Magazine
Understanding Creativity in its true sense
opcmagazine Feb 2015 - Issue 09
Exclusive
June / July 2011 Issue 01
THE OPC PRESENTS...
#4THEPLAYERS FEATURES
Q&A with Eden Industries & Infinite State Game The Tomorrow Children Preview
AND MUCH MORE!
WALKING WITH THE DEAD
An emotional journey
Free to play on Vita Final Fantasy Distant Worlds Concert Game Reviews Dark Souls: Confessions of a Noob The 19th Hole Four Devs who could re-boot Crash Bandicoot ...and more inside
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Magazine
Understanding Creativity in its true sense June / July 2011 Issue 01
OPC Magazine
Introduction Welcome to issue 09 of the OPC Magazine. It’s still a little chilly outside so pop the heating on, make yourself a brew and have a relaxing read. In this issue you’ll find two exclusive Q&A’s with Eden Industries & Infinite State Games, an emotional journey with the Walking Dead and a preview of The Tomorrow Children. That’s not all though, we have many articles and reviews for your enjoyment.
EDITORS englishgolfer, Syph33r & QuietlyWrong DESIGN mattsimmo CONTRIBUTORS chrisboers englishgolfer hayzink icon162 Michelle_Tabor QuietlyWrong Syph33r A big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this issue of the OPC Magazine. We couldn’t do it without you! FEEDBACK/WANT TO HELP? We’d love to hear what you’d like to see in the magazine and your general feedback, please let us know via the Magazine thread in the OPC forum. Keep an eye on the ‘General Discussion’ section of the forum as we will be asking for volunteers in the near future to contribute to the next issue. Until the next time, happy gaming and we hope you enjoy reading the magazine.
The PlayStation Forums offer a great place to discuss everything PlayStation, and it would be great to hear your feedback on the magazine too. There are a bunch of talented folk out there giving their time and effort to provide content for the magazine so if you like what you see, let them know and encourage them to keep providing it! If there’s something you see that you don’t agree with, on the other hand, why not start a debate?
CONTENTS Infamous: First Light.................................................................... 04 Review Peggle 2.............................................................................................. 06 Review Freedom Wars................................................................................. 07 Review Monster Monpiece........................................................................ 08-09 Review Rogue Legacy.................................................................................. 10 Review Little Big Planet 3........................................................................... 12-13 Review Citizens of Earth............................................................................. 14-15 EXCLUSIVE: Q&A with Eden Industries The Walking Dead......................................................................... 16-17 An Emotional Journey The Tomorrow Children............................................................ 18-19 Preview Dark Souls.......................................................................................... 20-21 Confessions of a noob
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Crash reboot.................................................................................... 22 Four Sony Devs who could reboot Crash Bandicoot
Magazine June / July 2011 Issue 01
Understanding Creativity in its true sense
Q&A 14/26 EXCLUSIVE With Eden Industries & Infinite State Games
22
THE TOMORROW CHILDREN
20
DARK SOULS
30
THE CREW
22
CRASH REBOOT
Preview
Confessions of a noob
Final Fantasy Distant Worlds.................................................... 23 2014 concert in London Free to play PS VITA games...................................................... 24-25 Including those to look out for in 2015 Don’t Die Mr Robot!..................................................................... 26-28 EXCLUSIVE: Q&A with Infinite State Games The Crew........................................................................................... 30-32 Review Don’t Die Mr Robot!..................................................................... 34 Review
Review
Hyperdimension Neptunia RE;Birth 1................................. 36-37 Review The 19th hole................................................................................... 38-39 Q&A with forum members
Four Devs who could re-boot Crash
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PLATFORM: PS4; PUBLISHER: SCE; DEVELOPER: Sucker Punch Productions; RELEASE DATE: 27 Aug 2014 Infamous: First Light is a stand-alone dlc spin-off from the PlayStation exclusive Infamous: Second Son (which I gave a 7/10 in the last issue) expanding the story of Fetch, one of Delsin’s buddies from the main game. It takes place in the same section of the city that you first meet Fetch, acquiring your neon powers from her. However due to the place not being full of DUP outposts like the main game it manages to feel fresh and not feel exactly the same.
Review: Infamous: First Light
Writer: hayzink First off, in my opinion, Fetch is more likable than Delsin and even if you think you know her story going into the game it manages to turn up more information that really makes you connect more with her character. By the end I would be surprised if most people are not left liking her better than Delsin. Fetch, unlike Delsin, only has the one power set much like Cole did in the first Infamous title. She shares some attacks that Delsin had but she also has her own impressive attacks that are fun to use. Personally I think the multiple powers were a better idea on paper than they are in the main Second Son game and I enjoyed using just the one set again.
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Graphically First Light looks like Second Son which was a great looking game. They have added some more effects to photo mode in this dlc so you can make your screen shots even better. The game itself is not that long, much like the main game but at its price point it’s well worth the money (Since writing this review it has been made available as part of the PS+ offering for January so there is now no excuse not to play it!). There is some score-chasing replay to be had with the fantastic challenge rooms that the game offers but I feel most will give up after the platinum trophy has pinged. Overall it’s a great title that I actually enjoyed more than the main game. 8/10
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opc magazine #4ThePlayers
PLATFORM: PS4 PUBLISHER: EA; DEVELOPER: PopCap Games; RELEASE DATE: 14 Oct 2014 That was EA going mad with excitement on stage at E3, over the news Peggle 2 was coming to Xbox One. Some people laughed and even a few gif’s started to spring up at the overhype for Peggle - I was not one of those people. I was both excited and sad. The sad part was knowing I’d have to wait to get it on the console of my choice - the PlayStation 4. Fast
Review: Peggle 2 Writer: hayzink
forward 1 year 7 months. Peggle 2 is finally upon us and I’m happy to say right off the bat, it delivers everything a Peggle fan might want (minus some of the much-loved Masters of the original). For those that aren’t quite sure what a game of Peggle entails, here is a quick run-down: - It’s a simple game where the aim is to use your 10 balls to clear all the orange pegs from the screen. - The screen is made up of pegs that are blue and orange with 2 green pegs for your special powers (more on that later), and 1 purple peg that changes position being a score boost. - As you clear the orange pegs you have a multiplier total
that can total to a maximum of 10 enabling you to score higher at the end of games. - Score over 25k points for a free ball (you can earn up to 3 free balls per shot) - As the game progresses bricks are added that make your ball react differently than pegs when bouncing, making you think about your shots a bit more and even pegs you must hit twice which again makes the levels harder. - Towards the end you also get pegs that are impossible to shoot straight at and instead have to use the bounce off other pegs or scenery to reach. Now that was the original Peggle, and all of those elements remain in the sequel. This time around they have ditched all of the old Masters apart from one, which actually does make the game feel fresh. All of the new Masters have their own powers, which depending on when you use them can help you get massive scores or reach those last few tricky blocks. I personally did not like the art style at first glance but it really started to grow on me, with touches such as Bjorn (a unicorn) farting rainbow dust sure to bring a chuckle. The backgrounds are also no longer static, but with your eyes being so focused on the addictive gameplay, you are unlikely to take much notice. There’s 60 normal levels in the base game with an additional 10 for each Master. Also another 10 levels at the end not tied to a specific Master (you can use any Master in any level once it’s cleared for the first time). Each level even has 3 challenges associated to it, with requirements such as; ‘clear all pegs’ or ‘win with 500,000 points’. After clearing the 10 normal levels you can then unlock the trials - again there are 10 for each Master. These can be pretty fun and are at times quite challenging with requirements like; ‘score below 125,000 points’ or ‘win without aiming lines’. Two downloadable content level packs have also been released for the game. The first welcomes the return of ‘Jimmy The Hamster’ from the original Peggle bringing along his ‘Multiball’ power. The other pack introduces ‘Windy’ a fairy who adds lots of purple bonus pegs to the screen for big scores. Each download pack adds 10 levels and 3 challenges per level with an additional 10 trial levels for each of the Masters in the main game. Said Masters can also be used in any level of the main game, once purchased. At just £1.99 each, they work out about the same cost as the Masters included with the main game. Peggle 2 is indeed a fantastic new addition to the series. And if you liked the original Peggle you will be sure to love this.
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Similarly if you are not a fan of Peggle, there is little on offer here that will change your mind - the bigger question should be, why don’t you like Peggle? 9/10
opc magazine #4ThePlayers
PLATFORM: PS Vita; PUBLISHER: SCE; DEVELOPER: SCE Japan/Dimps; RELEASE DATE: 29 Oct 2014 I’ve always enjoyed science fiction – especially where the future and writing is darker than what we dream of. When the film Blade Runner came out I was immediately captured by the futuristic neo-noir dystopian setting of Los Angeles (as an aside it also introduced me to the writings of Phillip K. Dick) and it is this Orwellian feeling that permeates through Freedom Wars on the Vita. But more on that later. A catastrophic energy crisis has plunged the world into rival factions – called Panopticons – each fighting the
Review:
Freedom Wars Writer: englishgolfer other, for the remaining natural resources found in the world. The game starts with your character sustaining post-battle amnesia and as you’re no longer able to contribute to your Panopticon’s production you are punished as a ‘sinner’ and given a 1,000,000 years jail sentence for your recklessness. The main core of the game revolves around rival Panopticons trying to kidnap these civilians with large robots called ‘Abductors’ and it is your job to stop them and bring back the civilians, thus reducing your prison sentence. When you’re not out battling Abductors you find yourself in your Panopticon. Firstly you’ll start in your prison cell, and even the act of lying on your bed adds to your
already ridiculous sentence. It is in your Panopticon that you really experience the Orwellian oppression to its full. Big brother, in the form of a personal companion know as an ‘Accessory’, is constantly watching you. They do not encourage small talk as it is not ‘productive to the common goal of the Panopticon’. Also simple entitlements that we take for granted are not allowed but instead have to be bought. Talking to the opposite sex before buying that right? 20 years added to your sentence. Taking more than five steps running? Again, another 20 years if you haven’t bought the right, that we count so basic in our world. Through trial and error you’ll soon find what you can and cannot do. The Orwellian references don’t stop there. The game designers have taken time to change the in-game menus to something akin to a dystopian state terminology. Changing your character’s appearance is called ‘Requesting an image overhaul and physical remodelling’ in the menus. Want to browse some tutorials? Then find the ‘Re-education materials’ section. All-in-all it adds a fantastic layer to the feel of the game. I will admit though my time spent in my Panopticon felt very drawn out and slow, usually having to travel from one spot to another to talk to someone. These sorts of fetch quests are standard fodder in any RPG but they dragged the story arc to crawl. The developers might have been emphasising the depressing feeling of the world but I felt that it took away from the game’s biggest asset – the battles against the Abductors. There are many ways to do battle. A little tip is learning early how to use your Thorn whip (think Bionic Commando) as this will help you tremendously in navigating the environment and in bringing down Abductors, leaving them vulnerable to attacks for a certain time frame. You also get to control the other NPC’s with simple commands. The camera angles can be a little annoying at times but generally the excellent combat outweighs this slight negative. A nice touch is that you can instantly switch between firearms and melee weapons without going into a menu making combat fast-flowing. Once you have successfully defeated the Abductors you can salvage any remaining parts for upgrading your current arsenal of weapons; or if you want to reduce your prison sentence you can trade these parts for a nominal reduction of a few years. A nice touch is also the online component of the game, placing you in geographical Panopticon locations around world. The game offers 4v4 online gaming and is perhaps the quickest way to reduce your 1,000,000 sentence. The graphics and sound production in the game are of a very high standard, some of the best I’ve experienced on the Vita. For the purist the game is still in its original Japanese language with English subtitles and menus.
