Just Deserts: More about girls than the game | review


Posted on August 12, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Most of the time with a VN you get a great story, a set of cute characters that fit in to a single archetype. Usually you will have the various dere girls, the cute nerd, and at least one more type, sometimes shes the clumsy one, sometimes shes the super hot one. Doesn’t really matter, point is that you get a set of girls, usually introduced right away and yourself the player character who is trying to woo them. This is done via a fairly simple set of interactions that raise how much a girl likes you over time eventually leading to dates, and then the end game. Just deserts take a much less direct approach to this, for you see aliens have invaded.

The game begins with you pulled on to an unknown military base, shown to the bases commander Cornelia (who has pink hair) and briefed out on the fact that the facility you are at is in fact a secret forward operating base that’s fighting aliens. Not your standard opening to a VN, but I guess its more plausible then finding two cat girls in a box (if you don’t get that go play Nekopara). The rest of the game features 4 other girls, with hair colored Blonde(Ceceile), Black(yumi), White(Eve), and red (Jennifer) plus the commander we already met. You will spend most of the game getting small quests for these girls, and fighting turn based battles against aliens.

The Full Cast

The Full Cast

Because this is a VN im going to be talking a lot about art, and voices, and not as much about the game part itself. If you really want a gaming experience I cannot in good conscious recommend that you play a VN. Go play Overwatch or something instead. That out of the way the V part of this VN is really stellar. It features a soft art style that’s full 2D instead of the sudo 3D that many VN’s opt for.  There is no character movement in the sprites so don’t expect something like the boobs slider you get in Neko Para to make an appearance.  Backgrounds are beautifully penned, but they really do look like paintings because they are static. Everything has a soft glow that makes it sort of resemble an oil painting which feels a bit out of place in a VN about alien invasion.

The girls themselves all have different body types and styles. Each on can be dressed in a variety of different outfits that are purchasable with in game money.  You can have each on wear these clothes in various poses which you also purchase. The games CG screens (a must in any VN) are well drawn, but basic, this is also an all ages VN so don’t expect any nudity here. The game is voiced but not fully, instead you get kind of bits and pieces of what the characters are saying, which is a nice feature but id almost prefer the fully voiced Japanese standard that comes with most VN’s.

I really like the games flat UI its one the best I have ever played.

I really like the games flat UI its one the best I have ever played.

The story is the most basic of VN stories, your dropped in to a (future) harem of girls as the clueless MC, and expected to start doing things to woo these girls. Story is honestly the worst aspect of this otherwise fun VN. I know that sounds sort of backwards since the second letter literally stands for novel, but I really don’t feel like not having a story takes much away here. Bascially you’re the typical super MC who can save the world, but also there are some girls you have to woo, it’s shallow on the level of Honey pop but with less matching and more shooting aliens. As to the earlier mentioned aliens, we never find out more about them than they are invading. They simply serve as faceless antagonists to keep the game moving. The most plot we really get comes at the end of our month of time (yes this is a time limited game) where we go to the alien ship to destroy it.

This is what combat looks like

This is what combat looks like

But you didn’t really come here for the story did you? I mean I didn’t, I saw cute girls and was like lets do that! Each of the 5 girls featured has a purpose, a skill if you will in the upcoming battle with the alien menace. The relationship aspect of this game is that the more you woo a girl, the better her weapons to fight the aliens will get.  In each play through you will have 30 days to get to know each girl as much as possible , unlock all of their weapons, and go attack the alien spaceship. The game is pretty kind about those days, and there are only a few planned events during the 30 day period.

The scenes in between the combat are nice enough, you get to interact with the various girls, who slide on and off screen in a cut out sprite style. Since you have 5 different characters to woo, you can expect plenty of time will be spent choosing which one you want to “power up”. These are basically the games different routes, and you won’t be able to do all 5 in one go, so there is at least some replayability here.

dresssup

Your time is most difficult resource to manage here. Training or wooing or fighting all take time. You also have very limited money, and will need to get more to buy gifts for the girls to get them to like you better.  I don’t have much nice to say about the combat in this game, its pretty basic. I never felt like I was going to lose up until the last boss which took a major curve on difficulty in a scary way.

