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'One Finger Death Punch 2' will pummel its way into your heart
At the GDC 2018 Indie Megabooth on Monday, Silver Dollar Games showed off One Finger Death Punch 2, the sequel to its popular 2013 brawler. Fans of the original -- and fans of smash-em-ups in general -- are not going to be disappointed.
Indie brawler 'Way of the Passive Fist' is out now on Steam and PS4
If you love stylish, '90s-style 2D side-scrolling brawlers like Golden Axe or Aztez, you'll dig the debut release from Household Games, a new studio made up of DrinkBox Studios, Queasy Games and Silicon Knights members. Way of the Passive Fist is available now on PlayStation 4 and Mac/PC/Linux via Steam for $15. It will also go live on Xbox One at midnight, March 7th.
Closers Online meets J the Fighter
Just because a game's in open beta doesn't mean that it's finished adding key pieces. Case in point: Closers Online, which recently added a new playable character. The new character is, ahem, J the Fighter, a fists-and-feet brawler who kicks butt while maintaining a sense of style. If you like up-close-and-personal encounters with your foes, then J might be the character for you. Check out his fighting style in a preview video after the break!
Closers Online goes into open beta
The "grand opening" of Closers Online's open beta test happened this past week, although it looks as though the game is still just in Korean. Of course, this being beta, not all of the features -- nor all of the game's characters -- are available for play. Steparu.com did all of us a solid by not only pointing us at the new animated trailer but by whipping up a video to show off the various characters for this cel-shaded title. You can check out both after the break!
Closers Online shows off gameplay and characters at G-Star 2014
Tired of side-scrolling-brawler-style MMOs at this point? Closers Online is a new title coming from Nexon and Naddic Games that works in that mold, allowing players to take on a variety of different opponents in rendered and cel-shaded environments. If that's everything you ever wanted, you'll be happy to know that there's plenty of information on the game at G-Star 2014. A variety of gameplay modes are available, ranging from normal story missions to special time-limited emergency events that players can queue up for solo or in groups. Players will also have a daily continue limit (possibly offset with microtransactions) and a skill evolution system based on using Skill Cubes found on monsters. Check out the promotional video just past the break courtesy of Steparu if you want to see a bit of the game in action.
Fist of Jesus is an over-the-top, historically inaccurate brawler
It's probably historically inaccurate, at least. Recording of events back then was pretty hit-or-miss. In Fist of Jesus, players take on the role of Jesus Christ and Judas as they fight off hordes of zombies with a swordfish, pulled-off body parts, a big cross and ... did Jesus just fart and explode all of those zombies? Seriously? Well, if you're going to do wacky, you might as well go all the way. Fist of Jesus comes from developer Mutant Army and it's a beat-em-up with RPG elements, 60 levels, upgrades, and an accompanying live-action short film. You can probably guess the movie's premise. See the short film below, along with the game trailer. Fist of Jesus is out now on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux, 20 percent off ($8) through October 24.