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opc magazine #4ThePlayers
Monster Monpiece PS VITA Developer: Compile Heart Publisher: Idea Factory International Release date: 4th June 2014
Writer: Syph33r If you had heard anything about Monster Monpiece prior to its release, it was probably quite controversial. Upon the announcement of the title being localized, certain gaming media outlets went into a frenzy, eventually resulting in a little censorship taking place. So I’m happy to report that, not only was the scare-mongering unwarranted, it’s actually quite a worrying sign of how much an effect the media, with little to no hands-on time with a game, can alter not only the perception of consumers but the game’s presentation itself.
A new challenger appears!
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At its heart, Monster Monpiece is a card battle game, developed by Compile Heart, best known for the Hyperdimension Neptunia series. And much like Hyperdimension Neptunia the story is quite a tame affair. It takes place in the world of ‘Yafanir’ inhabited by two distinct races who co-exist with one another Humans and Monster girls - the
latter having appeared due to one of ‘God’s Punishments’. What these ‘Punishments’ are and why they have appeared is part of the larger mystery you will uncover on your 20+ hour playthrough. One odd thing of note though, is that you never come across any male characters during your journey. So much like Hyperdimension Neptunia this is indeed a pure female-centric game.
Playing the hand you’re dealt. If you’ve had any experience in other collectable card games such as: Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon or YuGi-Oh! then the gameplay in Monster Monpiece will be instantly familiar to you.
The main protagonist is May, a young bright-eyed but unconfident girl who attends ‘Kunaguvu Academy’ with her band of friends, all of whom are studying to become ‘Masters of Monster Girls’. What all this entails is an excuse for card-battling across various lands. And that isn’t a bad thing, as the deep tactical aspect of the game is where it really shines. You will explore the Yafanir overworld via a Super Mario World-esque pointto-point navigation which includes branching paths for rarer cards, and extra items you can use within battles.
The card play area consists of a 9x3 rectangular grid, with you and your opponent each having an equal 3x3 side to summon your cards upon. Thankfully they don’t remain as cards once summoned, but instead turn into a basic set of 3D models which fight and move amongst each other.
opc magazine #4ThePlayers
The rules are also extremely simple, each turn you draw a new card to your hand and also gain 3 Mana points, which are used to summon Monster Girls. Any Monster Girls currently on the grid move forward one space. Each Monster Girl has an attack power and health number that is reflected on the card along with a Mana summon cost. So in simple terms, if your summoned Monster’s attack power is higher than the health of the opponent’s Monster, then the opponent is vanquished. If not, its health lowers to reflect the damage incurred. The attack range depends on the type of Monster Girl that’s currently on the grid.. For example a ‘Ranged’ Monster Girl may have an attack range 3 squares in front of her, compared to a ‘Melee’ type who has a shorter range of 1 square. Each card also has a distinct colour associated to it, and playing 3 of the same colour three turns in a row, grants your already summoned Monsters boosts in both strength and health. The end goal of the battle is to deal damage to each other’s ‘Castle’ directly, by having your Monster’s travel from your side of the grid all the way to the opponents, thus dealing a direct blow. How many of these direct hits you need varies depending on the rules for each battle.
This all eventually gels together creating a robust card game, that leaves your strategy to deck building entirely to your imagination.
it to level up cards is time consuming and sometimes counter-productive to the strategy of your deck.
Shiny cards are the best cards!
Monster Monpiece is indeed chock-full of features. Heck, the navigation menu has too many options to even fit on the screen, resulting in you having to scroll to find them all. And that is also part of a problem, as the game tends to not explain a lot of what is available. The basic elements of the card game are told by tutorials, but it’s up to you to figure out the rest. For example; I didn’t even know you could go back and enter previously visited lands until exploring after the end-game content.
One of the best parts of any card game is being able to open new booster packs. And that feature is in full-force with Monster Monpiece.
As you complete Chapter segments, new sets of booster packs will be available in the shop. You’re able to purchase as many packs as you like, using in-game currency - which you will attain a mountain of, as you continue to vanquish all foes before you. And true to life, the cards included in the booster pack are random. So that feeling of ‘just one more pack’, to attain the super-rare card you’re looking for, means you will be opening a lot of booster packs! Monster Monpiece also delights in the small details. By tilting the Vita in any direction whilst viewing rare cards, it’s able to re-create that holographic effect wonderfully. Any controversy to be had with Monster Monpiece will always be surrounding each cards level-up system, although it is entirely optional aside from the introductory tutorial, and not necessarily needed to complete the game, as you will come across much more powerful cards naturally as you progress. It will still be a point of contention with some gamers. As you defeat the random NPC’s that roam the land, challenging you with their Pokemon inspired one-liners. You will not only gain in-game currency but ‘Rub P’ (Rub Points) too.
If you like the sound of all that, then you will love Monster Monpiece’s card battle system as it continues to expand. You’ll be able to stack cards of the same type on top of each other, combining their powers and even adding cards which heal or buff your Monster Girls. Eventually adding Monster Girl cards that have effects tied to them when particular actions occur, such as being killed by an opponent’s Monster.
These points are used to level-up specific cards of your choosing via ‘First Crush Rub’ mode. This consists of rubbing or poking the on-screen Monster Girl in ‘sensitive’ areas. The more you do it the faster the gauge fills up, eventually resulting in the card’s artwork losing a layer of clothing. Obviously this feature is entirely aimed to be fan-service, and as mentioned earlier it isn’t really needed to progress. Also the process of using
Bursting at the seams!
One of the best aspects of Monster Monpiece is being able to play against other opponents. Whether it is via ad-hoc or online. This not only results in healthy gains of both in-game currency and ‘Rub P’ but also various coloured rings. When all these rings are collected it forms to create a ‘Master Ring’. Which you can exchange for ‘Rare Card Packs’. So if you have a friend or two who are also into Card Battle games, this is the perfect game to battle it out! The art in Monster Monpiece is very reminiscent of the Neptunia games, albeit on a more basic level. The card artwork is done beautifully, as are some animations. Any dialogue and cutscenes play out very much like a visual novel, and all backgrounds are static. So it is far from pushing any boundaries graphically, nor does it aim to do so. Also be aware that all the voices are still in their native Japanese. Only English subtitles have been added. The music likewise is very basic though there is some nice battle music but overall it’s quite forgettable. Monster Monpiece is definitely not for everyone - but it does some things very well. If strategy RPGs or Collectable Card Games are in your wheelhouse of interests, then Monster Monpiece might just be for you. Review copy of game provided by the publisher. page 9
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PLATFORM: PS4;, PS3, PS VITA PUBLISHER: Cellar Door Games ; DEVELOPER: Cellar Door Games; RELEASE DATE: 27 June 2013 Let me say at the start of this review I’m a fan of 2D action platforming and not since the Mega Man games have I enjoyed a game as much as I have Rogue Legacy. Visually Rogue Legacy reminds me of Capcom’s classic Ghost and Goblins; difficulty-wise it reminds me of Mega Man where one misstep costs you energy and puts you one step closer to death.
Review: Rouge Legacy
Writer: hayzink Rogue Legacy manages to blend it all together in a system that is loosely based on RPG-style game play. In Rogue Legacy you don’t exactly level up and when you die you’re dead. All your gold and upgrades are passed on to your descendant. You can then spend this gold on stats or gear thus making each play-through that little bit easier. Each time you choose a character you also take on traits that can be a gift or a curse which makes every play-through that little bit different. The castle the game is set in is ever changing and made up of 4 sections with each more challenging than the last. Every time you enter the castle everything is randomised
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(unless you lock it down, at a cost) leading to the game feeling fresh even when you’re encountering the same enemies over and over. The game has five bosses that will test your skills but also offers five remix bosses that will test even the most hardcore gamer. If a challenge is what you’re after then the remix bosses are for you. The game is hard but you really do get a great sense of achievement as you progress through the castle and turn your character into a beast. The game makers have chosen the pixel art style and it fits perfectly with this style of game and the makers have gone to great lengths to ensure this game is the same across all the PlayStation platforms. I have played the game on both pc and ps4. With the ps4 version it has a few little differences but nothing major, just a few new traits and a few rounds where you have to choose a mystery character. Taking everything on board with this game: price, amount of gameplay, quality of gameplay, and cross-buy I’d score it 10/10 and say its a must buy.