The battle system it self is turn based and most resembles something like an early JRPG. You attack, use items, or special abilities. Enemies are only encountered while on patrol , and on each patrol you can bring one girl, who can also use a special ability. , you can buy new weapons (which all have limited use) and armor, as well as training to increase stats and to increase attack or survivability. This is basically all it is in a nutshell, with just a few more mechanics that I haven’t touched on.

Combat suffer from being almost too simple, but really it’s a VN im here for the cute, not the combat, so I cant fault the game too much. I do have one complaint, enemy diversity is basically 0. Here is the enemy list: a cube,  a fire cube, an acid cube, a grass cube, a hexagon, a diamond, and a sun. That’s it. The other “game” part of this is of course the dating sim, which is pretty good actually. The UI is fantastic, I really liked how slick and modern it looked.  Just like most VN’s you will be spending your time here buying things for girls, wooing girls, giving them things, and talking to them. Each thing you do will earn you love points, and as those grow you will eventually go on a date.  After you complete a set number of dates, you fall in love, and well win.

Overall I really enjoyed Just Deserts. It mixes up the usual VN formula of just dates with just enough combat. The combat is boring after a while sure, but its still way better than it would be if you just didnt have any at all. With the tiny price tag its totally worth it.


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Warhammer 40K Inquistor Martyr releases new blood and gore filled trailer


Posted on August 11, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

If you missed any of our E3 coverage of Warhammer 40K Inquisitor Martyr, you might have missed my rampant love for the game. Just in case here it is. I got to go hands on with the next best thing in the 40K universe and man was I impressed. Though the game was in a very rough state, Neocore games promised me that it would get better, and this new trailer shows some of that.

Filled to the brim with blood and gore , this new trailer is all about how many aliens your gonna shoot. The video also came with a new game dev log. which you can watch here.  There is no release date yet for this game, but it seems to be coming along quite well. I hope to see more of it at PAX and then E3 next year.

 


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Battlegrounds completes alpha testing


Posted on August 10, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Battle grounds is developer Bluehole’s newest game. The veteran developer of the popular MMORPG, TERA is working in collaborate with PLAYERUNKNOWN to bring you an all new experience in the world of  Battle Royale. Battlegrounds will be a battle royal style game. Over 600 players participated in the test sessions, with overwhelmingly positive feedback on the game’s progress after just four months of development—particularly with regard to the project’s core gameplay, responsiveness and stability. Additional tests will take place every six to eight weeks as the game advances.

PUB Screenshot 1

In development for PC using Unreal Engine 4, the standalone game will expand the core Battle Royale experience enjoyed by millions of players into a highly competitive player vs. player (PvP) game in a dynamic open world. Playerunknowns Battlegrounds will put up to 64 players on a remote island for a winner-takes-all showdown where strategic gameplay is as important as shooting skills. Players will enter a last-man-standing battle where they try to locate weapons, vehicles and supplies in a graphically and tactically rich battleground that eventually forces players into a shrinking safe area as they engage in a tense and spectacular fight to the death.

“The enthusiastic response of the players after experiencing the bare bones of the game tells me we are on the right track for strong gameplay set in a realistic open world,” said Brendan Greene, aka PLAYERUNKNOWN. “Our Bluehole team has made amazing progress and everyone is fired up for the next play test when we’ll have more of the game to show.”

PUB Screenshot 3

Bluehole and PLAYERUNKNOWN are committed to an Open Development philosophy for the game, sharing regular updates with the passionate community base, providing early assets and information, answering questions and taking in feedback. This spirit of collaboration is integral to the game’s success, as the online game will grow and thrive with the participation of its player community.

I for one cant wait to get in on the beta of this game, I love these types of games, and King of the Kill is a major player in my game rotation. Hopefully I will get to see and play it at PAX WEST.


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Talent Not Included will launch on August 30


Posted on August 9, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

I love a good platformer. Talent not included looks like it coudl be my next major obecssion.  Set in the fantasy land of Notthatmuchfurther, Talent Not Included tells the story of three monsters: Zordok, Derp, and Kevin, all three huge fans of slaughter, bloodbaths, and Shakespeare. One night, as they were bored out of their minds, they decided to put on their own play. Unfortunately, nothing went as planned. That’s mostly because Zot, a demonic critic hired for the occasion, chose three mediocre actors with strong personalities, hoping to sow hell on stage for the public and his own amusement.

