PCGamesN Saturday, December 10, 2022 12:35 PM  Following confirmation of the Diablo 4 release date at The Game Awards 2022, accompanied by a rather spectacular performance of 'Lilith' by singer Halsey to accompany the game's demonic primary antagonist, Blizzard has outlined more details of the Diablo 4 pre-order beta access and other bonus items that will be offered to players who pre-order the standard, digital deluxe, or ultimate edition of the hellish RPG game. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Diablo 4 release date, The best games like Diablo you can play on PC, Diablo 4 classes |
PCGamesN Saturday, December 10, 2022 11:36 AM  Overwatch 2 voice lines are an integral part of team communication, combining with the Blizzard sequel's new ping system - arguably one of the best Overwatch 2 changes introduced for the follow-up FPS game - to help you more easily and accurately coordinate big plays and let your teammates know when you need help with that Reaper in your backline. However, one particular foible of the system is making it difficult for players to simply group up - often one of the simplest and most effective ways to quickly tighten up your team's play. Continue reading Overwatch 2 voice lines won't just let players group up MORE FROM PCGAMESN: All Overwatch 2 characters, Best Overwatch 2 settings, Overwatch 2 tier list |
Twinfinite Saturday, December 10, 2022 4:19 PM Blue Protocol is coming to the west, and you can see what it offers in a new trailer. |
Twinfinite Saturday, December 10, 2022 2:49 PM The Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo and more are coming to GT7 next week. |
Twinfinite Saturday, December 10, 2022 11:06 AM Berserk: The Golden Age Arc - Memorial Edition has received a release date for its Blu-ray set. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 10, 2022 3:00 PM
Not every game can be everything you expect. Which can make it all the more sad when something you hoped would be special doesn't quite to turn out the way you wanted. It doesn't necessarily mean the whole game and experience is bad. It just casts a bit of a pallor over things. Which is exactly happened with The Outbound Ghost. The Outbound Ghost is a Kickstarter success story. Outbound used to apparently be a pleasant town. However, everyone there is now dead after a succession of tragedies. First, cursed, poisoned water killed a majority of the villagers. Those who survived that ended up killed. Everyone's a ghost now, with unfinished business keeping them from ascending. That includes the player. However, your initial ghostly avatar's identity is unknown, due to an unfortunate case of amnesia. What's left is to aid the spectral citizens now inhabiting Outbound so they can ascend, deal with the otherworldly monsters, and try to get some answers. (Spoiler alert: A lot of things don't get resolved.)
The Outbound Ghost very heavily leans into the Paper Mario vibe. All ghosts appear as though they are hand-drawn on paper, moving through environments. The turn-based battles feature elements from it and Pokemon. Rather than fight as yourself, you send out Figments representing elements of your personality to act as party members, each with their distinct attributes and attacks. Their assaults feature timed elements to inflict more damage. It even channels a bit of Bravely Default, as you can spend a turn Aethering Up to gather more AP to attack more. You also encounter lots of personable characters, some more than others, all with tasks to complete. Many of my issues come from that execution. The battles lack bite, even on the Normal or Hard difficulties. They aren't terribly engaging unless it is a boss fight. But instead of all bosses being equally sound and strategic, sometimes you'll happen upon a completely unbalanced one without any warning that you're about to encounter an unreasonably strong foe. There's no map, which can make finding your way easier. Fast traveling is there, but when you aren't sure where to go. Which is an issue, because some quests aren't always clear about what to do next. They'll involve fetch quest elements and backtracking, but you won't exactly know where or how. I also encountered some bugs and glitches. However, Conradical Games already noted the build of The Outbound Ghost that appeared on consoles isn't the one that was supposed to launch. A patch is on the way. Know that the game can crash on you, so save whenever you can.