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opc magazine #4ThePlayers
LittleBigPlanet 3 PS4/PS3 Developer: Sumo Digital/Media Molecule Publisher: SCE Release date: 26th Nov 2014
Writer: QuietlyWrong There is a psychologists’ test for creativity, Guilford’s ‘Alternative Uses’ test, that you may have heard of. Subjects are asked simply ‘How many uses can you think of for a sock?’ (or a brick, or a spoon, or whatever) and their creativity is measured in terms of the number of different ideas, their variety and originality. If your answers (in the case of a sock) are ‘to keep a foot warm’, ‘to stop a shoe from chafing’, maybe extending to the extravagant excesses of ‘to keep a hand warm’, at which point you begin to run out of steam, then perhaps your imaginative powers need some exercise. If, on the other hand (the one without a sock on it), your mind overflows with weird and wonderful uses (paintbrush! cat-toy! balloon-limiter!), or perhaps if one of your answers is ‘To save Bunkum!’ then it’s high time you headed over to the marvellous idea-incubator that is LittleBigPlanet 3. page 12
At its heart, LBP3 (LittleBigPlanet 3) is a big box of toys, a construction kit of noggin-boggling capacity, that can be used to create and share your own game levels. The easiest and most obvious type of game level you can create is a Sackboy-oriented platformer, but those willing to delve further into the toolset can create – and have created – shoot ’em ups, racers, puzzles, beat ’em ups, board games, animated movies, music showcases and much more. To address only the game’s Story Mode, with its, ooh, maybe 8 hours of gameplay spread across thirtyodd playable levels, is to miss the point of LBP3. But every adventure must start somewhere and the Story Mode serves as both introduction to the toolset and a tip-of-theiceberg showcase for the full range of possibilities that lie within it. In this respect, Story Mode is a shining achievement, albeit a little on the short side and (at present) prone to one or two frustrating bugs here or there. All manner of great, opulent levels are presented beautifully, as
always, and all manner of clever tricks are used to add some huge variety of gameplay, with some levels seeing our protagonists swimming weightless through space, or negotiating a top-down platformer, or building contraptions out of collected parts and then using those contraptions to complete challenges.
Sackboy is joined by three new companions, each with the same sort of ‘weaponised cuteness’ that the series has become known for: OddSock with his/her extra speed and wall-jumping, Toggle with his/her small-and-agile / big-and-heavy dualpersonality and Swoop, embracing the power of flight on woollen wings.
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The usual eclectic mix of musical wonders accompanies everything pulling in inspiration from as wide a variety as 1950’s pop, classical music and electronica. Hugh Laurie is a fine addition to the cast, in the role of Bunkum’s would-be saviour – or destroyer – Newton, though his is by no means the stand-out performance, with all of the voice actors giving great, exaggerated performances, warmly funny and perfectly pitched for the cartoonish action. Each game in the series has added more and more tools to the toy set, making it easier to manage every possible aspect of the gameplay. LBP3’s additions over and above its predecessor – over 60 new tools – do not disappoint, and are so many and varied that it would be far beyond the scope of this review to cover them all. Even trying to pick out the most significant ones is guesswork at this stage – who can say whether the new level-linking Quest and Adventure tools or the power-up-creating Blaster Handle will be seen as the gamechangers in time to come, or whether it’s the massive expansion from 3 to 16 playable ‘layers’ and the ability to move smoothly between them? Or the infinite level options, or the new basic shapes for building objects with, or something as unfussy as the wonderful shardinator? How about the ability to poll responses directly from your viewers on a live stream? For the new creator, a swathe of special levels called the ‘Popit Puzzles’ has been laid on, in which Sackboy must negotiate a level while learning to use the basics of Create Mode. There is real ingenuity here but also frustration. Players new to the series may find these to be an excellent way to first get their heads around the basic level-building tools, and even an old-hand can appreciate the way that play and tutorial have been combined. But however well-designed the pop-it interface is, the constant back and forth into menus does not have the same ‘flow’ for gaming that running and jumping and swinging has and I doubt anyone would enjoy these as much as the normal levels. If you’re learning something, all well and good. But if not, and especially if you have to replay a level to ‘Ace’ it (complete
it without losing a life) or collect a previously-missed prize bubble, the tedium can set in too quickly. The biggest issue with this game at launch – and such is the nature of the games industry that this will no doubt be addressed over time – is that it doesn’t seem quite ready. As alluded earlier, the Story Levels have occasional glitches from the cosmetic (multiple appearances of the player character in cut-scenes) to frustrating (falling through the level and having to restart). Much of the previously-sold DLC is not ready and available from day one. Worst of all, the network seems (once again) ill-equipped to cope with the simple act of online multiplayer, with endless problems making connections, and those 4-player sessions seemingly all-butimpossible to get going. Yes, the game will improve in the coming weeks and months, but it once again looks like a product rushed out to meet a marketing window.
And that’s not to mention the simple pleasure of creating something for yourself and the satisfaction of getting it to work. Some sort of painting level, perhaps. Or something to amuse your cat. Or something to, er, inspire a restriction in the size of balloons. Maybe. Hey, where have all my socks gone?
Still, when it works, it is as bright and fun and playful as the previous instalments. And the game’s potential is undeniable. From the get-go there are over 9 million community levels available for everyone to play (PlayStation Plus subscription is only required for online co-op on PS4). And even if, oh mathematically-minded one, you dismiss 99% of those as not worth your time, that still leaves 90,000 that are… And that number will just keep on growing.
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Interview with Ryan Vandendyck founder of Eden Industries developers of the PS4 and PS Vita game Citizens Of Earth.
The following is a small interview conducted by Syph33r. Q. Why choose Citizens Of Earth as Eden Industries’ next project? And did the game begin as it has now turned out? We all love RPGs and have wanted to make one for a long time. After our last game, Waveform, the time seemed right to try our hand at an RPG. I had a number of designs kicking around for a while, and after presenting them to the team, Citizens of Earth was the clear winner! So we decided to forge ahead with that idea. In terms of comparing how the game turned out to how it began, there’s two ways I can answer that question. In terms of the vision of the game, it’s very close to how I imagined it! A couple things perhaps didn’t make it in, but definitely very close to the original mark we established years ago. But on the other hand, I can barely believe my eyes when I see how the game turned out. We began it without an artist, without even thinking of a publisher, and without the dream of bringing it to so many platforms. So in that sense, I can barely recognize the game as it’s turned out! But still very proud of what we’ve accomplish with such a small team and such a small budget. Q. Citizens Of Earth is clearly inspired by Earthbound even down to the visual trappings of gifts on the ground and police barricades. Do you feel this type of unique gameplay just hasn’t really been explored with current games? Yes I do think that the style of Earthbound hasn’t been explored very much. It was because we loved Earthbound so much, and Nintendo seemed content to do nothing with the series, that we were especially compelled to do something in the same vein. It’s as much an expression of our personal love and passion as it is an attempt to satiate all of the other Earthbound fans out there.
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Q. The game was originally a Kickstarter project, and then Atlus got onboard. How did that come about? Well we had been talking to Atlus about the game for quite a while, well before the Kickstarter actually. We first showed them the game at GDC 2013. But we didn’t come to any agreement yet, so we decided to do the Kickstarter. In fact Atlus was very supportive of the Kickstarter and gave us feedback on it, etc. I think probably because they really believed in the game. This belief continued even after the Kickstarter, with Atlus reiterating their belief in the game and coming on board to help us realize the vision. And in fact, extend the vision to other consoles, including voice acting and more.
Q. It’s the first time Eden Industries has tackled consoles games - were there many challenges in the porting process? Very much so. Even the fact that scraping together the money for development kits put a huge dent in our budget! Development kits alone were about 1/5 the budget of the game (since the vast majority of the team had to work for no pay). The number of platforms we’re shipping on outnumbered the number of programmers. So that was a huge challenge. In the end, I’d say we learned a lot, and even the fact that we’re shipping on so many platforms is amazing. But suffice to say, if Citizens of Earth sells well enough for us to get another crack at the plate, we’ll be bringing a ton of knowledge and experience with us to make the second time around go much more smoothly. Q. What are you hoping players get from Citizens Of Earth, is there a special feeling you wished to evoke? Nostalgia perhaps? I think the big thing I want people to take away from Citizens of Earth is that it’s a love letter to classic RPGs but for modern times. We wanted to make something that appealed to RPG fans without being stuck in a decadesold mindset. So we got rid of random battles, we used high-res 2D art instead of the retro pixel approach. And really, that embodies the motto of Eden Industries which is: “Modern Games. Classic Gameplay”.
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Q. Which of the various Citizens has become your favourite during the development process? It’s so hard to pick a favourite, but I tend to like the Citizens that have really unorthodox play styles. The Pharmacist is a good example, since he uses status effects to control the battlefield, but has little in the way of direct-damage abilities. The School Mascot is a lot of fun since he’s such a weird character. But to be honest, Robin (the art director) did such a good job with each Citizen’s visual style, essentially nailing everyone on the first attempt that I fell in love with every single one of them. I spent 3 years bringing each Citizen to life, each one feels like one of my children in a weird way! Q. Now that the game is complete, what’s next for you guys? We’ve got plans and prototypes in the works, but the unfortunate reality is that it really depends on how Citizens of Earth sells. As a team that slaved away for 3 years with no pay, we’re firmly tied to the result of the game. We’ve got no shortage of ideas and demos in development now, but they hinge on the success of Citizens of Earth. So here’s hoping we get another chance to make something we’re passionate about! ---------------------------I wish to thank Ryan Vandendyck (Eden Industries) for taking the time out to answer my questions and John Hardin (Atlus) for facilitating the interview. Citizens Of Earth is available right now via the PlayStation Store for both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita with a special launch price of €11.99.
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Writer: hayzink Editoral warning: This article contains major spoilers!! The Walking Dead season one - an emotional journey. I rented Walking Dead when it launched on PS4 to see what, if anything, was different about it. When I started playing it quickly dawned on me that I was playing this for the third time and it was going to get boring fast. It was at the point in my very first interaction with Clem I decided I was going to play things differently. I was going to make Lee very cold hearted and make different, important choices this time. Right off the bat I noticed a distinction when I left Clem at night, rather than in the daytime so I knew I could enjoy this playthrough. But then, very quickly, I found the game was affecting me on an emotional level that it never had before. People I loved in every other play through I was now treating with a sort of contempt and I could see how this was affecting Clem. She had this distant look in her eyes that I had never seen before and it made it hard because I did everything I could to shield her in previous playthroughs. But this time I was now exposing her to the horrors the world had. She was not the only one. I would find myself berating my good friend Kenny and basically throwing him to the wolves on more than one occasion. I was siding with a woman whom I hated. Her father was nothing but an overgrown bitter bully only caring about his and his daughter’s safety. It was at that point I realised I hadn’t been any different compared to him in my previous playthroughs - when all I cared about was Clem. Was putting her needs before the rest of the group the right way to go?