The game features

  • a Theatrical setting
  • Absurd humor
  • Cylinder-based platforms
  • Combat galore
  • Local co-op

I especially love the inclusion of local co-op, something that makes having friends over so much more fun.


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KryptCrawler aims to bring dungeon crawlers to VR


Posted on August 9, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

We here at Brokenjoysticks love VR. Rae has her Razr OSVR, and Renee had both the HTC Vive and Occulus Rift. So our staff is always looking for an exciting new VR experience. One of the things I have yet to see done well for VR is true dungeon crawler experience.

That feeling of plumbing a nearly endless dungeon in real time, getting loot, and slowly improving your character is a hard one to emulate in VR. Mostly I feel this is because (except old school ones) most dungeon crawlers rely heavily on movement. KrypCrawler is trying to fix that problem by going back to dungeons roots. First person, turn based, style.

Ok tell me about the game

Announced and showed behind closed doors at Gamescom this year, KryptCrawler brings classic first person, grid based Dungeon Crawler gameplay to mobile Virtual Reality. Descend into the unknown and explore the perilous depth of the sinister tombs and crypts you are thrown into, armed with nothing but a map and your wits. Find powerful weapons and wield mighty magic spells to fight off the undead remains of the warriors who have come here before you. Defend yourself against poisonous scorpions, hungry spiders and other creatures of the dark.

KryptCrawler delivers a combination of turn based old school gameplay and real time combat and trap evasion unprecedented in its genre. Combined with the immersion of modern VR technology, you will experience dungeons like never before. Let’s just hope you make it back to sunlight and the world of the living –there are many rumours of simple-hearted adventurers who have set foot into the abyss of the crypt and never have been heard of again!

The game features:

 

  • An unmatched VR dungeon experience: The immersion of modern VR will make you almost smell the moos-covered stonewalls of the underworld
  • Survive vicious traps and solve challenging puzzles: Many tests will await you deep down in the crypt, getting more deadly the further you descend into the catacombs.
  • Fight off enemies in real-time combat: Close combat swordfight, ranged bow mastery or wielding powerful magic – which warrior’s path will you choose?
  • Innovative battle and movement system using Gear VR Touchpad support as its best: Controls your hero’s fate with only the tip of your fingers.
  • Loot weapons and epic treasures: All over the dungeon are powerful weapons and treasures to discover. Some will help you fight ferocious enemies some will even let you unveil new paths deeper into the crypt.
  • Hours of content: Fight, puzzle and explore through 12 Story levels and over 100 procedural generated ‚New Game +’-levels.

Looks pretty intresting

Crazy bunch also sent over a couple of images, which I admit look basic. Buts it not meant to be graphically amazing, its meant to bring dungeon crawling to first person VR!basic basic2

 

 


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Classic video game console the Amiga is getting a documentary


Posted on August 9, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

From Bedrooms to Billions the Omega Years will tell teh story of the rise of the personal computer as a gaming device. Following on the success of the original “From Bedrooms To Billions” this next instalment “From Bedrooms To Billions: The Amiga Years” gives you an insiders look into the fascinating true story on the Commodore Amiga’s influence on the video games industry.3

As with the original ‘From Bedrooms to Billions’ the filmmakers balance the ‘The Amiga Years!’ with nostalgic archive footage, stills and music with newly shot interviews with some of the original Amiga design team as well as with some of the biggest names in video game development, publishing, music and journalism from across the last 30 years.
The Amiga featured some truly stunning games and many of the creators of those games appear in The Amiga Years movie such as Eric Chahi (Another World), Bullfrog (Syndicate, Populous), Paul Cuisset (Flashback), Martin Edmondson (Shadow of the Beast), Team 17, Magnetic Fields, Factor 5, DICE, Cinemaware and many many more! It will be released in September 2016 on DVD and BluRay and available in both Standardand Special Editions.

Im interested in all things history (I actually have a history degree!) and so when things that are a part of gaming history get made, im always excited. Thought I havent seen the first documentary


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We Happy Few preview


Posted on August 6, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

We happy few is a game that appeared from nowhere to immense hype. A video at the Microsoft press conference showed a grim dystopian world in 1960s England. E3’s trailer peaked the interest of all involved with its dark atmosphere and air of mystery.  Well mystery no more, the folks at Compulsion Games have given PC gamers a chance to play their game while its still in early access.

