Mercenary has infinite firearms ammo. So rifles, dual pistols, heavy pistol, dual sub machine guns, dual shotguns can all be used with ever having to find ammo. You still need to reload though which is a big downside. The perk is that you have 20% more health so basically 120 instead of 100. The cons for the Mercenary is that you can’t use mines, grenades, weapon scopes or gadgets. A great way to use the Mercenary is to be aggressive right from the start. grab a firearm and hunt down others early game, you will always have the advantage since you have more health and have infinite ammo while every else is running around looking for ammo. Try and find armour to make yourself tougher to kill. Fun fact, the Mercenary when he has heavy armour is the most durable character in the whole game having 50 more points of health than anyone else so the chance of the Mercenary winning a 1v1 is almost always guaranteed.
AVER RP-800, the Android – has a gadget and perks. The Android’s gadget when used allows you to detect enemies and reveal their location to you in a large radius. The perks is that the Android always shoots accurately and has infinite sprint. The cons of the Android is that this character takes increased damage from energy weapons and cannot use other gadgets like the active camouflage for example. A great way to use the Android is to be constantly on the hunt for items and weapons, traveling around the map quickly thanks to the infinite stamina. This can be done with confidence because if you approach a bullion for area with chests, then use your detect gadget and expose any enemies in the building, area or even following you, giving you the clear advantage in that fight. Fun facts, thanks to infinite sprint the Android is the one character that players, when using, have no excuse for getting killed by being outside the safe zone. Also the detect gadget doesn’t seem to detect camouflaged characters. Also having the experimental boots is most effective with the Android thanks once again to infinite sprint.
Kerr, the Devourer – has some abilities. The Devourer does 50% more damage… to monsters! So A.I monsters on the field are easier to kill. Also every time the Devourer kills either a monster or player, he gets a growing bonus to health and damage. The cons of the Devourer is that you can’t use armour or armour shards which isn’t much of a negative honestly. A great way to use this character is to grab a weapon and run away in search of monsters, forget other players. Kill as much monsters as you can find as each monster (the green coloured ones) grant 3 more health while stronger ones add more, also killed monsters drop loot. So if you killed ten weak enemies you will have 130 health instead of 100. If you happen to slay some players too you may end up with over 160 health and the amount of damage you do will be really high. It’s all about the kills. Fun fact, did you know X35 Earthwalker himself got over 200 health when playing as the Devourer killing many players and monsters.
Alecto, the Faceless – has a special ability and a perk. The Faceless has permanent active camouflage and the first attack you launch when invisible gets a 30% damage boost. The cons of the Faceless is that your camouflage gets disabled when you attack, take damage or pick up an item. You are also slightly exposed when you swap weapons too. Also you cannot use other gadgets and have 25% less heath so 75 instead of 100. A great way to play the faceless is to be patient and stalk your enemies, waiting for the best time to attack them from your invisibility. You can also sneak into locations ad loot everything quite comfortably thanks to your invisibility but be careful as you can still get spotted. Snipers and blasters are weapons work well with the Faceless. Fun fact, the Faceless is one of the most hated characters by players so it’s very funny when you stalk a character, wait for them to open a chest and then you kill them and take the prize for yourself.
Anna-Malia, the Hacker – has some abilities. The Hacker can summon a random item right in front of you. The other ability is that this character can instantly teleport forwards (off course there is cool down) and gets a speed boost right after the teleport temporarily. The cons of the Hacker is that you can’t use other gadgets or traps (like mines) and your maximum health is reduced by 20% so you have 80 instead of 100. A great way to use the Hacker is to keep creating the random item as soon as the gadget is available as you never know what you can get. Maybe something powerful or useful. Use the teleport to help you traverse the map faster and find the items you need before getting into fights. Also If someone gets the drop on you, then quickly teleport forwards and use that speed boost to get out of there. Fun fact, that ability to summon a random item can even give you a legendary weapon! Like we said, you never know what you will get so keep using it.