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As I pushed on, the game was actually starting to make me sad especially when I chose Doug. Some of the bad decisions I made I actually felt good about like how I dealt
with the brothers at the dairy but again making this choice was affecting Clem. It seemed rather than being brave or strong she was starting to become cold and uncaring. This was getting hard, it’s just a game. So should I care how she feels? But for some reason I did. Perhaps it’s because I have played this story a few times in such a different way but this does not feel like my Clem.
Doug’s fate had far less of an effect on me than Carly’s did but choosing to take Lilly with me was hard because she was very hard to like even when you take into account what has happened to her beforehand. The one shining light in my nasty play-through was Duck. Even when I told him to go away I did not want his help his smile never dropped and he pushed on helping me anyway. As bad as I was trying to be, I just could not walk past that little guy without high fiving him. Sadly that made the decision to just leave him in the woods to wander the earth as a mindless eating machine that more heartbreaking; and seeing Kenny heartbroken was harder to take this time round because he had no one to lean on due to the fact he does not trust me anymore. When we made it to Savannah things continued for poor old Kenny. When I made him take action in the attic, I felt so bad for this empty shell of a man who had nothing left and I was pushing him to finish off a child that had nothing to do with him. At the same time Ben was getting on my last nerve and I was wishing I could get rid of him as quickly as possible but I knew I’d have to wait until Crawford to leave him to his fate. I felt no remorse about it after the countless people he had caused to die. By this point things were pretty frosty between Clem and me. It only seems to affect specific actions, as in the scripted scenes she is still smiley but you keep seeing these flashes of sadness from her and the lack of trust I show her is affecting the relationship. It’s been the hardest part of the play-through for me.
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Then I hit the end of chapter 4. That was when everything that I had done up to this point came crashing down on me. No one was going to help me, everyone said I was on my own and suddenly I was filled with a sense of sadness because it did not have to be like this. I could have been with people that had my back and would have helped me to get Clem back. From this point on it was a descent into the unknown and I was bitten. For a while I was alone and I made the decision not to take off my arm. Not long afterwards the game forced me back to the mansion, to the people who said they would not help me. Now I was stuck with them - they had abandoned me and now the game was forcing me to work with them and this forced another emotion. Anger. I was angry I was back with these people that did not care enough about me, to try to help a little girl. Anything they did for me from this point was not going to make me forgive them.
As sorrowful as it was, I think this Clem would come out the other side a survivor - which has to be what it’s all about. I really enjoyed my playthrough of the PS4 Walking Dead but I just want to quickly point out there is nothing really different about it on PS4: it runs the same, has the same annoying bugs and glitches and I would only really recommend it if you’re looking to play it for the first time or are buying season 2 and want your choices to carry over as there’s no import from PS3 option.
The saddest thing about the final chapter is the fact it’s pretty much the same no matter how you play the Walking Dead. This time I made Clem do something I had never made her do before I honestly welled up and almost cried. This little girl who had nothing and nobody left in the world just wanted me to keep going but instead had to put me down like a wounded animal. This playthrough made me so sad and I’m hard pushed to even name a film that’s had as much of an emotional impact on me as this did. It did not happen to me when I played the game ‘nice’ but this time it hit me hard. As the credits rolled it was clear to me I had experienced the worst ‘ending’ as I stood by no one and lost everyone. Upon reflection if a zombie scenario were to happen you would need to be like my Lee in this play through to survive. Much like Rick in the TV show, there comes a point where you have to switch off your emotions and do whatever it takes to survive. page 17
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Writer: QuietlyWrong In the late 1960s, in the depth of the Cold War, the Soviet Union conducted huge secret experiments on the nature of consciousness, seeking to transcend the world of our fragile mortal bodies and to unify all human thought in one great супер-ум, a super-mind... But everything went catastrophically wrong, nearly wiping all life from the planet and leaving the remnants of mankind trapped in an infinite white void, product of its collective dreams – and nightmares… So begins the story of Q-Games’ fascinating The Tomorrow Children. The game picks up one hundred years in the future, when a few survivors, lives artificially extended, have managed to rebuild a sort of society, using projected ‘clones’ to recover resources from the void. The resources are required for the construction of settlements within which human beings might finally be restored to life from scraps of DNA locked away safely in matryoshka dolls and hidden out in the endless white wastelands. Your job is to take on the role of one of these clones, take a job class, for instance miner or engineer commander, and contribute to the growth of your town. You’re not alone: each town is populated by a handful of clones, all representing other online players, in an unusual take on online gaming. Each person is free to do their own thing, but each person’s actions are reflected in the online town that the other players experience. If you dig a hole or build a bridge, shoot down a flying ‘Izverg’ (giant monster), plant a tree, the effects will be seen in everyone else’s world. But if you just want to go off and explore, you’re all but invisible to those around you. Last November’s ‘alpha trial’ revealed a captivating openworld game with a distinct aesthetic. It is reminiscent of an old Eastern European animation; the characters look like they have just been carved from wood and handpainted. In action they move too smoothly to evoke the marionettes that they resemble but none of the charm is lost, in significant part thanks to the ‘toy camera’ style in which everything is rendered.
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Gameplay in the alpha revolved around the collection of resources and construction of tools to aid the growth (and protection) of each online town. This has been and will continue to be compared to Minecraft, insofar as it is possible to dig holes anywhere in the periodicallyappearing islands or to build bridges or climbing structures using the various tools available.
However the development and defence of one’s town adds a completely different mechanic to proceedings, most notably in that one player alone cannot possibly keep the settlement alive. Though this was an early version, there is a strong sense that the interaction between players, whether helping or hindering, will be the game’s key defining feature. In the alpha, cooperation and camaraderie were key to advancement and there was little scope for any personal gain outside this ‘communist’ idealism. It will be very interesting to see the development of these ideas in the final product, as official outlets for tools are supplemented by a black market, players are allowed to travel to other towns and items are made available that allow some players to become – to borrow from George Orwell’s Animal Farm – ‘more equal than others’. The alpha trial gave us an already well-fleshedout experience, with various factors contributing to that ‘just a little bit longer’ experience (the day/night cycle; an RPG-style progression system; high-score tables, the never-ending waves of Izvergs that threaten your town...). If this first look is anything to go by, I know The Tomorrow Children will steal many hours from me and leave me wondering where the time went. It’s a brave, beautiful and ingenious concept and I cannot wait to get my hands on it again.
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Screenshots by QuietlyWrong...
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Writer: Michelle_Tabor Dark Souls. A game series associated more with its punishing difficulty than any other aspect which I think does this great series a disservice. I will start with a confession - I am not a skilled gamer. I can’t think of a game I have played on the hardest setting (when there is an option), and in the past there have been occasions where I have lowered the difficulty for particular sections. I’m not the sort of person you would think would develop a borderline obsession for what is considered the hardest game series of this past recent generation. My first attempt with the Souls games was approximately three years ago. I heard about a game called Demon’s Souls, an atmospheric RPG with dragons and a deep levelling up and stat system. I started off as a knight (I thought the most obvious class for a noob, my first mistake) and somehow with my singular tactic of running at and hitting everything got past the first boss (not including the tutorial boss). I then hit a wall of difficulty because my only tactic did not work. Disheartened, I put the game to one side thinking ‘I’ll go back to that another time’. Dark Souls was released and I was tempted, but all the talk of the difficulty put me off and I never tried it.
myself at them maybe 15 times before turning my ps3 off in a flurry of bad language and tears in what was one of my most epic rage quits of all time. 24 hours later I went back, thinking ‘I’ll try again with a different tactic’. They went down on the third attempt. This time the tears and screaming was of complete elation at something that had previously seemed insurmountable. But this is a tale we have all heard, it’s all worth it when you succeed. While true, this is not the reason I dove straight into Dark Souls 1 and Demon’s Souls immediately after. They all begin with broadly the same beginnings - the world is in a terrible state and you need to save it. So far, so standard RPG fair. As you progress through, it becomes apparent by speaking to people and reading the descriptions on items, weapons and so on that this has happened many times before and you are not the only one who has tried to do something about it. You encounter other adventurers on their own quests, some who are optimistic and you become attached to, some who are or end up in a horrible undead state and go insane. Or simply dead bodies huddled around a fire, all of which have the item ‘soul of a nameless soldier’ or a solitary ‘soul of a brave hero’. You may be referred to as the ‘chosen undead’, often by those with their own agenda, but the environmental clues suggest you are not the first. Very little of this is explicitly stated, you piece together what has happened from the items you find, the enemies you face and vague conversations with NPCs. This is possible because of the amount of care taken into the creation of these worlds. If you find the same enemies in more than one area they have been placed there for a reason. The bosses are not simply random beasts at the end of the level. Rather they have unique stories which can be determined from the environment and their soul, which you obtain upon killing them.
Fast forward to earlier this year, some Youtubers I follow did a video where they each took a friend with no knowledge or experience of any of the games through the first area of Dark Souls 2. I decided that it did not look too bad and went and bought it. Knowing what I was getting myself into I picked a sorcerer, widely considered to be the easiest class and cautiously made my way through. page 20
After slow, but steady, progress I hit my first wall. On the route I took it was the third boss fight, The Ruin Sentinels. Three fast, tall, slim, golden armoured nightmares. I threw
If you do not care for trying to piece together the various tales being told, you do not need to in order to progress. If you would rather just take the biggest sword you can find and murder everything you run into without considering why, the combat is rich and varied enough that this style will give you very enjoyable experience playing this way. The final element of this series which needs mentioning is the online features. Notes are left from other players which can be warnings - ‘beware of ambush’ or just as
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often troll attempts – ‘try jumping’ in front of bottomless pits, and general observations – ‘I did it!’ or ‘Hurrah for allies’ in a boss room. This combined with the bloodstains of other players, which allow you to see how they died and avoid making the same mistake, and ghosts of other players gives this feeling that despite being alone in this forsaken land, there are others going through the same thing.
