We’ve seen a number of games focusing on The Smurfs release in recent years. But very soon will be The Smurfs game you’ve been dreaming of – quite literally.
A Smurfing Dream
The latest from a Microids team who have got right behind the little blue guys previously, developed by Ocellus Services is The Smurfs – Dreams. It’s set to launch on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Dive in upon release later in 2024 and you’ll find yourself taking in an all-new, pretty epic, 3D platforming adventure; an adventure that will take you beyond the wildest of Smurfy imaginations. You see, it’s here where you’ll find yourself dropping deep into the mind of a sleeping Smurf, helping the gang navigate their way through some enchanted realms.
Ultimately, there will be a bit of a face-off against their arch-nemesis, Gargamel, as The Smurfs – Dreams see nightmares and dreams collide. With solo and cooperative options promised, plenty of puzzles, challenges galore and hours of fun, The Smurfs – Dreams should be one you won’t want to sleep on.
Key features
Interested in saving the day? The key features of The Smurfs – Dreams will include…
Solo or Co-op Gameplay: Team up with friends for a smurf-tastic gaming experience!
Dive into Unique Dreams: Explore diverse realms with their own set of challenges and surprises!
Embark on an Epic Adventure: Journey through 4 dreamy worlds with 12 levels and 16 mini-levels to conquer!
Customize Your Character: Collect magic orbs and boss tokens to unlock cool customization options and surprises!
Stunning Art Direction: Immerse yourself in a colorful and magical world that evolves as you progress!
Ready to unleash your inner Smurf?
The Smurfs – Dreams is coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S later in 2024. Expect to see if on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC too.
Apart from the ‘incorrect spelling’ of the second word of the title, what else can I say about the latest from retro JRPG masters KEMCO? Well, Glorious Savior is yet another retro styled JRPG that comes to Xbox with the traditional kind of setup – a disparate team of people coming together to save the world. You know the drill, this is a KEMCO RPG…
Glorious Savior – a standard KEMCO RPG?
The presentation is exactly as you would expect from a KEMCO game too, but there is a little twist that helps to keep things interesting. You see, the way that the characters are designed in Glorious Savior is all straight out of the KEMCO playbook, with a pleasing anime style and pleasant enough looking backdrops.
The big twist comes in the battle screen, where the action suddenly switches to a 3D viewpoint, the characters much larger than usual, giving battles a pretty dynamic look. It helps too, because you’ll be looking at the battle screen approximately every 30 seconds, as the amount of random battles in this game is truly ridiculous. In fact, it really kills any flow that Glorious Savior manages to get going.
Other than the graphics, the sounds are also exactly as you would expect too – swishing swords and spells, stirring battle music and so on and so forth.
The story found in Glorious Savior is interesting; very much like KEMCO usually manage to deliver. We play as Rain, a noble who is given a mission to retrieve a stolen sword, the Hero’s Sword. This is a relic from when the Overlord was defeated. Of course, we can’t complete this mission alone and so we are joined by Viola, Soleil and April as we attempt to recover the sword. Through various means, we end up 300 years in the past, just in time to face the Overlord the first time around! The question is, will Rain et al ever see home again, or are they stuck in the past?
The twist is in the combat
With the story nailed on and the presentation discussed, it is time to look at the gameplay. Most of this is much the same as we have seen in countless KEMCO games before – our team wander around on the world map, having battles every ten paces, until we reach the destination we were aiming for – either a town to advance the story, or a dungeon to go and explore. So far, so good. However, there are a couple of things that set Glorious Savior apart from the rest…
The first difference is the presence of a Weapon Fairy, Cobalt, who comes with us. His job is to take the weapons that we find and upgrade them with new powers and extra attacks, using meteorites that we also come across. These weapons can have spirits added to them as well, giving extra powers such as the ability to see secret passages in the dungeons or to have additional health given to the wielder. With a whole lot of weapons to collect, from four different archetypes, including bow, guns, swords and staffs, there is a lot of flexibility here to make your team’s loadout unique to you.
This mechanic also carries through into the main combat screen, adding another layer of complexity. Each character can equip multiple weapons (and as you go on, they can equip up to four, but it is only two as you start the game) and if a weapon is not used in battle, it begins to build up an Aura charge. Once the Aura is full, attacking with the weapon can trigger a “Fever State”; when this occurs, the character with the Fever can attack multiple times for free, usually adding some special conditions to the foes, lowering their defence, for instance. Managing the character’s various weapons and picking the right attack at the right time can add to the challenge. Of course, with the amount of fighting you’re going to do in Glorious Savior, it is easier to get your characters to do it themselves, and the strategy can be set to allow you just to press Y and auto battle to your heart’s content.
Another new feature is the Fairy’s Garden level, where you can go to challenge various dungeons in an attempt to recover the Fairy King. These dungeons are made up of ten levels, and as you go deeper into the dungeon, the difficulty ramps up steadily, culminating in a fight against a demon at the bottom. If you can kill the demon, the dungeon is cleared, and the next one is unlocked. These dungeons have the possibility of finding rare weapons as you explore, with fairies in there to help, whether that be by healing the party or carrying out the weapons that you have found – when you beat the boss, you are only allowed to keep one weapon you have obtained, so these transport fairies are a big help. These levels add a lot to the challenge, and the opportunities there are very tempting.
A middle-of-the-road experience
Glorious Savior does have its stumbling blocks however, and the economy seems to be one. Usually, in a KEMCO game, by about halfway through I’m drowning in gold, but Glorious Savior seems very mean, giving paltry amounts for fighting. The health items and things you need to buy are also stupidly expensive, and so you constantly feel in a state of stress, especially as the team isn’t healed between fights. If you are poisoned in one fight, you will still be poisoned in the next ten seconds later, unless you can afford the item to purge poison.
All in all, the annoyances of Glorious Savior are pretty much balanced by the new mechanics, and as a result this is a very middle of the road game – it never quite tips over the edge into greatness, but neither does it fall into the pit of oblivion. The fights are far, far too numerous though, and it is this that is the big nail in the coffin. Glorious Savior is an RPG that feels more of chore to play than a pleasure, and that is not a happy state of affairs.
Are you ready to explore the exciting world of sweepstakes casinos? These unique online platforms offer players the chance to enjoy a wide variety of casino-style games without risking real money. Instead, you can play using a virtual currency called “Sweeps Cash.”
In this blog post, we’ll get into the details of how to obtain Sweeps Cash, the best sweepstakes casinos available, and the legality of these platforms in the United States.
What is Sweeps Cash?
Before we get started, let’s clarify what Sweeps Cash is all about. It is a form of virtual currency used exclusively on sweepstakes casino platforms. Unlike traditional online casinos that use real money, sweepstakes casinos allow you to play games and potentially win prizes using Sweeps Cash. You can obtain Sweeps Cash for free through various methods.
Top Sweepstakes Casinos for Free Sweeps Cash
Now that you know how to get your hands on Sweeps Cash let’s explore some of the best sweepstakes casinos in the USA.
