Scott Cawthon releases Sister Location


Posted on October 8, 2016 by Meghan Kass

Five Nights At Freddy’s fans can rejoice again, Scott Cawthon has delivered the next chapter of his hit series is out. Not only are there new animatronics to meet and fear,a new setting to explore, new voices and new clues to the ongoing and increasingly convoluted lore. Will this be a hit with the fanbase or will it be a miss? Either answer, what isn’t debated is the excitement.

Early in the day today, Five Night’s at Freddy’s: Sister Location was in the Steam Store, ready to purchase and play. While FNAF: World may have been a disappointment to both Scott and many fans of the series, Sister Location appears to be a return to form with its dark, eerie atmosphere, claustrophobic setting and uneasy voice guiding you through the work you do at your new job. The job this time is a late night technician at Circus Baby’s Pizza World. This game not only connects to previous FNAF games, but also references the novel “Five Nights at Freddy’s: Silver Eyes” with the character William Afton, who eventually in Silver Eyes becomes the infamous “Purple Guy”.

Youtubers, such as MatPat from Game Theory and Markiplier excitedly streamed the game, while commenting with their thoughts and theories on where Sister Location fits in the FNAF universe and what it means for the lore. It seems this takes place before all the previous FNAF games as this shows the early work of Afton as a technician and it also appears any classic FNAF animatronics are shiny and well kept. This game promises to be a welcome Halloween treat with plenty of jump scares and eerie mechanical murderers whether you are a fan of the theories and lore of the game or not. If you want to join the FNAF fun, pick up your copy and enjoy.


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Batman: The Telltale Series- Episode 2: Children of Arkham | REVIEW


Posted on October 2, 2016 by Meghan Kass

With a strong start to Telltale’s adaptation of DC’s Batman lore, can the next episode continue picking up momentum and make the next part of the story just as exciting as the first? I did not know what to expect going into this episode, considering I have found each Telltale game has it’s highs and lows during each series, but I had hoped for the best. What resulted after my time with the episode was a mix of feelings.

The second episode picks up where the first left off. Without giving too much of the story away, Bruce is still quite conflicted about some new information he gathered about his family’s past and fortune. Although the story of Bruce and his tragic past has been a story told and retold countless times in countless ways and in many different mediums, TellTale offered a quick breath of fresh air to the story by allowing the player to revisit the site of the Wayne’s murder, go through Bruce’s memories and even learn some new history of the Wayne family, courtesy of Alfred. How Bruce processes this information and reacts to it, is up to the player. I found this to be an interesting change from the usual cutscene or re enacting of the infamous murder.

Throughout the game, we uttb-barthumb02-1474335613313ncover a story of murder, intrigue, political conspiracy and corruption. We learn who the titular “Children of Arkham” are, what they want and how they plan to get it. You will have to choose who to help, what information you let people know and what relationships you build with those in your life. My personal favorite moment of the game was a bar fight you and Selena get into after some friends of the Penguin threaten Selena. You work together to fight them with a series of fight moves that were fun and showed how well in sync the two characters were. You start seeing the famous relationship between Selena and Bruce grow, but do they kiss? Well, you will have to play to find out.

This episode had some difficult choices and the story is definitely developing into something interesting and more complex than the average Batman adventure. I enjoyed seeing Bruce conflicted about his past and coming to terms with the fact that his family may not the be the perfect picture he thought of as a child.

What I didn’t enjoy as much was the fact that the gameplay again seemed like an afterth
ought. While it is normal for Telltale to focus on the story, it seems they took all the nuance and detail and put it into the story and less in the gameplay. It can get repetitive and at times just over simple and makes me wish for the days of Walking Dead season 1 or even Wolf Among us which I felt used the Telltale engine and detective gameplay more effectively and Walking dead’s choices seemed to carry more weight. The good news is that this is only episode two, so hopefully a lot of this will end strongly and the gameplay becomes a bit less repetitive.

