Written By Kom Limpulnam on Jumat, 31 Januari 2014 | 11.52
Ahead of an investor relations meeting happening later today, Zynga announced that it would be laying off over 300 employees.
Current CEO Don Mattrick (who took over the position last year after departing from Microsoft) cited a "need to create a more efficient organization." Mattrick wrote on the official Zynga blog, "When we reviewed the support areas and looked at what was an appropriate size to have agile, dedicated teams, we decided to redeploy and right size against our best opportunities for growth." And to achieve that, Zynga is implementing a 15% reduction in staff and costs that will affect 314 employees.
It's little consolation to the affected, but Mattrick wrote, "We don't take these decisions lightly but we believe these actions will allow us to create a clearer, faster path to win...We are saying goodbye to good people and I want to thank them for all of their contributions to Zynga. We wish our friends and colleagues well and know that they will all have future successes."
In the same statement, Mattrick wrote that the company had "signed an agreement to acquire NaturalMotion," an Oxford-based mobile developer. Zynga is purchasing the company for $527 million in cash and equity. NaturalMotion is perhaps best known for its mobile racing game CSR Racing.
Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 29 Januari 2014 | 11.52
Gamespot's Site MashupRust Early Access ReviewInsurgency ReviewBeat Blasters III - Teaser Trailer
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Tue, 28 Jan 2014 20:34:09 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rust-early-access-review/1100-6417381/ <table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><em>GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's</em><em> p</em><em>ublication.<br /></em></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="">Some games succeed by presenting immaculately crafted worlds full of beautiful artistry and refined gameplay systems, while others excel for reasons far more ambiguous. At the latter end of that spectrum lies Rust, a multiplayer survival game from the creator of <a href="/garrys-mod/" data-ref-id="false">Garry's Mod</a>. In its current state, Rust is very much an alpha: crude, rough around the edges, and littered with bugs in serious need of fixing. But it also happens to be a wildly entertaining sandbox full of emergent gameplay and unpredictable player interactions. Rust is more framework than finished product right now, but it's absolutely brimming with potential.</p><p style="">The world of Rust is an unforgiving one with no clear goal other than survival. Threats to your existence come in the form of wild animals, zombies, and--scariest of all--other players. But the most immediate danger when you first begin is hunger. Armed with little more than a rock, you'll likely find yourself chasing deer and wild boar across rolling valleys and dense forests in a desperate quest to fill your stomach. But use that rock to smash at trees and large boulders, and you can craft yourself a stone hatchet, making the task of hunting far more manageable (not to mention elegant).</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416850" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416850/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Indeed, crafting is a big focus in Rust, and something that plays a very large role in the game's potential for open-ended entertainment. By collecting wood and smelting ore, you can construct everything from a basic shed to a sprawling compound fortified with spikes and watchtowers. These buildings are highly modular, allowing you to build a window here and a stairway there in order to create something that suits your own personal needs. You can also craft weapons and armor: bows to hunt wild animals, guns to hunt enemy players, or hazmat gear to venture into irradiated towns where you might luck into finding preassembled items.</p><p style="">It's a robust system, but it's also clumsy and in need of refinement. Boulders and woodpiles are the most efficient places to gather resources, but they're snatched up like precious diamonds in any server with a remotely decent player population and take ages to respawn once they've been claimed. You can spend hours wandering through the game's sprawling map and return to your base with hardly anything to show for it. Beyond that, resource gathering is riddled with little oddities (like the way you gather cloth and chicken meat from a dead bear), and the inventory system is clunky at best.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2426783-vlcsnap-2014-01-29-14h07m41s43.png" data-ref-id="1300-2426783" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2426783-vlcsnap-2014-01-29-14h07m41s43.png" data-ref-id="1300-2426783"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/642/6422750/2426783-vlcsnap-2014-01-29-14h07m41s43.png"></a><figcaption>You never know what sort of characters you'll encounter in Rust.</figcaption></figure><p style="">But with any luck, those issues will be ironed out in future patches, because what's in place right now has the potential to be a truly special open-world adventure. At any given moment in Rust, you might wander into a player-run trading outpost, get taken hostage by an outfit of roaming bandits, or happen upon an impromptu dance party with one player blasting techno through in-game voice chat while the others leap frantically about. It's a co-op architecture simulator where you can work with friends to design a mighty base for your clan, or the cruelest of shooters where you can taunt unarmed newcomers by firing potshots in the terrifying pitch black of night. For a game with no narrative, it's capable of generating one wonderful and bizarre story after the next.</p><p style="">Yes, there's still a lot of room left to improve. Guns carry all the impact of a wet towel, and character animations bear a strong resemblance to an infant taking its first steps. But the development team at Facepunch Studios has already implemented substantial improvements since Rust went on sale last month, including the recent addition of door sharing, which makes communal bases even more viable (previously, doors could be opened only by the player who built them), as well as technical improvements, such as improved grass effects and reduced strain on servers full of player-made buildings.</p><p style="">At $20, Rust requires a real willingness to forgive its technical shortcomings in order to experience the emergent gameplay that makes it such a promising entry in the survival genre. But it's a game that continues to improve with each passing update, and the potential that lies beneath those flaws becomes even easier to see. Whether or not you choose to buy it now, Rust is certainly a game to keep an eye on.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's There?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>A sprawling, open-world map with servers topping out at 100 to 200 players. A crafting system offers a wealth of emergent gameplay, while the ability to choose PvP or non-PvP lets you ease your way into the building systems. </strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's to Come?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>Player model customization, expanded defensive items for player homes, expanded in-game soundtrack, and replacing zombies with more realistic enemy types. (See <a href="http://playrust.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">official blog</a> for more.)</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What Does it Cost?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>$19.99, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/252490/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available via Steam</a>.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>When Will it be Finished?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>There is no official release estimate, and the developer's Steam listing states "we are in very early development." </strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's the Verdict?</strong></p></td><td><p style=""><em><strong>Rust's flaws are abundant, but it's still a vibrant canvas for experiencing memorable stories. Nevertheless, it requires great patience in its current form</strong></em></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 18:41:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rust-early-access-review/1100-6417381/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/insurgency-review/1900-6415649/ <p style=""><i>Another</i> military online shooter? Don't groan and roll your eyes just yet. Despite being a stand-alone update on a seven-year-old <a href="/half-life-2/" data-ref-id="false">Half-Life 2</a> mod, Insurgency's freshness runs deeper than its familiar urban warfare settings and "good guys vs. the terrorist infidels" trappings might suggest. This first-person multiplayer killfest pushes cooperative team play in interesting directions, using hyperrealism and a unique team role structure to drive its frenetic team-based firefights. Granted, it's not the slickest-looking shooter, but the dated look of these battlefields melts away as the intense tactical encounters heat up.</p><p style="">Like being shot in real life, it takes only a bullet or two to end your life in Insurgency. This makes getting dropped as you sneak out from cover or dart across an alleyway a jarring experience. Without any sort of map or radar system beyond your current objectives, you never know when you'll be caught in the crosshairs, or whether those bullets will come from the enemy or a trigger-happy comrade who mistook you for one. That alone doesn't make Insurgency's 16-on-16 team matches particularly unique, but the way this welcome realism extends throughout and enhances other aspects of its design certainly does.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426593-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426593" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426593-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426593"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2426593-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>When there's smoke, fire is not far behind</figcaption></figure><p style="">Minimal use of HUD elements enhances the excellent tension threaded throughout each match and makes it easier to get sucked into the flow of battle. There's no health meter. No crosshairs for aiming other than your equipped scope or iron sights. No frilly nonsense clogging up the screen. No hand-holding. Resurgence forces you to pay close attention to what's happening around you. Without scouting, proceeding cautiously, and gauging the proximity and direction of nearby gunshots, you're pretty much guaranteed to wind up as toast. The exciting sense of danger this instills is tangible as you move through each map's tangled network of choke points and open areas.