Stake.us
With over 550 games to choose from, Stake.us offers an impressive selection of slots, table games, live dealer options, scratch cards, and exclusive titles. As a new player, you’ll receive a generous sign-up bonus of 250,000 Gold Coins and 25 Stake Cash.
Plus, don’t forget to claim your daily login bonus of 10,000 Gold Coins and 1 Stake Cash. Stake.us is backed by the popular gaming site, Stake, ensuring a top-notch gaming experience.
What sets Stake.us apart from other sweepstakes casinos is its Live Casino game library. The platform’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate and find your favorite games.
In addition to the sign-up bonus and daily login rewards, Stake.us offers regular promotions and tournaments. Keep an eye on their promotions page to stay updated on the latest offers and opportunities to win extra Sweeps Cash.
Fortune Coins
Second on our list of sweepstakes casinos is Fortune Coins. It features a mix of in-house and popular third-party slots, giving you plenty of options to choose from. While they don’t offer classic table games like blackjack, roulette, or baccarat, they make up for it with a user-friendly mobile app.
As a new player, you can claim an impressive no-purchase bonus of 1,230,000 Gold Coins and 3,900 Fortune Coins (equivalent to $39). However, keep in mind that bank transfer is the only redemption option available.
One of the standout features of Fortune Coins is its mobile app. Available for both iOS and Android devices, the app allows you to play your favorite slots on the go. The app’s intuitive design and smooth performance make it a great choice for mobile gaming enthusiasts.
Fortune Coins also offers a unique loyalty program called “Fortune Club.” As you play and level up, you’ll earn Fortune Points, which can be redeemed for exclusive rewards and bonuses. The higher your level, the better the perks!
McLuck
With a substantial game library and a convenient mobile app for on-the-go gaming, McLuck offers an enjoyable gaming experience. Upon registration, you’ll receive 7,500 Gold Coins and 2.5 Sweepstakes Coins for free.
While they may not have as many promotional offers as other platforms, McLuck stands out with their live chat support, ready to assist you whenever you need it.
Just be aware that they have a more extensive list of restricted states compared to other casinos, including Washington, Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Nevada, Georgia, and Michigan.
One of the highlights of McLuck is its diverse game selection.
From classic slots to modern video slots, there’s something for every type of player. The platform also offers a variety of table games, including blackjack, roulette, and baccarat.
McLuck’s mobile app is another noteworthy feature. The app is well-designed and easy to use, allowing you to access your favorite games from your smartphone or tablet. Whether you’re at home or on the move, you can enjoy a seamless gaming experience with McLuck.
Pulsz
By providing wide range of purchase methods, including Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Union Pay, Discover, Trustly, and SKRILL, Pulsz makes it easy for players to buy coins. Their first purchase bonus is particularly attractive, giving you 200% more coins depending on the package you choose.
They have six different packages that offer a combination of Gold Coins, Sweepstakes Coins, and even a special Golden Key. It’s a great way to boost your Sweeps Cash balance right from the start.
What makes Pulsz stand out is its unique purchasing system. When you make a purchase, you not only receive Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins but also a Golden Key. These keys can be used to unlock special bonuses and rewards.
Pulsz also offers a wide selection of games, including slots, table games, and scratch cards. With new titles added regularly, you’ll always find something fresh and exciting to play.
SweepsSlots
Last but not least, SweepsSlots welcomes new players with a generous registration bonus of 10,500 Gold Coins and 300 Sweeps Coins.
While they don’t have a mobile app, their website is optimized for mobile play, allowing you to enjoy their games on your smartphone or tablet. SweepsSlots focuses primarily on slot games, making it an excellent choice for slots enthusiasts.
One of the standout features of SweepsSlots is its daily login bonus. Every day that you log in, you’ll receive a bundle of free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. The longer you maintain your daily login streak, the bigger the rewards get!
SweepsSlots also offers a variety of slot tournaments, giving you the chance to compete against other players for prizes. These tournaments add a bit more excitement and offer a fun way to socialize with other slot fans.
Legality of Sweepstakes Casinos in The US
You might be wondering, are sweepstakes casinos legal in the United States? The answer is yes, thanks to their dual-currency model. By offering games that use virtual currencies like Gold Coins and Sweeps Cash, these platforms comply with state and federal laws.
However, it’s important to note that some states have specific regulations and restrictions. Always check the terms and conditions of each sweepstakes casino to ensure they operate legally in your state. Usually the states that have restrictions on Sweepstakes Casinos are Washington, Idaho, Nevada & Michigan.
It’s worth mentioning that sweepstakes casinos are not the same as traditional online casinos. While online casinos use real money for betting and payouts, sweepstakes casinos operate under a different set of rules. By using virtual currencies, they can legally offer their services to players in most states.
If you’re ever unsure about the legality of a particular sweepstakes casino, don’t hesitate to reach out to their customer support team. They should be able to provide you with clear information about their legal status and any restrictions that may apply in your state.
Responsible Gaming
While sweepstakes casinos offer a fun and entertaining way to enjoy casino-style games, it’s essential to prioritize responsible gaming. Always play within your means and set realistic limits for yourself. If you ever feel like your gaming habits are becoming problematic, don’t hesitate to seek help.
Most reputable sweepstakes casinos offer responsible gaming tools and resources to help you stay in control. These may include deposit limits, time limits, and self-exclusion options. Take advantage of these tools if you feel they could be beneficial for you.
Obtaining Sweeps Cash
One of the most common ways to get your hands on some Sweeps Cash is by taking advantage of the bonuses offered by sweepstakes casinos.
Have you heard of Daily Login Bonuses? Simply by logging into your account each day, you can receive a bundle of free GC and SC. It’s like getting a daily reward just for showing up!
When you first sign up for a sweepstakes casino, keep an eye out for Registration Bonuses. Many platforms will welcome you with a generous amount of Gold Coins (GC) and Sweeps Cash (SC) just for creating an account. It’s a fantastic way to kickstart your gaming journey without spending a dime.
As you continue to play on these platforms, you’ll want to pay attention to Loyalty Programs. The more you engage with the casino’s games, the higher your account level will climb.
With each new level, you can unlock exciting perks such as higher daily login bonuses, more coins on purchases, exclusive bonus offers, and even the support of a personal account manager. Talk about VIP treatment!
If you have friends or family members who might enjoy sweepstakes casinos, take advantage of Refer a Friend Programs. By bringing new players to the platform, you can earn some extra Sweeps Cash to boost your gameplay. It’s a win-win situation!
Keep an eye out for Social Media Contests & Tournaments, too. While they may not be available at every social casino or happen frequently, these events can be a fantastic opportunity to snag some free Sweeps Cash. Follow your favorite sweepstakes casinos on social media to stay updated on any upcoming promotions.
Conclusion
Sweepstakes casinos offer a unique and exciting way to enjoy online casino games without the risk of losing real money. With the opportunity to obtain free Sweeps Cash through various bonuses, promotions, and contests, you can explore a wide range of games and potentially win prizes. It doesn’t matter which platform you choose – Stake.us, Fortune Coins, McLuck, Pulsz, or SweepsSlots, or another one, you’ll find a platform that suits your preferences and offers a fantastic gaming experience.
