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Today’s Homefront: The Revolution developer session was a bit of a surprise today here at geek towers. We all expected Homefront 2, as the Devs from Dambuster Studios also joked about at the start of the session.
What we got, was a more than pleasant surprise. We started seeing what we first thought was another open world dirge fest. What we saw, was a structured area game (including green, yellow and red zones where gameplay takes place as separate maps), that including stunning graphics and effects including weather effects, such as fog and rain that creates puddles that then dry out naturally as the tarmac warms up again and a real day/night cycle (an overly inflated one by the devs to show it off to better effect). To the near end of the presentation showing off the dynamic enemy spawn areas, meaning that no two people doing the same mission will see the same troubles.
It’s this dynamic enemy placement that Digmbot and I most found interesting. The idea that a snipe could be around any corner, or as you walk through a building, a full enemy patrol with an APC may be there to surprise you (or for you to surprise)
They ended the session with a bit of info about the map they were using at EGX this week, which also happened to be the Gamescom map aswell this year, and that they had been pulling player activity info the whole time. Including where people died in the map, how they died and which enemy killed them, including one sniper who accounted for the most players deaths (apart from self inflicted ones). The funniest statistic was how many players had set themselves on fire. Not been set on fire from an enemy as none in that zone had flamethrowers or similar, but had walked through flame (your clothes are flammable) and even those that had misused Molotov cocktails (including one guy who must have dropped one at his own feet at the very start of the zone, which they took great delight in laughing about, I hope that guy wasn’t watching)
This all culminated in a beautiful looking game that I went from not caring about to being determined to play it tomorrow when I’m back at EGX and may even get early next year when it’s out!
Great Job Dambuster Studios!
Homefront: The Revolution is slated for a Spring 2016 release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and STEAM
Day 1 of EGX 2015 kicked off yesterday and while sat this morning with my aches and pains (I’m getting too old for this, I’m sending Cyborg next year), I was sorting through what games I saw there that I wanted to write about first and there was a stand out winner in that regard
Tears of Avia is a turn based tactical RPG with a core focus on build crafting. We want to make a game where the party composition, skills, items and strategy that you design are just as fundamental to the game play as the battle itself. We are coupling this with a dynamic story system that delivers a unique experience each time you play.
It’s Kickstarter started a couple of days ago and, as of writing right now, has 26 days left on it. BUT, it has already been Greenlit on STEAM, so thats a great sign of the games popularity already.
Now, I love a good JRPG, I’m a long term Final Fantasy fan (7, 8, 9 and 10 especially), and Tears of Avia gives me a FF7 vibe off the bat, but it changes things up with a slick RPG combat system, a fresh take on skills and beautiful graphics and effects
The game looks stunning, even the prototype build the team from CooCooSqueaky, the system was slick and it was beautiful to watch other people play the game and get excited about what they were doing.
So, whats the game about? Well, lets head over to the kickstarter page and get the info:
Over 200 years ago a war was waged against the floating city of Avalon lead by the demonic overlord Vylenkine. A powerful mage stood up against his evil forces and cast a spell that would seal the portals to the demonic realms forever. Except… there was a problem. The city froze and crashed along with the love of his life, Avia. For hundreds of years he has been seeking a way to free Avia with little success. That is until you came…
The trailer is gorgeous and tells the story in suitable anime way and the character models and enemies look like they were dragged smoothly from some of the best animes to come out of Japan
In fact, if this story isn’t picked up by Manga, they are missing a trick
Tears of Avia is set for a Jun 2017 release so far, with kickstarter backers at certain levels getting beta access (£30 or more pledge) and lots of other perks
I hope you’ve got some time on your hand Destiny fans, because this video is packed full of some 55 minutes dedicated to nothing but unveiling what’s ahead for Year Two of Destiny and it’s The Taken King update.
Bungie has been kind of cagey when it comes to giving details about their future plans for Destiny, but now it’s all going to come pouring out. Grab some popcorn, or hell, run some dailies, and check out everything you want to know about Destiny Year Two.
So here it is, let us know what you think in the comments below!
It’s been 17 years since the release of Baldur’s Gate, which, of course, makes this the perfect time for an expansion pack.
Last night, the folks at Beamdog—best known for releasing Enhanced Editions of the two Baldur’s Gate games—announced Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, a new entry in the series that’s set place between BG1 and BG2. Siege of Dragonspear will run on the Infinity Engine, they say, and it’ll tell a new story after the death of Sarevok but before the rise of Irenicus.
In case you’re not familiar: the Baldur’s Gate games are top-down isometric RPGs that follow strict D&D rules and let you pause during combat. They’ve held up really well today, especially BG2, which remains one of the greatest games ever made.
And now we’re getting a new one, developed by some ex-BioWare folks who have spent the past few years porting and enhancing those old Infinity Engine games. Says Beamdog:
The events between Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition are at last revealed in this exciting new expansion to the original game.
Though Sarevok is dead and his plan for war averted, peace eludes the citizens of Baldur’s Gate. A crusade marches in the north, seizing supplies, forcing locals into military service, and disrupting trade along the Sword Coast. A charismatic warrior known as the Shining Lady leads this army, her background shrouded in mystery. Can the rumors be true—is she, like you, the child of a god?
The closer you get to the Shining Lady, the more you realize your father, the dead Lord of Murder still casts a long shadow upon your path. Baldur’s Gate has put its faith in you, but you must determine whose interests you truly serve before you face the Shining Lady among the ruins of Dragonspear Castle…
Isometric RPGs sure are making a comeback, huh? There’s no firm release date yet, but the folks at Beamdog say Dragonspear will be out relatively soon for PC/Mac/Linux and then later this year for iOS/Android too. Hopefully it will be a worthy addition to the franchise.
