Tag Archive

Lawbreakers Open Beta Available Until July 5th


Posted on June 30, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Nexxon and Boss Key Games announced that the open beta for their upcoming first person shooter, Lawbreakers, is now available on Steam for everyone to try out.

Unlike other team-based FPS games, Lawbreakers doesn’t give its heroes a personality so to speak. Instead each of the team’s members are broken down into unique roles – the chain gun wielding Vanguard, the all-around assault class the Enforcer, the vertically mobile assassin class among others. Unique to Lawbreakers is also a low gravity mechanic where portions of the map are entrapped within a bubble that allows players to jump higher but with a lower fall rate.

In a press-release announcing the availability of the Open Beta until July 5th, Nexxon provided a brief rundown of new features available in the Open Beta:

  • New Map: Vertigo – located in a remote location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Vertigo is a high-altitude reconnaissance outpost with near suborbital elevation;
  • New ModeUplink – capture the uplink in the centre of the map and deliver to your team base, continuing to protect it until points are earned;
  • Weapon Stickers – players can test a new customisation feature and earn a special Beta participant Weapon Sticker by completing five matches during the event. This reward transfers to the full release of the game at launch.

Lawbreakers will be releasing on both PlayStation 4, PS4 Pro and Windows PC with the base game priced at $39.99 CDN.


0

Space Survival Game – Hellion – Gets First Major Update


Posted on June 27, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Fans of the survival genre have a lot of choices when it comes to meeting their needs, and I’m not just talking about filling the stamina, health and water gauges either. Hellion, a sci-fi themed space survival title recently released their first major update alongside a 20% discount during the Steam Summer Sale.

Here is a rundown of what is included in the 0.2 version update:

  • Big work on optimization and stability
  • Improved navigation and flight systems
  • Survival gameplay mechanics enhanced and improved

Content

  • Loot distribution system and zones (civilian, industrial and military zone)
  • Security system (authorization, locking/unlocking system and defense turrets)
  • Ship and station customization (ship and station naming and interior design)
  • Doomed outposts as world events
  • Female character
  • New weapons
  • A lot of new items and inventory changes
  • Basic tutorial and glossary (learn to play and find out what you can find in Hellion)

Hellion takes players into 23rd century –  a distant solar system far away from earth to be precise. The player’s avatar was part of a 100-year mission to populate this distant solar system aboard one of the first colonization system. During transport, something went horribly wrong, with the inhabitants of the colony waking up decades away from their intended destination and any sort of assistance. Take control of your fighter, scan down enemies, engage in combat, salvage and upgrade your ship to survive another day. All of the core mechanics for survival are already in-place in Hellion Version 0.2 – and if you’re intrigued, the game is available for $19.99 on the Steam Store.

The game’s developer Zero Gravity provided Broken Joysticks with a Steam code for Hellion and we will bring you impressions later this month.

 


0

Vanquish Now Available On Steam


Posted on May 25, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Platinum Games’ hypermobile third person shooter  Vanquish is no longer contained to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with the release of a Windows PC port on Steam today.  Directed by Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil fame, the original version of Vanquish was released in October of 2010 and was received favorably at the time drawing comparisons to 2D bullet hell shooters.

Set in the near future players take the role of DARPA agent Sam Gideon who pilots a highly advanced Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS) which allows him to enter a bullet time like state when low on health. The AR suit also allows Sam to jet across the map using built-in thrusters and swap between 3 held weapons and two different kinds of grenade at any time. After a Russian space station causes a calamity that devastates the city of San Francisco, which causes DARPA to call in Sam to save key personal and shut down the space station weapon before it can wipe another city off the map.

Supporting features like 4K resolution and an unlimited this version of Vanquish accomplishes technical feats the original just could never do. It is currently priced at $24.99 CDN.


