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'Fire Emblem: Three Houses' is a slice of epic life
This article contains no story details, beyond those revealed in the game's official trailers. There is discussion of some mechanics and procedural details yet to be shown by Nintendo. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the game Fates should have been. Developer Intelligent Systems has made a lot of tweaks to its formula for the series' first outing on the Nintendo Switch, and the result of those changes is a game that marries Fire Emblem's dual personalities in a meaningful and satisfying way. If you don't know about Fire Emblem already, a quick primer: It's an almost-three-decade-old tactical RPG franchise from Japan that only came to the West after characters like Roy appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee on the GameCube. It didn't truly rise to worldwide prominence until the release of Awakening on the 3DS in 2012.
A 'Dark Crystal' tactical RPG is coming to Switch in 2019
Jim Henson's 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal seems to be having a moment right now. A prequel series will be hitting Netflix in August and now, at today's Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo announced a tactical RPG based in the world of Thra called Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Tactics.
'City of the Shroud' is an RPG with a truly player-driven story
Adventure and role-playing games have always focused on telling stories, and that tradition has permeated into almost every other genre. Whether with linear plots or with branching, adaptive tales, developers are putting story everywhere. And just as the technology powering games is evolving, so too are the narratives within them. One game, however, is pushing forward into entirely new territory: City of the Shroud. Partially funded by a small-scale Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, City of the Shroud is being developed by Abyssal Arts, a small team strewn across the US and UK, with some assistance from Japan. It's a hard game to categorize. It's an RPG, yes, but it blends tactical elements from X-Com, The Banner Saga and Final Fantasy Tactics with a real-time combat system that borrows from classic fighting games.
Gorgeous competitive tactics game 'Duelyst' is out today
Duelyst isn't an eSport -- yet. After six months in a free open beta, Duelyst launches today as a full title that's still free to download across PC and Mac. It comes from Counterplay Games, a studio packed with talent from Diablo 3, League of Legends and Rogue Legacy, and it's a brilliant blend of rapid-fire card gaming, complex tactical combat and squad building, all with a competitive edge. But right now, it isn't an eSport. "We don't consider ourselves an eSport, since that's a very top-down approach and mentality that we don't believe in," Counterplay founder Keith Lee says.
Stop nuclear devastation at the heart of a never-ending Cold War
One of the most famous works of graffiti on the Berlin Wall is a depiction of former Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev kissing the ex-leader of East Germany, Erich Honecker, full on the mouth. In the painting, called "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love," Brezhnev's profile commands a majority of the frame, as if he's sucking the life out of Honecker. It's based on a 1979 photo of the two statesmen locked in a fraternal kiss, a common form of greeting among socialist leaders at the time. Fast-forward to 2016, and artist Rafal Fedro of inbetweengames has updated this iconic painting to feature US president Barack Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin sharing their own fraternal kiss. In the studio's latest project, a spy tactics game called All Walls Must Fall, the new painting represents a wide range of scenarios: heightened tensions between the two countries that were at the heart of the Cold War, fraying international relationships, or the subconscious desire to love our enemies, to name a few interpretations.
The Civil War gets steamy in Ironclad Tactics on Android
Paying attention to our Civil War lectures would have been a lot easier if the phrase "steam-powered robots" had been uttered a single time. Ironclad Tactics risks a few liberties with that chapter of history, and its tactical, card-based take on the United States' bloodiest conflict has now been dealt to tablets running Android OS 4.0 and up as a free download. Despite the presence of micro transactions, players can earn new cards just by playing the game. Ironclad Tactics' campaign follows Maxwell and Joseph, developers of "ironclad" infantry-esque robots, with the pair both being employed by the United States Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering. After it's discovered that Confederate forces also have ironclads, Maxwell and Joseph are ordered to help fend them off with their own mechanized arsenal. Ironclad Tactics will also eventually march onto the PS4, but if you'd rather get started on a larger-than-tablet warfront right away, the $14.99 Steam version drops micro transactions in favor of add-on campaigns on PC, Mac and Linux. Should you still be undecided about a card-focused spin on history, glimpses of gameplay are shown in Ironclad Tactics' PS4 trailer after the break. [Image: Zachtronics]
Lyft claims Uber employees ordered at least 5,000 fake rides (update)
Ridesharing company Uber is worthy $18 billion thanks to its rider-friendly practices, but rival Lyft says it hasn't been so nice to competitors. The company supplied CNNMoney with data showing that 177 Uber employees in the US booked and then cancelled some 5,560 rides since October of last year. While not technically illegal, such a scheme can make Lyft drivers head to non-existent ride pickups, letting Uber cars swoop into the vacated areas. Lyft added that Uber recruiters are sometimes ordering legit, but low-paying short rides in order to pitch its drivers on switching to Uber. As proof, the company matched phone numbers to known Uber employees or contractors -- for instance, one known recruiter has used 21 different Lyft accounts to order 1,500 cancelled rides.