Ivy, the Sapper – has special traps and a ability. The Sapper can detect enemy mines from a great distance and even disarm them, meaning that you should never fall into traps. Also the Sapper always has three mines that can be thrown into desired positions (off course cool down). The cons of the Sapper is that you cannot use other mines, gadgets and grenades. A great way to use the Sapper is to always from time to time plant a mine behind you as you travel to hit following enemies or those just happening to be running past. You should also plant a mine at the entrance of a building you are looting so uninvited guests will pay the price for trespassing. You can also throw a mine near an enemy player who will then take big damage making killing them all the much easier. Fun fact, once X35 Earthwalker himself was at an elevated location near the final closing of the safe zone and three all three mines in there, the other 3 players all ran in towards the centre and all took heavy damage while he shot from the top and killed all without taking any damage.
Joe, the Engineer – has a special item. The Engineer has a portable auto turret which he can plant to have it fire at both monsters and players. The cons of the Engineer is that you cannot use mines and you have reduced stamina and your stamina recharges slower. A great way to use the Engineer is to go look for monsters and kill them with help from your turret. They not only drop loot but, for the engineer, turret parts which when enough is collected upgrades the turret making it deal more damage and more durable. Once your turret is at least level 2, make sure to plant that turret when you spot an enemy coming your way to give a nasty surprise. The engineer can do ambushes as well. Fun fact, X35 Earthwalker himself was facing one more player and the circle was getting really small, so he planted a level 3 turret. The last player jumped into the safe area but was getting hit by the turret and focused on that instead of the legendary soldier himself and was quickly defeated.
Selena, the Night Huntress – has two perks. The Night Huntress receives a 30% bonus to damage and movement speed at night time. The con of the Night Huntress is that she is 20% slower during the day time. A great way to use the Night Huntress is to literally go on the hunt when it is night time. As soon as it’s dark you really feel so much faster and not even strong monsters can defeat you. So hunt down players as it’s most likely you will win every time. Also take down some monsters for extra loot to get some ammo and powerful items to prepare for the final moments of the match. Nothing is more scary than a Night Huntress hunting you down at night, there isn’t that much you can do if she spots you. Fun fact, when the Night Huntress has the light armour at night time, she’s is the fastest thing in the game. it’s gets worse when she has the experimental boots. A floating rim reaper.
Thanks to all these different characters, the Skyforge Battle Royale has the most unpredictable and epic matches. Different strategies are being used during the same match by multiple players and some completely destroy others depending on the environments, situation, weapons and items at hand. Even though some characters are clearly stronger than others most of the time, any character can win. X35 Earthwalker has won a Skyforge Battle Royale match with each character which you will be able to see for yourself eventually on the X35 Earthwalker Youtube channel. Skyforge’s Battle Royale definitely stands out from the others like Call of Duty’s Blackout, Fortnite and Pubg and we’ve definitely had way more fun in the Skyforge Battle Royale matches. We trust that this information will be useful to players of this game. Off course we didn’t give away X35’s personal developed strategies. Now Skyforge Battle Royale may have many characters but even if they work together, they are no match for… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Aftercharge is a online 3v3 competitive shooter game developed by ‘Chainsawesome Games‘. It is coming out… well that’s the thing. some say later this year but steam says January 2019. So it’s up to you to personally track that information yourself over time. It’s coming out on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Let’s take a look.
Now let’s start with the Aftercharge story… there isn’t one… really. basically what we do know is that there are invisible robots who want to destroy some glowing extractors but said extractors are being guarded by invincible security squads. So invisible robots vs invincible troops. As mentioned before, this is all 3v3 competitive. The maps in Aftercharge are small like the teams so the action is always happening and rounds are short which is good for these things.
In Aftercharge, the invincible security team don’t have to worry as they can’t die but need to spot the invisible attackers and take them out to protect the extractors. The robots need to be real clever. They sneak to sneak around the security members, maybe cause a distraction or two and off course work together.
Being invincible is over powered off course so to balance it out, not only are the robots invisible but they also can revive allies as much as they want and there are no cool downs to abilities. What? Abilities? Oh yeah. Both teams have abilities and a character pool. Each of the characters have very different abilities from each other. Already this is sounding cool.
We checked out some Aftercharge gameplay and learnt a lot. Robots can attack security to knock them away, throw distractions, stun, thruster jump, out up a bubble shield and more. The security can put up shield gates to block entry, a scanning device to find invisible enemies, a exposing grenade to reveal robots, traps like mines and disablers and off course more. It definitely sounds chaotic. There is a lot going on.