0

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series- A New Frontier episode 3: Above the Law | Review


Posted on April 9, 2017 by Meghan Kass

Telltale Games has come out with the newest episode in their Walking Dead series. While the two part opener was good, it needed to really develop our new protagonist in order to live up to the love that the games built up for Clementine or even Lee. Javier is certainly not unlikable, but can Telltale continue its line up of strong protagonists? Can they build up Javier without neglecting Clementine? How will the story of Javier’s group progress and what will be learned about this New Frontier? This mid season episode has a lot of answers and story to unbox. This episode has a lot of story points and character development to look at, and less gameplay aspects to talk about, so minor spoilers are to follow, but nothing that ruins the episode. I recommend if you have played the episodes up to this point, definitely continue despite the lacking gameplay

 

The episode opens up by diving into Javier’s past and how he began to lead the family after his brother David’s absence. We see thatKate is hesitant to take action against the walkers and the kids are hesitant to leave without their father, but you must make the hard choice of either staying and risking the walkers becoming too numerous and overwhelming or leave and hope that David finds the group later down the road. His conversations with Kate and the kids when deciding how to handle their uncertain future offer quieter, but essential moments that help enrich the characters and offers some insight into how they ended up in their present situation and why they might feel the way they do. Getting this insight and character development really shows how much Telltale cares about their protagonists for the Walking Dead and puts at ease concerns that may have risen about switching protagonists for this season. We see how hard it is for Javier to take the leadership role, how hard it is for Kate to protect her loved ones while seeing such gruesome sights and how hard it is for the children, especially Gabe, to leave their father behind.

 

We also get some insight into what has happened to Clementine and her time with The New Frontier. We see how she got her tattoo, how she became a loner again after finding some stability and what choices she had to make to save her only remaining ties to family. A major discovery happens concerning AJ and we see that Telltale has not given up on Clementine or her story regardless of the change of protagonists. Clem is still as interesting and even heartbreaking a story as ever. We learn more about the connection between Javier, Clem and the New Frontier and the title “Above the Law” becomes very clear as we go deeper into how The New Frontier works. As the trailer for the episode showed, David reunites with his family, creating some hard choices for the family. Do they accept David back? Do they side with the New Frontier now that they learn David is involved? You need to make your own decisions and judgments after some investigation and conversations. There are some interesting developments, but it soon becomes a bit convoluted and frustrating when dealing with some dubious characters. There were times I even went against how I normally would respond in order to take a more aggressive action as opposed to a diplomatic response because of my frustration. The plus side is that this lead to some interesting responses from those around me.

 
Overall, this episode was wonderful for the character development and bonding with our new protagonists, but somewhat lacking in the rest of the departments that would have knocked it out of the park. There is certainly no reason to give up on this season or The Walking Dead now, so play for yourselves and discover why some are “Above The Law”.

 


0

Saber Interactive announces ‘NBA Playgrounds’ for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC


Posted on April 6, 2017 by Jason Nason

Developed by Saber Interactive, NBA Playgrounds is a new, high-flying, arcade-style basketball game. This classic 2-on-2 action experience will be available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC (Steam) as a digital-only release in May 2017. The digital release is slated to eTail for $19.99 USD.

“Basketball is such a pick-up-and-play sport at heart – we really wanted to bring that spirit into gaming,” said Saber’s CEO, Matt Karch. “NBA Playgrounds has a lot of depth for pros who’ve mastered their game, but it’s accessible enough that anyone can jump in, have fun and feel competitive.“

All 30 NBA teams are featured in NBA Playgrounds, as well an extensive roster of current and retired NBA players that you can level up over time. The game can be played solo, with friends in local and online multiplayer, or against the world in online tournaments. There are hundreds of over-the-top dunks and moves to unleash for show-stopping displays of acrobatic skill on lively playgrounds across the globe.

Read More


0

Soulless Wonder Needs Your Steam Greenlight Votes


Posted on March 22, 2017 by Les Major

Soulless Wonder Conversation

We’re getting close to the release of the Soulless Wonder Kickstarter. It’s a wonderful game drawn by past Marvel and Dark Horse comics artist Rod Espinosa! The story itself is quite deep too. Gamers help make decisions of Lantz, a bard who is cursed to have to date Monster Girls. It’s a comical adventure but also takes on some very serious issues as well!

It’s an important game to Darkain Arts and we hope you’ll give it a look. Covering topics like mental health, bullying, and even transgender issues hasn’t been an easy task, but the writing is top notch. The game isn’t preachy. It’s about building relationships and getting to know each of the games complex characters.

Inspired by the conversation mechanics of NIS America titles but with lots of decisions like a Telltale Games adventure, Soulless Wonder is an ironically titled game that’s full of spirit.