There is no story in the game, but its possible that you could be spoiled by my discussions of game mechanics, the atmosphere, and the perceived back story so far. So, if you are super concerned about spoilers I suggest you stop reading.

Ok, so lets start with basics, this is in fact a survival game. Though nothing about survival was shown at E3, media outlets (including us) reported that it was a survival game. No one really knew what form that would take, but this version of the game, despite having no story, does feature all of the survival elements.

We play as Arthur Hastings

We play as Arthur Hastings

The game opens with the same intro at E3, we are in an office tasked with ensuring that no history sneaks by our censoring old newspapers.  Since this is a story free demo, we get our best indications of whats going on in the world from these articles. Just like the E3 trailer you can go right to the party your office is holding if you want. But, this is an open world game, so I spent some time looking around. I was well rewarded, you can use the censorship machines in several other rooms, giving you more background.

From these other rooms I was able to glean a good bit of backstory.  We appear to be in a future 1960’s where England lost at last part of World War 2, and was occupied by Germany.  Either because of the occupation or to before it, a happiness pill was tested. This pill is the “joy” we heard about in the trailer, and seems to be a main plot point of the game. Those who refuse to take their joy are called “downers” and exiled to a rundown part of the city.

During the intro I also learned that our main character seems to have a brother, and that an article about his brother is what triggers his remembering. Not wanting to get too far behind I finished the intro section, was captured after running away, and found myself waking up in a dark tunnel.

Much to my surprise the upper left of my screen was occupied by a series of status icons, food, water, sleep, and health.  These meters are in a constant state of draining giving the game its survival aspect. So after waking up I made my way around the starting area. The area is an old tube station where theres a bit of tutorial.

Here we get to see that the game mostly is going to involve collecting raw materials, then crafting things.  After being directed in some basic crafting, we get released out to the open world. Did I forget to mention that? Yah this is a fully open world game. Your time will be spent wandering around finding missions, exploring for resources, and making sure you get back to your base in time to sleep before you die.

This guy want to kill you

This guy want to kill you

The game has solid core mechanics, you have to eat frequently and your days are bounded by the need to find a place to sleep. I found plenty of water, but much of the food I found was spoiled or rotted. This food true to form of any good survival game made me sick. Sickness was a constant companion in the world for me. Though there were pills that could help mitigate these but they were a much sought after resource and I traded some of mine away to ensure I had a place to sleep. That was a mistake by the way.

You are not the only inhabitant of this grim dark place where downers are sent. No its well populated. You will find all sorts of people running around. Some of these people just wander, some offer missions, and some are hostile. I didn’t spend much time in combat, but the system is very basic, at the point I was at in the game the most powerful weapons I had access to were cricket bats. The rest was fists and pointy sticks and clubs.

I was able to map about 40% of the first map in my longest play through. Two hours of play and that was just  40% of the first area. This is going to be a large game, with many NPC’s and quests to do, in addition to the simple survival objectives. The game does feature perma death, and since I wanted to get a good feel for the game, I played with this option on.

Permadeath is what makes this game so exciting right now. Even without the main story line, there is this element of danger which is just so very thrilling. I found myself spending so much time on the scavenging and looking to stay alive that I honestly didn’t really need story. That is not to say that it won’t be even better with a story, but I liked it so much already it can’t go anywhere but up.

Sleep is very important

Sleep is very important

Nothing quite felt as exciting as running on very little sleep (which takes away from stamina, which is vital for fighting) and knowing it was going to be a long way back to my home, fraught with danger.  But if I can make it back ill get to keep all the loot I am currently carrying.

The game offers that oh so tempting dichotomy between the want to explore and find raw resoruces, and the staying close enough to home to not die. There are other games that have nailed this in the past, but as nearly as I can tell We Happy Few is doing it in a vastly different way.

I really cant wait to get the story that goes along with the current gameplay. Its incredibly rare for a game to hold me based only on its gameplay and not its story. I can think of only a couple of examples, Rocket League, and Overwatch being two notable ones. This game managed to do that. Since its endlessly repeatable and features permadeath, I feel like there are basically unlimited options for play through here. During my play through I did find a few small physics bugs, and ended up stuck a few times, but since this game is going to be early access, there is plenty of time for the developers to fix these small issues.