Overall Aftercharge looks like a cool fun game. We can see how things can get very competitive since it’s simple, silly, chaotic but has some depth to it. It is strategic. The graphics are quite cartoonish style and look nice. The character designs seem alright so far. The developers ‘Chainsawesome Games’ did a very good job with this. We at X35 Earthwalker want to see what Aftercharge accomplishes. Now Aftercharge may have invisible guards and invisible robots but even if they worked together, they wouldn’t stand a chance against… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a new tactical adventure game developed by ‘The Bearded Ladies’ (we are not making this up) but published by ‘Funcom‘. It is coming out the 4th of December on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. This game will capture the interest of gamers just from sight alone. Let’s take a look.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a strange game set pretty much in a strange world. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden has been described as a tactical adventure, turn based with real time stealth. Straight away you sort of get how this game will play like. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden does remind us of XCOM 2 in a way. Basically the story is that the world has ended (strange since the world is still there). There has been global economic issues, old and new superpowers are against each other, off course extreme climate change and nuclear weapons which form mushroom clouds and other issues.
Now nature has taken over… Well nature and some mutants (where did they come through). There are n humans left, they are all gone and the only things in the zone now are the mutants, animals and deformed humanoid. Players control a group who must venture of the zone in order to survive. Your destination is the Eden which suppose to be a haven and where the truth is according to legend. This sounds like quite the adventure.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is suppose to be a deep tactical strategy game. They have said it has been inspired by XCOM which means it should be good. Players can explore ruined destroyed looking areas like damaged highways, clearly abandoned cities. Off course each mission needs a plan and supplies which is why you will return frequently to a place called the Ark where you can get body armour like police vests, powerful rifles and even something like a top hat for style.
The members of your team are strange. There is a four foot duck (Dux) who has an attitude problem, a boar (Borwin) who clearly has anger issues and Selma who seems like a deformed humanoid and leader. There are multiple other characters in this world and they have their own distinct personalities and behaviour also.
Even though Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is definitely a lot of combat and fire fights, stealth has been emphasised and encouraged. You have shadows to use to your advantage, floodlights will expose you, line of sight is a mechanic here too, fully destructible environment like walls to get the drop on enemies and much more. This is real time stealth so players have full control on their approach and how you want to do it.
There are upgrades and new abilities called mutations. For example that duck (Dix) can learn an ability to sneak into a base full of enemies completely undetected and unnoticed even though he is a walking duck who is armed with weapons. Don’t ask questions, just go with it. The boar (Borwin) can learn to charge enemies which makes sense. Selma can learn a mutation called stone skin which literally makes her skin stone, we guess that means she takes reduced damage or maybe temporary immunity to damage. Off course there are more mutations to unlock.
There isn’t a lot of information on the kind of enemies you will face. We do know there are monsters called ghouls and that enemies will have levels, like a level 7 ghoul for example. We also know they will be other mutants like weird creatures with swollen mushroom bumpy heads. Hopefully more information will be given as the enemies do add or take away from a game.
We checked out some gameplay and we like the full control stealthy parts of the game where you can decide where to go to and how you plan to do something. The duck can get a mutation that allows him to fly granting elevation advantage and more mobility. There are ladders to climb, hit percentage, critical hits, weaknesses, advantages and even sniping capabilities. Just make sure to scavenge and find all sorts of useful supplies, parts and things that can really help out.
Overall Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden looks like it’s going to be a serious game. It’s unique, got some good mechanics, inspired by an excellent game, graphics look good and the levels look very good. There is some mystery like the elder who knows a lot and his story will be unfolded. we just hope that the enemies are awesome and off a side variety since it’s suppose to be mutants which means anything can be formed. We expect creativity from this. The developers ‘The Bearded Ladies’ (we hate this name) did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are looking forward to seeing what Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden has for gamers. Now Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden may be a ruined world but one thing that’s not ruined is… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Wreckfest is a new demolition racing game developed by ‘Bugbear‘ but published by ‘THQ Nordic‘. It is coming out the 20th of November on the Xbox One and PS4 but already out on the PC since June 2018. To make progress in Wreckfest, dangerous driving and destruction is needed. Let’s take a look.