Albion Online redefines character progression through the Destiny Board
Albion Online is ditching the traditional level grind mechanic for something they call the Destiny Board that allows for more control and specialization for characters. The Destiny board was molded entirely by the feedback of players who were unhappy with the previous version that saw progression they felt was too linear. Now, instead of completing tasks and quickly moving on to the next one, players can choose to dive deeper into any aspect of their character, from combat strategies and tactics to a specific craft or trade. You can try the sandbox MMO out for yourself soon by signing up for the upcoming closed beta. [Source: Sandbox Interactive press release]
Sci-fi RTS Salvaged takes two screens to play on PC, tablet
Opposable Games recently showed off Salvaged, a real-time strategy game that requires a bit of multitasking from its players. The tactical sci-fi game is played using two screens, one on any iOS or Android tablet or smartphone (as the controller) and the other being a monitor via PC, Mac or Linux. In Salvaged, players act as one of many operators for a Remote Interstellar Salvage Crew (RISC), boarding wrecked ships to locate loot and retrieve each ship's black box recorders. The touchscreen in players' hands offers a top-down view of the frantic, squad-based action, allowing players to issue commands to their team and assess alien threats as well as interact with the wrecked ships themselves by hacking terminals, downloading data and restoring power and lighting. The second screen on players' PCs shows the operation in real-time through the squad's shoulder-mounted cameras. The UK developer cited classic games like Captive and the 1993 version of Space Hulk as well both the original XCOM and XCOM: Enemy Unkown as inspirations for the game, though players may recall FTL: Faster Than Light and Spelunky when it comes to the game's replayability. Salvaged's crew, environments, enemies and spoils are all procedurally generated, and like the aforementioned roguelikes, once a crewmember dies, they will be gone forever. The developer is seeking $125,000 by Thursday, May 15 to fund the game, of which it is just scratching the $10,000 mark as of this writing. [Image: Opposable Games]
The Soapbox: The Raid Finder ruined raiding
I don't typically limit myself to ranting about only one game at a time, but I decided to make an exception this week and speak out against World of Warcraft's Raid Finder mechanic. I was running a small and modestly successful raiding guild when this system was introduced, and my team definitely felt the onslaught of this guild-destroying game mechanic first hand. Raid Finder, commonly dubbed LFR by the cool kids in Orgrimmar, is a system that demolishes the competency barrier that stands in the way of freshly level-capped characters and normal raiding content. The system allows players to join a random raiding group in order to tackle a nerfed version of a normal raid and exists mainly to maximise inclusion in the game's best PvE endgame content. LFR was quite popular among casual players that were usually passed up when it came to raiding group formation, but it didn't offer much progress to seasoned raiders. The gear gained had lower stats than its corresponding normal raid counterpart, but the LFR tier simply didn't need the co-ordination required of a group tackling regular raids. A void was created somewhere in between the casual masses who could benefit from the LFR mechanic and the hardcore raiders that simply did not need help with progression. My casual raiding guild was caught in the middle and ultimately met its demise at the hands of LFR, which simultaneously depleted the PUG pool and gave our members another way to see the endgame content they wanted without putting in virtual blood, sweat, and tears.
EVE Evolved: Everything we know about Rubicon
Back in April, EVE Online Senior Producer Andie Nordgren delivered an incredible long-term vision for the game's future that included deep space colonisation, player-built stargates, and players controlling practically everything that's currently run by NPC empires. This vision sets the tone and direction for development over the next ten expansions, each of which will introduce a small component of the overall goal. In a live interview session earlier this week, CCP revealed the first steps it will take toward space colonisation in its upcoming winter expansion. Named Rubicon, the expansion will be in players' hands on November 19th and promises to give individuals and small groups unprecedented control over the sandbox. It will let players fight over planetary customs offices in high security space, significantly buff the ability of small ships to participate in hit-and-run style warfare, and even introduce a new set of personal deployable structures that can be hidden anywhere in space. All this comes alongside two new Sisters of EVE ships, twitch livestream integration, and significant balance changes to Marauders, Interceptors, Interdictors, and Electronic Attack Frigates. In this week's EVE Evolved, I run down all of the new features and changes announced so far for EVE Online's Rubicon expansion.