 


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Road to Ballhalla is out now on Steam


Posted on August 5, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

One of my most beloved publishers, tinyBuild Games, is having an amazing year. With over a half dozen published hit indie games this year alone, tinyBuild is truly on fire. Today they bring their latest to Steam. If you like rhythm, great music, puns, and challenging gameplay you are going to want to check Ballhalla out. Developer Torchedhill have put a fresh take on the classic ball rolling genre by adding rhythm elements, a framed it a beautiful world of muted colors and light.

tutorial

Rhythm, balls, puns, and great music

Torched Hill have brought to the table something totally new in the world of simple rolling ball games. Adding rhythm elements reminiscent of Crypt of the Necro Dancer, this is a fresh take on a genre as old as video games.The aesthetic is a beautiful minimalism but with contrasting bright colors, and the game itself looks absolutely fantastic,  and because tinyBuild are truly insane:

Introducing Twitch Plays Ballhalla

Head on over to our twitch channel to participate in Twitch Plays Ballhalla. The chat is challenged to complete this unforgiving marble-rolling game, and will be rewarded with Steam keys for both Road to Ballhalla and other tinyBuild titles.  I personally cant wait to see what happens with this one, as Twitch plays is usually hilarious to watch.

So head on over to that Steam page and pick up this gem for 10% during its release week! meaning its at the low low price of just 14USD!


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Rocket League Championship Series Finals this weekend on Twitch


Posted on August 5, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Rocket League is a staff favorite. It was one of the first things I wrote about. And, I still frequently write about it. So even though I myself am unable to play it at a high level I am always excited to watch it. And, there are none more exciting to watch then the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS). Typically the RLCS is one of those things that I would only follow when it updated, but was always sure to catch the finals.

those finals are this weekend. Psyonix and Twitch are teaming and ask fans to tune in to Twitch.TV/RocketLeague on Saturday and Sunday, August 6-7 at 10am PDT, LIVE from the Avalon Hollywood for the Rocket League Championship Series Season 1 International Finals.

With a $55,000 prize pool at stake, the eight best Rocket League® teams from Europe and North America will battle it out to prove who’s the best once and for all! The four competing teams from North America are Exodus, Genesis, iBuyPower Cosmic, and Kings of Urban, while Europe is represented by Flipsid3 Tactics, The Flying Dutchmen, Mock-it eSports EU, and Northern Gaming.

Rocket_League2

Psyonix also has a special announcement coming this weekend. On the agenda it just says, 12 pm – Rocket League special world premiere announcement. Personally im hoping for some new modes, hockey was super fun!

Here is the full schedule of the event all times are in Pacific time.

Saturday, August 6

  • 10 am – Broadcast Begins
  • 10:15 am – Northern Gaming vs Genesis
  • 11 am – Exodus vs. Mock-it eSports EU
  • 12 pm – Kings of Urban vs. The Flying Dutchmen
  • 1 pm – Flipsid3 Tactics vs. iBuyPower Cosmic
  • 2 pm – Resulting matches begin to play out
  • 7 pm – Show closes

 

Sunday, August 7

  • 10 am – Broadcast Begins
  • 10:15 am – First Matches
  • 12 pm – Rocket League special world premiere announcement
  • 12:15 pm – Matches continue all day
  • 4 pm – Grand Finals followed by trophy ceremony

 

# # #


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Insert Coins T’s teams up with Pokemon for a new line of shirts


Posted on August 5, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

If you don’t know about Insert Coin tshirts, where the heck have you been? They are one of the few companies out there that can make licensed game t-shirts, and look good doing it. They feature shirts from Assiasins Creed, Border Lands, Life is Strange, and many others. their shirts have muted designs and are not obviously gaming related, so you can wear them out to events with no fear of being singled out.

You said Pokemon?

Yup, with the success of PO:GO everyone wants in on the fad, so Insert Coin is  doing a collaboration which brings together Pokémon’s twenty-year heritage and Insert Coin’s industry-leading reputation of creating stylish designer gamer-wear. Even better, it will be launching later this month. The collection aims to bring together everyone’s love of the Pokémon brand and will feature fan favorites such as Magikarp, Snorlax, Jigglypuff and Charmander… and of course Pikachu!

Where can I get them!