In the world of Wreckfest, no one technically is safe and the same definitely goes for vehicles. Do not bring the family car to this place. There isn’t much to say about a game like this as what you see is pretty much what you get but modern. Wreckfest is all about having some quite crazy fun. Race fast and get to that finish line, ridiculous and as described “over the top” crashes and demolition really. So both casual and competitive gamers can dive into Wreckfest without too much difficulty.
Yes. Wreckfest like other modern racing games has single player but also has multiplayer too. Players can compete against others online and destroy their vehicle “by accident” (not really). There is even a demolition derby! You can be in an arena with multiple other racers who just want to ruin your paint job and smash your cars front and rear bumpers off. For the last time, put on your seat belt!
We can say the kind of cars you find in this game is definitely unique compared to others, even like Forza Horizon 4. This is because the cars in Wreckfest are old, some rusty, some damaged, off course patched up and at times look like crap but that’s exactly how they wanted it. They look vintage and definitely like they’ve been in a number of races, crashes and Derbys. So you won’t expect that brand shining new convertible with those giant rapper rims and tinted windows (maybe) but you can find and put together something rough, tough, something you can spit on.
The developers have uses their own design engine called ROMU which is built for racing games. Wreckfest has been designed in a way to make players feel every detail of what’s happening with their car. Like the bumps in the round, even the weight of your car when you turn and off course really feel it when you get hit and damaged. not sure how they plan to do that when we are using controllers but you drivers will have to find out for yourselves.
As mentioned before, yes there is a single player mode called career mode where you will compete to prove you are the best and where you can unlock new vehicles and off course upgrades. Challenge mode is basically sort of reminds us of guts and glory in a way. You can drive school buses, three wheeled vehicles and even lawn mowers. Multiple is as you expect with online races, online demolition derbies and online wrecking and destruction.
We checked out some gameplay and it’s sort of less than we were expecting. It does look old, the cars do look like rusty scrap but everything seems a bit to slow for us. The tracks definitely look like a team dug it out and worked hard to make it. Not professional looking but good looking and gets the job done. The environments and where the spectators stand can cheer have been designed well but not that realistic in terms of health and safety. It’s definitely rough racing as multiple cars are getting hit, slammed and pushed out of the way. We do however expect more from this game. Off course we haven’t seen everything yet though.
Overall Wreckfest looks like quite a bit of fun. Just get a car and have a drive. The graphics are very good. The sounds are good too. The physics for the damages the cars get when they crash is very good too. The environment being destructible adds to the realism of the game. The developers ‘Bugbear’ did a very good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not looking forward t this game but will see how console players take towards this Wreckfest. There may be lots of destruction and danger in Wreckfest but it’s all Childs play when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Darksiders III is the new action, adventure, hack and slash game developed by ‘Gunfire Games‘ but published by ‘THQ Nordic‘. Darksiders III is off course the latest Darksider game and is coming out the 27th of November on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. The Fury is coming soon. Let’s take a look.
Darksiders III is now all about Fury the only female of the four apocalypse horsemen. By the way isn’t it interesting that so many popular games, anime and books got inspiration from the Bible (Think about that). Basically the story is that the earth has been taken over by the seven deadly sins who off course have their own minions and evil creatures serving and assisting them. The charred council won’t let this slide so they send Fury to solve the problem… by fighting, slashing and destroying all enemies and things that stand in her way. It says, “from the heights of heaven dow through the depths of hell”. sounds like a big battle if you ask us. Fury must restore balance to the situation and also aims to prove that she’s the most powerful of the horsemen. Isn’t death automatically suppose to be the strongest of the four horsemen?… whatever.
Now in Darksiders III the protagonist, Fury, fights differently from the others. Fury relies on both her physical abilities with her whip and magic. Now this magic also allows her to use her other forms well hollows to be exact. The Force hallow basically gets her very physical. She wields Scorn as quite a big hammer for powerful defense shattering, heavy damage attacks. This hammer while not as powerful as Thor’s mjolnir can also act as a focal point for magnetic attraction. This means she can pull in rocks, enemies and even energy and then make it all go boom. She can even travel along certain walls and ceilings if she maintains that magnetic force ability as a sphere.