Viking Squad plans loot-fueled voyages to PS4, PC, Mac
At first glance, you might dismiss Viking Squad as a Castle Crashers imitator and carry on with your day. There are comparisons to be made, sure – both are side-scrolling multiplayer brawlers with leveling characters – but Slick Entertainment has added a few elements to the brawler formula that might make Viking Squad feel distinct. In Viking Squad, you'll brave voyages to loot neighboring enemies and heap treasure at the feet of your village's Jarl, but each trip gives access to different locations and items based on how well your squad performs. Vikings snap to horizontal lanes as they fight through environments, simplifying the chore of lining up swings with an opponent's skull. Critical hits are also awarded based on an aptitude for timing, rather than rolls of virtual dice according to your character's stats. If and when you exhaust supplies, you'll return home, re-equip and set out once more. Slick Entertainment's site notes that Viking Squad's world map is procedurally generated, which should keep the hunt for gold interesting. Viking Squad is due to hit PS4-shaped land masses in 2015, but the game's description on Slick's own site warns that the 4-player band of thieves will also raid PC and Mac. You can get a glimpse of the sort of villages you'll be raiding in a trailer after the break. [Image: Slick Entertainment]
Sacred 3 now available to pummel with friends
Deep Silver's hack-and-slash game Sacred 3 is now available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC via Steam. The top-down brawler pits players and their co-op partners together against "hordes of grimmocs, brute beasts, legions of mercenaries and undead wizards." Oh my! As indicated by its name, Sacred 3 is the third game in the arcade-style action series, the first of which was originally developed by German studio Ascaron for PC in 2004. Announced in February, the latest game drops players into a war for the series' primary locale, Ancaria. Players choose one of four different heroes with varying skill and weapon sets, upgrading their characters and using special co-op combat arts to tackle bosses. Up to four fighters can adventure together online, though co-op action is limited to two players locally. [Image: Deep Silver]
Massively Exclusive: Grand Chase goes live on Steam tomorrow
Grand Chase is pursuing its way onto Steam on Thursday, July 17th, and you know what that means: welcome events. After all, when a free-to-play game shows up on a popular digital service, there will be a lot of new arrivals. New players can look forward to the Welcome Heroes event, which provides a free bundle of prizes to any one character on a player's account. They can also take advantage of the Character Jumping event, which allows everyone to kick a character straight to level 70 (the current cap is 85). A Steam-specific stat-boosting title is also available to everyone, along with new item packages. These packages include a new set of equipment with stats and a new pet, both of which have never been available elsewhere. If you're a long-time Grand Chase player or just can't wait to get a free-to-play brawler on your hard drive, take heart because the game will be available tomorrow. [Source: KOG Games press release]
Foul Play to enter stage left on PS4, Vita
Mediatonic's theatrical side-scrolling brawler Foul Play is heading to PS4 and Vita, the developer announced in a recent post on PlayStation Blog. Players take on the role of Baron Dashforth, a mustachioed demon hunter who retells his tales in front of a live audience, defeating waves of extras in the one-night-only performance. The co-op enabled beat-em-up doesn't feature a traditional health bar, but rather gauges the audience's interest with each passing moment, and closes the curtains for boring actors that take too many hits from the combat-trained extras. Foul Play launched on PC and Xbox 360 in September 2013 before arriving on Mac and Linux in October. Our four-star review of the game deemed the story as "superb" and the fights "frantic and fast." Mediatonic did not offer a release date for the PS4 and Vita versions as of yet, but it will be Cross-Buy compatible, so owners of both platforms need only buy it once. [Image: Mediatonic]
Double Dragon Trilogy punches its way to Android and iOS (video)
Many gamers of a certain age (cough) spent entirely too much time fighting Abobo and pals in the Double Dragon series. If you're one of them, you'll be glad to hear that DotEmu has released its promised Double Dragon Trilogy for both Android and iOS. The $3 app faithfully recreates all three adventures of Billy and Jimmy Lee, including the soundtrack; if you're willing to introduce modern touches, you can get a mobile-optimized (read: easier) difficulty level as well as remastered music. Both versions support the brawler's signature co-op mode through Bluetooth, and they'll work with many gamepads. DDT isn't going to take you back to the days of pumping quarter after quarter into arcade cabinets, but it might be the next best thing.
EVE Evolved: Fitting Heavy Assault Cruisers in Odyssey 1.1, part 2
EVE Online recently revamped all of the Heavy Assault Cruisers in its Odyssey 1.1 update, in addition to buffing active shield boosters and armour repairers and rebalancing medium beam lasers and railguns. Last week I put together a new brawler setup for the recently revamped Deimos, a sentry drone sniper fitting for the Ishtar, an extremely effective anti-frigate Cerberus setup, and a sadly underwhelming railgun Eagle. This week I've turned my attention toward the Amarr and Minmatar HACs, with some surprising results. The Zealot and Sacrilege are still as powerful as ever, and the Muninn may see some use as a tactical frigate sniper, but this patch could see many players retiring their Vagabonds. The nano-fit Vagabond was once the unrivaled number one ship for lone pirates, able to speed-tank anything larger than a frigate and still deal over 500 DPS. It engaged safely from outside web range, moved too fast for turrets to track, and absorbed any attacks that did hit with its sizable buffer tank. When CCP made warp scramblers knock out microwarpdrives, Vagabond pilots adapted with dual propulsion module fits that use a microwarpdrive to approach the target and an afterburner to orbit. Unfortunately, the Vagabond didn't fare well in the Odyssey 1.1 patch and players aren't sure if they can adapt this time. In this week's EVE Evolved, I put together PvP setups for the at the Zealot, Sacrilege, Muninn, and Vagabond Heavy Assault Cruisers.