Well if your lucky enough to live near their single retail store. Then, on the 30th of  August at London’s Old Truman Brewery. The shop will also include some memorabilia from Pokémon’s 20-year history and there will be live appearances from Pikachu.

Products will only be available in-store whilst stocks last. The initial run of products will be limited in availability to the Pokémon x Insert Coin store and will be sold on a first come, first served basis – before appearing on www.insertcoinclothing.com later this year.

Thats pretty neato, there is no shortage of Pokemon branded clothes out there, but hopefully Insert Coin continues their great legacy of delivering high quality somewhat discreet gamer clothing.


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The Fall Part 2: Unbound is coming in 2017


Posted on August 4, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Independent developer Over The Moon today announced that The Fall Part 2: Unbound, the second chapter in the award-winning The Fall Trilogy, will be releasing in Q1 2017 for Microsoft Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii U, PC, Mac and Linux.

The Fall Part 2: Unbound picks up right where we left ARID at the end of The Fall. Featuring new characters, new gameplay twists, superb art direction and an even more engrossing story, The Fall Part 2: Unbound is a bold leap forward for the franchise.

John Warner, Director of Over The Moon said “The Fall Part 2: Unbound takes everything we learned with The Fall, adds to it and improves on it exponentially. After seeing the reception The Fall received, we knew that people were excited to see ARID’s journey of self-discovery continue. We want The Fall Part 2: Unbound to deliver a thought-provoking story that will linger with players long after they finish the game, with gameplay that’s as fitting with that story as it is addictive.”

thefall part 2

The Fall series combines Metroidvania-style exploration and combat with point and click adventure-style puzzles to create a fresh experience that fans of both genres will love. Players control ARID, an AI on-board a futuristic combat suit. In the original game, ARID was lost on an alien planet and struggled to save the life of the severely injured human occupant of the suit.  After the unhinging events of part 1, ARID’s very existence is threatened when she is ejected from her body and projected onto a vast global network. In a desperate attempt to save herself, ARID invades and attempts to control several other robots she finds there, each with wildly different personalities and gameplay styles. Will ARID successfully enlist their help before it’s too late? One thing’s for certain – the process will change her.
With a deep, engaging narrative; fully realized, layered characters; stark, minimalist art direction and sparse, haunting sound design; The Fall Part 2: Unbound is Metroidvania for a new generation.


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Lumo will be getting a retail release


Posted on August 2, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Isometric adventure Lumo will be getting a physical retail release this year. Lumo release earlier this year to wild acclaim on steam, The isometric puzzler has gotten high prise for emulating the style of 80s and 90s puzzlers in a modern environment. Now that game will get a physical release on the Ps4. The boxed edition of Lumo will release in the USA on PlayStation®4 system at participating retailers on August 30 priced at $19.99. In Europe, boxed versions for PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita systems will be available on September 9, priced £19.99/€19.99.

box

“Lumo is a very special game to us,” said Martin Defries, Managing Director of Rising Star Games. “Having nurtured the project along its development journey and working so closely with the extremely creative talent at Triple Eh?, it is a game we wholeheartedly believe in and a game we want to continue to bring to as wide an audience as possible.”

Lumo has been showered with accolades and exceptional review scores, including a ‘4 star’ review from USGamer.net, ‘9 out of 10’ scores from PushSquare and PSNation, a ‘4 out of 5’ from GameRevolution, a Eurogamer ‘Recommended’, and a ’10 out of 10′ from GamesDen. It has been described as “a wonderful little thing, gorgeous and intricate,” (HardcoreGamer ‘4 out of 5’) and also “stunning” and “quite brilliant” (Retrogamer ‘9 out of 10’). Brokenjoysicks has not yet reviewed Lumo, but keep your eyes open and it may come later.


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Hunger Dungeon is now on Steam Greenlight


Posted on August 1, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

I like survival games. Day Z, and ARK, are a part of my regular rotation of play. I like even more the battle royal homages, that usually come with these games. Games like H1Z1 King of the Kill, and The Culling have spilt these off in to their own games, with great success. Now its time to see if that formula can transition to the world of low-rez 2d.

The game

PQUBE Ltd is bringing its game Hunger Dungeon to Steam Greenlight. A 1-6 player round-based Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game. It aims to bring the excitement and fun of battle royal to a less graphical interface.