</p><p style="">Direct shootouts are a thrill in their own right when you've got a large mass of opposing squad members pressure-cooking an objective zone or a pinned-down group working together to escape alive. Outside of these heavyweight encounters, it's rare that you get to see your attacker until it's too late--at least when you set off on your own. By the time you hear the pow-pow-pow of gunfire and catch a quick flash in your peripheral field of view, you're on the ground bleeding out. Racking up kills requires great skill, and thoughtful teamwork often plays a critical role in how long you stay alive.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p style="">This first-person multiplayer killfest pushes cooperative team play in interesting directions.</p></blockquote><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426594-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426594" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426594-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426594"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2426594-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption> "Do you think we're overdressed?"</figcaption></figure><p style="">Insurgency's cool squad system is well designed to nudge you toward team cohesion without making it mandatory. You can go lone wolf and try to tackle objectives on your own, but working with your comrades is a far easier way to stay alive and push your squad across the victory line. It's also a lot more fun way to play that way, too. From the many numerous matches I dove into, I found that the online player community is far more engaged and communicative about combat tactics than in some other similar-themed shooters.</p><p style="">Plenty of classes offer distinct loadouts and roles to choose, ranging from assault and heavy support forces to snipers and demolitionists. The twist here is that there are a limited number of slots on a given squad for each class, and everything is on a first-come, first-served basis. You can use limited supply points to customize your class loadout with a few different guns, weapon upgrades, and secondary gear, but these upgrades stick within the wheelhouse of each class type.</p><p style="">Team makeup specifics change depending on the map you're playing and the side you're on, but everyone has a role to play. For example, you might find yourself to be one of the only two snipers in your group or a soldier who has smoke grenades or a particular type of explosive needed to complete a mission. This encourages each team member to step in line or face the wrath of your squadmates. It's not just about playing your part, though; your team can't persevere if everyone is dead.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426603-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426603" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426603-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426603"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2426603-0005.jpg"></a><figcaption>Sneaky tactics are encouraged.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Most of Insurgency's game modes use permadeath as incentive to play super strategically and minimize the run-and-gun mentality of other shooters. In tactical operations, like Firefight and Search & Destroy, dying once kicks you into a spectator slot. You're stuck on the sidelines until your squad captures an objective zone, which allows you and your dead comrades to respawn as reinforcements. It's another neat wrinkle--one that makes matches feel fresh and entertaining but can also bog down the fun when you're just itching to shoot things. Sustained combat matches, like Skirmish, Strike, and Push, loosen the reins on this mechanic a bit, giving you more ways to earn reinforcements and stay in the action. Not every game mode is readily available on a consistent basis, however, if only because there are not a lot of players gravitating toward certain matches. VIP escort missions and the cooperative humans vs. swarms of AI mode are hard to hop into as a result.</p><blockquote data-size="small" data-align="left"><p style="">Insurgency's cool squad system is well designed to nudge you toward team cohesion without making it mandatory.</p></blockquote><p style="">A dozen different Middle Eastern map locales let you fight it out everywhere, from abandoned cities with tight alleyways and lots of structures to open forested mountaintops and snowy villages. Each area is well designed and full of nooks and crannies to use to your tactical advantage, and a handful of nighttime maps also add some nice variety. While the scenery and characters get the job done, they're nowhere as crisp, detailed, or stylized as those in other recent shooters. It can be an initial turnoff if you're used to more visually appealing offerings on the PC, but delving beneath the surface reveals Insurgency's strong team-driven focus and realistic gameplay to be the real gems here.</p><p style="">Intense tactical encounters filled with firefights and flying bodies prove thrilling enough to make it easy to look beyond Insurgency's less impressive visual design. The team dynamic and unique squad system inject something different into the mix too, offering match after match of absorbing cooperative killing that proves good looks aren't everything.</p> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 17:17:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/insurgency-review/1900-6415649/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/beat-blasters-iii-teaser-trailer/2300-6416992/ Take your first look at Beat Blasters III. Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:10:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/beat-blasters-iii-teaser-trailer/2300-6416992/
Gamespot's Site MashupRust Early Access ReviewInsurgency ReviewBeat Blasters III - Teaser Trailer
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Tue, 28 Jan 2014 20:34:09 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rust-early-access-review/1100-6417381/ <table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><em>GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's</em><em> p</em><em>ublication.<br /></em></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="">Some games succeed by presenting immaculately crafted worlds full of beautiful artistry and refined gameplay systems, while others excel for reasons far more ambiguous. At the latter end of that spectrum lies Rust, a multiplayer survival game from the creator of <a href="/garrys-mod/" data-ref-id="false">Garry's Mod</a>. In its current state, Rust is very much an alpha: crude, rough around the edges, and littered with bugs in serious need of fixing. But it also happens to be a wildly entertaining sandbox full of emergent gameplay and unpredictable player interactions. Rust is more framework than finished product right now, but it's absolutely brimming with potential.</p><p style="">The world of Rust is an unforgiving one with no clear goal other than survival. Threats to your existence come in the form of wild animals, zombies, and--scariest of all--other players. But the most immediate danger when you first begin is hunger. Armed with little more than a rock, you'll likely find yourself chasing deer and wild boar across rolling valleys and dense forests in a desperate quest to fill your stomach. But use that rock to smash at trees and large boulders, and you can craft yourself a stone hatchet, making the task of hunting far more manageable (not to mention elegant).</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416850" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416850/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Indeed, crafting is a big focus in Rust, and something that plays a very large role in the game's potential for open-ended entertainment. By collecting wood and smelting ore, you can construct everything from a basic shed to a sprawling compound fortified with spikes and watchtowers. These buildings are highly modular, allowing you to build a window here and a stairway there in order to create something that suits your own personal needs. You can also craft weapons and armor: bows to hunt wild animals, guns to hunt enemy players, or hazmat gear to venture into irradiated towns where you might luck into finding preassembled items.</p><p style="">It's a robust system, but it's also clumsy and in need of refinement. Boulders and woodpiles are the most efficient places to gather resources, but they're snatched up like precious diamonds in any server with a remotely decent player population and take ages to respawn once they've been claimed. You can spend hours wandering through the game's sprawling map and return to your base with hardly anything to show for it. Beyond that, resource gathering is riddled with little oddities (like the way you gather cloth and chicken meat from a dead bear), and the inventory system is clunky at best.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2426783-vlcsnap-2014-01-29-14h07m41s43.png" data-ref-id="1300-2426783" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2426783-vlcsnap-2014-01-29-14h07m41s43.png" data-ref-id="1300-2426783"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/642/6422750/2426783-vlcsnap-2014-01-29-14h07m41s43.png"></a><figcaption>You never know what sort of characters you'll encounter in Rust.</figcaption></figure><p style="">But with any luck, those issues will be ironed out in future patches, because what's in place right now has the potential to be a truly special open-world adventure. At any given moment in Rust, you might wander into a player-run trading outpost, get taken hostage by an outfit of roaming bandits, or happen upon an impromptu dance party with one player blasting techno through in-game voice chat while the others leap frantically about. It's a co-op architecture simulator where you can work with friends to design a mighty base for your clan, or the cruelest of shooters where you can taunt unarmed newcomers by firing potshots in the terrifying pitch black of night. For a game with no narrative, it's capable of generating one wonderful and bizarre story after the next.</p><p style="">Yes, there's still a lot of room left to improve. Guns carry all the impact of a wet towel, and character animations bear a strong resemblance to an infant taking its first steps. But the development team at Facepunch Studios has already implemented substantial improvements since Rust went on sale last month, including the recent addition of door sharing, which makes communal bases even more viable (previously, doors could be opened only by the player who built them), as well as technical improvements, such as improved grass effects and reduced strain on servers full of player-made buildings.