Grandia is an RPG that was released way back in the 1990’s, 1997 to be precise, on the original Sony PlayStation. Grandia II then launched a little later, in the year 2000, this time on Sega Saturn and PlayStation 2. Both these games received critical acclaim at the time, and have been firm favourites with RPG fans ever since.
Now, even though I owned the consoles in question, I never played these games back in the day (blame Square and Final Fantasy VII/VIII for that) but now I am in luck – thanks to Sickhead Games and GungHo Online Entertainment, for they have remastered and released both games onto Xbox, under the name of the Grandia HD Collection.
Promising to just give the games a graphical tidy up, without messing with the original gameplay and every thing that made them great, this sounds like an enticing prospect. Of course, if I had known just how big these games were…
A brilliant bit of retro RPG action
Having two RPGs to cover here, both of them being quite large games, means the review will be delivered in quite broad brushstrokes, all in order to not get bogged down in the minutiae of the games. We will begin with the story of Grandia, and while the narratives found in Grandia I and Grandia II aren’t linked in any way, there are similarities when it comes to gameplay.
In Grandia, we play the part of Justin; a young boy whose father was an adventurer. It is he who left him a spirit stone that would go on to lead him on an exciting adventure, one that focuses on the finding of the Angelou Civilisation. The journey takes him to new continents and even beyond the end of the world!
In Grandia II, we play as Ryudo, a Geohound (a kind of mercenary that are looked down on in polite company), as we find ourselves caught up in an apocalyptic scenario. You see, Valmar, the lord of all that is evil, is attempting to make his way back to the world and take over. Of course, this would be a bad thing, and so Ryudo, with the help of various and sundry supporting characters, must put a stop to it.
The two tales found in each game are really engrossing and you will come to care for the characters.
And so we move on to the presentation of Grandia HD Collection – again, it is also quite varied. Starting with the first game, the backgrounds of the levels we find ourselves in are drawn in 3D, but the character and enemy guys are made up of pixelated sprites; it does look a little old fashioned judging by today’s standards. Refreshingly, the camera is fully controllable, so you can see what is happening, and the battle screens and animations are all very nice as well. Grandia II, being a little later, uses the same kind of backdrop, but the characters and enemies have been updated to be made of polygons. They have that lovely retro look, where everything looks a little bit triangular. This is all very nice in action, and that same style is also carried over to the battle screen and the close ups of the victory poses which will really take you back.
Obviously there’s combat…
We can say that the sound and voice acting in both games is pretty good as well, as is the music. Come to Grandia HD Collection like a trip down Memory Lane and you’ll be well catered for.
Gameplay is the standard that we would expect from an RPG, and both games have common threads here. Starting with the combat screens, Grandia is based around a timing bar at the bottom of the screen – when it is your turn to choose what to do, there are a few options to pick from. You can action a regular attack, which hits an enemy twice, and you can also do a critical attack, which hits once but can interrupt an enemy on their turn, at least if you hit them at the right time. There are also special moves and magic to use, as well as having the option to pick from healing items or offensive items should you wish.
The way the battles play out works really well, with the move selection being chosen from a wheel that rotates until you have your selection in hand. Different moves take different lengths of time to pull off, and the longer the wind up, the more danger that an enemy will hit you and cancel the attack. The risk/reward mechanic found in Grandia HD Collection is bang on. Of course, enemies have the same weakness, and this, combined with the movement mechanic where you can actually choose to evade and run away from attacks, makes the combat still feel fresh today.
The rest of Grandia HD Collection is very much as you would expect. There is a world map with various locations on it, and choosing one of these takes you into it to explore. And the enemies that you can fight are visible on the screen, so if you are feeling a little bit fragile, you can try to outrun them; but be aware, if they catch you, they will get initiative and attack first. Running straight at the foes, in contrast, will sometimes give you the advantage, and since you really need to level up to have any chance later on in proceedings, the smart money is on fighting as much as you are able!
Best do as you’re told!
There are various things to find while exploring too and that means you’ll be able to keep up to date with new bits of kit that need to be equipped – such as amulets that provide wind protection, helpful against foes that use that element. There is no shortage of things to do in Grandia HD Collection in fact. You should however be aware that if you are coming from a modern RPG background, then you will fast discover there are no autosaves, so every time you see a save point, make sure you save. Otherwise you’ll find yourself repeating chunks of the game. Ask me how I know…
All in all, the Grandia HD Collection is absolutely brilliant value for money. Two full length classic RPG adventures are included in the package, and that means there are many, many hours of gameplay to be sunk in. Best of all, the prevalence of hints and tips on the internet (what did we do before this, eh?) means that both Grandia and Grandia II have a bright future on the Xbox.
Grandia HD Collection may not appeal to everyone, but those drawn to it will find this to be a great package.
We first became aware of Edifier as a brand a year or so ago, all as we stuck the Edifier GX Gaming Headset on our head. There were elements of that headset we absolutely loved, but issues meant it wasn’t something we could use on the daily.
There’s no doubt that aesthetically, Edifier know their stuff, continuing to excel design wise with their G2000 Gaming Speakers. Frankly, these look stunning sat on a desk (we’ve had them sitting either side of a dual-monitor set-up on our EZ Desk Carbon Edition), hooked up to a laptop or PC, delivering some really nice audio to the ears. In fact, no matter whether a minimal or flashy light-fuelled set-up is your bag, we’ll highly advise you to chuck these on your consideration list.
Stock image – The G2000 Gaming Speakers look good in white
The Edifier G2000 Gaming Speakers are a set of permanently attached speakers that should well ensure your gaming sessions are heightened. Connected by a single cable (180cm) between the two, one of those units works as the ‘master’ device, with the other slaving away to ensure some audio balance. All inputs and controls are found on the singular device, meaning that we’ve found it best to keep that one just within reach.
Running a chalky white and silver design (an all-black option is available), each speaker sits on a set of four rubber pads on the bottom. These ensure they stay put on any desk, rising from the platform with a slight hexagonal design. Curves and edges work well visually, with G2000 and Edifier logos pride of place, situated on the front and down one side. For the most part it’s just those logos that break up the white slabs, complementing the dark open front-facing speakers nicely. Yes, Edifier – again – are here, proving their worth in how to put a product together. Coming in with dimensions of roughly 10cm wide, 13cm high and 10cm deep, these are a well crafted set of duo speakers.
But they aren’t just for looking good. They sound excellent too. To our tastes, the G2000’s are nice and bassy, filling a room easily without ever having to take them up to top volume. For the most part they stay clear in that audio too, covering levels that you’ll appreciate, no matter whether you’re listing to music, watching YouTube videos or playing games. Perhaps, going to 11 and beyond sees some muddying (we’ve mostly found this with vocal audio accompanying a bassy soundtrack at full volume), but you’ll very rarely ever go up that high. We only did so for testing purposes, and aside from that, preferred to run at a more acceptable level.