Give the team a vote on Steam Greenlight and help get Soulless Wonder closer to a digital release: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=874540710

There’s lots more to come on this fantastic new title so stay tuned. If you’re a Steam user, be sure to vote! It costs nothing to vote yes. It’s a poll and it shows your support for this title. The game is still in development after all.


0

Join The Division For Free With New Trial


Posted on March 6, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

The Division

Ubisoft’s year old open world third person shooter set in a post-federal government Manhatten, Tom Clancy’s The Division now has a free trial available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC via Uplay. After downloading the client brand new agents are able to play for free until level 8 or after eight hours have elapsed. In terms of the character level cap this is the exact same level cap that was used during the games’ alpha & beta tests.

Players on Xbox One have had access to the trial since the end of last week while those on Sony’s console will have to wait a few more days from now, as The Division’s trial will not go live on the PlayStation Network until March 9th.

If you haven’t checked out last year’s mega-hit (and subsequent abandoned ghost town) The Division then now might be the perfect time. When Ubisoft released patch 1.6 in January they did a lot to address player criticism when it came to The Dark Zone, which has been a massive haven for hackers & cheaters.

If you are intended to play on PC, make sure your rig meets the recommended specs below. Regardless of what your platform of choice is you are in for a massive download.

Recommended PC System Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-3770, AMD FX-8350, or better.
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, AMD Radeon R9 290, or better
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 40 GB available space

[Source]


0

A Look at Guts and Glory


Posted on March 4, 2017 by Meghan Kass

There is nothing I enjoy more than a pleasant ride through the country; either by car or bike, there simply is nothing better. Of course, if you are the characters in Guts and Glory, there might be something a little better than a ride through the country. This game, developed by HakJak, has taken all what could be logical, relaxing and child friendly and turned it upside into the absurd, violent and nonsensical. With a strong community building already for this game and tracks full of surrealism, ragdoll physics and a sense of humor, it’s no wonder this game is gaining the attention it is.

The game is simple enough in concept. You choose the level you want to play and then choose the track you want to run. You can choose between official levels and tracks, or instead opt to play the community made levels. Either way, the goal is to reach all the designated checkpoints and try and be as fast as you can and make it to the end. Try is the key word with this game, and that is where the fun of this game happens.

This game offers some of the most amusing physics I have seen since QWERTY. The characters offered all have their unique way of controlling and have their strengths and weaknesses as far as running the tracks. My personal favorite character to play was Earl and his tractor. I found myself not only able to control Earl the best out of the group, but found myself doing some rather fun tricks such as spinning in the air and successfully landing flips. John and Jimmy offered some of the most challenging gameplay, but also the most fun wipe outs. When you need to respawn, the wipeout was usually violent and absurd. Since Johnny and Jimmy are only on a bicycle, balancing them was slightly more difficult, but it was faster. I paid no mind to who I crashed into and injured on the way to the next checkpoint, but I also would fall to my demise many times with a lot of red splattering around me. Thankfully, you can respawn at the last checkpoint you reached.

Crashing through fences, buildings, people and causing destruction is enough to stop caring about the time on the clock and just have fun creating mayhem. You can go slower and make sure you move ever so slightly so not to veer off course too far, but where is the fun in that? Perfection is definitely not the only goal of this game. Even when the mechanics and physics get slightly frustrating due to how sensitive controls are and how easy it is to get turned around or fall, you realize its all just for fun and learn to let go and throw yourself into the absurdity. It was also amazing to try some community levels and see the creativity of some of this growing user base.


Overall, this game is a unique experience. It offers challenge, violence, absurdity and fun. With the growing community creating new challenges every day and the surreal gameplay, it is no secret why this game is already gaining attention even before its official release. I look forward to keeping up with this game and seeing how they add, improve and put the finishing touches on this game. The developer seems very passionate about this game and listening to its players. This makes for a very hopeful prediction for the success of this game. This game is highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun time and doesn’t mind a little blood along the way.


0

Monster Dating Game Soulless Wonder Hits Steam Greenlight


Posted on March 1, 2017 by Les Major

Soulless Wonder Title

Sister site Darkain Arts Gamers has released their very first game on Steam Greenlight and it’s a doozy! Lantz is a cursed bard who has to adventure out beyond his kingdom to try to convince monster girls to fall in love with him. Why? Because the Paladin Queen of the kingdom shattered his soul and it’s the only way to restore his spirit to his body!