Another Hallow is the one we all know called Fury, where she wields the whip and magic at the same time acting as more of the all rounder and default form, handling pretty much any situation. Another Hallow is Flame. Now her Scorn takes the form of two flails that are on fire. So this means a whole new menu of attacks and the blazing fire means explosive area of effect attacks too. While in this Hallow she can go through lava and fire without any damage and even perform a very high fiery jump. This all means she can reach areas she couldn’t before with this hallow. Rumour has it that there are more hallows for players to discover and use to their play style and advantage. Do you prefer evasion, quick attacks and high mobility or would you rather smash things in your way? You decide.
The world in Darksiders III works and reminds us off Metroid Prime in the fact that it’s a open ended big world with multiple areas that players will have to revisit at times to access new locations, discover new things, fight a boss that you couldn’t before, etc etc. It works very similar. For example there was. apart in Metroid Prime where you needed the plasma beam to get through a iced of area or certain doors in a place you already been too. In Darksiders III you will need the flame hallow to get through some lava to reach that other area. So get use to your locations as you advance the story along.
The main real enemies in Darksiders III are off the course the seven deadly sins. They are powerful and dangerous and one is apparently very lazy…. you might even say it’s slothful… fine we’ll stop. Their personalities are off course determined by what sin they represent. each one fights differently and has a different style. Wrath carries two large sword like melee weapons which he uses to crush and destroy, Sloth when he decides to finally fight is not as slow and lazy and as you would expect in battle, Envy’s appearance is very misleading so don’t underestimate the terrible fashion statement that is it’s robes. We are sure you can guess the rest of the names.
We checked out some gameplay and the first thing that came to our minds was Dante’s inferno which was a fun game by the way. Fighting monsters, demon looking things, combat in Hell, a weapon that extends like Dante’s scythe combined with the use of magic like Dante’s cross. Smashing open objects to collect energies or souls that pull towards you, executions etc. This is a good thing though as the way Dante played was great for it’s time. Darksiders III brings a smoother and more superior graphics game. The evasion is very good as Fury looks like she just about dodges some sweeping attacks and confirms that timing is important for those dodges.
Overall Darksiders III looks like a very good game so far but we are more concerned with the story and how it delivers. Will it be a simple here’s a checklist of bosses, kill them, game over? The graphics and sounds are very good. The combat is smooth. The whip weapon needs to look more exciting though. The developers ‘Gunfire Games’ did a good job with this game. We at X35 Earthwalker are not exciting or looking forward to this games as there isn’t anything that gets us excited or makes us want to play it, that doesn’t mean it isn’t good though and there are fans waiting for this game. Now Darksiders III may be have a strong female horseman but even she is nothing when against… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Mega Man 11 came out and many gamers jumped on it. Off course Youtubers and streamers got in on the action too (they can’t miss their chance for views right). So far the majority all agree that Mega Man 11 is a very good game. People are a fan of the graphics and the music. Many are also saying that the game is difficult as well. That’s where we disagree. Take a look.
Mega man games are normally known for being very difficult as in many people struggle to even beat the game. Mega Man 11 doesn’t have the same pattern. This will probably trigger some players of Mega Man but we don’t care. We find Mega Man 11 to be too easy. Off course we will explain why. The levels and how players are suppose to beat them reminds us off Spelunky. As in the first time you try them, there will be some surprises but if you sort of take your time and see what’s going on, you can get through them without dying. Spelunky becomes easy once you know all the tricks but with Mega Man 11 it’s easier because the enemies and what they do is predictable and almost all of them move very slowly.
Next is the fact that the weapons you get from defeating the eight bosses are very good most of the time. The acid barrier from Acid man provides additional protection especially if you combine it with the power gear ability. So if there’s a room that looks dangerous due to projectiles then this shield makes everything easier. Tundra storm, which you get from Tundra man, combined with the power gear allows you to basically clear the whole room so rooms with many enemies on screen can’t lay a finger on you. The weapons in Mega Man 11 are great and we like how effective they are, just keep an eye on your ammo for each weapon.
The bosses themselves are not that difficult at all either. Some like Block man have some very easy to dodge attacks like charging in a straight line or dropping things from the ceiling but give you time to react. They do have patterns so once you learn their patterns which doesn’t take long, beating them then isn’t an issue. They get even easier if you know their weaknesses. In case you didn’t know, each boss is weak against a weapon that you get from another boss. They take a lot more damage. For example Torch man is easily beaten by the Tundra storm from tundra man. Bounce man gets destroyed by the pile driver from Impact man. Block man doesn’t stand a chance against the chain blast from Blast man. Fuse man hates bounce balls from Bounce man. You get the point by now.