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions updated, on sale for half price
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions arrived on iOS a little while ago, and it's long been lauded as one of the best tactical strategy games out there. And there are two good reasons you should check it out right now if you haven't yet. First and foremost, the game just got updated. There are now better graphics in the game than ever before, all meant for higher resolution Retina Displays. The update also adds improvements to the game's animations, and iCloud integration has been improved as well. Square Enix says it's not quite working correctly on the iPhone just yet, but it should soon, and the iPad works just fine. And additionally, to celebrate the update, the series is also on sale (which is even more important when you consider how rarely Square Enix drops prices on its games). The iPhone version is down to $7.99, and the iPad version is only $8.99, both still pricey, but both half off of their usual costs. If you've been waiting to play this one, there's your chance to grab one or both.
Square Enix considers dropping iOS prices
The Casual Connect gaming conference is going on in Kiev, Ukraine this week, and while there, Square Enix's General Manager of Mobile for Europe Antony Douglas expressed that his company is considering lowering its prices on iOS. By itself, that's not a very surprising notion: Most companies these days are realizing that lower prices on the App Store open up to a much larger audience, and there are other ways to monetize apps rather than just the traditional pricing model. But what's interesting here is that Square Enix is considering such a notion. The venerated Japanese RPG company has released quite a few apps on iOS, and its most popular apps (including Chrono Trigger and the more recent World Ends With You) have been priced significantly higher than even other very polished iOS games (US$9.99 and $19.99 for those two, respectively). In the past, we've seen this as a sign that game developers can still ask a premium price for premium content, and certainly Square Enix's games seem to have been doing well. Final Fantasy Tactics is another example -- a long-awaited game that was priced at $17.99 on the iPad. Douglas does confirm that these games are selling well, but he also says that the pricing "has been commented on quite a lot in Europe in the West," and that the more traditional Japanese overseers of the company are "seeing the feedback, and there will probably be changes in the way that it's structured." At the same time, however, he says the Japanese hold the view that quality games should have a premium price, and he suggests (correctly so) that "$20 for something you can play for 30 or 40 hours is still cheaper than what you can get on a handheld." So we'll have to see if Square Enix changes its pricing in the future. If anyone can command higher prices for these titles, it's obviously them, but it's also true that as prices drop, sales on the App Store tend to go up. So it's possible that Square Enix could sell more copies and make even more money with a larger potential audience if they go with a lower price. [via Slide to Play]
EVE Evolved: Five awesome carrier tactics
The world of EVE Online's capital warfare is most often a numbers game. Alliances commit forces to a fight knowing that victory is almost assured if they have significantly more ships than the enemy. But not all capital pilots and corporations are created equal; some can pull off incredible tactical plays that act as force multipliers, increasing the effectiveness of every man on the battlefield. Rooks and Kings alliance has a long history of fighting above its weight by employing highly effective cooperative strategies, so it's no surprise that four out of my five top capital tactics come from the alliance's awesome PvP videos. I think it's safe to say that if Rooks and Kings brings fewer capital ships than you to a fight, you're still vastly outnumbered. In this week's EVE Evolved, I showcase videos of five awesome carrier tactics, each with a video of the tactic in action.
Getting Skulls of the Shogun's characters just right
Haunted Temple Studios says it's still a little while out on completing Skulls of the Shogun, an impressive turn-based strategy game due out for XBLA early next year. But the current focus, as I saw during a short demo at the company's HQ (which right now means a living room in an apartment belonging to one of the developers, just a few blocks from the beach in Venice, CA), is not only weeding the bugs out, but making the game look the way it should, so players can make the best strategic decisions possible. For example, the game's archer is relatively powerful, with an attack value of six. When pitted against units with a low defense score, he can sometimes change the tide of a battle all by himself. Graphically, his role is clear -- he's got a bow, and you can clearly see when moving him around that he's meant to be a ranged character. His power isn't quite as apparent, however. Haunted Temple is working on making him look just right: weak enough that he can't withstand a close-up attack, but strong enough that, at range, he's a force to be reckoned with. %Gallery-140036%
Daily iPhone App: Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion
Turn-based strategy warfare is a genre that's surprisingly easy to come by on iOS -- there are a lot of games out there that let you pit various forces against each other in a turn-based battle. But it is hard to come by a really great example of one of these on the App Store, and fortunately Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion does it right. This is the first game from a company called Witching Hour Studios, and as their website says, the title shows that they're trying "not so much to make a quick buck," but to actually set up a story and a world that feels epic even on the iPhone's little screen. Ravenmark feels exactly that. The story and lore feel super solid, and the tactical gameplay uses a sort of expanded rock/paper/scissors system that plays well and offers up all sorts of engagements to command. Various troop types do more damage to others (ranged defeats infantry, for example, but ranged can be beaten by cavalry), and troops can be joined up into sets of one, two, or three, each with their own abilities and special functions. If you've never played a turn-based strategy game, this one might get you into it. It's relatively simple, though obviously can get more complex over time (and there's plenty of depth here to explore over 15 missions, if you do want to get into the nitty gritty of tactics). The graphics are clean and smart, and while the interface does kind of boil down to a series of menus, it's still simple enough that it's easy to direct your troops to where they need to go. There's no RPG elements, really, other than an really deep ongoing story, but this game doesn't profess to be an RPG, so it works just fine (for now -- it definitely feels like there are more games to be set in this world). In fact, the only issue with Ravenmark is that it is so short, and it's constrained only to the small screen for now. But both of those issues are set to be fixed with a free update by Christmas (with new content and a universal version), so if you're interested in either dipping your toe into turn-based tactical strategy, or just really want to play a very well-done and polished example of the genre, this one's for you. It's available right now for US$2.99.