</p><p style="">At $20, Rust requires a real willingness to forgive its technical shortcomings in order to experience the emergent gameplay that makes it such a promising entry in the survival genre. But it's a game that continues to improve with each passing update, and the potential that lies beneath those flaws becomes even easier to see. Whether or not you choose to buy it now, Rust is certainly a game to keep an eye on.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's There?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>A sprawling, open-world map with servers topping out at 100 to 200 players. A crafting system offers a wealth of emergent gameplay, while the ability to choose PvP or non-PvP lets you ease your way into the building systems. </strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's to Come?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>Player model customization, expanded defensive items for player homes, expanded in-game soundtrack, and replacing zombies with more realistic enemy types. (See <a href="http://playrust.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">official blog</a> for more.)</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What Does it Cost?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>$19.99, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/252490/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available via Steam</a>.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>When Will it be Finished?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>There is no official release estimate, and the developer's Steam listing states "we are in very early development." </strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's the Verdict?</strong></p></td><td><p style=""><em><strong>Rust's flaws are abundant, but it's still a vibrant canvas for experiencing memorable stories. Nevertheless, it requires great patience in its current form</strong></em></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 18:41:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rust-early-access-review/1100-6417381/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/insurgency-review/1900-6415649/ <p style=""><i>Another</i> military online shooter? Don't groan and roll your eyes just yet. Despite being a stand-alone update on a seven-year-old <a href="/half-life-2/" data-ref-id="false">Half-Life 2</a> mod, Insurgency's freshness runs deeper than its familiar urban warfare settings and "good guys vs. the terrorist infidels" trappings might suggest. This first-person multiplayer killfest pushes cooperative team play in interesting directions, using hyperrealism and a unique team role structure to drive its frenetic team-based firefights. Granted, it's not the slickest-looking shooter, but the dated look of these battlefields melts away as the intense tactical encounters heat up.</p><p style="">Like being shot in real life, it takes only a bullet or two to end your life in Insurgency. This makes getting dropped as you sneak out from cover or dart across an alleyway a jarring experience. Without any sort of map or radar system beyond your current objectives, you never know when you'll be caught in the crosshairs, or whether those bullets will come from the enemy or a trigger-happy comrade who mistook you for one. That alone doesn't make Insurgency's 16-on-16 team matches particularly unique, but the way this welcome realism extends throughout and enhances other aspects of its design certainly does.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426593-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426593" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426593-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426593"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2426593-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>When there's smoke, fire is not far behind</figcaption></figure><p style="">Minimal use of HUD elements enhances the excellent tension threaded throughout each match and makes it easier to get sucked into the flow of battle. There's no health meter. No crosshairs for aiming other than your equipped scope or iron sights. No frilly nonsense clogging up the screen. No hand-holding. Resurgence forces you to pay close attention to what's happening around you. Without scouting, proceeding cautiously, and gauging the proximity and direction of nearby gunshots, you're pretty much guaranteed to wind up as toast. The exciting sense of danger this instills is tangible as you move through each map's tangled network of choke points and open areas.</p><p style="">Direct shootouts are a thrill in their own right when you've got a large mass of opposing squad members pressure-cooking an objective zone or a pinned-down group working together to escape alive. Outside of these heavyweight encounters, it's rare that you get to see your attacker until it's too late--at least when you set off on your own. By the time you hear the pow-pow-pow of gunfire and catch a quick flash in your peripheral field of view, you're on the ground bleeding out. Racking up kills requires great skill, and thoughtful teamwork often plays a critical role in how long you stay alive.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p style="">This first-person multiplayer killfest pushes cooperative team play in interesting directions.</p></blockquote><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426594-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426594" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426594-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426594"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2426594-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption> "Do you think we're overdressed?"</figcaption></figure><p style="">Insurgency's cool squad system is well designed to nudge you toward team cohesion without making it mandatory. You can go lone wolf and try to tackle objectives on your own, but working with your comrades is a far easier way to stay alive and push your squad across the victory line. It's also a lot more fun way to play that way, too. From the many numerous matches I dove into, I found that the online player community is far more engaged and communicative about combat tactics than in some other similar-themed shooters.</p><p style="">Plenty of classes offer distinct loadouts and roles to choose, ranging from assault and heavy support forces to snipers and demolitionists. The twist here is that there are a limited number of slots on a given squad for each class, and everything is on a first-come, first-served basis. You can use limited supply points to customize your class loadout with a few different guns, weapon upgrades, and secondary gear, but these upgrades stick within the wheelhouse of each class type.</p><p style="">Team makeup specifics change depending on the map you're playing and the side you're on, but everyone has a role to play. For example, you might find yourself to be one of the only two snipers in your group or a soldier who has smoke grenades or a particular type of explosive needed to complete a mission. This encourages each team member to step in line or face the wrath of your squadmates. It's not just about playing your part, though; your team can't persevere if everyone is dead.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426603-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426603" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2426603-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2426603"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2426603-0005.jpg"></a><figcaption>Sneaky tactics are encouraged.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Most of Insurgency's game modes use permadeath as incentive to play super strategically and minimize the run-and-gun mentality of other shooters. In tactical operations, like Firefight and Search & Destroy, dying once kicks you into a spectator slot. You're stuck on the sidelines until your squad captures an objective zone, which allows you and your dead comrades to respawn as reinforcements. It's another neat wrinkle--one that makes matches feel fresh and entertaining but can also bog down the fun when you're just itching to shoot things. Sustained combat matches, like Skirmish, Strike, and Push, loosen the reins on this mechanic a bit, giving you more ways to earn reinforcements and stay in the action. Not every game mode is readily available on a consistent basis, however, if only because there are not a lot of players gravitating toward certain matches. VIP escort missions and the cooperative humans vs. swarms of AI mode are hard to hop into as a result.</p><blockquote data-size="small" data-align="left"><p style="">Insurgency's cool squad system is well designed to nudge you toward team cohesion without making it mandatory.</p></blockquote><p style="">A dozen different Middle Eastern map locales let you fight it out everywhere, from abandoned cities with tight alleyways and lots of structures to open forested mountaintops and snowy villages. Each area is well designed and full of nooks and crannies to use to your tactical advantage, and a handful of nighttime maps also add some nice variety. While the scenery and characters get the job done, they're nowhere as crisp, detailed, or stylized as those in other recent shooters. It can be an initial turnoff if you're used to more visually appealing offerings on the PC, but delving beneath the surface reveals Insurgency's strong team-driven focus and realistic gameplay to be the real gems here.</p><p style="">Intense tactical encounters filled with firefights and flying bodies prove thrilling enough to make it easy to look beyond Insurgency's less impressive visual design. The team dynamic and unique squad system inject something different into the mix too, offering match after match of absorbing cooperative killing that proves good looks aren't everything.</p> Tue, 28 Jan 2014 17:17:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/insurgency-review/1900-6415649/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/beat-blasters-iii-teaser-trailer/2300-6416992/ Take your first look at Beat Blasters III. Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:10:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/beat-blasters-iii-teaser-trailer/2300-6416992/
If you want to see some new Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer maps and both of the new forms of the Maverick weapon, you'll need to tune in to the GameSpot livestream this Friday January 31 at 12:30 PST.
Broadcasting live from Infinity Ward, GameSpot will team up with Call of Duty developers to help you get prepared for the upcoming Double XP weekend. We'll start off by playing through some multiplayer then we'll wrap up by showing off the first in a four-part episodic narrative for the DLC, Episode 1: Nightfall.
Stay tuned to the GameSpot Twitter and our Facebook page and use the hashtag #onslaught to learn how you can get involved!