Lantz can try to romance eight different characters ranging from a fox girl, zombie, slime girl, goblin, succubus, and even an eldritch horror inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft to name a few.

Inspired by companies like Telltale Games and NIS America, Soulless Wonder is a dating sim with meaningful choices to make and complex characters to get to know. Even more amazing, Rod Espinosa of The Courageous Princess fame is doing the artwork! He’s working for companies such as Marvel and Dark Horse comics in the past, as well as being nominated for both an Eisener and Ignatz award! The news just keeps getting better with composer Joel Steudler creating the music for the game. He’s best known for creating music packs with Degica for RPG Maker in recent years.

Show your support today and vote for Soulless Wonder: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=874540710


0

Riptide GP: Renegade Roars Onto Windows 10 and Xbox One


Posted on February 26, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

North Californian developers Vector Unit has unleashed their latest fast-paced watercraft racing title Riptide GP: Renegade onto Windows 10 and Xbox One as an Xbox Play Anywhere title, allowing owners of the game to play the title on either Xbox One or Windows and take their save with them.

Featuring futuristic environments, improved water physics over other enhanced versions of the original Riptide GP, 12 courses, 3 modes and 7 vehicles – Riptide GP: Renegade might just fill the gap left behind with fans as other watercraft based franchises lack modern entries, like Nintendo’s neglected Wave Race series or Midway’s defunct Hydro Thunder series.

Speaking about the jump to Windows 10, co-founder of Vector Unit, Matt Small said:

“We really wanted to wait until we could take advantage of the Xbox Play Anywhere program and have the game be available across Microsoft platforms all at once. It’s been a labor of love getting Riptide GP: Renegade out on all these different platforms and we’re excited to see the Xbox One and Windows 10 communities join the party.”

The Xbox One version of Riptide GP supports local multiplayer with up to 4 players at once, 2 – 4 player online multiplayer races and of course achievements. Riptide GP is also available on Steam, PlayStation 4, Android and Apple’s iOS platforms.


0

World of Darkness Returns With a Pair of Interactive Novels


Posted on February 18, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

World of Darkness creators White Wolf have returned to the realm of video games with a pair of interactive stories available on Steam, iOS and Android devices. Modeled after the old “choose your own adventure” stories from the 80s & 90s either Vampire The Masquerade:  We Eat Blood and Mage The Awakening: Refuge provide players with a certain degree of autonomy with regards to how each tale unfolds.

White Wolf CEO Tobias Sjogren had this to say about these latest digital titles:

“We know we can create great entertainment as well as serve the responsibility any content creators have helping the audience reflect on the world around them. These games show we are keen on trying new formats and that stories in World of Darkness doesn’t shy away from tough questions or contemporary issues.”

White Wolf Publishing was formally a subsidiary of Eve Online developer CCP games before being sold to publisher Paradox Interactive in October of 2015. Mage The Awakening: Refugee and Vampire The Masquerade: We Eat Blood represent the first time in over a decade that World of Darkness has been brought to life in digital form. Both interactive stories are available as a bundle for $10.99 CDN.


0

theHunter: Call Of The Wild Reveals Layton Lake Trailer


Posted on February 10, 2017 by Les Major

theHunter Layton Lake

Continuing our coverage of Expansive Worlds beautiful woodlands simulator that I’ll be wandering through soon, we have a new trailer highlighting the Layton Lake district of the reserve. The hunting simulator which promises to be very immersive and detailed will feature a huge landscape for gamers to explore. Obviously the main goal is to track animals for sport, however the scenery is just too wondrous to ignore.

Built on the engine used in Just Cause 3, theHunter: Call Of The Wild boasts some very impressive visuals. Especially for an open world game. We’re eager to dive into the actual gameplay aspects but it’s hard to ignore the subtle things from this trailer. Even the nod to multiplayer at the end shows the group of hunters flattening out tall grass as they progress through it. Is this just cosmetic? It’s a nice touch.

With less than a week until launch, theHunter: Call Of The Wild is promising to be an ambitious title!