There are some things that The Outbound Ghost does that are neat. Tons of approachability options are there. When you start the game, you can randomize the order in which you get Figments and Aspect recipes and meet Apparitions. All of these seem to encourage replays. Especially since the four difficulty options include a Spectral (Extreme) one and an option to restrict how many Figments you can acquire. I'd even say it is rather accessible, since the Easy difficulty is really just there so you can see the story and you can start the adventure with every Figment. I'm also really happy with how Conradical Games is approaching development. There's a New Game+ element on the way in December 2022. There's also going to be more to do, due to post-game bosses and party chat joining the new sidequests that already came up. They even are going to rework the things that aren't working as well, like UIs and fast travel. The Outbound Ghost is, for me, an experience about adjusting expectations. Yes, I expected more. More charm. More to the narrative. More substance. It isn't a bad game. Rather, it can just get a bit tedious. Especially since the gameplay elements and visuals mean it will be constantly compared to the original Paper Mario and Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, both of which are more unique and vibrant titles. The Outbound Ghost is available on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and PC. The post I Wish The Outbound Ghost Did More appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 10, 2022 1:30 PM
At WonHobby G 2022 Autumn, a new Ryza figure appeared. Good Smile Company showed off a scale figure of Reisalin "Ryza" Stout in her Atelier Ryza 3 attire. Now, pre-orders are already open. She'll debut in Japan sometime in December 2023. However, people in North America will need to wait until February 2024 for the statue. It will cost ¥26,378/183.99. This Atelier Ryza 3 statue doesn't come with any spare parts. She's wearing the latest version of her staff. It features a pinwheel like the one she carried in Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout. Likewise, her outfit features callbacks to her past costumes, but still is entirely unique. The base actually features terrain, with a rock and flowers as accents. Good Smile Company shared official pictures of it from various angles. Here's a closer look at the figure. It is a 1/7th scale one. That means it will stand at almost a foot tall. (It is about 300mm.) It is the company's first figure of any character from this entry. Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key will come out on the PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC via Steam on February 24, 2023 worldwide. The Atelier Ryza 3 figure of Ryza will appear in Japan in December 2023 and in North America in February 2024. The post Atelier Ryza 3 Figure of Ryza Won't Appear Until 2024 appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 10, 2022 12:00 PM
When a filmmaker needs to demonstrate that characters are good friends and have a long history together, they might decide to use a montage. They'd put a number of shots in sequence, showing the characters together in unrelated circumstances. Aquaplus' new JRPG Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten is what you'd get if you decided to let every shot of that montage play out in full with the accompanying context. In other words, it's a whole new, different movie unto itself. It's not quite a "prequel," in the sense that its events lead directly up to those of Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception (and its sequel, Mask of Truth). Rather, it's the start of a new story starring Oshtor, a major supporting character from Mask of Deception. In Monochrome Mobius, we see him before he began his career as Yamato's Imperial General of the Right. Young Oshtor, who believes his father long dead, encounters Shunya, a peppy young girl who claims to have been raised by that very father and just escaped enigmatic pursuers. Together they go on a quest to find out why Oshtor's father abandoned his family and what he was doing in Shunya's home, the mysterious land of Arva Shulan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30f1Q2Vjsuc Along the way, they meet several other big names from Utawarerumono, including Mikazuchi, Oshtor's future best friend and future Imperial General of the Left, and Munechika, a future Pillar General of Yamato. In fact, with a few exceptions, many of the major characters from the Utawarerumono Mask duology play roles as their younger selves in Monochrome Mobius. This deep, if indirect, connection to the larger franchise works in the game's favor. That's because the core story, when taken solely in isolation, isn't especially novel. It hits its beats, but if you're familiar with fantasy anime or have a few JRPGs under your belt, you'll see most of it coming. Taken as a part of Utawarerumono as a whole, however, Monochrome Mobius shines brilliantly. It's a substantial expansion of the game's unique sense of atmosphere and its already considerable backstory. Its distinct terminology, inspired by the aesthetic and culture of Japan's indigenous peoples (such as the Ainu) might come across as hard-to-read gibberish to someone unfamiliar with the setting. To someone who knows (or at least has built up a tolerance to it over the course of the previous games) will instead feel a flash of warm nostalgia.
As a fan of the franchise, it was a joy just to browse the game's glossary and read term and item descriptions. It was also great to see the game's world expand beyond the nations of Yamato and Tuskur that we're already familiar with. Seeing the origin points of certain quirks for these characters I had grown familiar with over the course of the Mask duology felt like getting to know them even better. I never knew I wanted to know where Oshtor and Mikazuchi got their disguised personas from, or to see who inspired their first naked drinking party, but I do now. I just don't know if that sense of deepening connection be as there for a person using Monochrome Mobius as their first brush with Utawarerumono. If you've the time, I would highly recommend playing the other games first, or at least trying out their anime adaptations. If the game sticks close to home when it comes to its narrative and world-building, it goes much farther afield when it comes to its mechanics. The other Utawarerumono games were visual novels with a tactics-game layer to facilitate battles. Monochrome Mobius is a traditional JRPG. You'll pilot the party of Oshtor, Munechika, Mikazuchi, and Shunya across open fields, moving from place to place in pursuit of the next side quest or cutscene. Along the way you'll fight a ton of roaming monsters, buy new equipment (or improve what you've got), level up, learn skills, find treasures, navigate dungeons, and fight bosses. It ticks off every box in that big checklist of "Things JRPGs should have". One character even makes a couple of jokes that all but mention Dragon Quest and The Legend of Zelda by name, signaling that "Yes, we're doing this thing because we're in a JRPG."
Don't get me wrong, they're good jokes! They're especially clever because the context of Utawarerumono means that the jokes aren't even "meta" and don't break the Fourth Wall! But at the same time, the sense that Aquaplus is simply ticking off a list of "JRPG design conventions," rather than really asking if something fits or makes the game better, pervades Monochrome Mobius. The environments of Yamato are massive, and take a long time to traverse. But bar a few locations, they're completely unmemorable, a long procession of rolling hills and deep forests covered in so much foliage that it's difficult to see roaming enemies without staring at the mini-map. Rather than large vistas or carefully designed sightlines and scenery, Monochrome Mobius' world is so visually indistinct that it needs regularly spaced signposts to tell you where you're going. It tries to reward exploration by hiding treasure chests and resource-gathering points in out-out-the-way reaches, but that sense of exploration conflicts with the scarcity of save points and the fact that the game only auto-saves on loading a new area. Additionally, when in the field there's no good way of knowing if an enemy is strong or not (like a level indicator). The only way to find out if you're in a dangerous place is to fight an enemy and see if it kills you. During this review, my game crashed while I tried to load into a safe town, wiping out nearly two hours of exploration progress and several side quests I completed in the same area. I felt like quitting right then and there.