Written By Kom Limpulnam on Senin, 27 Januari 2014 | 11.52
Gamespot's Site Mashup'A new kind of FPS' Strike Vector hits Steam Jan. 28Playing Europa Universalis IV on the Steam MachineMight & Magic X: Legacy
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 26 Jan 2014 20:36:22 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-kind-of-fps-strike-vector-hits-steam-jan-28/1100-6417352/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425521-3978341727-scree.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425521" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425521-3978341727-scree.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425521"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2425521-3978341727-scree.png"></a></figure><p style="">Independent developer Ragequit Corporation will release its multiplayer aerial shooter Strike Vector on Steam Jan. 28. </p><p style="">While <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/246700?beta=0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Strike Vector's Steam page</a> doesn't show a price for the game at this time, <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-01-21-dogfighting-multiplayer-epic-strike-vector-launches-next-week-on-steam" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="2014-01">Eurogamer</a> previously reported that it will sell for $25. </p><p style="">The small team of nine developers worked on Strike Vector for 15 months, which is quite a feat given how beautiful the game looks. </p><p style="">Though Strike Vector can be played from a first or third-person perspective, Ragequit describes it as "a new kind of fast FPS which takes place in the sky in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world. In the pure tradition of the sacred monsters of hardcore FPS such as <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/quake-iii-arena-review/1900-2532553/" data-ref-id="1900-2532553">Quake 3</a>, Strike Vector will offer you a massive challenge." </p><p style="">Each player pilots a VTOL, which has a high speed Jet Mode, and a Stationary Mode, allowing you to strafe in all direction and take more precise shots. The game will feature eight unique weapons and specialization perks, and eight arenas.</p><p style="">Ragequit promises that all future content for Strike Vector will be provided for free.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416642" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416642/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Sun, 26 Jan 2014 16:59:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-kind-of-fps-strike-vector-hits-steam-jan-28/1100-6417352/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playing-europa-universalis-iv-on-the-steam-machine/2300-6416959/ Shaun McInnis sits down with Shams Jorjani of Paradox Interactive to take a look at their grand strategy game, Europa Universalis IV, running on the Steam Machine and discusses the future of the platform. Sun, 26 Jan 2014 14:43:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playing-europa-universalis-iv-on-the-steam-machine/2300-6416959/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/ <p style="">You need to have the nostalgia gene to fully appreciate Might & Magic X: Legacy. I do, especially when it comes to role-playing games, so I did. But this is one of those "genre within a genre" retro affairs that self-consciously turns its back on modern conventions and embraces what us old folks were stuck with back in that antediluvian era known as the 1990s. Limbic Entertainment has created an old-fashioned RPG epic that might well have landed on some "best of" lists at the end of 1996. If you're the sort of person who fondly remembers a time before the Might & Magic name meant nothing but turn-based fantasy strategy, this game is for you.</p><p style="">Noting that M&MXL is not for everyone isn't necessarily an insult, either. On the contrary, it's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans. Everything about this game can be traced back to first-person party-based RPGs from the 1990s, like the original M&M games, the Wizardry series, and even the Eye of the Beholder D&D line. The campaign setting of Ashan is all new for this franchise, however, having been ported over from Might & Magic Heroes right down to the goofy winged helmets. Oddly enough, this approach actually makes M&MXL more of a traditional fantasy game than its forebears, as the original M&M role-players blended spaceships in with their swords and sorcery. Still, the general objective seems to have been to create a new game that picks up right where this style of RPG left off about 15 years ago.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The M&MXL bestiary includes the usual roster of fantasy monsters and mythological creatures, like this manticore, which almost looks like a cute puppy dog about to tear your throat out at this angle.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And that mission has been accomplished. Well, mostly. Several core components of the game are well done. There is a fair amount of choice when it comes to character creation, with four races and 12 classes (three per race) spread along the might and magic spectrums. Don't expect anything more revolutionary than the likes of dwarven defenders, human freemages, elven bladedancers, and orc barbarians in the beginning, but you have a lot of freedom to specialize once your party starts leveling up and you begin doling out points between attribute stats and skills. You can specialize in everything from maces and bows to a whopping seven schools of magic, allowing for the custom-crafting of almost any sort of heroic adventurer that you can dream up. The sheer amount of liberty even allows for some evolution during gameplay. I started off with an elven ranger who I thought would be good in ranged combat, but I eventually realized that she worked better as a second spellcaster who specialized in healing. A few levels later, and I had an impressive cleric wannabe curing poison and dishing out restoration incantations when she wasn't offing foes with her bow and arrow.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="large"><p style="">It's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans.</p></blockquote><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure. First, you need to take care of business by buying food. Without it, you're not allowed to rest, which soon causes your party to grow tired and drop ability scores. You also need to rest to regain health and mana, because neither regenerates on its own over time. Not much of this is spelled out, and the tooltips offered up at the start of the game don't do much to explain the basics. All becomes clear if you're patient, though, or if you remember doing this stuff many years ago. Nevertheless, the game could use more hand-holding in the beginning.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Battles in M&MXL are spectacularly hard and unforgiving. It took three hours to beat these guys. Well, not really, but it felt that long.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Like most RPGs released when grunge was still a thing, M&MXL features a first-person camera and grid-based movement where you move one step at a time. This system works relatively smoothly. Yes, you're stuck with an odd perspective that forces you to view the world as if the party were crammed into a car and looking out through the windshield, and the entire four-person party has to trudge as one through dungeons and forests, like a tank bristling with battle-axes and magic wands. But you soon get used to navigating in such a restricted fashion.</p><p style="">Movement has even been improved from the days of yore. M&MXL features turn-based combat, so you can't gimmick the system. Back in the day, it was common to cheat through real-time battles with tricks like the Eye of the Beholder Two Step, where you would zip forward to hit a monster and then immediately retreat before it could hit you back. Here, you're locked into battle once an enemy closes and the fight begins. So instead of dipsy-doodling back and forth, you're stuck going toe-to-toe with the bad guys. This results in some grueling combat, since you have virtually no range of motion once melee combat has started and no ability at all to choose the better part of valor and run away.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="left"><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure.</p></blockquote><p style="">In some ways, the game goes too far. Not only does it take away the exploits common to first-person RPGs in the '90s, but it hammers away at you relentlessly (even at the lower "adventurer" setting). Combat is unforgiving right from the opening tutorial quest to clean spiders out of an underground lair. Monsters flank and surround you in almost every other fight, frequently spawning in out of nowhere to your rear. Just when you've got your hands full with that minotaur in your face, along come two more to hassle you from behind. Most monsters also have devastating special abilities. Almost every enemy has the ability to stun you, poison you, enfeeble you, petrify you, hit you with extra attacks, and more. Wolves and goblins can insta-kill party members if they get lucky. I don't recall an easy battle in the entire campaign. That sounds sort of fun and intense, but really, I could have done without titanic half-hour struggles to best the likes of two goblins, a couple of cavemen, and a pack of panthers.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Balance can be an issue in spots. You can easily run into enemies that will slice you to ribbons for not being at a high-enough level, like these nasty spectres.</figcaption></figure><p style="">M&MXL isn't impossibly hard, but the punishing difficulty can lead to tedium. You can (eventually) beat any monster, group of monsters, or even the game's collection of brutally tough bosses by thinking about what you're doing when it comes to strategizing and spellcasting. The extreme challenge is a natural fit for a revamped classic, but that doesn't make the occasional bitter pill of a battle easier to swallow. When actually playing the game, I was too busy cursing out the nagas or spiders gooning me from all sides to appreciate the retro character of the battle difficulty.</p><p style="">How dated M&MXL is in other areas is harder to appreciate. The story isn't particularly well developed. The opening preamble is about as exciting as listening to someone recite a tax return, and there isn't much of a tale told during the game itself. Your party consists of a bunch of heroes, oddly called "raiders," who are out to do good things for the human empire in a time of unrest. There isn't much role-playing to be had here; the game is a dry tactical affair where combat is the first order of the day, followed up by the odd puzzle.