If you do not want to participate in the online elements, you can simply play it offline. While a large part of the experience, the multiplayer aspects are not mandatory and in offline mode there are NPCs you can summon for certain bosses so you are not missing out if you do need help in places. While they are not without flaws, all three Souls games provide an unforgettable experience and I strongly urge anyone who has not played them to give it a go. The rich environments, interesting characters and ability to truly play any way you want make these a must play in my view. If you don’t have means of playing them, Bloodborne is just round the corner which promises to be more of the glorious same and I can’t wait for it.
You directly interact with other players by either engaging in ‘jolly co-operation’ (co-op either in your game or theirs) or PvP. PvP can be carried out in certain areas by mutual consent, or by simply invading someone while they are minding their own business. Invasions add another level of tension, and can result in some funny moments on occasions.
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Writer: icon162 It’s hard to believe that everyone’s favourite bandicoot is eighteen this year, but yet unlike most 18th birthday celebrations, there doesn’t seem to be much cause for celebration; there hasn’t been any sign of Crash in quite some time (he was last seen on the PlayStation 3 in Crash: Mind Over Mutant in 2008.) We know Activision have the rights to the franchise, but Crash obviously isn’t on the top of their priority list. Now with this is mind it got me thinking - what if Sony bought back the rights to Crash Bandicoot? And just who would develop it?
1) Insomniac Games (Spyro The Dragon, Ratchet & Clank) In the mid-to-late 90s there was only one other game that rivalled the popularity of PlayStation’s mascot, and that rival was Insomniac’s purple dragon Spyro. Although Insomniac - much like Naughty Dog - focused on more mature games during the Playstation 3’s lifecycle with the Resistance franchise, they’re no stranger to action platformers as they’re also the team behind the popular Ratchet and Clank series. It would certainly be interesting to see the creators of Spyro take on Crash Bandicoot, even if it is a long shot.
2) SCE Japan (Puppeteer, Knack) The chances of Sony giving the rights of Crash to a prolific Japanese studio is doubtful, but that doesn’t mean we can’t think of the possibilities. Knack was a simple yet underappreciated Playstation 4 launch game, and it’s a game that I feel people may have been too harsh on. Sure it didn’t reinvent the wheel of what a 3D action platformer should be, but its simplicity was executed well and it introduced a great, quirky new character to the Playstation ecosystem in Knack. Also, the director of Knack - Mark Cerny - was the creative director of Crash Bandicoot. A coincidence? I think not.
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3) Media Molecule (Little Big Planet, Tearaway) Media Molecule are certainly the most AAA creative team out there today, and along with their creativity that they bring to their games is their charm. They’ve proved they can do 2.5D platformers with LBP and they’ve also proved that they can do 3D platformers with Tearaway (PlayStation Vita’s best game, if you didn’t already know). Is creativity and charm what Crash Bandicoot needs? Or does it need to go back to its roots?
4) Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot) An obvious pick, but who better to reboot the franchise than the studio that created it? It does seem unlikely, however, that Naughty Dog would take on Crash again, given their more recent approach to AAA blockbuster mature games in the Uncharted series and The Last Of Us. It would be nice to see Crash come home after all these years though would it not? So that’s it! That’s my four picks for who should take on Crash Bandicoot if Sony were to regain the rights and reboot the franchise. Who would you like to see take on the Crash Bandicoot franchise?
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Writer: QuietlyWrong From The Hymn of the Fayth (FFX) all the way through to Swing de Chocobo (aka Brass de Chocobo / FFX) via old favourites and concert premieres, Distant Worlds music from FINAL FANTASY at the Royal Albert Hall was a glorious celebration of music from one of the longest running video game series. An unseasonably warm beginning to November in London meant a sweltering atmosphere when this iconic and awe-inspiring venue was packed to the rafters with fans – sold out in under two hours, apparently, way back in February – eager to hear a mere sampling from the series that has spawned fourteen (and counting) main games, countless spinoffs and literally thousands of hours of soundtrack. To anyone unfamiliar with the series’ acclaimed compositions, the best way to describe it is by comparison with the best film soundtracks ever composed, and even a Final Fantasy novice would find much to enjoy with these vibrant, sweeping orchestrations, some of the finest pieces plucked from the extraordinary selection available.
However much of the appeal is of course for those who have played (and played, and played!) these games over the last three decades (Final Fantasy VI, we were reminded, was released way back in 1994). Some of the tunes are embedded deep in our memories and with them the emotional ties to those gaming experiences, losing dozens of hours in each game, engrossed in their unique mythos, the exotic worlds and the epic fantasies.
To hear these notes played again by the orchestra, aided by an excellent choir, provided many moments of frisson as melodic memories were stirred in our collective subconscious. It is astonishing to think that most of the music is the work of one man, Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu, in attendance here at London once again (this being the third such concert here) and subject to considerable adulation: a modest, diminutive figure, treated like some rock god. I wonder how many modern composers receive such receptions? How often do you hear some northern bloke shout out ‘I love you!’ across the Royal Albert Hall? Barring a brief stint on stage to provide some keyboard accompaniment for Dark World (FFVI), Uematsu-san was happy, as always, to take a back seat. Arnie Roth is mainly responsible for orchestrating these concerts, if you’ll forgive the pun, and the Chicago-born composer, violinist, conductor and occasional audience-teaser takes centre stage, the musicians in his capable hands. London’s performance was graced, as in previous years, by the ever-versatile Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra; superb (spine-tingling!) choral support was provided by London Voices (who – one for the trivia fans – contributed to the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within soundtrack). Particular highlights of the evening came with guest soloists… Susan Calloway was brought on to the stage to give a wonderful performance of Answers, a song she herself sang for the FFXIV soundtrack. The arrival of a guitar soloist heralded a sweet rendition of Dear Friends (FFV) and the wonderful energetic Vamo’ alla Flamenco (FFIX). A real favourite of mine came as the conclusion of a string of hits from FFVI, when the Royal Albert Hall’s pipe organ, second largest in the UK, was commissioned (it would be a shame to waste the opportunity) to give real oomph to the brilliant Dancing Mad which could barely have been bettered – though perhaps one day Mr Roth will allow an electric guitar into the orchestra and let that piece really rip at the conclusion! In all, this was an evening for the fans, and it was two and a half hours of pure audio bliss. Videogame music doesn’t get better than this and the worst thing to be said is only that there is nowhere near enough time to cover all the favourites. FFVIII and FFXII fans may have felt left out this time round... But as we were promised, Distant Worlds will return to London, and when it does, I will hope to be there and highly recommend it!
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Writer: Syph33r If there is one thing the PlayStation Vita gets a lot of, it’s indie games. You know that, I know that - heck even my mother knows at this point. But what is hugely overlooked are some of the excellent free-to-play titles currently available on the system. Below I share a few of my favourites, and some you should be marking down on your calendar that are set to release this year!
Destiny Of Spirits
Developer - Q? Entertainment / SCE Japan Studio The quintessential F2P (freeto-play) game on the PS Vita. It ticks all my boxes; simple yet deep, intuitive pick-up and play mechanics and above all else, little to no micro-transactions that can affect the game’s balance. Destiny Of Spirits is a truly social RPG. The world has been taken over by evil spirits and it’s up to you, starting from your current location on planet Earth, to battle and free the entire globe from their menace. You will collect various spirits of differing rarities, from battles or via summonings, level them up and even sell or trade them with other players. Whether your play sessions last for 5 minutes or 5 hours it’s entirely up to you - there is always something to do. With constant events running weekly, this is truly a free-to-play game that everyone should have on their PS Vita.
Crazy Market
Developer - The Game Atelier From the minds that brought you ‘Sunflowers’ and ‘Flying Hamster’ comes Crazy Market. You choose the role of either Lulu or Eugene working behind a cash register in a busy supermarket - taking orders from a boss who has seemingly escaped from the local mental home.
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Gameplay consists of dragging and scanning items over a price scanner, then placing them back onto the conveyor for collection. Sounds easy right? Wrong. The game is labelled ‘crazy’ for a reason. The conveyor will speed up,
slow down, break and a myriad of items that have nothing to do with supermarket produce will be left for you to deal with - whose baby is this? The touch screen controls can be a little finicky at times, and probably not a title for you if you’re currently employed at the local Tesco!
No Heroes Allowed: No Puzzles Either! Developer - Acquire / SmileBoom A successor to the PSP title ‘No Heroes Allowed’, but this time taking the form of a match-3 puzzle game. For those unfamiliar with the ‘Badman’ series, instead of being the good guy you are instead employed on the side of evil. Helping ‘Badman’ vanquish all would-be heroes who venture into his dungeon to capture him - using the various monsters to stop them in their tracks. You can even set your captured heroes to work in a mine grinding day and night, for various treasures that you can use as power-ups during gameplay or currency to level up your monsters. The gameplay is great, but marred by limited lives that slowly generate over time - a barrier that can be overcome through a one-time payment of the ‘Mega Pack’, which unlocks and expands the game. But if you don’t mind being able to play only a few times per day then this isn’t a problem.
Treasures Of Montezuma: Arena Developer - Alawar
An upgrade to ‘Treasures Of Montezuma: Blitz’ which was also a match-3, free-to-play title. This successor adds new modes which greatly enhances the experience. A story mode allowing you to battle against various monsters and even battles against other players in a versus mode. The addictive gameplay from the original is still here and intact, only expanded upon with more power-ups, and adding a reason other than score to be playing. The micro-transactions are still here, but once again you can experience everything without needing to spend a penny.
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Coming to PS Vita in 2015 Fat Princess: Piece Of Cake
Developer - One Loop Games / Santa Monica Studio The fattest princess in all the lands finally makes her return to consoles with Fat Princess: Piece Of Cake. In this quirky match-3 puzzle game with a combat twist, focusing on tactics rather than speed, you will see yourself fighting against the Blue army - along with feeding your princess of course. With over 55 levels spread across 5 distinct lands to conquer, you are sure to have your fill.
Guns Up!
Developer - Valkyrie Entertainment By all accounts the hands-on time gamers have had with this title at trade shows has been excellent. A strategy troop and resource management game with the goal being to destroy enemy bases and take over areas. Guns Up! also boasts cross-play between all PlayStation devices - it’s sure to scratch that ‘Command & Conquer’ itch. Release - TBA 2015
Big Fest
Release - Out Now!