Simple, easy to use controls
Edifier pretty much have your back in terms of connectivity too. Generally speaking, we’d say that these are best suited to a desk-based PC set up, running USB-A (a cable length of 1.2m) into the device of choice. But if you prefer to utilise a 3.5mm aux-in cable (a cable of 1.3m in length is included in the box), or Bluetooth capabilities, you can do so. Honestly, playing Game Pass titles on our phone, Bluetoothing things in to the G2000 has been our go-to over the course of the last few weeks, with stable connections at all times. Is there any lag through that? Perhaps just a tad, but it’s nothing to get too worried about. Obviously these are no good for mobile gaming and playing on the go, mostly as the G2000’s need a power supply to work, but if you’re sat at home and fancy a quick mobile-based Game Pass session, there’s next to no reason to not connect your phone to the G2000’s and power on through.
And no matter which of the connectivity options you run, controls are simple. Sitting on the external of one speaker is a little volume switch, a ‘Game’, ‘Music’ and ‘Movie’ mode button for your preference, and the power button. That power button also helps cycle through the aux, Bluetooth and USB connections. It’s all very simple stuff, but does the job nicely.
There’s more though and much like how Edifier lit up the late-night gaming sessions with some fancy lighting on the GX Gaming Headset, the same is true here. There are a dozen different lighting effects found on the G2000 Gaming Speakers, pushed out through some LED strips placed along the backend of each unit. Capable of being switched off fully, you’ll also find five solid colours available (we like the Xbox green for obvious reasons), a similar number of pulsating colours and then a cycle of the rainbow. It’s a nice touch and means that if you’re one of those gamers with lights coming out of your ears, the G2000 will fit your set-up well. Again, all of this is controlled via a single hold of a button on the side of the speaker.
LIGHTS!
So, ultimately, what does all this mean? Well, we’d go as far to say that if you are in the market for some desktop-based speakers, and occasionally want to use those same audio providers for Game Pass and mobile gaming, you should really crack on with purchasing the Edifier G2000 Gaming Speakers – or at the very least, sticking them on a consideration list. After a good few weeks of use, we’ve struggled to find many (read: any) real issues, with just a bit of muddy sound seeping through at very top end volume levels being a let-down. Honestly though, the G2000’s are so loud, you’ll rarely feel the need to push them to those utter limits. Once set-up, they’ve gone about their business without fail, pushing out some seriously bass-filled audio in the process and whilst we’d go with the white version that we’ve been using, if black is your bag, you’re equally covered.
Huge thanks go out to Edifier for providing us with the G2000 Gaming Speakers for review. Hit up Edifier direct or pay a visit to Amazon. You should expect to pay around £90.
The Halo Championship Series (HCS) has been the pinnacle of competitive Halo gaming over the past five years, highlighting top-tier talent and thrilling tournaments. This article explores the standout teams and memorable tournaments that have defined the competitive landscape of Halo. We will delve into the achievements of dominant teams and the evolution of tournament play and highlight the events that have captivated fans worldwide.
Dominance of Team Sentinels: Unmatched Performance in HCS
Team Sentinels have been a formidable force in the HCS, consistently delivering top performances and securing their status as one of the elite teams in Halo esports. Over the past five years, they have claimed multiple championship titles, including a memorable victory at the 2020 HCS Pro League Finals. Their strategic gameplay and cohesive team dynamics have set the standard for excellence in the series.
Rise of Cloud9: Emerging as Contenders
Cloud9, having entered the Halo scene more recently compared to other teams, has quickly risen through the ranks to establish themselves as one of the top contenders in the HCS. With a major win at the 2021 HCS Kickoff Major Raleigh, they solidified their reputation as a powerhouse capable of taking on the traditional giants. Their aggressive playstyle and adaptability have been key to their rapid ascent in competitive Halo.
Impact of OpTic Gaming: Consistency and Skill
OpTic Gaming has been a consistent presence in the HCS, known for their skilled roster and strategic mastery. Their most notable achievement came with a victory at the 2018 HCS Invitational, where they demonstrated their tactical prowess and deep understanding of the game. OpTic Gaming’s influence extends beyond their tournament wins, contributing significantly to the growth and popularity of Halo esports.
Evolution of HCS Tournaments: Innovations and Growth
The structure and scale of HCS tournaments have evolved significantly over the past five years. Innovations in tournament design, such as the introduction of online qualifiers and enhanced live event experiences, have improved accessibility and fan engagement. These changes have not only expanded the competitive scene but have also elevated the standard of play, making each tournament more exciting than the last.
Memorable HCS Events: Tournaments That Shaped the Scene
Among the most memorable events in HCS history is the 2019 Halo World Championship, which featured an epic showdown between Team Sentinels and OpTic Gaming. This tournament is celebrated not only for its high-stakes gameplay but also for its dramatic narratives and the incredible atmosphere generated by the passionate fan base.
Player Influence on Team Success: Key Figures in Halo Esports
The success of teams in the HCS often hinges on the performance of standout players. Figures like Frosty from Team Sentinels and Shotzzy from OpTic Gaming have become icons of the Halo esports community. Their individual skills and ability to perform under pressure have led their teams to numerous victories and have earned them individual accolades as well.
Sponsorship and Media Coverage: Enhancing the Halo Esports Ecosystem
Sponsorships and media coverage have played pivotal roles in the development of the HCS. Major brands and media outlets have invested in the series, bringing more attention and resources to the tournaments. This support has helped professionalize Halo esports, providing teams and players with the resources needed to compete at the highest level.
Engaging the Audience
To increase fan engagement and excitement around tournaments, betting promotions have become more prevalent in the HCS scene. These promotions offer fans a way to participate in the action, adding an extra layer of excitement to the viewing experience. Such initiatives have not only drawn more viewers but have also introduced a new dynamic to fan interaction during HCS events.
Challenges in Competitive Halo: Overcoming Obstacles
Despite the growth and success of the HCS, the series has faced challenges, including adapting to changes in game mechanics and dealing with the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges have tested the resilience and adaptability of the teams and organizers, shaping the series into what it is today.
Looking to the Future: Prospects and Predictions for Halo Esports
As the HCS continues to evolve, the future looks promising for Halo esports. With the upcoming release of new Halo titles and potential expansions in the series, the community is optimistic about continued growth and the introduction of even more competitive opportunities. This progression promises to keep the HCS at the forefront of esports entertainment, captivating fans and players alike.
Reflecting on the past five years of the Halo Championship Series reveals a dynamic and evolving competitive landscape filled with remarkable teams and unforgettable tournaments. As the series progresses, it continues to be a seminal part of the esports world, driving the popularity of Halo and setting the bar for what competitive gaming can achieve.
After the bloody romp I had with Dead Island 2 upon its release, I had high hopes going into the DLC.