</p><p style="">Monster stock is limited. Areas and dungeons are populated by just a few specific types of creatures or human thugs, and the pace can drag because fighting the same fight over and over again. Loot isn't varied or particularly imaginative, either when it's dropped or when you check out what's available in shops. It gets better as you go, but there isn't a lot of memorable "gotta have it" gear. As a result, you can go for hours with few serious upgrades of weapons and armor. How items are doled out is also strange. Monsters don't tend to drop much when they're slain, but chests loaded with goodies and gold are strewn all over the wilderness like some kind of medieval take on geocaching.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Minotaurs aren't too hellish in a labyrinth, but you don't want to be surrounded by three or four of them in a forest.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The throwback production values are as traditional as the adventure itself, though these elements have not aged all that tastefully. Animations can be choppy, especially in forests, and slowdown is a common occurrence in the wilderness and when there are multiple lighting effects on the screen at the same time. Sound is also sparse, with what seems like a handful of weapon and monster effects. Hero battle boasts like the orc warrior's "I kill you!" are repeated constantly. Even worse, your heroes shout their cries of sadness about being knocked out or killed a few seconds before the blow is actually delivered, so you get advance warning when somebody is about to be taken down. This makes battles a teensy bit anticlimactic.</p><p style="">Might & Magic X: Legacy is a somewhat successful trip back in time to an era when RPGs were both simpler and more complicated than they are today, and a lot more demanding of players when it came to combat. If nostalgia drives you to visit this particular kingdom, you'll not likely regret the time spend there. If your good old days weren't brimming with games of this nature, it's more difficult to appreciate the take-no-prisoners challenge and overlook the limitations.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/
Gamespot's Site Mashup'A new kind of FPS' Strike Vector hits Steam Jan. 28Playing Europa Universalis IV on the Steam MachineMight & Magic X: Legacy
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 26 Jan 2014 20:36:22 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-kind-of-fps-strike-vector-hits-steam-jan-28/1100-6417352/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425521-3978341727-scree.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425521" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425521-3978341727-scree.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425521"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2425521-3978341727-scree.png"></a></figure><p style="">Independent developer Ragequit Corporation will release its multiplayer aerial shooter Strike Vector on Steam Jan. 28. </p><p style="">While <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/246700?beta=0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Strike Vector's Steam page</a> doesn't show a price for the game at this time, <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-01-21-dogfighting-multiplayer-epic-strike-vector-launches-next-week-on-steam" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="2014-01">Eurogamer</a> previously reported that it will sell for $25. </p><p style="">The small team of nine developers worked on Strike Vector for 15 months, which is quite a feat given how beautiful the game looks. </p><p style="">Though Strike Vector can be played from a first or third-person perspective, Ragequit describes it as "a new kind of fast FPS which takes place in the sky in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world. In the pure tradition of the sacred monsters of hardcore FPS such as <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/quake-iii-arena-review/1900-2532553/" data-ref-id="1900-2532553">Quake 3</a>, Strike Vector will offer you a massive challenge." </p><p style="">Each player pilots a VTOL, which has a high speed Jet Mode, and a Stationary Mode, allowing you to strafe in all direction and take more precise shots. The game will feature eight unique weapons and specialization perks, and eight arenas.</p><p style="">Ragequit promises that all future content for Strike Vector will be provided for free.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416642" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416642/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Sun, 26 Jan 2014 16:59:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-kind-of-fps-strike-vector-hits-steam-jan-28/1100-6417352/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playing-europa-universalis-iv-on-the-steam-machine/2300-6416959/ Shaun McInnis sits down with Shams Jorjani of Paradox Interactive to take a look at their grand strategy game, Europa Universalis IV, running on the Steam Machine and discusses the future of the platform. Sun, 26 Jan 2014 14:43:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playing-europa-universalis-iv-on-the-steam-machine/2300-6416959/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/ <p style="">You need to have the nostalgia gene to fully appreciate Might & Magic X: Legacy. I do, especially when it comes to role-playing games, so I did. But this is one of those "genre within a genre" retro affairs that self-consciously turns its back on modern conventions and embraces what us old folks were stuck with back in that antediluvian era known as the 1990s. Limbic Entertainment has created an old-fashioned RPG epic that might well have landed on some "best of" lists at the end of 1996. If you're the sort of person who fondly remembers a time before the Might & Magic name meant nothing but turn-based fantasy strategy, this game is for you.</p><p style="">Noting that M&MXL is not for everyone isn't necessarily an insult, either. On the contrary, it's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans. Everything about this game can be traced back to first-person party-based RPGs from the 1990s, like the original M&M games, the Wizardry series, and even the Eye of the Beholder D&D line. The campaign setting of Ashan is all new for this franchise, however, having been ported over from Might & Magic Heroes right down to the goofy winged helmets. Oddly enough, this approach actually makes M&MXL more of a traditional fantasy game than its forebears, as the original M&M role-players blended spaceships in with their swords and sorcery. Still, the general objective seems to have been to create a new game that picks up right where this style of RPG left off about 15 years ago.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The M&MXL bestiary includes the usual roster of fantasy monsters and mythological creatures, like this manticore, which almost looks like a cute puppy dog about to tear your throat out at this angle.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And that mission has been accomplished. Well, mostly. Several core components of the game are well done. There is a fair amount of choice when it comes to character creation, with four races and 12 classes (three per race) spread along the might and magic spectrums. Don't expect anything more revolutionary than the likes of dwarven defenders, human freemages, elven bladedancers, and orc barbarians in the beginning, but you have a lot of freedom to specialize once your party starts leveling up and you begin doling out points between attribute stats and skills. You can specialize in everything from maces and bows to a whopping seven schools of magic, allowing for the custom-crafting of almost any sort of heroic adventurer that you can dream up. The sheer amount of liberty even allows for some evolution during gameplay. I started off with an elven ranger who I thought would be good in ranged combat, but I eventually realized that she worked better as a second spellcaster who specialized in healing. A few levels later, and I had an impressive cleric wannabe curing poison and dishing out restoration incantations when she wasn't offing foes with her bow and arrow.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="large"><p style="">It's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans.</p></blockquote><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure. First, you need to take care of business by buying food. Without it, you're not allowed to rest, which soon causes your party to grow tired and drop ability scores. You also need to rest to regain health and mana, because neither regenerates on its own over time. Not much of this is spelled out, and the tooltips offered up at the start of the game don't do much to explain the basics. All becomes clear if you're patient, though, or if you remember doing this stuff many years ago. Nevertheless, the game could use more hand-holding in the beginning.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Battles in M&MXL are spectacularly hard and unforgiving. It took three hours to beat these guys. Well, not really, but it felt that long.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Like most RPGs released when grunge was still a thing, M&MXL features a first-person camera and grid-based movement where you move one step at a time. This system works relatively smoothly. Yes, you're stuck with an odd perspective that forces you to view the world as if the party were crammed into a car and looking out through the windshield, and the entire four-person party has to trudge as one through dungeons and forests, like a tank bristling with battle-axes and magic wands. But you soon get used to navigating in such a restricted fashion.</p><p style="">Movement has even been improved from the days of yore. M&MXL features turn-based combat, so you can't gimmick the system. Back in the day, it was common to cheat through real-time battles with tricks like the Eye of the Beholder Two Step, where you would zip forward to hit a monster and then immediately retreat before it could hit you back. Here, you're locked into battle once an enemy closes and the fight begins. So instead of dipsy-doodling back and forth, you're stuck going toe-to-toe with the bad guys. This results in some grueling combat, since you have virtually no range of motion once melee combat has started and no ability at all to choose the better part of valor and run away.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="left"><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure.</p></blockquote><p style="">In some ways, the game goes too far. Not only does it take away the exploits common to first-person RPGs in the '90s, but it hammers away at you relentlessly (even at the lower "adventurer" setting). Combat is unforgiving right from the opening tutorial quest to clean spiders out of an underground lair. Monsters flank and surround you in almost every other fight, frequently spawning in out of nowhere to your rear. Just when you've got your hands full with that minotaur in your face, along come two more to hassle you from behind. Most monsters also have devastating special abilities. Almost every enemy has the ability to stun you, poison you, enfeeble you, petrify you, hit you with extra attacks, and more. Wolves and goblins can insta-kill party members if they get lucky. I don't recall an easy battle in the entire campaign. That sounds sort of fun and intense, but really, I could have done without titanic half-hour struggles to best the likes of two goblins, a couple of cavemen, and a pack of panthers.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Balance can be an issue in spots. You can easily run into enemies that will slice you to ribbons for not being at a high-enough level, like these nasty spectres.</figcaption></figure><p style="">M&MXL isn't impossibly hard, but the punishing difficulty can lead to tedium. You can (eventually) beat any monster, group of monsters, or even the game's collection of brutally tough bosses by thinking about what you're doing when it comes to strategizing and spellcasting. The extreme challenge is a natural fit for a revamped classic, but that doesn't make the occasional bitter pill of a battle easier to swallow. When actually playing the game, I was too busy cursing out the nagas or spiders gooning me from all sides to appreciate the retro character of the battle difficulty.</p><p style="">How dated M&MXL is in other areas is harder to appreciate. The story isn't particularly well developed. The opening preamble is about as exciting as listening to someone recite a tax return, and there isn't much of a tale told during the game itself. Your party consists of a bunch of heroes, oddly called "raiders," who are out to do good things for the human empire in a time of unrest. There isn't much role-playing to be had here; the game is a dry tactical affair where combat is the first order of the day, followed up by the odd puzzle.</p><p style="">Monster stock is limited. Areas and dungeons are populated by just a few specific types of creatures or human thugs, and the pace can drag because fighting the same fight over and over again. Loot isn't varied or particularly imaginative, either when it's dropped or when you check out what's available in shops. It gets better as you go, but there isn't a lot of memorable "gotta have it" gear. As a result, you can go for hours with few serious upgrades of weapons and armor. How items are doled out is also strange. Monsters don't tend to drop much when they're slain, but chests loaded with goodies and gold are strewn all over the wilderness like some kind of medieval take on geocaching.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Minotaurs aren't too hellish in a labyrinth, but you don't want to be surrounded by three or four of them in a forest.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The throwback production values are as traditional as the adventure itself, though these elements have not aged all that tastefully. Animations can be choppy, especially in forests, and slowdown is a common occurrence in the wilderness and when there are multiple lighting effects on the screen at the same time. Sound is also sparse, with what seems like a handful of weapon and monster effects. Hero battle boasts like the orc warrior's "I kill you!" are repeated constantly. Even worse, your heroes shout their cries of sadness about being knocked out or killed a few seconds before the blow is actually delivered, so you get advance warning when somebody is about to be taken down. This makes battles a teensy bit anticlimactic.</p><p style="">Might & Magic X: Legacy is a somewhat successful trip back in time to an era when RPGs were both simpler and more complicated than they are today, and a lot more demanding of players when it came to combat. If nostalgia drives you to visit this particular kingdom, you'll not likely regret the time spend there. If your good old days weren't brimming with games of this nature, it's more difficult to appreciate the take-no-prisoners challenge and overlook the limitations.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/
Written By Kom Limpulnam on Minggu, 26 Januari 2014 | 11.52
Gamespot's Site MashupValve convinced Jonathan Blow to support VR in The WitnessTop 5 Skyrim Mods of the Week - Top Immersion ModsMight & Magic X: Legacy
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 25 Jan 2014 19:57:06 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-convinced-jonathan-blow-to-support-vr-in-the-witness/1100-6417341/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425047-6812083613-vr1.p.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425047" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425047-6812083613-vr1.p.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425047"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2425047-6812083613-vr1.p.png"></a></figure><p style="">Independent developer Jonathan Blow said that a demo of Valve's technology convinced him to add virtual reality support to his upcoming first-person puzzle game <a href="/the-witness/" data-ref-id="false">The Witness</a>.</p><p style="">Though he doesn't mention the Oculus Rift by name, Blow said that he The Witness will support Valve's device "and any similar device."</p><p style="">Blow first teased the possibility for The Witness supporting VR when he posted the above image to his website in November with the headline "What could it mean??"</p><p style="">In <a href="http://the-witness.net/news/2014/01/what-that-vr-post-was-about/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">his most recent post</a> he said that the image came from his time at Valve, where he got a sneak peek at the company's virtual reality system, later revealed at Steam Dev Days. He explains that he was skeptical of VR technology based on what he's seen of it prior to trying Valve's prototype.</p><p style="">"It is so much better than anything else I had used that I was instantly very excited by it," he said. "Right away I could see games you might design for this system that had been impossible before; so it isn't just a matter of the system being very immersive (which it is) but that it can take video games in general to a new place."</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-produced-virtual-reality-headset-not-likely-to-see-release/1100-6417199/" data-ref-id="1100-6417199">As we reported previously</a>, Valve's wearable computing designer Michael Abrash said at Steam Dev Days that the company has no plans to release its own virtual reality headset. Instead, Valve and Oculus VR worked together on the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/oculus-crystal-cove-prototype-ces-2014/2300-6416762/" data-ref-id="2300-6416762">Crystal Cove prototype's new tracking features</a> that were shown off during CES 2014. Valve continues to work with Oculus to "drive PC VR forward."</p><p style="">Blow has said that The Witness is coming to PC, iOS, and PlayStation 4 for a limited-time console exclusive, meaning it might come out on Microsoft's console at a later date.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6404216" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6404216/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Sat, 25 Jan 2014 16:06:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-convinced-jonathan-blow-to-support-vr-in-the-witness/1100-6417341/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/top-5-skyrim-mods-of-the-week-top-immersion-mods/2300-6416949/ Join Kevin VanNord as he forages for his very life, across the Skyrim wilderness in an immersion-themed episode of Top 5 Skyrim Mods of the Week. Also he drinks too much mead. Sat, 25 Jan 2014 12:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/top-5-skyrim-mods-of-the-week-top-immersion-mods/2300-6416949/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/ <p style="">You need to have the nostalgia gene to fully appreciate Might & Magic X: Legacy. I do, especially when it comes to role-playing games, so I did. But this is one of those "genre within a genre" retro affairs that self-consciously turns its back on modern conventions and embraces what us old folks were stuck with back in that antediluvian era known as the 1990s. Limbic Entertainment has created an old-fashioned RPG epic that might well have landed on some "best of" lists at the end of 1996. If you're the sort of person who fondly remembers a time before the Might & Magic name meant nothing but turn-based fantasy strategy, this game is for you.</p><p style="">Noting that M&MXL is not for everyone isn't necessarily an insult, either. On the contrary, it's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans. Everything about this game can be traced back to first-person party-based RPGs from the 1990s, like the original M&M games, the Wizardry series, and even the Eye of the Beholder D&D line. The campaign setting of Ashan is all new for this franchise, however, having been ported over from Might & Magic Heroes right down to the goofy winged helmets. Oddly enough, this approach actually makes M&MXL more of a traditional fantasy game than its forebears, as the original M&M role-players blended spaceships in with their swords and sorcery. Still, the general objective seems to have been to create a new game that picks up right where this style of RPG left off about 15 years ago.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The M&MXL bestiary includes the usual roster of fantasy monsters and mythological creatures, like this manticore, which almost looks like a cute puppy dog about to tear your throat out at this angle.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And that mission has been accomplished. Well, mostly. Several core components of the game are well done. There is a fair amount of choice when it comes to character creation, with four races and 12 classes (three per race) spread along the might and magic spectrums. Don't expect anything more revolutionary than the likes of dwarven defenders, human freemages, elven bladedancers, and orc barbarians in the beginning, but you have a lot of freedom to specialize once your party starts leveling up and you begin doling out points between attribute stats and skills. You can specialize in everything from maces and bows to a whopping seven schools of magic, allowing for the custom-crafting of almost any sort of heroic adventurer that you can dream up. The sheer amount of liberty even allows for some evolution during gameplay. I started off with an elven ranger who I thought would be good in ranged combat, but I eventually realized that she worked better as a second spellcaster who specialized in healing. A few levels later, and I had an impressive cleric wannabe curing poison and dishing out restoration incantations when she wasn't offing foes with her bow and arrow.