River City Ransom follow-up goes live on Kickstarter
River City Ransom: Underground is now on Kickstarter, seeking $180,000 (CAD) by October 9. Developed by Conatus Creative, the game is an officially-licensed follow-up to the original Technos Japan NES game. The developer acquired rights to the beat-em-up in April. River City Ransom: Underground will feature an 8-bit-style look while also expanding to include more playable characters and four-player cooperative multiplayer. The game is currently in development for PC only, though the developer noted that with enough support, it could appear on consoles as well.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Anything except solo top in League of Legends
It's really no surprise that I'm not an amazing Summoner's Rift player. I feel like I perform decently as support, do fairly well as jungler and ADC, and play solo mid somewhat poorly. Aside from those roles, there's one I haven't talked about, and that's solo top. The solo top lane is the bruiser lane in League of Legends. It's most typical to see melee fighters and tanks there, and it tends to be a little more chaotic than the other lanes. I dislike playing solo top largely because it is the one lane where players are really encouraged to fight each other, and we all know that I prefer to farm peacefully and dislike being aggressive. However, for whatever reason, I have a lot of successes there. I'm nowhere near as good in top lane as in bottom lane (in either role), but it's a place I can go and not feel like dead weight.
GuildOx launches Brawler's Guild ranking system
GuildOx have just released yet another ranking system for WoW players, to go with their achievement and title rankings, and mount and pet rankings! GuildOx has rankings for pretty much everything you can think of, and their latest addition, the Brawler's Guild rankings are another, much requested, string to their bow. They don't, however, track anything but the final achievement of the guild, the Now You're Just Showing Off achievement, and when players got it on each realm, region, and even worldwide. This achievement is kind of the pinnacle of brawling prowess, but it would also be excellent to see rankings for those further down, for example, to see if there's a glut of players stuck on Yikkan Izu or whether it's just that my shadow priest is undergeared, or played by someone terrible at shadow priests. One very interesting thing about these stats is the prominence of ranged DPS among the higher rankings. Mages, elemental shaman, warlocks, balance druids, and hunters all rank pretty high in their top 100 listings, with melee classes seeming not to be able to keep up with their ranged cousins. Is this indicative of a ranged DPS bias in the Brawler's Guild boss design? Also, do note that GuildOx's database is still gathering, so don't check your realm and assume that, because it's empty, you can get ahead and claim the top spot! It will take a little while to stabilize and be completely accurate, thanks to how the database works. But do check it out! Like all their ranking information, it makes interesting reading.
Cross-realm zone use clarified in Brawler's Guild
Blizzard Senior Community Manager Zarhym has taken to the forums to address player's concerns regarding the appearance of players from other realms in the Brawler's Guild. Zarhym We've seen some confusion about people from other realms showing up in the Brawler's Guild. It's important to note that the Brawler's Guild only uses realm coalescing when the number of participants is really low, so a lot of people are seeing people from other realms due to the fact that there haven't been many invitations to join distributed yet. It's highly likely the area will cease to activate CRZ on most realms as participation increases. Having 100+ people in the queue doesn't create a good experience, but, from our perspective, neither does having only a small handful of people. The feature is designed to bring a decent population into the guild, and those people should spend at least a modest amount of time as spectators or loiterers before getting into the ring. We didn't design the Brawler's Guild with the intention of getting you through queues in 10 minutes or less. We're not trying to replicate Dungeon Finder for the solo player with Brawler's Guild. If the place seems overcrowded AND you're seeing people from other realms there, it could be a situation where the population check that determines whether or not to coalesce a realm hasn't run again yet. As I said before, this should stabilize in time and likely automatically disable CRZ for the guild. source This, to me, seems a little counter-intuitive given Blizzard's earlier explanations of their theories behind the implementation of the Brawler's Guild. Daxxarri posted this back on November 8th:
Darkfall Unholy Wars hits Steam Greenlight, debuts shiny new video
Aventurine is making a bid to get Darkfall Unholy Wars on Steam, by way of Steam Greenlight. You can now vote (provided you have a Steam account) for the game to be a part of the ever-growing Steam stable. Because just one blog post a day is for the weak, the Aventurine team also put out a new video, which takes a good look at the Brawler School. Brawlers are part of the Skirmisher role and are equipped with skills to increase their efficiency, sprint speed, leap, evade, and reflexes. If covering dizzying amounts of ground and controlling battle through movement sounds like your thing, you might consider checking out the video. We've included it below the cut because we're just that nice. [Thanks to savvy webizen Bartillo for the tip!]