Even the battle system doesn't feel fully thought-out, just implemented as if to tick a box on the list. Monochrome Mobius combat isn't technically turn-based, but is set around the concept of "Action Rings" that characters and enemies "race" around to get to their turn. Attacking enemies (or taking hits) knocks the target back, or even resets their progress if they've been "Staggered". Players can speed up their turn frequency by "Ascending" into one of the inner Action Rings, too. You can also apply buffs and avoid debuffs by moving around the rings. Even certain spells don't cast their effects on a target, but on a specific portion of the action ring, meaning that characters gain its effects only when their icon is passing through that portion. In theory, the system allows for an interesting combination of timing management and positional management. Players can manipulate the order of actions by targeting the right enemies and using the right abilities. For example, you could try to knock a boss "back" with a certain skill to ensure he takes his turn after your characters have had a chance to heal or buff up.
In practice, though, this kind of forward thinking is rarely necessary outside of boss fights, at least on Normal difficulty. Even in boss fights, your level and equipment matter much more than how cleverly you can manipulate the Action Rings. It saves far more time to just spam area attacks and clean up the rest rather than do the careful targeting prioritization the game encourages. In all honesty, better this way. The system doesn't give you all the information you'd really need to make use of the combat mechanics as designed. You can't tell how far back an enemy will be "pushed" by your attacks, and icons move too quickly for you to make use of your sense of timing. There's not even a way to tell if an enemy is dying until they're almost dead. As a result, any even fight in Monochrome Mobius is just a slugging match, where you try to do as much damage as possible and kill an enemy before they take their turn. This lack of forethought in the user experience discourages experimentation and instead privileges tedious grinding and safe strategies, so you don't get wiped out and lose progress if you encounter something above your level range.
Luckily, the issues I have with Monochrome Mobius aren't fundamental. Players who enjoy grinding can make the battle work for them, and other issues are the sort that can potentially be addressed with patches, or even in the sequel that's rather shamelessly teased in the epilogue. Fans of Utawarerumono should still consider giving the game a shot, as the strength of its story and characterization makes the trip worthwhile. Everyone else, though, would be better served by playing the previous games first before they take the plunge. Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten is available on PC globally. In Japan the game is available on PC, PS4, and PS5. The post Review: Monochrome Mobius is Mainly for Utawarerumono Fans appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, December 10, 2022 11:30 AM
Season 3 of the Demon Slayer anime will begin in April 2023, however Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village will kick things off ahead of that. Crunchyroll announced a worldwide tour for a theatrical showing of two episodes of season 2 paired with the first episode of season 3. It will appear worldwide. There will be an LA debut in February, with US and Canadian showings beginning March 3, 2023. [Thanks, Crunchyroll!] Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village will have episodes 10 and 11 of season 2 and first episode of season 3. The first season 3 episode will be an extended cut of it. The LA showing will be February 18, 2022. Aimer, who performed the season 2 theme song "Zankyo Sanka," will perform. Natsuki Hanae, who voices Tanjiro in Demon Slayer, Alm in Fire Emblem, 9S in NieR Automata, and Albaird in Star Ocean: The Divine Force, will also attend. Here's Crunchyroll's announcement:
There is also a new montage trailer accompanying the announcement. Following the worldwide tour, which will also appear in Berlin, Mexico City, Paris, and Tokyo in addition to LA, the theatrical showings will begin. On March 3, 2023, people will be able to choose between dub or sub versions of the three episode presentation. Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village will show up in the US and Canada on March 3, 2023. Demon Slayer season 3's Swordsmith Village Arc will begin in April 2023 with a one hour episode first episode. The post Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village Kicks Off Season 3 in Theaters appeared first on Siliconera. |
PC Invasion - FeedDDD Saturday, December 10, 2022 5:00 PM  Teamfight Tactics (often regarded as TFT) is Riot Games' autobattler, featuring many of the units found in League of Legends. Fortunately for us, Teamfight Tactics has seen a boost in popularity, allowing the team to experiment with new champions and items. Set 8 of TFT features many components that can be combined together to make full items. When you place these items on units, they will gain bonus stats and a special effect that will empower them in battle. Knowing which items to combine and which units to place them on is important. You also need to know which components combine to make a certain item. Memorizing this list will come through playing the game, but if you're starting out in Teamfight Tactics, you can utilize this guide below. All Set 8 Teamfight Tactics items – TFT item guide All components Sword: +10% Attack Damage. Recurve Bow: +10% Attack Speed. Chain Vest: +20 Armor. Negatron Cloak: +20 Magic Resist. Needlessly Large Rod: +10 Ability Power Tear ... |