Overall, this game continues its hig3131671-screenshot2016-09-19at17-56-01hly interesting story and certainly makes me want the next episode immediatelyafter playing, but the gameplay could have had the effort put into it that the story did. Aside from
an exciting bar fight that showed the potential for the gameplay and mechanics, it seems your choices don/t hold as much weight as previous Telltale games and you are repeating a lot of actions. All of this should not deter someone from continuing this adventure and could very well all be fixed easily in upcoming episodes.


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Digital Homicide filing lawsuit against Valve


Posted on September 20, 2016 by Meghan Kass

Indie developer, Digital Homicide has been under hot water recently. The developer is currently looking to raise money and seek legal representation to sue steam users due to poor reception of their games. While Digital Homicide states they are fighting against harassment, Valve had a different perception.

Digital Homicide has produced over a dozen games, such as Galactic Hitman (as pictured above), using the steam platform. These games have received numerous poor reviews and have gained the attention of the Steam community and YouTube personalities. They have been accused of using paid assets and having very little effort put into their games, which is reflected in those poor reviews, along with a reputation of putting out games fast and low quality. Because of these accusations and comments, founder James Romaine filed an $18 million “personal injury” claim and a subpoena with the demands that the data of 100 steam users who are part of a consumer advocacy group. According to the Digital Homicide website, they are still currently raising the money and seeking legal representation.

[Ed Note: This video explains just how publishers like Digital Homicide make their money off deeply discounted bundles and Steam Trading Cards.]

Valve’s response to Digital Homicide’s claims was to discontinue business with the developer due to “[hostility] towards Steam customers” and ban them from using Steam to produce their games. Digital Homicide had in turn, released a response on their website stating that Valve was “disgusting” and they were excusing harassment of not only the development team, but the customers who were legitimately interested in their product.

Currently, the subpoena has not been signed by a judge and therefore has only been proposed, not granted. Should the subpoena be granted, Valve can contest the claim at a hearing. Along with this, there are also plans to bring a lawsuit to YouTube personality, Jim Sterling over videos criticizing the group’s development practices and quality of their products. Whether any of these lawsuits are successful, only time can tell.


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Possible Demo for Pokemon Sun and Moon


Posted on September 8, 2016 by Meghan Kass

With all the excitement surrounding Pokemon recently, a new development is being added to that list. While Nintendo may not have mentioned it in the 9/1/16 Nintendo Direct, there is evidence showing that a demo for Pokemon Sun and Moon could possibly be on it’s way.

Recently, it has been discovered that the Korean Ratings Board put out a rating for a demo version of Pokemon Sun and Moon. The title was listed as “Sun, Moon Pokemon Special Trial” and the rating was of course, for everyone. That seems to be the only information that could be found on the demo at this time. There is no evidence that this will be a world wide release demo and there is no date for the release either, but it seems to be an appropriate time for a demo to come out.

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This rating appeared shortly after the Nintendo direct and the announcement of new incentives for pre-ordering Sun and Moon, such as a Munchlax with a Z-stone that triggers special moves after evolving and the ability for that Munchlax to learn two moves that wouldn’t be available to it normally as Snorlax. With Nintendo building up as much excitement as possible for the new game, a demo would be the next logical step in collecting as much interest and pre-orders as possible. Past demos for games such as Pokemon ORAS (Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire) have been shown to help boost sales as ORAS had ended up selling more copies than anticipated at launch. Looking at past patterns, Pokemon X and Y also had a demo before it’s release, so this is not out of the ordinary for Nintendo. Hopefully, this demo is not just region specific or Club Nintendo Platinum member exclusive and everyone will be able to get an example of what to expect come November.


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Bound Review: A Game That Hits All The Right Beats


Posted on August 29, 2016 by Meghan Kass

In a summer that has allowed indie games and smaller titles to shine and show what they are capable of, Sony has added one more title to that list before the fall rush of major AAA titles begins. Bound, developed by Plastic, has taken the spotlight and used it to tell an emotional, heart wrenching story and manages to do so in quite a short amount of time. This is a game that will hypnotize you and definitely leave an impact on some long after it’s over.