Developer - On The Metal
Desert Ashes
It feels like this game was announced a decade ago. But On The Metal are still hard at work, deep in the Glastonbury mud, plugging away at its development. Aiming to do what ‘Rollercoaster Tycoon’ did for Theme Parks, Big Fest has its sights set on music festivals. Using a massive library of real-world unsigned bands, it’s up to you to create a festival that all your friends will want to visit or even destroy!
Developer - Luc Bernard A spiritual successor to ‘Macho Wars’ aiming to bring the ‘Advanced Wars’ -esque tactical gameplay to the PS Vita handheld - with some interesting twists to the genre. Boasting turn-based online PvP multiplayer and couch multiplayer for PlayStation TV owners, Desert Ashes is one to keep an eye on as it aims to release in February.
Release - TBA 2015
Release - February 2015
Death Tales
Developer - Luc Bernard Originally announced as a PSP title and under the name ‘Reaper’ - Death Tales is a 2D action RPG that offers two distinct modes: ‘Story’, an open-world filled with a multitude of monsters to slash your way through, even with a friend online if you wish; and ‘Tales’ which is a hub town offering various quests through randomly generated levels. Again both modes can be played in co-op with a friend or stranger online - the choice is yours. Release - Summer 2015
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Interview with Infinite State Games developers of Don’t Die, Mr. Robot!
chrisboers had the opportunity to pose a few questions to Charlie Scott-Skinner and Barry Island from Infinite State Games - developers of Don’t Die, Mr. Robot! for the PlayStation Vita.
Charlie & Barry
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Q. You are a two-person development team. How do you come up with the initial ideas for your games? Do you use brainstorming sessions, or any other methods? BARRY: Well, Charlie and I have made games together since back in the Nintendo DS days at a company called Razorback Developments. Back then, Charlie was lead programmer and I was lead designer. We’ve always worked really closely together and have similar ideas of what makes a fun game, so luckily we rarely have creative differences. Over the years we’ve kind of developed a sort of hive-mind, pre-empting each other’s moves and ideas. However, I’m a bit odd so a lot of Charlie’s job at ISG (Infinite State Games) involves telling me when I’m taking stuff too far or if I’ve just lost the plot (which happens quite a bit). He’s as much my creative handler and censor as a business partner. CHARLIE: I’m terrible at seeding an idea from scratch, but conversely, I’m pretty good at evolving an idea into a product. Barry and I will often just start with a base concept and develop a basic prototype. From this we’ll sprout more ideas, some discovered accidentally, others through a process of ‘what if we…’. We will also drop or tweak things that aren’t really working. When we used to work in the same office, it was easy to get together at a desk or over lunch and knock some ideas around. But these days there’s half a country between us, so our boardroom takes the form of an online meet up in Dark Souls or Destiny. It’s been working out pretty well so far!
Q. How do you divide your development activities, how do you handle all those time consuming activities like getting the word out to the public? CHARLIE: Barry and I have been making games for a while now, so we are both pretty streamlined in the actual task of production. For instance, our code engine is broken into logical pieces with the game logic well removed from the hardware specific business end. This makes moving to new platforms relatively painless without resorting to something like Unity. However, we’re still learning when it comes to the marketing side of things, and we’re discovering that there isn’t really a silver bullet here. BARRY: Charlie is a programmer with a designer’s brain and I’m a designer with a musician’s brain. Between us we’ve got all the creative bases covered in one way or another. At ISG, I do the bulk of the design work as well as the audio and art. I’ll typically be the one constructing individual levels, tweaking game modes and balancing. Music and audio is super important to me so with the design of a game it’s fun first, audio second. I’m also the slightly gobbier of the two of us, so I do the PR, business development and all that stuff. Silly really because I’m by far the less professional and presentable of the two of us but it seems to work out just fine for us this way! Q. All your previous games were for iOS devices. Why choose the Vita for this one? BARRY: Charlie, you’d best answer this one! CHARLIE: iOS is a great entry point for casual development. You don’t need a company or anything. You just need a laptop, a device and £59 or whatever the annual fee is. However, I’ve been a Sony gamer since I defected from my N64 to a PS2. And when Barry secured Vita development kits from Sony, it was time to do the development equivalent of growing up. The company was formed legally, bank account and accountant acquired - it became a business, because that’s what we needed to access Sony’s developer network. And it was like coming home to the mothership!
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Q. Where does the inspiration for ‘Don’t Die Mr Robot’ come from? BARRY: Again, this all starts back in our inspiration in becoming game developers in the first place. Robotron, Bubble Bobble and Cave Ltd. shooters play a big part in why I came to be making videogames and I guess DDMR is sort of an amalgamation of what makes those games great wrapped up in a goofy, original new way. We’re both of the age where we grew up with arcade games being the ultimate in cool and video game culture, so being independent and not having a publisher as such to force us to put in cutscenes, burly army dudes and stories meant we could make the sort of colourful arcade experience we’d have loved to have played back in the day. Also, I’m kind of obsessed with fruit. CHARLIE: Barry and I are both huge fans of “arena shooters” or “twin-stick shooters”. Plus Barry has this weird obsession with in-game fruit and I have an obsessive compulsion for multiplier based scoring systems. So Don’t Die, Mr Robot was a chance for both of us to scratch several neurotic itches in one project, while riffing off the standard twin stick shooter mechanic in that you don’t actually shoot. BARRY: There’s something quite interesting about a kind of passive-aggressive shmup, don’t you think? A game where you don’t really go out of your way to attack anything directly, more use what you can around you to destroy enemies using split second decisions. Developing the game through prototyping meant that we noticed early on that using exploding fruit to destroy enemies was fun, but waiting until loads of fruit had appeared on screen to make a great big score multiplying chain was a perfect risk reward mechanism. The longer you wait, the riskier it gets but the better the pay off. For me, that’s what a good arcade-game mechanic is all about. Take a big risk, get a big reward. Take a teeny risk, get a tiny reward. Go big or go home! Q. For how long has Don’t Die Mr Robot been in development for? And did you find it difficult programming for the Vita? CHARLIE: The game has been in development for over a year, which for us is an epic project. But that’s because it was nearly finished on the iPhone. Then we took time out to convert the engine to the Vita. Then, a further round of adding a load more content was needed. But Sony’s SDK and tool chains are fantastic. And I can’t sing high enough praises for either the support staff tasked with helping developers out on Sony platforms, and the Vita itself as both a development and gaming platform. It saddens me that it isn’t doing better commercially as it is a great bit of hardware. To be able to make games on it is a dream come true! Q. What is the development teams goal with Don’t Die Mr Robot, what do they hope for players to get out of it? CHARLIE: For me this sort of game is the sort you always keep around in the background as you attempt to beat you or your mates’ best scores in between rounds of the bigger games like Killzone or Uncharted. So my hope is that someone out there will finally knock Barry off the top spot of the leaderboard!
BARRY: I just want to give people a daft and colourful arcade game full of fruit, explosions and multipliers.
Q. What is the unique perk of Don’t Die Mr Robot? Why should everyone buy the game? CHARLIE: We spent a long time making different modes that aren’t just re-skins of the same basic mechanics, but that each brings something unique to the game. Whether it’s the vanilla arcade mode with different leaderboards for whether you are playing ‘pure’ (i.e. no power-ups with a default robot) or not; time attack mode that decays your score proportionally to how big the score is when you die; chill out mode with its calmer pace and automatic coin collection; or remix mode that introduces too many little unique mechanics to individually enumerate here, there’s something for everyone in Don’t Die, Mr Robot. And we haven’t even talked about the cameo special guest characters that we have partnered with other great indie developers to bring into the game! Each of those has a unique property or two that can significantly change up the game play! BARRY: Everyone should also buy the game because it’s good old fashioned stupid fun. It’s one of those games you can keep going back to in order to hone your skills and beat your high score. If you need a quick intense adrenaline fix, it totally hits the nail on the head. Q. Have you used any of the special Vita controls or inputs? CHARLIE: When we first got the game working on the Vita we went a bit over the top with the control options. We used everything, and sometimes we even used the same thing in different ways. But in the end we decided to merge some options together and remove some. This left us with an analogue stick option, where you can use either the analogue stick or the cross pad which you’d expect. We also found the rear touch option to be surprisingly viable once we added visual feedback to show where you were touching. And last, but not least, we used the motion sensor to let you tip your robot around the playing field like a marble on a tray. BARRY: Yeah, it’s funny how different people enjoy the different controls. Personally I tend to alternate between the analogue sticks and the motion-sensor tilt controls. Lots of people love the tilt controls because they’re silky smooth and create a whole new, more tactile playing experience. They’re also great if you don’t have any thumbs. We don’t discriminate against people with no thumbs.
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Interview with Infinite State Games developers of Don’t Die, Mr. Robot!
Q. Are you working on multiple projects currently, and if so, can we expect more from you for PlayStation devices in the (near) future? Any spoilers? BARRY: Absolutely we plan to create more for PlayStation devices in the near future. We’re already working on our next two games! The one spoiler I can give, if Charlie will let me, is one has fruit, modelling clay and felt (the fabric) in. The other has mental arithmetic, dragons, platforms and loot. CHARLIE: Yeah, the Vita will be our primary platform for as long as it is viable. We make games we want to play, and we both own Vitas so it’s seems like a no-brainer! And now we have cut our teeth with DDMR I am hoping the next projects will take significantly less time… Don’t Die, Mr Robot! can be downloaded from the PS store here: https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork. com/#!/en-gb/games/don’t-die-mr-robot/cid=EP4514PCSB00639_00-DONTDIEMRROBOTEU
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The Crew PS4 Developer: Ivory Tower/Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft Release date: 2nd Dec 2014
Writer: chrisboers This time last year, autumn 2014 was expectantly looked upon to be one of the busiest periods ever for racing fans. With F1 2014, DRIVECLUB, Project Cars and The Crew all appearing within a few months time of each other, gamers would be dazzled with nextgen racing opportunities. Where would we find the time to play all those racers? And how could we choose between the different options? This was going to be a true battle of the titans and all for us, the racers!