So with out further talk lets enter a cutthroat arena with more than 10 heroes to choose from, including the Skeleton Assassin, the Cunning Profiteer, Cat Ninja, Princess Ranger, and Black Knight.

Unlock new heroes as you progress, each with unique skills allowing for different tactics to always have the advantage over your opponents! Mix and match skill scrolls and equipment between rounds to optimize your build. Additional added effects are available for you to create your personal combat tactics.The victor of the final round takes all. Scheme and strategize carefully for your grand victory!  The game will be free-to-play and premium. Premium players will have access to additional characters and equipment.

Features

  • 2D battle style
  • Free-to-play and premium players play together
  • Up to 6 player online matches
  • A roster of distinctive characters
  • Skins for each individual character
  • 30+ customizable skill scrolls
  • 40+ customizable equipment
  • 40+ stages to explore
  • Epic boss fights

Sure looks great! check out the trailer and the green light page and follow the game on social media!

Twitter at www.twitter.com/PQubeGames
Facebook at www.facebook.com/pqube
Youtube at www.youtube.com/user/PQubeGames


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LucidSound LS30 Universal Gaming Headset: Review


Posted on August 1, 2016 by Fionna Schweit

Review by: J. C. Campbell

This Year at E3 I had the pleasure of meeting up with Alex Verrey of LucidSound, and he gave me a pair of their brand new LS30’s to take home and use. Since then I have been using them, and these are my impressions from use since then.

If there’s one thing that defines the LS30 gaming headset from Lucid Sound, it’s a wide range of unadvertised and understated features. First of all, the headset is advertised as working with consoles, the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 and PS4, and mobile phones. However, the LS30 works extremely well with PCs, a fact that isn’t mentioned anywhere on Lucid Sound’s site or packaging. This is rather unfortunate, because the LS30 is a near-perfect companion for PC gaming, whether you’re using voice chat software or playing a game with built-in voice chat.

LS30_2

The Box in Question, Notice it does not mention PC

Standard Wired Mode

The LS30 can be operated in two different modes. In the first mode, the LS30 operates as a normal wired headset with no special features. This is the mode that you have to use with a mobile phone. In this mode of operation, none of the other special features of the headset work. What comes out of your phone is what goes into your ear, and what comes out of your mouth is what goes into your phone’s microphone input. This is done via the standard 3.5mm 4-pin “TRRS” combined microphone and headphone jack. The LS30 can be used with standard 3-pin PC 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks, or any other analog setup if you get the correct adapters. In this straight in, straight out mode you wont get any of the fancy bells and whistles but you do get a perfectly good mobile ready headset with a microphone.

LS30_1

The White Model has very pretty champagne colored accents

Wireless gaming mode

However, what really shines on the LS30 are all the wireless digital features. In this mode the LS30 uses a USB stick as a wireless digital transmitter and adds various features such as mute, microphone monitoring, microphone monitoring mute, three different equalizer settings, and on-ear volume controls. Wireless mode is strong, and has perfect performance as long as you are in the same room as the headset, or one room away. I was able to listen to clearly even on a different floor from the transmitter, as long as I stayed in a room that was above the room with the transmitter. I would guess the maximum range on the wireless transmitter to be around 100 feet in a circle around where the transmitter is placed.

When using the transmitter, volume can only be controlled by the on-your-ear volume control. In some ways, this is good because it simplifies the number of volume controls that might be accidentally turned down. I have often had to check the volume control in a game, the volume control in my OS, and the volume control on my speakers to figure out which one was turned down so I could get sound back. The LS30 eliminates the OS volume control from the picture. The volume on the LS30 ranges from uncomfortably loud to not-quite-quiet-enough. You can turn the volume all the way down to 0 using the ear-knob, without muting, and it acts exactly as a mute, but the step above that, while very quiet, might not be quiet enough for everyone or every situation.

The mute functions play two different tones to indicate which function is being muted (the monitor or the normal audio) and whether it’s being muted or unmuted. No matter what the volume is set at, the in-ear tones the LS30 plays to tell you that it’s muted or unmuted are always the same volume, which can be a little startling if you have the volume down. Unfortunately, because the mute buttons are on your ears, this makes the headset hard to use while lying down with the ears against a pillow because the mute button will get triggered accidentally.