Bound’s strength is first and foremost in its story. In the game, you take on the role of a young princess who needs to navigate her world using the art of interpretive dance and elegant, flowing movement and ultimately save her world. The universe in which the princess resides is surreal and dreamlike, which fits with the narrative because we are exploring the mind, feelings and memories of a young woman and her past. As you explore, you are able to piece together her thoughts and relive her experiences through this princess and help her overcome some of her more distressing memories. This story is dripping in metaphor, but is not inaccessible to those not caring to analyze and break it down; it seeks to paint a clear enough picture with metaphor and surrealism that will help keep the player immersed in the mood and art rather than leave them lost and bored. There are both beautiful, slow, thoughtful moments along with hectic platforming depending on the story unfolding to help keep you
on your toes, so to speak.

Bound’s artistic style might take a little time to get used to, but once I let myself become immersed in the paper style, beautiful dance movements and bright colors, I was hypnotized. The dancing was some of the most beautiful animation I have seen in a game and really had me impressed with the small development team. I al
so very much enjoyed the puzzle piece style of putting together the young woman’s memories and how the pieces of the picture would gather and put itself together based on where you moved in the scene.

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The only weak point for Bound is in its gameplay. This is not a game for those looking for competitive play, heavy action or breakneck speed. This is a slow, emotional, artistic trip that focuses on the style and story rather than the gameplay. While this is not a bad thing, the platforming does suffer because of this.

I unfortunatekdkvohmh6sdhlk2sr2nhly encountered some broken platforms that would cause me to fall through them while jumping, even though it was clear I had landed on them, which would set me back a little, It was not enough to make me give up or get angry, but worth noting. I also found the moments you had to dance to hold back enemies to be slightly unfulfilling as you simply could just press whatever dance button you like with no reasoning or direction and it would all work the same in getting past whatever obstacle was in your way, but some might see that as a way to just express yourself and be more free in what you can do with this dream like world; i personally still enjoyed dancing in as many different ways as I could and dancing in as many different ways I was able to.

While Bound is not perfect, I still highly recommend it. For what few flaws cause it to stumble, it more than gracefully makes up for in its art and story. It’s short, sweet and worth the evening it will take to complete. Let the princess and her adventures sweep you off your feet.


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SWD tech is off to an interesting start with it’s first game, Pixel Noir


Posted on August 22, 2016 by Meghan Kass

SWD tech games is an indie development team founded in 2013. This diverse group of passionate game developers, co founded by Len Stuart and Kunal Mujmdar, are going to be releasing their first game in November. After working in the industry on multiple types of projects from small to AAA, the group has successfully come together to crowd fund and develop Pixel Noir.

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Pixel Noir is a retro style RPG game in which you are a detective who has lost his career as a police officer, his partner and his sanity; you must piece together what happened and through detective skills, making sense of hallucinations and finding allies, prove your innocence.  The game displays a turned based combat system, similar to a JRPG, has a focus on a rich story and characters. Straight from the 16 bit era of the SNES, this game finally has a demo after one failed Kickstarter and a successful second crowd funding effort and has also been greenlight on steam and became a Kickstarter staff pick. They have promised two crossover elements with other indie games, including Shovel Knight and Heart Forth Alicia. According to the Kickstarter, there will be Easter eggs and moments that reference these games, though details are still yet to be announced. These crossovers were sought out by SWD tech because they were inspired by fellow developers such as Yacht Club Games.

The developers plan to include features that will make a mobile phone version of the game easier and also plan to make the game available cross platform, which includes a 3DS version due to meeting their stretch goals. As there are updates on this game, SWD tech has been updating their development blog, Facebook and Twitter. You can follow this indie developer’s story and try out their demo on their website http://www.swdtechgames.com/ .

You cannot pre-order the game as of yet, but the website states they have plans for pre-orders and exclusives in the near future.

 


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Batman: a Telltale series episode 1- Realm of Shadows review


Posted on August 21, 2016 by Meghan Kass

Telltale is at it again with their newest episodic adaptation of Batman. Batman: The Telltale series episode 1- Realm of Shadows puts the decisions, detective work and adventures of the caped crusader and puts it in the hands of the player using their signature mix of point and click gameplay and quick time events. Being a long term fan of the development team and publisher, could I be impressed yet again by their newest series, or would this be a miss in a long line of home runs?

