The Lord of the Rings Online's massive Mordor expansion has now arrived
- By Ash
- in News
After what feels like an eternity of build up The Lord of the Rings Online has now finally opened up the most interesting region in the entirety of Middle-earth - Mordor! As you might expect, the expansion has brought with it the ability to fully explore Gorgoroth and face off against some of the deadliest enemies the world has ever seen, a brand new storyline that will delve deep into Mordor's history, as well as the noble High Elves as an entirely new race.
The Mordor expansion has also introduced a new allegiance system that allows you to pledge loyalty to a variety of factions in exchange for unique bonuses, gear, and additional storylines. In order to make all of this work the crafting and gearing systems have been adjusted to allow even greater levels of customization, though the details are still currently unknown. You can find out more about Mordor by heading over to the official website.
Sonic Mania has a new gameplay video detailing the rather awesome Special Stages, Bonuses, and Time Attack game mode
- By Ash
- in News
Sonic Mania is an upcoming 2D Sonic game designed to be as faithful to the original classics as possible, while also bringing in enough interesting innovations of its own to keep things fresh. What this means in gameplay terms is that you will have new moves to mess around with, new maps with an even greater focus on speed and exploration, as well as a whole bunch of special bonus stages with their own unique twist on the gameplay.
If you're wondering what this might look like, wonder no more as the developers have just recently posted a video detailing all of the Special Stages, Bonuses, and Time Attack game mode. The video is only around two minutes long, but I would highly recommend you give it a look as it really shows how much the developers care about making Sonic Mania the best game it can possible be. But enough rambling from me, here's the video:
The first-person puzzle-adventure Q.U.B.E. 2 has been announced and pinned for a 2018 release
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
While the original Q.U.B.E. is by no means the pinnacle of puzzle design, I found its mechanics and somewhat cheesy storytelling to be rather captivating. As such, I am very glad to say that the developers have now announced the new and improved Q.U.B.E. 2!
From the few details that are available right now I can tell you that we will be stepping into the shoes of Amelia Cross, a British archaeologist, who has found herself trapped on a strange alien planet. As you might imagine, you'll need to face the various puzzles and challenges within the Q.U.B.E. in order to try and find a way back home... if there even is one! You can get a good glimpse at what all of this looks like in-game via the recently posted teaser trailer:
Hollow Knight's very first free content update Hidden Dreams has now arrived
- By Ash
- in News
For those of you that might not know, Hollow Knight is a hand-drawn 2D action-adventure that will have you face off against hordes upon hordes of monsters as you journey through a vast and interconnected world. As you might imagine given the mixture of genres Hollow Knight is by no means an easy game, but it does feature enough depth and complexity to greatly reward those that push through the initial difficulty curve.
If you number yourself among those that have already beaten every challenge Hollow Knight has managed to muster, you'll be glad to hear that the very first free content update Hidden Dream has now arrived. It brings with it two new bosses to fight against, each with their own little storyline and music track, the Dream Gate that allows you to instantly travel from one corner of the kingdom to another, as well as a brand new Stag Station to uncover.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm now has a lengthy gameplay video showing off Chloe and David
- By Ash
- in News
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a prequel to the original game set three years before Max returned to Arcadia Bay. You'll be taking on the role of the rebellious Chloe Price as you explore her unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber, through there will also be a small bonus episode covering Max's initial departure. While this doesn't relate to the story, it is important to mention that Before the Storm will not be made by the the developers of the original as they are currently busy with the rather awesome-looking vampire RPG Vampyr.
So if you're wondering whether this prequel can live up to the high standards set by the original Life is Strange, especially considering that the voice of Chloe Price has been changed, you'll find the answers you seek in the recently posted and rather lengthy gameplay video. There's nothing major as far as spoilers are concerned, so feel free to give it a look. Here's the video:
Doomfist is now playable in Overwatch's competitive game mode
- By Ash
- in News
When Doomfist arrived last week he was quarantined from Competitive Play in order to give everyone a bit of time to adjust to his presence. Well, I sure do hope you've managed to just that because the floodgates have now opened and Doomfist has been unleashed upon Competitive Play!
I've only had the time to play a couple of mid-GM games with and against him, so take the following with a few grains of salt, but I'm pretty certain that he's not going to mingle well with the overly popular dive teams. In order to achieve any sort of mobility Doomfist needs to sacrifice his defensive cooldowns, which as you might imagine makes him quite vulnerable in close quarters combat. So despite his tag saying "offense" I believe Doomfist is going to be much better at defense, especially when it comes to protecting healers from pesky scientists and robot ninjas.
Hob, a colorful action-adventure from the Torchlight developers, has been pinned for a September release
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Hob is an exploration-focused action-adventure that will have you solve a variety of puzzles in between beating up all of the indigenous life forms with your giant robo-fist. What sets Hob apart from most other adventure games is the simple fact that its world can be twisted and reshaped in order to access new areas or just open up additional pathways in previous ones. All of this will be done through the rather ominously sounding World Machine that lies just beneath the surface, though what exactly it is I'm afraid I have no idea.
If you're wondering what all of this might look like in gameplay terms, allow me to share with you one of the extended developer previews. The video is almost a year old at this point so some things are obviously outdated, but it should still give you a pretty damn good idea of what Hob is all about. Have a look: