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Dark Souls III – Farewell to an Epic Friend
FromSoftware’s titan of a series has finally come to an end; not with a whimper – but with a bang.
Dark Souls III arrived in April to the delight of millions of fans worldwide just itching to spew curse words at their TV’s. After an absence from Dark Souls II, FromSoftware’s main man Hidetaka Miyazaki returns to his rightful place as director of the project this time around (and it definitely shows). From the complex yet simple level design to the extremely deep combat mechanics, Miyazaki-san’s presence is most certainly felt in the latest (and final) installment.
Dark Souls III begins in the future of the Souls timeline, after Dark Souls II and well after Dark Souls. The cycle that players have been a part of since the beginning has gone askew, with different timelines and dimensions now all converging on one point. Dark Souls III’s plot can be very confusing to newcomers, especially those who have not played the previous installments and their respective DLCs, so it is definitely a good idea for those new to the series to at the very least read a plot synopsis up until this point. The story for the most part remains fairly open-ended (as the previous games have), so that the player can speculate and figure out the plot for themselves. By doing this, FromSoftware has managed to create a tight-knit community that is able to openly debate not only the mechanics of the game, but the plot as well.
The setting this time around is Lothric, which is clearly influenced by all the previous souls games, including Bloodborne and Demon Souls (two games with similar mechanics to Dark Souls but with different plots and settings). The level design is breathtaking, with plenty of gorgeous vistas that one can easily get lost in. Miyazaki’s influence is perhaps best felt in the level design, which shift away from the numerous checkpoints of Dark Souls II back to a more “shortcut” based design. Rather than having bonfires to rest at/warp to spread around everywhere, Souls III requires the player to be a bit more observant, looking for hidden paths, ladders and elevators that allow for massive skips in the level. The levels are also massive, with numerous branching paths and plenty of hidden secrets to explore.
Combat has also been changed again for DS III, taking elements from Dark Souls, DS II and even Bloodborne; creating a hybrid system which works very well. There does seem to be some balancing issues however, with magic, dark magic and miracles being slightly underpowered compared to previous installments. Pyromancy works very well and with a bunch of new spells mixed in with the classic favorites, there is definitely something for everyone. Weapons are also still a bit unbalanced, with early game strength weapons being almost useless versus the faster dexterity-based weapons. However, late-game really balances out the different weapon types, making numerous builds viable in late-game PvP.
One mechanic that still remains shrouded in mystery is the poise mechanic. In previous Souls games, poise was a measure of how many hits your character could take before you were “staggered.” In DS III however, it’s unclear exactly what poise does, as there doesn’t seem to be any difference in armor types when it comes to how fast someone is staggered. There is speculation among fans that poise somehow effects how many frames of “hyper armor” one has when doing certain moves, which makes the character temporarily unstaggerable (although it has not been confirmed or denied by FromSoftware yet). This mystery just adds to the mountain of information players are still attempting to sift through and decipher months after the initial release.
Another strong point of Dark Souls III is its multiplayer. Up to six player “phantoms” can be summoned at once, which is a mechanic originally introduced in Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, but has since been improved upon. Depending on the area, hosts can summon up to three friends for co-op with two more slots open for other players to “invade.”
The way that covenants work has also been improved, with special equipable items to signify one’s covenant, making it easier to switch on the fly between your different covenants (covenants are factions within Souls that award you special items based on your co-op or player vs. player participation). Speaking of covenants, another improvement is the addition of the Mound Makers covenant (essentially a “neutral” covenant). In previous games, it was basically the host and his co-op phantoms versus any invading red phantoms. In DS III, the host can summon or be invaded by a purple phantom, who can either co-op with the host OR kill him. Purple phantoms also receive rewards for attacking other phantoms of any color, so it’s actually beneficial for them to keep the host alive. This adds a whole new layer to the multiplayer which was not present in the previous games. However, multiplayer does still have its quirks. Although greatly improved over the other games in the series, there is still some issues with lag which can effect the outcome of player duels. There has also been an ongoing problem with hackers on the PC version, with even innocent players being banned just for accidental interaction with hackers. FromSoft is currently still working on these problems and have been slowly improving the situation, so it’s likely within the next few months they will be fixed for the most part.
Overall, Dark Souls III is an amazing experience, both for fans of the series and newcomers. From the gorgeous levels to the extremely in-depth combat mechanics, there is something for any hardcore RPG player. Those craving a challenge will also love Dark Souls III. It pulls no punches in its difficulty level, harkening back to the days of the NES and games like the original Castlevania. With DLC currently in development, tons of replayabilty and awesome endgame content, Dark Souls III will certainly keep fans playing for quite a long time.
Trailer Feedback: Five Nights at Freddy’s – Sister Location
Heere’s Baby.
Set in what looks more like a facility than a family restaurant, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location will contain at least four new haunted animatronics guaranteed to give you nightmares. There’s the ringmistress Baby, Funtime Foxy (who is possibly a hybrid of Foxy and the Mangle characters from the original series), Funtime Freddy (sporting a Springtrap puppet on his right hand) and the twisted ballerina Ballora – who’s eyes never appear to open.
The trailer for the FNAF spinoff begins with a cold open as the words “Fear, panic, dread and terror deep below ground where memories sleep. Anger is restless and secrets don’t keep” appear alongside flashing images of the beloved survival-horror franchise’s past installments. We are introduced to possibly new gameplay mechanics as the room/elevator descends into madness before divulging into a vent before we get a load of Baby and her nightmarish clan.
Creepy music ensues before presumably Baby utters the phrases “Don’t hold it against us. You don’t know what we’ve been through” at the trailers end.
The demented cat known as Sister Location was semi-let out of the bag in the second FNAF World update ending, which was released May 13th (which of course, fell on a Friday). During the ending, the player finds FNAF creator Scott Cawthon at a desk explaining that he’s created something terrible and that her name is Baby. The lights dim, glowing eyes appear in the corner and when the lights come back on, Cawthon is found lying in a pool of his own blood.
This Fall, gamers and horror enthusiasts alike will uncover the terrifying reasons why nobody puts Baby in a corner.
Ratchet & Clank Makes Qwarktastic Debut
In 2002, Insomniac Games and the Sony Playstation 2 brought us the story of a Lombax and a robot that would save the universe.
Fourteen years later, Ratchet and Clank not only have an army of hit games under their belt, but are making their feature film debut both on the big screen and at home on the Playstation Network.
The movie follows a plot similar to the first game with a few storylines from subsequent games tied in to add more elements.
Ratchet dreams of being a Space Ranger but is stuck in a monotonous life as a spaceship mechanic until a defective robot he names Clank crash lands on Ratchet’s home planet Veldin.
Although he’s already been turned down to join the Space Rangers by his hero Captain Quark, Ratchet is convinced by Clank’s inside information to warn the team of an imminent attack by the evil Chairman Drek and mad scientist Dr. Nefarious.
After discovering more details of Drek and company’s evil plan, our two heroes join the Space Rangers on a galaxy saving quest filled with weapons, gadgets and hijinx that remind us why we fell in love with the franchise in the first place.
In addition to the big names cast (Paul Giamatti, Rosario Dawson, John Goodman and Sylvester Stallone), one of the finer points of Ratchet & Clank is the inclusion of nearly every main voice actor from the original games. James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Jim Ward and Armin Shimerman do a wonderful job reprising their roles, bringing smiles to nostalgic faces and life to their characters ways only they can.
We also see many weapons featured throughout the series’ tremendous catalog of games. One of the highlights is the appearance of the Sheepinator while one of the lowlights is the R.Y.N.O.’s (Rip You a New One) cameo as it’s destructive power never materializes to the big screen.
Another issue is that despite being a key factor of the series and gameplay, none of the weapons evolve and if they do, the audience is never informed of it.
Although Ratchet & Clank’s cinematic debut holds its own as a standalone film, there are tiny nods to the franchise that aren’t present in the final cut. Having said that, a solid story that stays true to the source material, delightful humor, playful visuals and an excellent cast is more than a fan of the beloved franchise could ever hope for.
Warhammer End Times: Vermintide
Warhammer End Times: Vermintide is a new FPS from developer Fatshark, who are perhaps best known for their Medieval combat game, War of the Roses.
The game takes place in the Warhammer fantasy universe (the lesser-well known sibling of the futuristic Warhammer 40k), both tabletop games from developer Games Workshop. While perhaps not everyone’s favorite Games Workshop IP, Warhammer fantasy still brings rich lore and fun gameplay mechanics to the table. Unlike Warhammer 40k, however, Warhammer fantasy has traditionally not translated as well to the electronic medium.
Vermintide heavily pays homage to Left 4 Dead, with four adventurers fighting through swarms of Skaven- evil humanoid rats with a hatred for mankind in place of zombies. Much like L4D, there are several “special” enemies that have different abilities than the average Skaven.
This is where Vermintide begins to fall short, with the unique Skaven being almost complete rip-offs of L4D enemies. For example, there is an enemy called the Packmaster which hooks players and drags them off (much like the Smoker from L4D), and a Hunter-esque enemy called the Gutter Runner, which leaps onto the player and pins them down while stabbing them. Vermintide even features a direct rip-off of L4D’s tank enemy called the Rat Ogre. Other than the unique Skaven that clearly rip-off L4D, Vermintide’s standard enemies are just plain boring. Hordes of rats run at you much the same way the standard infected in L4D do, with no regards to their own personal safety. That would be fine if every level didn’t include these same enemies either standing around doing nothing or blindly rushing at you like crazy Wal-Mart shoppers on Black Friday. After a while, players will find it almost becomes a chore simply cutting through the same enemies over and over again.
Vermintide’s other big problem is the optimization. Sudden frame rate drops, random bugs and crashes plague Vermintide at random intervals. Even the best machines it seems have sudden frame drops for no apparent reason.
Other than optimization issues, Vermintide’s bugs can make the game range from absolutely hilarious at times to down right frustrating. Many of these bugs happen when one of the game’s special enemies attacks and include players being launched into the sky where their allies can’t save them, or pulled through walls by the Packmaster’s hook. Enemies sometimes even seem to spawn out of nowhere and/or teleport with no explanation as to how. Certain levels also contain easily exploitable designs, making the threat of certain enemies (such as the Rat Ogre) completely moot.
Vermintide’s loot system (while innovative) also fall short. Players may customize their chosen hero with different equipment from weapons to trinkets which add special abilities. At the end of each level, a number of dice are rolled to determine which piece of loot the player receives for winning with higher dice rolls netting the player rarer and more powerful items. These dice rolls can be augmented with pick-ups throughout the level, which add more dice that have a better chance at higher rolls.
Unfortunately because it is completely random, even with the best dice there is no guarantee the player will receive a rare item. This can be very frustrating, as pretty much the only way to beat higher difficulty levels and ultimately receive rarer loot is to outfit yourself with rare items.
Combat can also be very tedious. Each character is equipped with both a ranged and melee weapon and while some of the weapons are fairly unique, the fighting itself is very straightforward and standard.
For a game whose primary focus is close-quarters combat, Vermintide’s melee combat is just plain boring, usually turning into button mashing as you cut down hordes of enemies. There are no combos and only two different types of attacks – regular “light” hits and heavier “sweeping” hits for crowd control (performed by holding down the attack button briefly). There’s also a block button, but enemies can break your block after just a few hits (more or less depending on the enemy), rendering blocks mostly useless.
One aspect in which Vermintide does well is the playable characters. There are five heroes to choose from, each of which brings a unique gameplay style and a role that they fulfill within the group.
The Soldier for example, uses mostly large melee weapons and powerful muskets/blunderbusses, makes for a great heavy hitter and also can use his huge sweeping attacks for crowd control. The Witch Hunter is almost a hybrid class with a good balance of quick melee and ranged attacks. The Elf Archer is pretty standard, providing ranged support with the quick-firing bow while also able to provide quick melee strikes. The Dwarf Ranger makes a great tank, as his default weapon is an ax/shield combo allowing him to form a living wall in the small corridors and alleyways the players often traverse. Rounding out the list is the Battlemage, who is perhaps the most unique hero of all. While having a fairly week melee attack, the Battlemage can use powerful and fast ranged spells to utterly blow away hordes of Skaven. The Battlemage can also charge up her ranged spell and fire an explosive shard that deals massive damage.
Unfortunately, where Vermintide goes right is not enough to redeem the entire experience. This very well could have been a great game. It has all the right elements: unique characters, a great IP to work with, an innovative loot system, and tons of replayability. Unfortunately, it falls short in far too many of these areas to make it the next big thing. Vermintide becomes far too grindy and predictable after only a short period of play. Perhaps with some time, developer Fatshark will add content to the game such as new levels and enemies that will make the experience more interesting but until then, Vermintide remains just another mediocre FPS.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 Releases Early
Contrary to popular belief, developer Scott Cawthon pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes Thursday when the long awaited Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 became available on Steam.
“Ok, so as many of you already know, I’m bad with release dates. The game is finished,” Cawthon said in a Steam Community group post
The survival/horror game was initially scheduled for a Halloween release, but was then pushed forward to August 8 several weeks ago upon the launch of the game’s trailer.
The restaurant based franchise has now taken a new form with not only moving the game location inside a house, but with “nightmare” incarnations of the beloved spine-tingling animatronics.
The game can be purchased here for $7.99.
An expansion is planned for a Halloween release, but it’s a safe bet that we’ll be getting that early as well.
After all, Cawthon is “bad with release dates.”
Trailer Feedback: Five Nights at Freddy’s 4
In a shocking turn of events, Five Nights at Freddy’s has taken the terror out of the restaurant and into your home.
Not only does the trailer feature horrific jumps and visuals, but it offers a glimpse at new gameplay mechanics. For instance, the player can explore their house rather than being confined to one room.
There is also the case of the animatronics. The nightmare versions from all the teasers on developer Scott Cawthon’s website are the monsters we will be dealing with, including the Freddy minions and the “Plush Trap,” which is another game mechanic all together.
The trailer also begins with several chilling questions: “What is it that you think you see? What game do you think you are playing? What have you brought home?”
Before we compliment Cawthon on a job well done, we have a few questions of our own that must be addressed.
Are we playing a nightmare or reality?
Where are Fredbear and the puppet?
How will this be linked to the franchise?
We’ll know all this and more when the game launches August 8.
How Crowdfunding Will Save the Gaming Industry
Roughly a month ago, a team of veteran game developers came together for the first time in years and launched a Kickstarter for a game harkening back to the classic days of 3D platforming.
Made up of all former Rare members, the team (Playtonic Games) was famous for this style of game, creating such classics as Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64. Within 38 minutes of launch, the game was completely funded, and has now stretched well passed its goal in the few weeks since the campaign started. The game, titled “Yooka-Laylee” is being touted as a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, and is already shaping up to be much more interesting than any of the other dreck the Triple A companies are producing.
Several weeks after the launch of one of the biggest games on Kickstarter, another industry veteran, Koji Igarashi, known best for arguably the greatest games in the Castlevania series (Symphony of the Night, Dawn of Sorrow, and the other “metroidvanias”) launched his own Kickstarter for a new action RPG platformer titled Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Again, this game was funded shortly after the Kickstarter launched, and has reached several stretch goals since then.
These two instances are not unique. More and more, industry veterans are leaving triple A companies to start their own development teams, and are turning to Kickstarter or other crowdfunding instead of major publishers. Many of these games get funded, and most of them are much more innovative and interesting than anything the major developers are cooking up. While many journalists and big-wigs in the industry are warning of a coming collapse, indie developers keep plugging away doing more for video games than any big company has done in a decade.
Of course, crowdfunding has its downsides, as there have been several instances of indie studios funding a game and then going belly-up, leaving the investors twisting in the wind. However; with more well-known industry veterans coming into the fold, it is looking like the future of video games lies in the hands of indie companies. As the major developers keep pushing out the same games over and over again, independent companies are looking for new and exciting ways to change video gaming as a whole. When not constrained by the schedule and guidelines of big-name publishers (most of which are run by people who have never even played a video game, let alone made one), creativity flows much freer, and ingenuity prevails.
Let the industry collapse. Let the corporate side of the video game industry continue on its downward spiral of awful, repetitive games. Once the dust settles, a new era will begin in the gaming industry, an era that is reminiscent of the 90s, when games were more an art form than a cash cow, and the community was much more close-knit. Like a phoenix from the ashes, the industry will be rejuvenated, and although it still won’t be perfect, it will hopefully be much better than what exists now.
Throwback Thursday: Top 5 Poke’mon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Mega Evolutions
With every new Poke’mon release (and re-release) we now have the awesome feature of Mega-Evolutions, with more available with every 3DS adventure. Being that only a select few poke’mon possess that ability, it makes some stand out above the rest. Here are our top 5 mega-evolutions from Poke’mon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Mega Swampert – When holding a mega stone, Swampert upgrades its “cool factor” to turn into Brock Lesnar. Mega Swampert looks like it’s begging for a fight and whoever’s on the receiving end of its Hammer Arm is not getting up any time soon. Despite its awesome looks and newfound aggression, we are a little peeved that Mega Swampert does not learn F-5.
Mega Steelix – When mega evolved, Steelix grows armlike appendages and has an aura of metal constructs floating around him ala Magneto. This thing looks like an angry Imperial fleet and possibly could take on the Death Star.
Mega Salamence- While the appearance change is not too drastic, Mega Salamence’s wingspan has become larger and it is now topped off with a shell-based armor around its body. It’s the batplane on steroids and we raucously approve.
Mega Sceptile- Eat your hearts out, turtles. Mega Sceptile completes the reptilian ninja look and fuses it with a Stegosaur-oriented tree tail. Speaking of tree tails, Mega Sceptile’s gives it the lightningrod ability; rendering electric-type attacks completely useless. Well played Mega Sceptile, well played.
Mega Rayquaza – This is no dragon, but a remorseless killing machine. Mega Rayquaza is given a slew of new armor, complete with overlord helmet. The legendary poke’mon is now even more a force to be reckoned with as sparks generate from its hulking body.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 – Nightmare
Game designer Scott Cawthon gave the big reveal last week when he announced “Five Nights at Freddy’s 4: The Final Chapter” with one terrifying teaser shortly followed by another.
Cawthon’s first image is of a twisted, deranged Freddy Fazbear being dubbed “Nightmare Freddy” by fans of the franchise due to the word “nightmare” seen in the reddish background when the image is brightened. Nightmare Freddy features bits of exposed endoskeleton (similar to Spring Trap in Five Nights at Freddy’s 3) followed by sharp teeth and large claws. His eyes are fixated on the “camera” in a chilling glare.
The creepiest asset Nightmare Freddy has is his three mini Freddy’s crawling out of his torso.
It gets more terrifying with Nightmare Bonnie (which can currently be seen at Cawthon’s website). The hulking animatronic has sharklike rows of razor sharp teeth that make up a chilling smile and claws to boot. Nightmare Bonnie’s endoskeleton is also exposed in some places, but not nearly as much as Nightmare Freddy. Nightmare Bonnie’s eyes have an eerie purple glow to them rather than the solid, more realistic look of Nightmare Freddy’s. The word “nightmare” in Nightmare Bonnie’s teaser is much more prevalent in the blue background. In this teaser however; Cawthon has left us a message.
“Was it me?”
With all the lore and theories pertaining to the franchise it’s very likely that this is referencing the purple man seen throughout the series (red and blue do make purple, after all).
But there is also the possibility that this is referencing the biggest mystery in the series: what caused the bite of ’87? If you’re new to Five Nights, the “Bite of ’87” is an incident where an animatronic bit someone during the day, removing part of their frontal lobe.
Cawthon has placed multiple eights and sevens in the source codes of the teasers. This is no coincidence. Also judging from the looks of these new monstrosities, it would take little to no effort for either creature to take out a chunk of your brain.
While the game is set for release this Halloween, Cawthon has already begun to flood the internet with theories and speculation due to his innate way of messing with our heads and has only begun to scratch the surface.
Will we be seeing more nightmare versions of the other animatronics? What is Cawthon referencing? What does it all mean?
Knowing Cawthon, we’ll all find out in due time.
The Bonesaw 