36190303grapplinggun1920x1080-1469035581177_largeAnyone who is familiar with a Telltale series, such as: Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Wolf Among Us or even Minecraft: Story Mode, will find themselves at home with the gameplay and style of Realm of Shadows. The game doesn’t waste any time starting the game with a series of quick time events that put us as Batman stopping the snarky, quick witted Catwoman from committing larceny. Throughout the episode, the gameplay involves the player alternating between Bruce Wayne’s life as the playboy philanthropist and “The World’s Greatest Detective”. You need to interact with other characters in Bruce’s life and make decisions that determine how characters feel about you, how the media feels about you and who is your ally and involved in your life. You also interact with your environment and investigate crime scenes, make connections between pieces of evidence to determine what has happened and even get into a quick time fight or two while wearing the iconic suit all while your trusty friend and butler, Alfred, guides and chides you about finding balance in your life.

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There are no shortages of well-known Batman characters in this game. You interact with the likes of Vicki Vale, Harvey Dent, Catwoman and even Oswald Cobblepot. While some of their backstories are taken creative liberties with, their personalities shine through and will put a smile on any Batman fan’s face. I know I had a huge grin on my face whenever I met and had conversations with a different Batman character I have loved since my childhood watching the animated series and reading the comics.  It helps that the look is very much stylized and resembling that of a comic book.

The only point in the gameplay I did not enjoy was the use of the “batputer” codex system. I see how it would be useful for someone who is not familiar with the universe or characters of Batman, but other than that, I felt it was mostly unnecessary. This feature did not ruin or take me out of the experience, though. I used the codex when prompted and moved on as quickly as the game allowed to get me to the next part of the story.  Cowl_1920x1080

The story is where Telltale has always and continues the shine. Because the story is the most important part of the game, I won’t explain too much about the story, but it had me biting my nails and shouting by the end because I just wanted more. Without spoiling the story, you are Bruce Wayne and you must balance your life as Batman and Bruce as best you can while making discoveries about the past and deciding how you will effect other’s futures. Will you be a good friend to Harvey Dent? Will you reunite with your old school friend? Will you trust Vicki Vale? Will you disappoint Alfred? All of these plot points and more are in store for your play through of Realm of Shadows and more.

Overall, this is a strong entry in Telltale’s resume. I was deeply immersed in the story and enjoyed the gameplay and style enough to want more. While this is not as strong as The Walking Dead: Season One, it is still a must play for loyal Telltale and Batman fans alike.


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Rainbow Jam ’16 and how game jams help the industry


Posted on August 19, 2016 by Meghan Kass

As August continues, a number of game jam events are scheduled to take place.  These game jams are giving opportunities for smaller indie developers to showcase their skills and network with others in the gaming community, all while enjoying a fun atmosphere.

One such event in particular taking place is Rainbow Jam ‘16. This is a game jam, in the Scottish community, starting August 20th and continuing until September 4th. What makes Rainbow Jam special is their focus on the LGBT+ community and diversity in gaming. Their goal is promote safety in the gaming community and for developers to create freely and openly without fear. They also have a goal of creating future meetups and opportunities for communication locally in “various Scottish cities”

According to the itch.io page, the theme for this game jam was selected by getting suggestions from participants and then the top category was voted to be the theme used for the games created, this year the theme is “Identity”. The top games in each category will then be awarded prizes. To participate in the jam, you do not have to be a certain nationality, sexuality or gender; everyone is encouraged to join the celebration and use whatever skill they can bring to help create. Submissions are made through itchi.io and participants can work in teams up to four or individually.

The jam was started due to the feedback and discussion from the Facebook group Scottish Rainbow Game Dev. and they are looking for more sponsors and participants for the jam and possibly for future jams. You can join or learn more about this open game jam at the website https://itch.io/jam/rainbowjam16.

This game jam is just one example of how to encourage diversity and new talent in the gaming industry. New voices, ideas and styles can mean a breath of fresh air and more choices for not only publishers, but for consumers as well.

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Image source: Rainbow Jam 2016 Facebook page


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