So the levels and bosses aren’t difficult, in fact it can even be easy. What makes Mega Man completely easy? Glad you asked. It’s the fact that players can purchase items and upgrades to help you out. You can buy multiple energy tanks to full restore your health if you are about to die. You can get a bird item (Beat call) which protects you from falling into pits. Shoes that protect against spikes that instant kill you. Automatic charged shots, a mystery tank which can turn weak enemies into 1-ups, Super guard which halves all damage you take for the duration of that stage (dying removes the effect as well), make your shots bigger meaning easier hit on enemies and many more items. If you can’t beat the bosses while all damage is halved, your shots are bigger, have reduced knock back and can fully restore your health more than five times in a single fight then put down your controller, turn off the console and slowly back away from the game and never play it ever again. You can’t tell us that Mega Man 11 isn’t really easy.
The last thing that Mega Man has that makes things even easier is the new game mechanic called the Double gear system. Now once again, we like this addition to the game. It’s powerful, it’s fun and looks cool. It doesn’t change the fact that it does make things easier. You can do so much extra damage to bosses when you combine your weapons with the power gear but also slow down time (technically Mega man speeds up) to avoid attacks and escape from traps. A boss is about to do something, then slow down time and dodge without issue. Off course you must make sure to not overload the device otherwise you can’t use it again for a good while. When you combine the boss weaknesses, options you have for dealing with levels, the different weapons, the double gear system and off course the numerous items you can buy and equip, Mega Man 11 is an easy game. Don’t sit there and get mad, either grow up or square up.
If you go into the challenges section there are 9 different challenges for players to try, and here is where things get difficult. This is also where things get competitive as leaderboards come into play. Off course there is more than what you see as Boss Rush splits into two challenges one the second needing to be unlocked. Here are the challenges listed:
Time attack – complete each stage as fast as possible
Jump saver – get to the boss area using as few jumps as possible
Buster break down – get to the boss using as few attacks as possible
score attack – defeat enemies and collect all the points you can. Get extra points for defeating multiple enemies in a row
Balloon Rush – go through the stage while destroying blue balloons, get time penalty for hitting red balloons or missing blue ones.
Medal collector – race to collect all the medals as fast possible if any is left behind, you get sent back
Playground – complete challenges within a time limit
Boss rush – time attack but with the eight stage bosses
For Light’s Trial – fight through 30 “ultra tough” areas. Complete a minimum of 10 to get your score uploaded to the leaderboard
So the challenges are clearly harder but the main game is where we are focusing on.
Now as we stated in the beginning, we think Mega Man 11 is a very good game, it looks good, it played good, new additions are good, some of the bosses look cool and it’s definitely fun. We just think it’s too easy. Now Mega Man 11 may be a very good game but it’s nothing when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Spyro Reignited Trilogy is the new Sypro bundle developed by ‘Toys For Bob‘ but published by ‘Activision‘. It is coming out the 13th of November on the Xbox One and PS4. No PC. The purple dragon is back and he’s improved. Let’s take a look.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a Spyro bundle that contains three of the past Spyro games: Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Many gamers will remember these games from back in the day. In case you want a quick reminder we will briefly go over each game.
In Spyro the Dragon, Gnasty Gnorc came back from exile. He trapped the dragons in crystal (who knew dragons were so easy to defeat) and raised an army of gnorcs. Spyro must save the day. In Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, Spyro has been called back to the land of Avalar but this time to defeat Ripto the sorcerer who started war against the homelands. Spyro again must defeat them. In Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the dragon realm is celebrating well… the year of the dragon, when. cloaked figure shows up to steal all of the dragon eggs. An whole army of Rhynocs are under a sorceress’s spell and now guarding those eggs, keeping the good guys away. Spyro once again must be the hero and save those eggs. Pu all three of these games into one bundle and you’ve got Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
Now what’s the point of getting Spyro Reignited Trilogy if you have already played these games? Let’s see. Spyro Reignited Trilogy not only has the three games but all three have been improved with HD graphics and just from the trailer it’s obvious the game is looking much better… but wait… there’s more. There are more puzzles, more dragons and off course, more eggs. There are more challenges as well. When you combine these additions to the game, they equate to more time spent in these games. Also, yes, switching between the three Spyro games is easy (It better be).