Infinity Blade II previewed, has bigger world, more enemies, and new gear features
With the launch of Infinity Blade II just a few short weeks away, Chair has shown the game off to IGN Wireless, and they report that it looks terrific. The game mostly follows in the path of the first title, with the player having to navigate a path over and over while upgrading their equipment and skills while doing so. But this time around, the "loop" is significantly bigger (with an intro section that's apparently as long as the last game), and there's another reason for going around it a few times, which we'll learn as we play through the game. There are also some significant updates to the gear system, including the ability to dual wield one-handed blades, or even use a big two-handed sword (with its own mechanics for blocking). The magic system has been updated, and gear can now be adorned with gems for extra stats or bonuses. There are a few new varieties of enemies, and enemies will now use tactics like magic also. The world itself is upgraded, too -- various trips through the game will unveil new paths and story lines that play out as you go. And the preview hints at even more interesting features, like "clash mobs," where players all around the world can whittle the health of a huge boss down and then all get a reward for killing it. Sounds really interesting -- Infinity Blade II is due out on December 1. Can't wait!
Gold Capped: How to deal with AH stalkers
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! Camping and stalking are two different things, and I got an email from someone facing both asking for help. I was wondering if you had any advice on discouraging less palatable AH competition? I'm speaking in particular about obsessive AH campers and their stalking tendencies. I know it's pretty standard for competitors to add each other to their friends (or enemies) list in order to keep an eye on when they're around, but over this expansion I've encountered some behaviours which seem to be pushing the boundaries of what is and isn't OK. Earlier in the year I had one competitor follow me across Stormwind, then to Darnassus, then to the Exodar, and finally to Shattrath where I eventually logged because it was getting beyond creepy to cut a gem and then moments later see this guy targeting me and cutting the same thing. I'm not an AH camper, but when I am on I'm happy to list/relist against the guys that are – this one following me now seems to be the dominant one on the server (or the most persistent), but I wanted to know if you had any advice on how to discourage this?
Land of Chaos Online celebrates first anniversary with free stuff
Like presents? If so, Alaplaya is betting you'll like Land of Chaos Online, not to mention the one-year anniversary party that's going on right now. The festivities run through August 30th and include special anniversary gifts for all players as well as free hero cards from the AP shop. LOCO blends action, real-time strategy, and traditional MMORPG progression together with third-person shooter elements and a matchmaking format similar to Defense of the Ancients. The formula is apparently working pretty well, as the game has attracted over 530,000 registered players in the past year, according to a new press release. More info on the game is available at the official website, and you can also download the client and start playing for free.
Jagged Alliance Online premieres new Gamescom trailer
"They gave us a mission. They never told us what it was about." So begins the newest trailer for Jagged Alliance Online, gamigo's turn-based tactical RPG that features mercenaries, guns, and plenty of strategy. The trailer begins with your typical action movie setup: Rugged heroes get involved in a mission gone bad and are hung out to dry by their superiors. Rather than to roll over to die, they pick up a few thousand rounds of ammunition and head out seeking a little revenge. After the introduction, the trailer does show a few seconds of in-game footage from Jagged Alliance Online, as bodies fly when hit with bullets and explosions rule supreme. Jagged Alliance Online will be at this month's Gamescom, and get a preview of the game's convention trailer after the jump.