The first offering, Dead Island 2: Haus, was a wonderful self-contained story that leant more into the actual horror aspect of Dead Island. The ‘forests’ you wandered around whilst in a cult HQ did make me feel slightly uneasy. However, Dead Island 2: SoLA looks more like the main game; sun-drenched and bloody. As you head over to a music festival that is so LA (you can see where the name comes from) is it a fire festival, or a Fyre festival?
Heading to Dead Island 2: SoLA?
You can access the SoLA festival as long as you have completed the Giant Slayer main mission in the base game. Unlike the Haus DLC, SoLA acts like a new location on the map, requiring you to first find the entrance to it in Beverly Hills. From there, you can then fast travel to it.
Once you arrive, things are pretty much as you would expect them to be. Exactly how this festival turned into a raging pot of zombies though is something new entirely. The first thing you will do is find the safe house for this area, and inside is a new character called Grace. She explains that the zombies here were turned by listening to a strange beat being played out of some custom made speakers. You, being immune, offer to investigate.
Dead Island 2: SoLA feels like much more of an extension of the main story than the Haus DLC. The odd character makes a reappearance, and at one point you head back to the main map to complete a mission for the DLC. Therefore, despite being available from around halfway through the main story, it is advisable to be nearer the end before attempting.
The DLC comes with what you would expect: new weapons, new zombie variants, new bosses, new locations, new skills etc. However, many of these threw up issues for me.
New gear is good – but let us use it!
Firstly, the new weapons. One of which, the Ripper, is available for purchase in the safehouse for an extraordinary amount of money. One thing I have always struggled with is money in Dead Island 2, and with how repairs and upgrades work, saving that kind of dollar is unlikely. The second new weapon, the Sawblade Launcher, is given to you as a reward for completing the DLC, similar to how it was in Haus. No. Give me these new weapons to play around with in the DLC, rather than at the end when I am likely to never use them.
Then we get to the new variants. The first one you will encounter is the Whipper, which uses its own intestines to whip you. The range with these is nothing short of ‘long’ and with a new AoE attack it is frustrating, albeit in a good way, as you work out the best way to deal with it. The other new zombie though, the Clotter, is just downright annoying, turning into bloody puddles of ooze whenever you are getting close to an attack. The fact these usually attack in pairs makes them all the more annoying.
The main boss of Dead Island 2: SoLA is known as The Dirge; very much like an apex variant of the Clotters. After his initial appearance, The Dirge will pop up periodically to terrorise you, not too dissimilar from say Mr. X or the Nemesis from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 respectively. He is impervious to any of your attacks, meaning your only option is to run.
The new boss is interesting in how it infrequently appears to rain on your parade. But the new safe house is dead centre of the DLC and in a big field, so I never really felt trapped by it. Unlike say, if it was to appear in the Halperin Hotel section or down in the sewers.
His final boss fight is also one of the trickiest in the entire game. Without giving too much away for plot details, your best bet would be to bring a friend.
Most definitely Dead Island 2!
All this is wrapped up in a DLC that should take no longer than three hours to complete. It felt Dead Island 2: SoLA would have been slightly longer than the Haus DLC, but they are of a similar length.
But SoLA still manages to feel unnecessarily dragged out. A couple of side quests pop up, but the main narrative and quest design feel purposefully made to have you running to and from the same locations repeatedly. And even with the aforementioned returning to the main map for a quest, it is all padding to give the DLC an acceptable runtime.
It is likely that Dead Island 2: SoLA is the last major update for Dead Island 2. It’s a shame then that it’s the weaker of the two post-release add-ons, as many will have had higher hopes for this one based on the setting alone. But the set-up and the premise are a bit of a disappointment. That, along with some questionable design choices – like locking away one of the new weapons until the end or somehow feeling like a three hour DLC is padded out – means you may just want to say so long to the SoLA DLC sooner than you were anticipating.
I’m in the fifth stage of Aery. There may be more. The first stage was Curiosity, as I couldn’t figure out how this bird-centred series could be so long-running. Then it was Relaxed as I played a couple and immediately keyed into the laid back pace. Then it was Bemused as, after each release, I got a sense of deja vu that I had played levels before. Finally it was Boredom as, yep, I was definitely playing levels I had played before, and Anger – where I am now – at the audacity of releasing the same game every month.
The Aery games aren’t going to stop, so – as someone who has played them all – I should probably take a holiday from them. If they’re not going to have a break, perhaps I should, for my own sanity. But the completionist in me can’t stop. I’ve got to play them all, angry or not.
A neon hit for Aery?
First impressions were good. Aery – Cyber City is the same bird-soaring simulator as all the other games (it was never going to change that much), but the first levels felt new. Taking inspiration from Cyberpunk 2077, it explores a neuromantic city at various levels of zoom. We would be gliding through industrial warehouses and then on to Casino City-like landscapes, feeling like a flying taxi in Blade Runner. We’ve been to plenty of futuristic cities in Aery, but not quite so neon, and not quite so thick with detail.
While the art is still reasonably rough and polygonal, there’s just so much richness in each scene that it starts coming together effectively. CD Projekt Red won’t lose any sleep, but for an indie title that’s south of a tenner, it’s well done.
We can’t be one-hundred percent certain, but we think something dramatic has changed on the engine side, too. Aery often has some of the worst pop-in in gaming, as entire mountainsides can appear and punch you in the face mid-swoop. But we barely noticed any pop-in at all. That’s partially down to the smog, darkness and chromatic aberration that’s sneakily applied, but we think there’s something under the hood, too. The odd space level even manages to feel sprawling.
And then there’s a complete lack of bugs. We think that makes two Aery releases in a row where we were able to reach the end of the game. Praise the parrot! It shouldn’t need celebrating, but we’ve been frustrated by Aery so often in the past that we can’t help but raise a glass to it.
Wat dis? New Aery levels?
Which is all rather positive. It would be a sign of potential improvement, a sense that Aery might be turning a corner, if Aery – Cyber City didn’t regress in a different category. Because Aery – Cyber City is an enemy of fun. It’s forgotten old rules, things it has learned over the past bazillion entries, and is poorer for it.
Aery, if you’re not familiar, wants you to glide a bird around an environment in search of feathers. As one feather is found, the next in the chain appears, and you’re meant to follow them in succession until the final one is gathered. It’s a cozy experience that barely strays into thought. You can entirely switch off and bumble from collectible to collectible.
Except Aery – Cyber City doesn’t let you switch off. Rather than leave a trail of breadcrumbs, like an aerial Hansel and Gretel, it throws the breadcrumbs into the air and lets them fall where they may. Collect a feather and the next appears, but it could be anywhere. It doesn’t appear somewhere within your viewpoint: it could be sharply up, down or even behind you. Often, that means backtracking to old areas over and over again.
It’s perfectly possible to find a feather in Aery – Cyber City, sigh, and then perform a full 360 in the search for the next one. And then, because it’s a 3D space, you dip your nose and raise it to see if it’s above or below. Then you swoop around in the hope that a twinkly feather will appear on a distant horizon. At least four or five times in a level, we would head in a direction merely out of hope.