Brawler's Guild: There must be another way
Regular WoW Insider readers may have caught sight of my earlier piece regarding Brawler's Guild. I hope it came across in that piece just how excited I was about this impending new feature, how much I wanted to keep doing it despite the fact that it awarded nothing but fun and ranking. I mentioned that there were likely to be changes coming to two elements, the rotten fruit thrown by other players at the person fighting, and the queue times. I postulated that a fix for the queue times, which were very long indeed on the Patch 5.1 PTR and promised to be even longer on live servers, could be something along the lines of instancing, using the new scenario technology, phasing, or simply introducing more rings somehow. I did not anticipate that the proposed solution would be to make this fantastic new feature invitation only, and that those invitations would only be sold on the Black Market Auction House. I didn't anticipate this for several reasons. Firstly, the Brawler's Guild is far too brilliant an idea for Blizzard to want to gate it. It wouldn't make sense to me that, given that most players can access this, they should be prevented from doing so. It's a really brilliant side feature, a game within the game. At the time of writing, it awards no gear, no useable boost or bonus. It's like pet battles, only now it's invitation only.
Patch 5.1 PTR: My first night in Brawler's Guild
It took me a little while to locate this secretive group's headquarters, tucked away in the bowels of Stormwind. I wasn't quite sure where to look, having logged in to the PTR and created a level 90 shaman template character, and the first rule of Brawler's Guild wasn't exactly helping matters. I knew it was underground, so I checked in the Stockades, under the Cathedral, around the old Park, over where all the warlocks hang out... it sounded like a warlock-y kind of thing! Stumped, temporarily, and trying to think of other underground areas in Stormwind, it suddenly occurred to me: the Deeprun Tram! I zoned in, expecting to see it right in front of me, and, discouraged, ran over to the platform, then spotted a tunnel on the track level to the left that I was fairly sure wasn't there before. And the header image was what appeared at the end of it! Over on the Horde side, it was hidden in plain sight, in a building to the extreme north-east of Orgrimmar, in the Ring of Valor. I have to say, I think that, for a change, the Alliance have by far the cooler set-up here, although with the buggy PTR gameplay right now, the Horde arena is far more entertaining!
Tossing fireballs and bashing shields: Hands-on with the Forge Beta
Dark Vale's upcoming PvP-centric title, Forge, is an MMO like no other. The game has no PvE content to speak of, instead demanding that players earn their progress by killing one another in timed arena-style deathmatches or objective-based games. It's built in the Unreal Engine, features an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective, and depends heavily on strategy and reflexes as opposed to gear and level. There are no quests to complete, no mobs to grind, and no resources to gather. When Dark Vale says Forge is "Pure PvP," that's exactly what it means. While some may be skeptical of the appeal of a PvP-only MMO, others will note that there is vast potential here to fill a niche for gamers craving MMO-style combat without all the extra muss and fuss of grinding, gearing, and socializing. The only question is whether Forge will strike a chord with that pocket of players or will be just another "also-ran" in a sea of experimental MMOs. I took a peek at the Forge beta over the weekend, and what I found was an intense title with a lot of promise, but one that clearly has a lot of ground to cover before being ready for mass consumption.%Gallery-162207%