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="large"><p style="">It's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans.</p></blockquote><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure. First, you need to take care of business by buying food. Without it, you're not allowed to rest, which soon causes your party to grow tired and drop ability scores. You also need to rest to regain health and mana, because neither regenerates on its own over time. Not much of this is spelled out, and the tooltips offered up at the start of the game don't do much to explain the basics. All becomes clear if you're patient, though, or if you remember doing this stuff many years ago. Nevertheless, the game could use more hand-holding in the beginning.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Battles in M&MXL are spectacularly hard and unforgiving. It took three hours to beat these guys. Well, not really, but it felt that long.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Like most RPGs released when grunge was still a thing, M&MXL features a first-person camera and grid-based movement where you move one step at a time. This system works relatively smoothly. Yes, you're stuck with an odd perspective that forces you to view the world as if the party were crammed into a car and looking out through the windshield, and the entire four-person party has to trudge as one through dungeons and forests, like a tank bristling with battle-axes and magic wands. But you soon get used to navigating in such a restricted fashion.</p><p style="">Movement has even been improved from the days of yore. M&MXL features turn-based combat, so you can't gimmick the system. Back in the day, it was common to cheat through real-time battles with tricks like the Eye of the Beholder Two Step, where you would zip forward to hit a monster and then immediately retreat before it could hit you back. Here, you're locked into battle once an enemy closes and the fight begins. So instead of dipsy-doodling back and forth, you're stuck going toe-to-toe with the bad guys. This results in some grueling combat, since you have virtually no range of motion once melee combat has started and no ability at all to choose the better part of valor and run away.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="left"><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure.</p></blockquote><p style="">In some ways, the game goes too far. Not only does it take away the exploits common to first-person RPGs in the '90s, but it hammers away at you relentlessly (even at the lower "adventurer" setting). Combat is unforgiving right from the opening tutorial quest to clean spiders out of an underground lair. Monsters flank and surround you in almost every other fight, frequently spawning in out of nowhere to your rear. Just when you've got your hands full with that minotaur in your face, along come two more to hassle you from behind. Most monsters also have devastating special abilities. Almost every enemy has the ability to stun you, poison you, enfeeble you, petrify you, hit you with extra attacks, and more. Wolves and goblins can insta-kill party members if they get lucky. I don't recall an easy battle in the entire campaign. That sounds sort of fun and intense, but really, I could have done without titanic half-hour struggles to best the likes of two goblins, a couple of cavemen, and a pack of panthers.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Balance can be an issue in spots. You can easily run into enemies that will slice you to ribbons for not being at a high-enough level, like these nasty spectres.</figcaption></figure><p style="">M&MXL isn't impossibly hard, but the punishing difficulty can lead to tedium. You can (eventually) beat any monster, group of monsters, or even the game's collection of brutally tough bosses by thinking about what you're doing when it comes to strategizing and spellcasting. The extreme challenge is a natural fit for a revamped classic, but that doesn't make the occasional bitter pill of a battle easier to swallow. When actually playing the game, I was too busy cursing out the nagas or spiders gooning me from all sides to appreciate the retro character of the battle difficulty.</p><p style="">How dated M&MXL is in other areas is harder to appreciate. The story isn't particularly well developed. The opening preamble is about as exciting as listening to someone recite a tax return, and there isn't much of a tale told during the game itself. Your party consists of a bunch of heroes, oddly called "raiders," who are out to do good things for the human empire in a time of unrest. There isn't much role-playing to be had here; the game is a dry tactical affair where combat is the first order of the day, followed up by the odd puzzle.</p><p style="">Monster stock is limited. Areas and dungeons are populated by just a few specific types of creatures or human thugs, and the pace can drag because fighting the same fight over and over again. Loot isn't varied or particularly imaginative, either when it's dropped or when you check out what's available in shops. It gets better as you go, but there isn't a lot of memorable "gotta have it" gear. As a result, you can go for hours with few serious upgrades of weapons and armor. How items are doled out is also strange. Monsters don't tend to drop much when they're slain, but chests loaded with goodies and gold are strewn all over the wilderness like some kind of medieval take on geocaching.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Minotaurs aren't too hellish in a labyrinth, but you don't want to be surrounded by three or four of them in a forest.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The throwback production values are as traditional as the adventure itself, though these elements have not aged all that tastefully. Animations can be choppy, especially in forests, and slowdown is a common occurrence in the wilderness and when there are multiple lighting effects on the screen at the same time. Sound is also sparse, with what seems like a handful of weapon and monster effects. Hero battle boasts like the orc warrior's "I kill you!" are repeated constantly. Even worse, your heroes shout their cries of sadness about being knocked out or killed a few seconds before the blow is actually delivered, so you get advance warning when somebody is about to be taken down. This makes battles a teensy bit anticlimactic.</p><p style="">Might & Magic X: Legacy is a somewhat successful trip back in time to an era when RPGs were both simpler and more complicated than they are today, and a lot more demanding of players when it came to combat. If nostalgia drives you to visit this particular kingdom, you'll not likely regret the time spend there. If your good old days weren't brimming with games of this nature, it's more difficult to appreciate the take-no-prisoners challenge and overlook the limitations.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/
Gamespot's Site MashupValve convinced Jonathan Blow to support VR in The WitnessTop 5 Skyrim Mods of the Week - Top Immersion ModsMight & Magic X: Legacy
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 25 Jan 2014 19:57:06 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-convinced-jonathan-blow-to-support-vr-in-the-witness/1100-6417341/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425047-6812083613-vr1.p.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425047" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2425047-6812083613-vr1.p.png" data-ref-id="1300-2425047"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2425047-6812083613-vr1.p.png"></a></figure><p style="">Independent developer Jonathan Blow said that a demo of Valve's technology convinced him to add virtual reality support to his upcoming first-person puzzle game <a href="/the-witness/" data-ref-id="false">The Witness</a>.</p><p style="">Though he doesn't mention the Oculus Rift by name, Blow said that he The Witness will support Valve's device "and any similar device."</p><p style="">Blow first teased the possibility for The Witness supporting VR when he posted the above image to his website in November with the headline "What could it mean??"</p><p style="">In <a href="http://the-witness.net/news/2014/01/what-that-vr-post-was-about/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">his most recent post</a> he said that the image came from his time at Valve, where he got a sneak peek at the company's virtual reality system, later revealed at Steam Dev Days. He explains that he was skeptical of VR technology based on what he's seen of it prior to trying Valve's prototype.</p><p style="">"It is so much better than anything else I had used that I was instantly very excited by it," he said. "Right away I could see games you might design for this system that had been impossible before; so it isn't just a matter of the system being very immersive (which it is) but that it can take video games in general to a new place."</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-produced-virtual-reality-headset-not-likely-to-see-release/1100-6417199/" data-ref-id="1100-6417199">As we reported previously</a>, Valve's wearable computing designer Michael Abrash said at Steam Dev Days that the company has no plans to release its own virtual reality headset. Instead, Valve and Oculus VR worked together on the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/oculus-crystal-cove-prototype-ces-2014/2300-6416762/" data-ref-id="2300-6416762">Crystal Cove prototype's new tracking features</a> that were shown off during CES 2014. Valve continues to work with Oculus to "drive PC VR forward."</p><p style="">Blow has said that The Witness is coming to PC, iOS, and PlayStation 4 for a limited-time console exclusive, meaning it might come out on Microsoft's console at a later date.