You’ll need to hunt for those feathers
There’s one feather in particular that had us cursing the devs. Feather 23 on level 5 required us to head through a Stargate-like ring for five whole minutes, through yet another Stargate ring, and then – just as we were about to give up and head the other way – the feather appeared. When Aery is so slow and painful to backtrack, this approach of keeping feathers distant from each other is less than helpful. It’s an approach we thought Aery had long ditched.
The effect is that a laid back game stops being laid back. We were constantly sulking and crabbing at Aery – Cyber City, as we couldn’t get comfortable because yet another feather was a couple of miles from the last one. It’s like being laid down for a massage, relaxing the muscles, only to be jabbed in the ribs at random intervals. You can’t relax when there’s the threat of frustration at every corner.
Aery – Cyber City became something of a mixed bag. We appreciated the art and tech improvements, flying around without the nagging sensation that we had been there before. That’s new. We don’t take that for granted at all. Aside from a completely unclear last level (you can have too much chromatic aberration, EpiXR) this has a much higher percentage of new, readable and even attractive levels.
The least enjoyable of all the Aery games?
If only we could have appreciated them without being royally peeved. Flying from feather to feather just isn’t fun or relaxed when those feathers seem placed at random. In pure gameplay terms, we think Aery – Cyber City might be the least enjoyable of all Aery games.
Which leads to the inevitable question: when you’ve released dozens of Aery games, how can the latest one be arguably the least enjoyable? That’s a special kind of achievement.
If you’re going to make a game where falling into water is instant death, don’t make your main character a frog. Don’t pick the world’s most iconic amphibian. Sure, it’s not a criticism that should ever factor into the scoring of a game, but come on, it’s a frog, people.
To give SokoFrog some credit, there are other more frog-appropriate ways to die. Spikes, for example. And bottomless black holes. We appreciate that these are hazards you should avoid as a box-pushing frog.
The ‘Soko’ in the SokoFrog title comes from ‘Sokoban’, the Japanese word for ‘warehouse keeper’, and the 1982 classic that kickstarted the genre of box puzzles. Thanks to the influence of that game, we have played umpteen similar games over the years, clearing crates to get to exits, drop boxes onto switches and other variations. Doing it as a frog, though, may be a first.
Get pushing those boxes – as a little frog
SokoFrog doesn’t waste its time trying to explain why you are here or why you’ve got webbed feet and hands. It’s 100 puzzles where the aim is to nudge a kind of companion cube onto a matching square somewhere else on a grid. Manage that and a door slides open, taking you to the next level. That’s it: there’s no remixes on that theme. SokoFrog is deliberately simple.
What does change is the layout of the level and the obstacles in the way. As you’d expect from the subgenre, there are other, less vital blocks cluttering the room. And there are sides and corners to the room: the enemy of any Sokoban. Push your crate into one of these and there’s a good chance it will be stuck there forever. You can’t get behind the block to push it. Your only option is to tap RB and restart the sucker.
Levels become tentative affairs, as you move square by square working out what will progress you and what will kill you (or get you irredeemably stuck). And the levels start stirring in more and more considerations. Holes are hazards until you realise that you can push unwanted blocks into them. Spikes will kill you, but – again – they can swallow up blocks too. Tall blocks can be pushed into holes to make gangways, and bombs will obliterate some of those blocks that were impending you earlier. As you can probably tell, each obstacle is neatly double-edged. They can help you just as much as hinder you.
And there are the changes of setting, introduced every twenty levels. Ice levels are box-sliding puzzles, as one delicate tap will send the box shooting into a direction. Mines will only let you see a few feet in front of your face. Suddenly, there’s a pile of stuff that you have to factor in when solving a level.
Frogs love water, right?
Our abiding question, though, is why is SokoFrog so afraid to use them? SokoFrog is at pains to create such a broad selection of toys and blockers, but it’s too worried about whether you might get stuck. So it withholds them, rarely using more than one in each level, and they are toothless as a result.
Take the obstacle crates. There’s almost always one of them in a level, and they’re in your way. Other Sokobans would have you working out which square or nook to tuck them into, perhaps even performing a dance as you have to sidle the unwanted box around your companion cube without getting either of them stuck. But SokoFrog worries that will be too much, so chucks in pits and spikes. All you have to do is push the blocking crate into one of them, and it’s no longer a consideration. Each level starts by ‘killing’ these boxes, and that’s trivially easy. It’s almost pointless having the crates there in the first place. We couldn’t help wonder what the game would look like without pits and spikes.
Stopping short of difficulty is SokoFrog’s favourite hobby. Bombs should be amazing. Working out what to blow up to create a path, all while avoiding exploding your crate, is a cracking addition to the genre. They even act like Bomberman bombs, exploding in channels. But SokoFrog keeps giving you winks and nudges about where the bomb should go. Look! There are three blocks with a gap between: perhaps a bomb should go there! It’s satisfying to see them explode, but – again – it’s more trivial than, say, a puzzle.
The levels are careful to keep puzzle elements separate from each other. Bombs don’t meet sliding puzzles, tall blocks don’t meet dark rooms. It gives each biome a distinct feel, but it also means some opportunities go unexplored. Later levels could have stacked these things up to get us stroking our beards, but our beards went unstroked.
A little snack of a game
For a younger player, this is a good thing. If you’re introducing a pre-teen to the genre for the first time, then SokoFrog is carefully curated to be that experience. There’s generally one problem to solve per level, and there aren’t many permutations for how the problem can be solved. SokoFrog is actually very good at making you think that you’re a Mensa superstar when, actually, there was only one way that you could have pushed the block without it nestling into a corner.
For anyone other than a pre-teen, SokoFrog will lack a bit of edge. It could very easily have been a poison dart frog, laced with death, but instead it’s a cuddly plushy. We would suspect that the average gamer reaches the end of its 100 levels in under 90 minutes. There are no nobbly achievements to worry yourself about: you will have the full Gamerscore in your pocket without replaying a thing. Which, now we think about it, is also a missed opportunity. Completing the levels in a minimum number of moves, time limit, or even nabbing collectibles – hidden or visible – would have added some easy longevity. But SokoFrog doesn’t quite have the chutzpah to do that, either.
SokoFrog is a breezy and well presented Sokoban that would serve as a good entry point to the genre. But it’s also deathly worried about being challenging or remotely complicated. If it took more risks, it could have been a meal: as it is, it’s just a frog-leg snack.
Coming from Solluco and Eastasiasoft, purveyors of cheap software with easy achievements, comes something of a departure from the norm. I don’t mean in the presentation or the action on offer, but in the structure of the achievements.