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Time has passed and we now know that things have materialized just a little bit differently. F1 2014 turned out to be quite short and well... mediocre, more of a “stop gap” until the real Next Gen F1 would appear in 2015. Project Cars was dragged back into the pits for another half year of tinkering and polishing, and will not be released until later this year. DRIVECLUB already showed up a year late on the grid but still appeared not to have been efficiently tuned, resulting in a stalling engine right at the start. Suddenly the field of players
competing for the title of racing game of 2014 was thinned considerably. This allowed a relative new entry to move to pole position. Could The Crew, published by Ubisoft, prove worthy and claim the champion’s trophy for itself? At least the preparations were solid. Despite an overflowing agenda with titles like Assassin’s Creed Unity and Rogue, FarCry 4, Just Dance 2015 and The Crew - and with a quite disastrous launch of Unity still fresh in mind Ubisoft didn’t leave much to chance concerning the launch of The Crew. Leading up to launch, several closed and public beta tests were held ensuring Ubisoft had a pretty good idea what to expect with regards to server-load directly after launch. This approach, coupled with correct planning, led to a nearly flawless launch. Taking into account that this is a game that has a mandatory online connection, this was quite a feat in itself! However, technical issues aside, the big question of course is whether the game is actually fun to play.
We’ll get to that in a bit, but first, let’s focus on the type of game The Crew actually is. First thing to notice when you start up the game, is that The Crew actually has a story mode. Often in this genre, any narrative is nothing more than a placeholder to keep the races together, or (as in the case ofDRIVECLUB) the storyline is even entirely absent.
The storyline of The Crew will send you, as a bearded fellow called Alex Taylor, all over the United States. You are a former member of the 510, a motorclub that roams the States with fast cars, and pretty much does everything forbidden by law. This time however, you are recruited by the police to infiltrate the 510 as an
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undercover informer. The 510 is led by a guy called ‘Shiv’, who cooperates with a corrupted FBI agent called Coburn. It’s your task to climb the ranks of the 510 in order to finally get near Shiv and Coburn. Of course, to make things extra interesting, you have a personal score to settle with Shiv. The United States of America has been split into five regions, each led by a different faction. Once you’ve ‘freed’ several regions, you can join these factions, and start taking on PvP challenges. You can also form a Crew of four persons, and take on races and missions together. Except for the very first few missions, you’re entirely free to roam the entire map of The Crew which covers the entire United States. And yes, this map is big. It will take you considerable time to travel from one city to the next. The map consists of several big, well known cities, like New York, Washington, Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. But also outside the cities the map is well stocked. You can visit the snow-covered mountains in the Mountain States, set speed records on the salty planes of Death Valley, or drive to the southern-most tip of The Keys, to give only a few of the possibilities. Of course the map is somewhat scaled, as having to drive for several days to get from the North to the South would be a bit of a drag, but still, that drive will easily take you at least half an hour, provided you don’t get distracted along the way by all the challenges and sights.
Avoiding boredom during your long trips, Ubisoft has littered the roads with challenges. These challenges are identified as gates. Each gate has a specific challenge, ranging from slaloms, covering as much distance while staying on the road, precision driving, ideal line driving, or hill-climbing, to name a few. Depending on how well you perform on these challenges, you get a bronze, silver or gold medal and an accompanying part for your car. With these parts you can improve your car. And with that, Ubisoft very cleverly introduces some RPG elements into the game. You don’t improve your own character, but you make your car faster, more robust, stronger, or improve its handling by completing these challenges or missions. And yes, these improvements are really noticeable! If a mission proves too difficult, you can always focus on the challenges, improve your car, and try the mission again with a better car. Speaking of cars the game contains 30+ cars, whilst a dozen cars can be added through the Season Pass. These cars become available once you visit several dealers on the map, one in each region. Because of this, it’s already profitable to drive to all the corners of the map early in the game just to unlock cars. However, most cars will be out of your range anyway, simply because they cost a fortune. Thirty cars might not sound like a lot, especially compared to the thousands of cars Grand Turismo players are used to but each car in The Crew starts off as a stock-version, but also has one or more specially tuned versions. And these versions, specifically tuned for dirt-races, high performance, circuit, or street races, handle and look very different from their stock version.
Combined with all the improvements through new parts already mentioned, you’ll have more than enough on your hands to change and adapt your cars to your own needs and wishes.
Graphics-wise, The Crew is OK. This doesn’t mean it will blow you away with its graphics, but can hold its own. Areas and cities are more than different enough, and you’ll recognize more than enough famous spots in the different locations. When travelling around the map you’ll constantly get the idea of driving somewhere different, but trees do tend to look a bit rough on the edges. You won’t see any DRIVECLUB Photomode screenshots here. That said, it’s still very much fun driving through the empty Death Valley, with the mountains as backdrop, and five minutes later cruising The Strip of Las Vegas with all its easily recognizable (but sadly without their original names) casinos.
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The map is one of the stronger assets of The Crew. Nothing beats a simple drive into nowhere if you, for whatever reason, don’t feel like competing online, doing a storyline mission, or one of the many challenges. In this, The Crew resembles Burnout Paradise a lot. It plays and drives quite similarly (without the stunt cars). It’s not a simulation racer at all, but far more casual. The game excels when you simply drive around the map in one of the many cars, get involved in a few races or challenges along the way. In Burnout Paradise online was always just a click away and The Crew takes this one step further. Here, you’re always online, with your map populated with up to eight drivers. You’re regularly reminded of the others by Zoe, urging you to form a crew with them, or otherwise helping each other out. Also, whenever you start a mission, you can opt to play it in quick coop.
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And with that, we’ve arrived at probably the biggest let-down of The Crew. The game focuses on online gameplay to such an extent it becomes annoying. If you’re anything like me, and prefer to not always race online but enjoy the storyline solo you’re constantly reminded of the online options. Sometimes it’s quite subtle, but sometimes it’s very much ‘in your face’. If you ignore Zoe, she will start repeating her message about the other drivers that might need assistance over and over again, and whenever you select a mission your default choice is ‘quick coop’, with you having to constantly change back to ‘solo’ if that’s what you want. Also, the other online players are - probably just like you - ignoring all driving regulations, and are often driving on the middle of the road, simply because that’s the sweet spot with the least
traffic. If both you and your fellow players are trying to achieve a speedchallenge, you can bet the collision will ruin the attempt for the both of you. Added to that, the online connection is very mandatory. No internet connection and the game will simply not start. The infamous Christmas attack on PSN literally made The Crew unplayable for the entire period which is really a shame as there is more than enough to do offline. Here’s to hoping that Ubisoft and other publishers have learned from the downtime that mandatory online requirements are a serious threat to their game, and include an offline mode in their games again from now on. Going back to the original question we started with: Does The Crew have what it takes to claim the Champion’s Trophy? It depends on your style of play. If you prefer simulation, endless tuning and tinkering, and the most realistic, graphically impressive screens The Crew might be too much casual for you, and you might better wait another few months for Project Cars. However, if you enjoyed Burnout Paradise, enjoy a storyline in your game, and a GTA-like open world, then The Crew might be just the game for you. Personally, I’m firmly situated in the latter camp, and have really enjoyed The Crew, and expect to spend many more hours on the streets of the United States. If you enjoy The Crew too, be sure to visit the OPC Forums, as we have several Crews who meet online weekly, and you’re invited.
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PLATFORM: PS VITA; PUBLISHER & DEVELOPER: Infinite State games; RELEASE DATE: 29 Oct 2014 Sometimes, a game really doesn’t need a plot. And even if it HAS a plot, chances are nobody remembers it, even if it becomes one of the biggest games in history. How did PacMan get trapped in that blue maze with yellow pallets and four ghosts? How did Peter Pepper from Burger Time get to make these enormous Burgers? The answer is: Who cares? These games thrive on their game mechanics, and the fact that playing them is FUN and addictive. This is exactly the case with Don’t Die Mr Robot.
Review: Don’t Die Mr Robot
Writer: chrisboers Yes, there is a plot (Mr Robot likes fruit, fruit explodes, the owners of the fruits get angry and try to kill dear Mr Robot), but that is no more than an excuse to get things rolling. Even the developers (Infinite State) admit this wholeheartedly, tagging the game with ‘Don’t Die, Mr. Robot! is a fast paced arcade action game that’s big on fun and small on plot’. And they are right. DDMR (short for Don’t Die Mr Robot) is great fun, exactly like those games of the old days, but with better graphics. As Mr Robot ( a yellow square with huge eyes, strangely resembling a Happy Meal package), you’re dropped in an initially blank, black area. However, this doesn’t last long, as fruits start to pop up at random locations in the area. Not only that, monsters of different kind start to appear too, trying to keep you away from their fruit!
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Of course, initially you can easily get rid of these monsters with a timed consumption of one or more fruits (by simply having Mr Robot touch the fruits), which will cause an explosion, destroying any nearby enemies in its blast radius. However, it’s way more satisfying, to simply ignore the fruits, and circumvent the initial enemies. As time passes, more and more fruits pop up, and then, if you time your fruit consumption correctly, you can trigger a whole series of explosions, wiping the entire screen of baddies! Not only is it extremely satisfying, seeing the entire screen filled with explosions and destroyed enemies, it is also the best way to rack up high scores. Each exploding fruit increases your multiplier. If you destroy an enemy with a fruit explosion, you’ll get 100 points. But, if you get a chain-reaction of 20+ fruits, AND kill all enemies on screen, your score can literally reach thousands and thousands! Avoiding fruits AND enemies long enough to get all those fruits on screen is very challenging, keeping you constantly on your toes, having you decide whether you’ll try to postpone collecting the fruits or risk getting caught by one of the enemies. Of course enemies become increasingly more difficult. Their speed increases, their numbers rise, and more difficult-to-avoid enemies are added later on. There is a lot to do in DDMR. Not only does the game feature an arcade mode in which you can play and try to survive as long as you can, there is also a time attack (try to score as much points as possible in 2.5 minutes), and a very handy ‘chill out Mode’, in which all enemies move very slowly. But be aware: that doesn’t mean chill out mode is easier! There are many more enemies, and it’s somehow easier to run into a slow-moving enemy when you expect it to move out of the way! Next to these three modes, DDMR features no less than 50 ‘remix’ challenges. These challenges each twist one or more of the gameplay parameters of the game, and sets a set of goals for you to achieve. Fruits and explosions can be bigger/smaller or even poisonous , Mr Robot can be huge or extremely small, his movement can be restricted to a certain area or only horizontal/vertical, or your goal is to perform especially dangerous moves. Every remix delivers its own challenge, and your success is measured in a bronze, silver, gold or platinum (in-game) trophy. Are there no flaws then? Yes there are. Movement is not always accurate, which makes some of the challenges (especially those where you have to get dangerously close to enemies) even more challenging. Also, Mr Robot is basically a yellow cube with eyes, which you can slightly modify, but as a hero of the game, it could have used a bit more refinement. But, in the end, these are mostly minor things, that don’t hinder the gameplay. DDMR is full of content, and offers a lot of diversity in gameplay and challenges. It definitely has that ‘one more go’ factor, especially in the Remix mode, which can become really challenging. DDMR is available now in the PSN Store, and is highly recommended.