We checked out some Spyro Reignited Trilogy gameplay and so far it looks good. It’s definitely an improvement that’s obvious to the eyes. The enemies look much more lively too. The levels feel like a 2018 game and the environment, lighting and greenery are very good also. It’s good to see that Spyro still has his same move set but we also hope that new abilities will be brought into the game. The official trailer was just good, it would have been better if more memorable areas in the game were displayed instead. Spyro doesn’t look crazy, extra scaly or anything but looks normal like he should.
Overall Spyro Reignited Trilogy looks like a good game. Old fans of Spyro would definitely enjoy this as it’s the old experience just with much better visuals and a few small additional things. So no major changes. The developers ‘Toys for Bob’ have done a good job with this. We at X35 Earthwalker look forward to seeing what Spyro Reignited Trilogy offers the gaming community and how fans react to this. Now Spyro may be looking better but he’s clearly nothing compared to the good looks of… the ‘Earth Walk!’
Grip: Combat Racing is a new combat racing game developed by ‘Caged Eelement‘. It is coming out the 6th of November 2018 on the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC. Grip: Combat Racing got our attention. Lets take a look.
Grip: Combat Racing makes it clear right from the start that it’s all about high speed racing and using a whole load of weapons to destroy your competitors. This heavily reminds us of that old Play Station 1 game called S.C.A.R.S where you pick up effective weapons and destroy enemy racers and all vehicles where shaped like animals. Check that out. The main difference though is that Grip: Combat Racing is much much faster and more weapons. Describing vehicles as “armed to the teeth with heavy weapons”. Sounds interesting right? We know!
The history behind Grip: Combat Racing is that street racing has evolved. Everything is more dangerous and ruthless. It’s apparently not just about winning the race, it’s also about what you do during the race, especially how much destruction and how merciless you are towards your opponents. Is this a clue to a scoring system? Who knows? Destroying opponents shouldn’t be a problem as the weapons in Grip: Combat Racing has been described as outlandish and devastating.
Now about what you can do in Grip: Combat Racing. Players can drive along the walls and ceilings. The maps are suppose to be creative and weird, so experience and mastering the controls are essential if you plan to get anywhere. Where ever your tires can touch is where you can drive. The physics in this game are described as gravity defying. You can also perform tricks and stunts which now reminds us of ATV: quad power racing 2. It gets worse (or better) as the environment is destructible.
Grip: Combat Racing has been fully enhanced for the Xbox One X and the Play Station 4 Pro. Grip: Combat Racing was developed using Unreal Engine 4 and the developers seem to have bragged quite a bit concerning the soundtrack. Best of all is that Grip: Combat Racing is both online and offline. That’s right and even better the offline is split screen. Meaning you can play with your family and friends without having to buy another console. But what else can you expect from this game? We will happily tell you.
22 tracks across 4 different planets
A single player campaign
Drive across ceilings, walls and the floor with speeds up to 767mph
There are 9 weapons and power ups like missiles, shields and more
There are 19 carkour runs for you to try against the clock
Work alone or team up in the arena battle maps
We checked out some Grip: Combat Racing gameplay and now it reminds us of Drome Racers which was an excellent game by the way. The racing speed doesn’t look or seem like 767mph but whatever. It’s still fast paced, the weapons are making the whole race dangerous. The designs of the vehicles need to be more diverse though. We know there is vehicle customisation but there needs to be great variety. The ability to drive on the walls and ceilings does make everything look more futuristic and cooler. We did expect the tracks and environments to look more creative though. We will have to see.
Overall Grip: Combat Racing seems like a good game. It’s definitely interesting but from what we have seen, we are not impressed. This game needs to stand out from other racing games, the environments need to be more creative and the vehicles need more variety in design. Even so we are liking the concepts and the level of combat. The graphics are very good as well. The developers ‘Caged Element’ did a good job. We at X35 Earthwalker will keep an ear out for Grip: Combat Racing. Now Grip: Combat Racing be fast but it’s incredibly slow when compared to… the ‘Earth Walk!’