The game in question is Ratyrinth, a very clever mashup of “Rat” and “Labyrinth”; it’s those two words that pretty much tell you all you need to know about the game. So let’s head to the maze and see if we can get our rat through it…
A rat, in a labyrinth
Being an action adventure platformer, apparently, you’d expect Ratyrinth to have a bit of a story behind it. But perhaps you shouldn’t hold your breath for there’s not too much in terms of lore. We are a rat, or maybe a mouse (it isn’t clear but judging by the game name…), and we have been “drastically” separated from our family. It’s here where we are dropped into a scary forest that is filled with scarier creatures, left to work through numerous levels in hope of being reunited with the family again. Sounds like my drive home in the evening…
With the story held on with PVA glue, it’s probably best to turn our attention to that of the presentation. And it should come as no surprise to anyone that Ratyrinth is unashamedly retro. In fact, it is so retro that it put me in mind of some ZX Spectrum games I used to play decades back. But that said, strangely, this 1-bit, monochrome, pixel art approach does actually work for this game.
Each level is viewed from a side-on perspective, as we begin at the left of the screen and have to reach the right hand side, with various obstacles in between the two points. The screen is simple and uncluttered, whilst the overall aesthetic is very cute, almost cuddly. If it wasn’t a rat, of course! The sound is also just fine, but I’ve personally found the music that accompanies the adventures to be pretty cool – it fits the action perfectly and adds to the experience. It must be said that this is an oldie but a goodie.
Retro Rats!
There are no real surprises found in the gameplay on offer either. There are various creatures that we have to avoid (no combat here) ranging from snails, through jumping frogs, to egg chucking birds – and that is only in the first ten levels! Later foes include fish and squid that frequent some water based levels, while the environment itself is also a major killer; there are spikes and various other traps to avoid. Our little rat can jump, wall jump, cling to walls as he descends, and also swim – what a talented rodent!
As you’d expect, Ratyrinth is largely about timing and learning the levels. While you will die (a lot, based on my extensive research) you are never sent further back than the start of the level that you died in. However, if you are anything like me, you’ll probably find the level hazards will kill you more than the enemies. Perhaps that is a little bit down to my aging reflexes, but there does seem to be a tiny bit of lag in Ratyrinth, especially between pressing A to jump and the rat actually doing it. It’s about that time in which I’ve run into some spikes. With a bit of careful recalibration it is possible to make sure that you press the button that split second before you think you should, but with the rest of the game priding itself on absolutely perfect timing, it is a bit weird to have to do this. Still, it is what it is!
Apart from this issue, the rest of the gameplay on offer in Ratyrinth is of a pretty high standard, and the game runs absolutely silky smooth on the Xbox Series X, which given the way that it looks is perhaps not that surprising. Still, the animation, while minimal, is effective while the levels do look very nice, in a retro kind of way.
A good amount of content is found in Ratyrinth
And whilst I’ve had fun, I have to admit to not caring overly if the rat made it home. However, due to a change in the way that Eastasiasoft usually dishes out achievements, at least there is a reason to keep pushing through – progress towards that 100% goal of getting all 1000G is tied to progress through the levels, with achievements given out roughly after every five levels. In addition, a title update has already been released, adding another 1000G – in order to claim everything, you will need to finish level no 75. Consider that the levels do get a lot more difficult as the game progresses and you’ll find a bit of an incentive to keep plodding through.
Ratyrinth is an enjoyable game, with only some weird input lag spoiling the party. Get used to that and there is a lot of content to go at. It may not be the best looking game out there, but there’s no doubt that there is still some fun to be had.
Sydney Hunter may look like Indiana Jones, but he’s a 180 flip. Sydney didn’t intend to be locked in a Mayan pyramid – he’s there completely by accident. He’s got no interest in the Haab calendar that’s been broken and tossed around levels (there’s no whisper of ‘this artifact belongs in a museum’), and he’s only searching for the pieces as a promise to the Mayan people that live there. If he superglues the calendar together, they’ll let him out. He gets to go home.
That ‘familiar, but different’ theme runs all the way through Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan like a stick of rock. Just as Sydney is a skew-whiff take on Indiana Jones, the game itself has a different take on the 8-bit classics that you may know. It looks like a Rick Dangerous, Balderdash or Metroid, but underneath the surface it’s got some modern sensibilities, a hell of a lot of depth, and a streak of humour.
Indy – is that you?
We keep writing down that Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is a Metroidvania but then we scratch it out, because it kind of, sort of, is one. It’s broken down into levels, for one, which seems to declassify it. The structure goes a bit like this: you start in the throne room of the Mayan pyramid with a load of doors about you. If you’ve played the 16-bit Addams Family, you might have the gist. Each door needs skulls to open, so you better have enough to unlock the next one. If not, you’re heading back to an older door to canvas it for noggins.
Heading through the door and into a level, you’ve got a large, reasonably open dungeon to explore. There are branching routes, some of which are locked behind upgrades you haven’t gained yet (there you go: the reason we get tempted to throw ‘Metroidvania’ at it). But mostly you are heading in a direction you fancy, tackling enemies and navigating platforms, all in an effort to find skulls (the currency of opening doors) and keys. Those keys are their own currency, since they can be used in the other levels. They unlock routes that garner you more skulls, weapons, upgrades and, eventually, a boss. Kill the boss and a piece of the calendar is yours. Then it’s back to the hub to start all over again.
There are plenty of reasons why Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is ace, but this structure is definitely a big one. Each level is its own little Castlevania mansion. You can explore on a whim in any direction, and each screen is loaded with secrets. Cracked blocks are big hints that there’s a collectible nearby, but you’ll need some skill to get to them without dying. And defeating the boss and pocketing a slice of calendar is only a small part of it. If you want to see the whole game, including all of its non-critical, optional levels, then you will need to be rinsing each level of skulls.
Double trouble – spikes AND flames
Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is deep and rich like Mayan coffee. I found myself swinging violently between collecting everything – gotta catch them skulls! – and racing through at speed, hoping to hell that I would reach a checkpoint. Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is brutal with these checkpoints, sprinkling one or two and then pocketing the rest. It can be devastating to collect everything and then find you’ve lost it all because the game last saved ten minutes ago.
It does, if we’re being frank, push a little too far into being unhelpful. While reaching a checkpoint is massively rewarding – we would often be punching the air – it’s not exactly consistent. We’d be shouting loudly ‘surely a checkpoint has got to be on the next screen!’, as yet another area would pass without a whisper of a save. That gets coupled with a lack of a map, some odd save rules (it’s hard to tell what will remain collected or not collected after a death or save) and some difficulty spikes to create a slightly too unfriendly experience. Difficulty is fine, but there’s difficulty and there’s unhelpfulness, and Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan can stray into the latter.
Challenge doesn’t come from the controls though. Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is a little joy to play, with tight-as-a-drum jumping and combat. It doesn’t do a huge amount that is complex, which is part of its secret: there is precious little parkouring or acting like Prince of Persia. But by keeping the abilities limited, they can get them right. The same goes for combat. There are additional attacks to be gained like boomerangs and spears, but mostly it’s a choice between melee and projectiles. Both feel good. These attacks are a choice: you tend to have to rotate through them, rather than having a constantly available arsenal.
What is the Curse of the Mayan?