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6404216" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6404216/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Sat, 25 Jan 2014 16:06:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-convinced-jonathan-blow-to-support-vr-in-the-witness/1100-6417341/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/top-5-skyrim-mods-of-the-week-top-immersion-mods/2300-6416949/ Join Kevin VanNord as he forages for his very life, across the Skyrim wilderness in an immersion-themed episode of Top 5 Skyrim Mods of the Week. Also he drinks too much mead. Sat, 25 Jan 2014 12:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/top-5-skyrim-mods-of-the-week-top-immersion-mods/2300-6416949/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/ <p style="">You need to have the nostalgia gene to fully appreciate Might & Magic X: Legacy. I do, especially when it comes to role-playing games, so I did. But this is one of those "genre within a genre" retro affairs that self-consciously turns its back on modern conventions and embraces what us old folks were stuck with back in that antediluvian era known as the 1990s. Limbic Entertainment has created an old-fashioned RPG epic that might well have landed on some "best of" lists at the end of 1996. If you're the sort of person who fondly remembers a time before the Might & Magic name meant nothing but turn-based fantasy strategy, this game is for you.</p><p style="">Noting that M&MXL is not for everyone isn't necessarily an insult, either. On the contrary, it's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans. Everything about this game can be traced back to first-person party-based RPGs from the 1990s, like the original M&M games, the Wizardry series, and even the Eye of the Beholder D&D line. The campaign setting of Ashan is all new for this franchise, however, having been ported over from Might & Magic Heroes right down to the goofy winged helmets. Oddly enough, this approach actually makes M&MXL more of a traditional fantasy game than its forebears, as the original M&M role-players blended spaceships in with their swords and sorcery. Still, the general objective seems to have been to create a new game that picks up right where this style of RPG left off about 15 years ago.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423600"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423600-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The M&MXL bestiary includes the usual roster of fantasy monsters and mythological creatures, like this manticore, which almost looks like a cute puppy dog about to tear your throat out at this angle.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And that mission has been accomplished. Well, mostly. Several core components of the game are well done. There is a fair amount of choice when it comes to character creation, with four races and 12 classes (three per race) spread along the might and magic spectrums. Don't expect anything more revolutionary than the likes of dwarven defenders, human freemages, elven bladedancers, and orc barbarians in the beginning, but you have a lot of freedom to specialize once your party starts leveling up and you begin doling out points between attribute stats and skills. You can specialize in everything from maces and bows to a whopping seven schools of magic, allowing for the custom-crafting of almost any sort of heroic adventurer that you can dream up. The sheer amount of liberty even allows for some evolution during gameplay. I started off with an elven ranger who I thought would be good in ranged combat, but I eventually realized that she worked better as a second spellcaster who specialized in healing. A few levels later, and I had an impressive cleric wannabe curing poison and dishing out restoration incantations when she wasn't offing foes with her bow and arrow.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="large"><p style="">It's clear from the very first moments of the game that the developers are trying to be as unfashionable as a pair of acid-washed jeans.</p></blockquote><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure. First, you need to take care of business by buying food. Without it, you're not allowed to rest, which soon causes your party to grow tired and drop ability scores. You also need to rest to regain health and mana, because neither regenerates on its own over time. Not much of this is spelled out, and the tooltips offered up at the start of the game don't do much to explain the basics. All becomes clear if you're patient, though, or if you remember doing this stuff many years ago. Nevertheless, the game could use more hand-holding in the beginning.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423601"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423601-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Battles in M&MXL are spectacularly hard and unforgiving. It took three hours to beat these guys. Well, not really, but it felt that long.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Like most RPGs released when grunge was still a thing, M&MXL features a first-person camera and grid-based movement where you move one step at a time. This system works relatively smoothly. Yes, you're stuck with an odd perspective that forces you to view the world as if the party were crammed into a car and looking out through the windshield, and the entire four-person party has to trudge as one through dungeons and forests, like a tank bristling with battle-axes and magic wands. But you soon get used to navigating in such a restricted fashion.</p><p style="">Movement has even been improved from the days of yore. M&MXL features turn-based combat, so you can't gimmick the system. Back in the day, it was common to cheat through real-time battles with tricks like the Eye of the Beholder Two Step, where you would zip forward to hit a monster and then immediately retreat before it could hit you back. Here, you're locked into battle once an enemy closes and the fight begins. So instead of dipsy-doodling back and forth, you're stuck going toe-to-toe with the bad guys. This results in some grueling combat, since you have virtually no range of motion once melee combat has started and no ability at all to choose the better part of valor and run away.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="left"><p style="">Managing your party is more involved than in most RPGs, so you can't just storm off looking for adventure.</p></blockquote><p style="">In some ways, the game goes too far. Not only does it take away the exploits common to first-person RPGs in the '90s, but it hammers away at you relentlessly (even at the lower "adventurer" setting). Combat is unforgiving right from the opening tutorial quest to clean spiders out of an underground lair. Monsters flank and surround you in almost every other fight, frequently spawning in out of nowhere to your rear. Just when you've got your hands full with that minotaur in your face, along come two more to hassle you from behind. Most monsters also have devastating special abilities. Almost every enemy has the ability to stun you, poison you, enfeeble you, petrify you, hit you with extra attacks, and more. Wolves and goblins can insta-kill party members if they get lucky. I don't recall an easy battle in the entire campaign. That sounds sort of fun and intense, but really, I could have done without titanic half-hour struggles to best the likes of two goblins, a couple of cavemen, and a pack of panthers.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423610"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2423610-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Balance can be an issue in spots. You can easily run into enemies that will slice you to ribbons for not being at a high-enough level, like these nasty spectres.</figcaption></figure><p style="">M&MXL isn't impossibly hard, but the punishing difficulty can lead to tedium. You can (eventually) beat any monster, group of monsters, or even the game's collection of brutally tough bosses by thinking about what you're doing when it comes to strategizing and spellcasting. The extreme challenge is a natural fit for a revamped classic, but that doesn't make the occasional bitter pill of a battle easier to swallow. When actually playing the game, I was too busy cursing out the nagas or spiders gooning me from all sides to appreciate the retro character of the battle difficulty.</p><p style="">How dated M&MXL is in other areas is harder to appreciate. The story isn't particularly well developed. The opening preamble is about as exciting as listening to someone recite a tax return, and there isn't much of a tale told during the game itself. Your party consists of a bunch of heroes, oddly called "raiders," who are out to do good things for the human empire in a time of unrest. There isn't much role-playing to be had here; the game is a dry tactical affair where combat is the first order of the day, followed up by the odd puzzle.</p><p style="">Monster stock is limited. Areas and dungeons are populated by just a few specific types of creatures or human thugs, and the pace can drag because fighting the same fight over and over again. Loot isn't varied or particularly imaginative, either when it's dropped or when you check out what's available in shops. It gets better as you go, but there isn't a lot of memorable "gotta have it" gear. As a result, you can go for hours with few serious upgrades of weapons and armor. How items are doled out is also strange. Monsters don't tend to drop much when they're slain, but chests loaded with goodies and gold are strewn all over the wilderness like some kind of medieval take on geocaching.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2423612"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2423612-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Minotaurs aren't too hellish in a labyrinth, but you don't want to be surrounded by three or four of them in a forest.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The throwback production values are as traditional as the adventure itself, though these elements have not aged all that tastefully. Animations can be choppy, especially in forests, and slowdown is a common occurrence in the wilderness and when there are multiple lighting effects on the screen at the same time. Sound is also sparse, with what seems like a handful of weapon and monster effects. Hero battle boasts like the orc warrior's "I kill you!" are repeated constantly. Even worse, your heroes shout their cries of sadness about being knocked out or killed a few seconds before the blow is actually delivered, so you get advance warning when somebody is about to be taken down. This makes battles a teensy bit anticlimactic.</p><p style="">Might & Magic X: Legacy is a somewhat successful trip back in time to an era when RPGs were both simpler and more complicated than they are today, and a lot more demanding of players when it came to combat. If nostalgia drives you to visit this particular kingdom, you'll not likely regret the time spend there. If your good old days weren't brimming with games of this nature, it's more difficult to appreciate the take-no-prisoners challenge and overlook the limitations.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2014 12:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy/1900-6415645/