Equalizer settings

The three different equalizer settings are for normal, enhanced bass, and enhanced treble, and can be switched with a small button on the right ear of the headset. In normal mode, the headset sounds perfectly adequate, definitely high-quality sound, though it doesn’t match the quality of a pair of high-end studio monitor headphones. This can’t really be held against it, because such headphones would cost as much if not more than the LS30, and would come with none of its features, let alone a microphone.

LucidSound claims that the audio is transmitted wirelessly uncompressed, and I certainly didn’t notice any compression artifacts. Listening to music, the LS30 sounds like a pretty neutral pair of headphones, with possibly a little less bass than would be preferred for some genres of music. But the LS30 of course has a mode to fix that, the bass enhancement mode. When in the bass enhancement mode the bass becomes noticeably more pronounced but not obnoxiously so. In treble-enhancement mode, the sound of the LS30 is, quite honestly, terrible for listening to music. However, it could be useful for some purpose such as listening for the footsteps of enemies in a game.

Battery life

Since the LS30 is wireless, it does have a built-in battery which lasted for over 15 hours in my testing. While this is definitely enough for a full day’s worth of non-stop gaming, the LS30 can also be charged while in use by simply connecting the standard micro-USB port to a USB charger.  The headset also gives you plenty of warning when you’re running low on battery, playing two beeps into your ear every few seconds to warn you.

Microphones

One of the biggest features of the LS30 for me is its ability to monitor the microphone output. This means you can hear yourself talk while you use the headset. This is important because it helps prevent awkward situations where the microphone is either too close or too far away, and suddenly your teammates are either annoyed or can’t hear you at all. This also prevents the issue of having over ear headphones and it dampening your voice. This can cause unfortunately loud screaming or other noise which can be disruptive to others.

This feature gives you an accurate representation of how you sound and how much background noise coming through. It is common for games or other software to provide this functionality also, but in games and other software (such as Teamspeak, Mumble, Discord, Skype, etc.) there is a tiny delay between when you say something and when you hear it. That tiny delay can be aggravating and makes most people talk strangely and slowly, but it does not exist in the LS30. Therefore, using the LS30’s built-in monitoring is far preferable to using software monitoring.

On top of that, the LS30 has two microphones. One, is a boom mic, that has a rich, warm sound, as long as you’re not speaking directly into it. The boom mic has a LED on it which lights up when the mic monitoring feature is disabled. It is also removable, and when you remove the boom mic, another microphone mounted on the left ear takes over which also has an excellent sound quality, but it’s position is not adjustable.

LS30_3

A better view of the side plates, and mic attachment point

Nitpicks

I do have a few nitpicks however. First of all, on my unit the audio mute and the monitor volume were on the left side whereas the monitor mute and the audio volume were on the right side. I don’t know if every unit is like that or if mine was just cross-wired on accident at the factory. Second, the included USB cable is far too short to charge the LS30 while it’s being worn, even though the headset itself supports that feature. The headset does not remember your volume, mute, or EQ settings when you turn it off and turn it back on again, which is slightly annoying but not a big deal.

In Conclusion

I found using the Lucid Sound LS30 headset very enjoyable. It’s for sure one the best gaming related headset’s I have ever used. The wireless features of  the LS30 make it a very liberating to use. I can get up and move around, and even walk to another room while still being connected. Since both major consoles and PC now have much more than gaming involved, you could for example take a Skype call with you to the kitchen, or bathroom with out ever hanging up. It has intuitive controls. The ear mounted plates are simple to use, turn one way for up and one way for down, press in to mute. Its as simple as it gets.

 

The sound is great both for me and my teammates. If you are in a noisy environment the microphone will get your voice relayed to your teammates, and the drivers in the headset ensure you can hear your teammates.  This is hugely important, because in my experience, most headset mics are plagued with issues such as being too quiet where the LS30 is not. In addition, it’s comfortable for long periods of wear. I will be happily using the LS30 as my personal headset because of its excellent sound quality and the freedom it gives me  to game all day while still getting up and walking around without losing contact.
 Prices and where where to get it

At the time of writing the LS30 can be found for $120-$150 in the US which is an excellent price given the rich feature set and wide-ranging compatibility. You can currently buy it Game Stop, Best BuyNew Egg, or Game if you are in the UK. The LS30’s are available in black and white with champagne accents.


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