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Hyperdimension Neptunia: Rebirth 1 PS VITA Developer: Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Felistella Publisher: Compile Heart Release date: 27th Aug 2014
Writer: Syph33r The Neptunia series finally makes its debut on the PlayStation Vita, developed by Felistella in conjunction with Compile Heart. Idea Factory has, for the first time, published the game in the West. The game is a remake of the original Hyperdimension Neptunia, which released on the PlayStation 3 - though a lot of additional features have been added.
Welcome to Gameindustri
I will admit this was my first foray into a Hyperdimension Neptunia game. But I am confident in stating that this is the perfect jumping on point if you are looking to experience what the series can offer. The story, for those unaware, is a slapstick take on our very own console war. The world of ‘Gameindustri’ is lorded over by four battling Goddesses also known as CPUs each representing a different console brand, in a battle for well… not even they know! page 36
Our bubbly, empty headed main
protagonist is named Neptune (a gentle nod to SEGA’s history) who falls from grace after a fierce clash with the other CPU’s. Now suffering from amnesia it’s up to you to restore her memory and find out just what the heck is going on. During your journey across Gameindustri you will become acquainted with a whole cast of characters - quite a few will even join your party. All are named either after a game developer, publisher or even a game. Everything within Gameindustri is either a direct reference to our gaming world or a pun of it.
Land Ahoy!
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 may indeed be a remake of the original, but the developers have used their experience on previous titles to create a finely tuned Japanese roleplaying experience. Though it is far from perfect - with a difficulty spike rearing its ugly head in the first boss fight, it’s likely to scupper potentially new players from the outset. It is a curious oversight
but once past it, the game becomes a lot more balanced without the need for much extra grinding in the various dungeons.
You will be able to visit any of these dungeons with a simple click of a button on the overworld map. Each dungeon will unlock in turn from story progression and you can even find hidden ‘Plans’ within a dungeon to unlock further secret dungeons. So the ardent JRPG fan can choose to extend their play time many hours within Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1. It is a shame then, that the dungeon variety is not more expansive, with a set amount of dungeons having been created such as Forest, Desert, Futuristic etc., only reassembled in different combinations.
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But one of the main attractions that Felistella and Compile Heart have given gamers is the ability to tailor the game to how you see fit with the ‘Remake’ system. You will gain access in-game to the various aforementioned ‘Plans’ - be it naturally via the story or finding them within dungeons. Each ‘Plan’ has a set of requirements but allows you to tailor your experience in different ways, from crafting items to making the whole game easier or even tougher if you so choose. It is a novel and welcomed concept, and just one part of Hyperdimension Neptunia’s many mechanics. The multitude of mechanics within the game, though, is both a blessing and a curse. With only the basics thoroughly explained via simple tutorials, most are just glossed over requiring a more rigorous investigation on how they truly work and ultimately benefit you. This is not a problem for ardent Hyperdimension Neptunia fans of course with the various mechanics being slowly added in one form or another to each of the three previous iterations on the PlayStation 3. But for gamers new to this series it may be slightly overwhelming at first glance. One of these great mechanics is the battle system.
Battle mode uses a ‘free-movement combat system’. What that basically entails is turn based attacks between you and the enemy, but you are able to navigate your character within the battle area. Each character in your party has a radius in front of them. Depending on the weapon equipped this can even expand. The goal is to encompass as many enemies as possible within the radius to create maximum damage.
Let’s be clear - if you aren’t a fan of RPGs then this definitely won’t change your persuasion. But if what you are looking for is a meaty JRPG with a lot of laughs and something thematically different than the usual tropes then Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 might just be right up your alley. Review copy of game provided by publisher.
You can also choose to use various special attacks depending on your ‘EXE’ gauge. This gauge fills with consistent battling, and the higher level it reaches the more EXE attacks become available to use within battle. These attacks can inflict massive amounts of damage to all enemies. The CPU characters, such as Neptune can also transform within battle into their ‘Goddess’ form. This transforms you into a more powerful version of yourself with increased health and power. There is also the usual ability to use equipment, along with each character within the party being capable of different abilities such as healing or ranged attacks. The battle mode system is quite comprehensive and can become addictive quickly.
Girl power
Lemme at ‘em!
All gameplay within dungeons takes place from a third person perspective with your controllable character being the currently selected party leader. And if you are sick of seeing the same character model on-screen you can simply switch the party leader. The enemies lurking in the dungeons will freely roam around, and only attack you if you enter their field of view. The stealthy player can sneak up and attack foes from behind. Once contact is made, battle mode will begin.
One of the things that will stand out whilst playing through Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is how femalecentric the game is. Every playable character is female, as are the majority of NPCs. Each of their personalities come across very well, and it’s surprising to see a JRPG with such a ‘happy go lucky’ vibe. And if the vibe isn’t enough to bring a smile to your face some of the gaming-themed jokes are sure to. Littered throughout the story are a multitude of references to games and developers.
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Usually we interview two forum members for the 19th hole, and that should have been the case this time around as well. Sadly, Mont348 has been taken ill and hasn’t had the time to respond. From the OPC users, we wish you a speedy recovery Mont hopefully will see you soon again in the forum helping out in the tech sections!
Our other interviewee is non other than the king of embedded game videos, davum. So let’s see what makes him tick and why he likes posting all those wonderful videos!
davum 1. Where does your username come from? Well, back when I was about 9 years old, I had a friend who had a little sister that was three - she naturally couldn’t talk too well yet. So one day when I was hanging with my mates, she yelled from a car window as loud as she could ‘Davum’. My name is David, and that moment sent my friends into a laughter frenzy. From that day my name was no longer ‘David’ it was ‘davum’ lol. They even helped me set my PS3 PSN up as I had no internet, entering my name as ‘davum’ which I couldn’t and had no idea how to change. So now I’m davum - thanks ‘friends’ :P
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2. What was your first post on these forums (if you can remember!) and how did you find this forum? I have no idea. I think it was posting a thread in March 2013 showing the reveals of ‘Blacklight: Retribution’ and ‘Primal Carnage’ (where is that game actually?). I stalked the forum for a few years if I’m creepily honest :p - and found the forums when Google decided to tell me about them.
3. Briefly describe your gaming history. Oh man, I don’t think you have enough magazine pages for this one! The first console I had a play with was a NES, but I was only 4 - so Mario beat me many times. But my first console I owned was PlayStation 1, which I got just before Crash Bandicoot released - think I was still four. I came down from my bedroom one morning, and my mum and dad surprised me with a PlayStation 1- it wasn’t even Christmas! I guess I’d been a good boy or something :) The only game I had was a demo disc which contained Crash 1. From that day I was a PlayStation man till now. I’ve also owned every console since then (Gameboys, Nintendos, PC, 1st xbox etc) though I’ve never owned a 360 or X1 and don’t plan to. I also spent about 7 years playing World of Warcraft, met my wife-to-be there! 4. What is your favourite game and why? I’d be tempted to say World of Warcraft for obvious reasons, but there is a gorgeous orange Bandicoot that owns my heart. My favourite game is Crash Bandicoot 1. I loved the character Crash and his ‘WOW’ every time he died. I also loved how hard the game was (more so when he’s your first proper game) - I don’t like easy in my games. It took me about four years to finally get the last Gem in Crash Bandicoot 1 and I still feel proud. Now I spend my days replaying, waiting for Sony to announce Crash Bandicoot 4 :(
opc magazine #4ThePlayers
5. What are you currently involved with on the forums? You love to post the latest videos and information concerning upcoming games and DLC - how much time do you spend searching the net for news? I’m involved with nothing really, I just come here to chat to awesome people and spread rumours about utio. o_o Concerning the video posting, I had been searching websites for gaming news trying to learn how to be a game ‘journalist’, as I wanted to find a job that involved games. It never happened, so now I’m just used to searching for these sites and thought to myself ‘People spend ages arguing on the forums about rubbish, and don’t talk about the games often’ so I decided to finally sign up and bring the news. I just like to know people that don’t have much time because of work etc, can come to the forums and find all the news there. I feel helpful. 6. Which future game are you most excited about and why? Crash Bandicoot 4 because see previous answer; Bloodborne has some fantastic enemies, and as you know now I love hard games; The Order:1886 I love Werewolves and Uncharted 4. Can’t get enough of Uncharted - loved every game more and more (Yes 3>2) ;) 7. If you were in charge and could change the forum, what would you do? I would be A LOT stricter about Xbox talk. And bullies would get insta-banned, my ban hammer would be ready. 8. Picture this: You, Envisager and LordRoss have been whisked into the future where aliens have finally invaded our planet. The alien leader wants to make one of you three his personal pet - then proceeds to feed the others to his other pet, that has a taste for human flesh. State your case as to why you would make a good alien pet to save your skin. Oh great. Well I’m 6ft 1 so I can reach the cereal at the top of the cupboard for you Mr Alien. I also have 53 platinums so I must be a dedicated companion. I’m a pretty fast runner so I’d be the best at fetch. And also, you have a very handsome/beautiful face Mr Alien - oh what sharp teeth you have... I’m afraid to ask your gender :P 9. Finally, I invite you to play a round of golf with me. Which real-life person and gaming character would you invite to join us and why? Well for the game character I’ll go with Tommy from the Rugrats Golf Game on PlayStation 1, he sure won me plenty of games. And probably SuperFastZombie, he needs a break after moving all them support threads!
Well thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Interesting that you met your soon-to-be wife on World of Warcraft! From a personal stand point I’m really happy you post all those videos, I use them as my go-to place for information! page 39
Magazine
Understanding Creativity in its true sense June / July 2011 Issue 01
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