PC\Console : Metro Last Light

Metro : Last Light is in its 45 day release window, and that means pre-order availablity is springing up everywhere. PC users via steam get the limited edition free as a pre-order bonus. 

Ranger Mode - Experience complete immersion. No HUD. Less bullets. Brutal Combat. Hardcore.

Modified Russian Rifle - A compact but deadly Russian assault rifle, perfect for claustrophobic combat.

Extra Military Grade Bullets - Coveted for their ability to kill, these bullets are also the currency of the Metro. Will you use them in battle or purchase precious resources? The choice is yours.

Metro Last Light Digital Comic - Created by Dmitry Glukhovsky

Metro 2033 was a survival shooter that told a story of post apocalyptic russia, humanity living in the metro tunnels, monsters, rival gangs, etc. Very story driven. Very very good. Very under advertised. Hopefully Last Light gets the attention it actually deserves.

I love the first Metro. It sucks you in soooo completely in to its lore and the enviroments feel so real that you feel like you are a part of everything and its scary as hell because of that. Everyone should pick up the first one, probably discount priced everywhere at this point.

Totally worth it.

iOS : In the news

A few friday headlines worth mentioning.

Dungeon Hunter 4 is on its way this month. For those not in the know, its a diablio 3 clone for our handhelds. The good news is that 4 will have an actual storyline, unlike 3 which was simply arena based combat. The bad news is mixed depending on your stance regarding freemium. Like 3, 4 will be free to play. I keep an open mind personally regarding iap and freemium in my games. Fingers crossed that Gameloft gets it right this time.

Until I read about the following, it never occured to me that Wii games would find a good home on our handhelds... but House of the Dead: Overkill (zombie rail shooter) is coming to the iOS soon. Can never have enough opportunities to shoot zombies I always say, so bring it! Brings to question though, how many other Wii titles would we love to see on our handhelds? Tilt controls, check, touch controls, yep. I bet alot of those lonely on the shelf Wii games would find more use in our pockets.

Real Racing 3 is about to get its first update. Coming with the download are the Cobalt SS and Camaro SS along with about 100 more races and a new play mode called Hunter. Oh and Cloud save which apparently supports cross platform over iOS and Android. I'm suprised the Corvette didn't make this Chevy package to be honest but, oh well. Maybe next update.

Vendetta Online, space based mmo shooter thats already on the pc, xbox, ps3 and android platforms will be arriving on the iOS soon. Gameplay is similar to Galaxy on Fire, just with lots of other players heh. When it hits the game will run .99cents for 30 days play and then 1buck a month subscription model there after. I wish them luck, to my knowledge every other mmo on our handhelds has eventually gone freemium.

And those are the articles that stuck to mind. -puts on Fallout Boy's new single-

iOS : Slayin

I actually downloaded 4 games tonight, but one turned out to have no achievements (boo!) and the other turned out to be another endless runner clone with even more IAP encouragement than normal. Here's the other new release that I grabbed today that is still on my ipad.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slayin/id548580856

.99cents, 15mb, universal

Think 8bit nintendo era side view action game with rpg elements. This game is really simple. Left arrow and right arrow do their thing. Big circle jumps. How do you attack? let the tip of your weapon touch the enemy. No blocking, no dodging, just your skills at jumping and poking heh. There are lots of quests unique to each class you can play and they unlock three at a time and are goals you need to reach to earn fame. Fame is spent unlocking additional characters, game interface appearance, that sort of thing.

As stated above, graphically and sound wise this is an 8bit nintendo game. Feels like one too. Things get REALLY hectic the further you survive heh. You gain experience by killing things, killing things levels you up, leveling up unlocks bosses and more challenging portions of your endless run.

Nothing is saved aside from fame earned between each play session so every time you hit play you start level 1 and fighting silly things. Well unless you purchase certain upgrades like level advancers and whatnot, all via ingame currency. There is a iap vendor in the tavern but he isnt offensive in price or pressure.

All in all, worth the penies asking price, enjoy :)

iOS : Badland

I'm abit rusty at this blog, been awhile so pardon any oddness in my posts as I try to get back up to speed. That said, its a wednesday release and there's 4 or 5 new titles on my ipad begging for attention so lets look at the first to be downloaded tonight.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/badland/id535176909

3.99usd, 120mb, universal.

Its tough finding an exact word or sentence to describe this game. Action Platformer does the job as well as any I suppose. Each stage has you moving from the far left to the far right, dodging things, collecting power ups, in general just trying to not get smooshed in any of the many possible ways there are. The controls are simple. Tap the screen, anywhere, to make your little 'guy' flap once and lift in the air briefly. Hold down to flap multiple times. Its pretty easy to over control the little 'guy' making him bonk and bounce off various objects in each stage. But thats the controls, done.