0

Atelier Sophie Synthesized For Steam Release


Posted on February 8, 2017 by Rae Michelle Richards

Atelier Sophie

The latest alchemically magical release in the long-running Atelier series has finally been concocted for Steam thanks to the wizards at Koei Tecmo. Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book is now available on Steam for $32.99 CDN or as a bundle with another recent Koei Tecmo release on windows, Nights of Azure for $52.78 CDN – both games were developed by Japanese devs GUST.

For this 17th entry in the Atelier franchise players are put into the boots of young alchemist Sophie Neuenmuller as she learns that she has come into the possession of a magical book that has its own soul. Players will guide Sophie through her adventure with the mysterious book as her mentor while she hones her craft of crafting and unravels the enigma that is her mysterious mentor.

Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist & The Mysterious Book was originally released in Japan in November 2015 for PlayStation 4 and Vita with a North American release following this past June.

Atelier Sophie

Wanna know if your rig will run Atelier Sophie? Here are the minimum specs from the game’s Steam Page:

RECOMMENDED:

OS: Windows® 7, Windows® 8.1, Windows® 10
Processor: Core i7 3.4GHz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX960
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 5 GB available space

Here’s a trailer from the PlayStation version of the game:


0

Bleed 2 Is Locked And Loaded For Release Tomorrow


Posted on February 7, 2017 by Les Major

Bleed 2 Title

If you haven’t played Bleed, you’ve really missed out on some indie game magic. With solid controls, slowing time mechanics, and free aim shooting it’s a wild ride! Bleed 2 looks to be even more of that action with lots of improvements. Of course we’ll be covering the game with a review coming up soon and hopefully I’ll get some video on the go as well!

Take on the role of Wryn, the worlds greatest (and only remaining) hero! With an invading force of villains to battle, she’s ready to yet again take on anything they can throw at her. Wryn’s ability to slow time, air-dodge, and free aim really creates some dizzying moments in a barrage of bullet-hell action. With new and larger set pieces, that thrill ride is just going to get even more intense in this sequel!

Bleed 2 hits Steam tomorrow! February 8th, 2017.


0

The Intro To Torment: Tides of Numenera Has Me Hooked


Posted on February 6, 2017 by Les Major

Torment TON Title

In a pleasant surprise today, inXile provided me with an Early Access key to Torment: Tides of Numenera. I have to admit, it’s taking a LOT of willpower to not just get back into the game and ignore my regular duties. One kicker that is keeping me away is I don’t know if my early access save will carry over or not, so there is that at least. That and responsibility and all that good stuff of course.

The best thing about Torment is how it feels like an early 2000’s RPG, and that truly is a plus. Built on the tech that brought us Pillars of Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment, Torment takes on that air of mystery that makes it a worthy spiritual successor to the Planescape title of 1999. You feel like you’re in an alien world and despite being a game with combat mechanics, it feels more like an adventure game. Bits and pieces of memories come back to you as your character struggles to remember a past that may not even be their own. The game even begins by allowing you to react to some of these memories to craft your skills and class.

Having no understanding of the universe, and actually actively avoiding much news of Torment to have it be a very fresh experience, it was rewarding to go through the character creation process with horse blinders on. I just settled for what my decisions lead me to and accepted that my character was just what the intro gave me from my choices. In the end I had a curious individual, seemingly interested in psychic abilities and otherworldly creatures. She could read minds a little as well, giving glints into just what characters were feeling about what they said in conversations.

Considering that much like it’s spiritual predecessor the game is quite dialogue heavy so far, this was a preferred setup. Really it seems you can play the game to your liking from the limited posts I’ve read so far though. Torment feels original, and that’s the best part of it. Not knowing what the world around you is like makes the game interesting.

Otherwise it’s your typical Baldur’s Gate like setup with turn based combat. I haven’t gotten into the leveling system yet but you do seem to gain experience as you go, at least from what I read on some of my skills. If these sorts of titles interest you, Torment: Tides of Numenera is definitely a title to keep an eye on. The February 28th release date on Steam is coming up fast! With over four million dollars raised on Kickstarter to bring this title to life, you know fan expectation is high and eager. I’m very much delighted with what I’ve played so far!


0

Get the latest articles and news from BrokenJoysticks and a selection of excellent articles from other sources.

Simply fill out the form below and you’ll be on your way to getting our upcoming newsletter.