Graphically and Sound this game is REALLY good. I love the graphics, fore and background definitely sets a 'mood' and holds you well. The little bonk sounds you make as you hit things are fun, even your guy getting smooshed has a humerous fun sound to it.

The power ups are as follows. Shrink, Grow both of these power ups make you do just that. get bigger, get smaller. Speed up, Slow down. Self explanatory. Multiply. Now this one is fun, getting one of these power ups makes you split in to 3. This effect multiplies too so you can quickly find yourself running around with dozens of clones of yourself and visual humor aside the clones are 'extra lives' or 'hit points'. So long as there is one of you left, you can keep going. There are overall goals for saving your clones, each stage has a three star rating system and there are plenty of achievements related to the little buggars.

The general feel of this game is one where the enviroment seems to want and enjoy abusing my character and I also get the feeling that I'm trying to save something more than just him. Maybe his species or something, udunno. But it is a fun arcade like romph so enjoy!

-peeks in, looks around-

I should probably do something with my blog, huh? Its odd really, I enjoy gaming alot. I game on the pc, vita, ipad, xbox somewhat... I pretend i game on my ps3 but its really just an extension of my vita. Also plays blue rays real good heh.

But despite my love of gaming and my interest in talking about gaming I've never been able to settle down on one fixed location to put all my gaming randomness. Mojo-Farm, ngmocogames, facebook... made a separate facebook page for gaming recently... didn't last long. I game post on two friends facebook pages, flakey about it though.

I need focus.

Ravensword : Shadowlands

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ravensword-shadowlands/id566839331?mt=8
This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad

• $6.99
• Category: Games
• Released: Dec 20, 2012
• Version: 1.0
• Size: 516 MB
• Language: English
• Seller: Crescent Moon Games LLC
• © 2012 Crescent Moon Games

Rated 9+ for the following:

• Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence
• Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

My Thoughts
This game is a open world action rpg, very much feels like a combination of skyrim and kingdoms of amalur. You will spend your time running around, killing things, questing, looting, selling loot, buying new equipment, geming equipment, tossing spells, shooting arrows, leveling up, assigning attribute and talent points, improving your skills with various weapons and all on a handheld device. The game runs really smooth, has a few bugs here and there but nothing game stopping.

Audio feels very much skyrim like. Deep, relaxing, most npc conversations are voice acted.

Graphically this is one of the better titles. There are a few games that beat it but not many.

Controls, standard fare here. Bottom left movement analog stick. Bottom right, attack buttons. Middle area is for looking around. top center is the compass, tapping on it opens a minimap. Top left goes into the inventory/menu systems. Top right toggles first person, third person and stealth. The menu systems work smoothly, everything from settings, save, maps, journal, backpacks, stats and talent screens are at the ready.

My overall feeling is that this game just upped the bar all other rpgs on the iOS will strive to reach. The game plays great, the bugs aren't overly offensive, there's plenty to do and you can do and be all you want in the game. Skyrim in my pocket :)

Far Cry 3

Availability : PC / xBox360 / PS3

Far Cry 3. Take skyrims open go anywhere you like atmosphere and quest system. Take dead islands talent tree system and tropical feel. Toss in a good old smattering of fps'ing goodness. Add in the awesome far cry series stealth/camo system.

I spent the first 5-6 minutes watching a great intro and escape of the camp that took me, really really gives a great feel to the whole thing. 8 minutes in, I have definite motivation for killing every damn bad guy on this island.

20 minutes in I am largely cut loose from the tutorial feel and am free to do what ever I want. Main quest, lots of side quests, things to collect everywhere, animals to hunt. Bad guys to tear up. You name it. The shops in the area give discounts based on how many radio towers I've fixed so I've set about tearing up the island in a jeep hitting each tower as quickly as possible.

I did this for about 25 minutes then hit a ceiling on my wallet. Solution? Map open, custom marker for the nearest known pig grounds, 5 minutes driving... ran over a bad guy who was yelling at me in some other language, reached the hunting grounds, killed two pigs, my shots alerted a near by outpost, got in to a gun fight with a half dozen or so baddies, skinned my pigs, upgraded my wallet, took over the outpost, watched the good locals drive in and take it over, patted myself on the back for unlocking a new quick travel point.

Main villages and outposts are available for quick travel, everywhere else its on foot or behind the wheel of what ever car I can steal. Speaking of driving, there are race events and package deliveries and the like. On the list of things to do : upgrading wallet, ammo pouches, crafting arrows, making medicines, liberating outposts, shooting random asshats, rescuing friends i was vacationing with at the beginning of the game, powering up radio towers, delivering packages, lots and lots of sidequests, etc.

No loading screens with the exception of fast travel. Visually stunning, feels to me like dead island with better character models.