There’s a little criticism here, too. Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan borrows a trick from Legend of Zelda and TUNIC by having a secondary inventory to tinker with. That’s where all your potions and weapons lie. But there’s so many by the end that finding the one you want is a slightly numbing cycle through the shoulder buttons, or a quick jaunt to the inventory. It’s not a huge bother, but the bothers accumulate towards the end, when you want different abilities at speed.
It didn’t matter all that much because Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan had us in its skeletal mitts. It achieves what the best Metroidvanias do (there you go: we’ve committed to the term, even if the levels are too discrete and short for it to truly classify). It gives you a huge enticing place to explore, deep with secrets and taunting you with areas that are – just – frustratingly out of reach. By breaking its world into levels, you also have choice in what’s next. Do you exhaust an earlier level, unlock a side-room or continue with the critical path? It’s a small tinker to the formula, but it drew us in.
Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan isn’t in the conversation of ‘best Metroidvanias on the Xbox’. It’s got an unhelpful streak, and the graphical scrappiness stops it short from being the next Hollow Knight or Ori. But you know what? That’s a ridiculously high bar to set, and Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan confidently walks underneath it with its head held high. As a retro-leaning, budget Metroidvania, you can’t do much better than this.
For all your big franchises, the likes of Final Fantasy and Resident Evil which have been milking the cash cow for decades now, there are a few smaller offerings, building legacies that you might not be aware of. The SteamWorld brand, for instance.
SteamWorld Dig first appeared a decade or so ago, proving to be a big hit in the indie world of games, prompting a sequel – SteamWorld Dig 2 – that landed on Xbox in 2018; equally popular and reviewed brilliantly.
But now things are going down a slightly different route with SteamWorld Build; a quiet, gentle city builder. Let’s make some memories and build some homes.
Get building your SteamWorld town
SteamWorld Build is a relaxing city builder, placing you in the SteamWorld universe. The basic premise behind the game is for you to get build a working city in the frontier of the desert, all for an army of robot workers. It has that western steampunk design behind it that will be instantly familiar, as you go about building overground and mining underground throughout the game. Like in all city builders, the story is found in the creation; it’s that which will determine how your towns and cities survive. See yourself as the god, an all-powerful creator and it’s easy to understand the draw.
Gameplay wise, SteamWorld Build has some admirable game mechanics that work well with their transition to console. Playing on Xbox Series X|S, I didn’t ever feel like I was missing a mouse here, the menus being easy to navigate and simple to get your head around. You start overground first of all, handling the simple things in life, building housing for your little robots and then roads to link them all together.
Then the services need to be put down, like general stores and supply needs. Milestones are reached as you go about upgrading your places, turning workers into engineers which then open up further buildings and the like. Your main goal will be to ensure your workers are happy and everything is running smoothly – before you go underground.
A bustling world
It’s the beneath-the-surface elements of SteamWorld Build that see this stand out from the myriad of other city-building sims. Here you get to build mines, gathering up additional resources. It’s easy to get your workers digging out different caves – although doing so might just unleash monsters.
It’s about here where you’ll need to start working some defences to stop yourself from being overwhelmed by those creatures. Personally, I really liked the ability to swap between the overground city and the underground world seamlessly, especially as both are integral to the other, their needs for workers and resources combining.
SteamWorld Build looks good too and I’ve appreciated the fact that it can handle multiple screens above and below ground instantly. You can zoom in and out of your maps to see the smallest of details, as well as getting an overall look at your city. The menus are clean, tidy and never feel too cluttered; again, a problem which sometimes hits city builders. It’s not going to win awards for its visuals and hasn’t the lighting effects or fidelity of some of the other contenders, but the cartoony SteamWorld design is colourful and fun.
Going underground…
Perhaps you shouldn’t come to SteamWorld Build looking to pile in hundreds of hours, but this is an extremely likeable, bite-sized city creating adventure. It all works very well, and only in the latter moments will you ever really feel too much tension of juggling elements.
It means that if you are after a friendly, charming sim game then SteamWorld Build should be able to deliver the adventure you’ve been looking for.
Swing by the Xbox Store and you might be tempted by a game with a £2.49 price tag. You might be tempted by its cute cats too, or some combination of them both. But as Nans across the world will tell you, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you’re like us, you will have a prickly, wary sensation that this is a honey trap – some shovelware in kitten’s clothing.
Let us rest a reassuring hand on your shoulder and say ‘nae worries: this is one of the good ones’. Every rule has its exception, and Hidden Cats in New York is a fuzzy, cute exception.
Get colouring in New York
This will be no surprise to players of Hidden Cats in London. Priced identically, it was the first in this particular series (there is another hidden cat series on the Xbox, confusingly) and it should be your next stop if you end up enjoying this edition. Because we would be happy if ‘Hidden Cats in’ games come out until the end of time. They’re such a wholesome, cheap way to spend two hours, and we always end up wanting more.
It’s such a simple concept that we wonder how we will fill a review by describing it. Imagine a Where’s Wally?, but cat-bombed. A large city scene of New York has been invaded by 200 cats, and you have to spot every last one. Here’s a cursor, here’s the picture, now get tapping.
The magic, the secret sauce, the catnip is the use of colour. The broad canvas in Hidden Cats in New York is black and white. It’s welcome as there’s clarity to black and white. You don’t end up thinking that a shadow is a black tabby: you can tell immediately and instinctively what is feline and what is false. But as you find cats, they get coloured in. Better still, find all the cats in a tenement and the entire building gets coloured in. Suddenly you have an important piece of information. You’re done here, you can move on. You’re not missing anything.
It’s such a simple idea, but so gloriously, wondrously perfect. The possibility-space for cats shrinks. You don’t have to worry too much about where the last 18 out of 200 cats are. There will be black-and-white hints across the tableau. And so you tap and you tap until every last one is found.
We will admit that this is not for everyone. You can’t call in air strikes or decapitate anyone with an axe. But if you like your thrills resolutely in first gear, and happen to enjoy some cat-spotting as well, then Hidden Cats in New York is your game.
Can you spot the little kitty cats?
Normal Mode is pure cat gold, without anything else to dilute the experience. But there’s also a Hard Mode which randomises the cats (superbly handled), adds in special cats that unlock bonus levels (cutely referencing famous New York IPs like King Kong and Spiderman), and lets you spot humans (yaaaaawn). It’s this last one that we are not convinced about: you need to match the human with a small-ish picture of them, and we found it to be a chore more than anything else. We don’t want to be given a shopping list to spot specific things: we just want to jab our cursor at anything with whiskers and a tail.
It might sound one-note and quick-to-complete and you would be absolutely right, so praise-be that there are bonus levels. There are five of them, with 100 to 50 cats for your delectation, and they riff on some Big Apple themes. You can explore a Ninja Cat sewer dwelling (no prizes for guessing what that’s referring to), plus a Natural History Museum and the subway, among others.
These episodes are less wide-ranging, and they also bring the game’s only major flaws. We are not sure why they break from the main game’s rulesets, because when they do, it’s generally not for the better.
Scenes don’t get coloured in as you go. That chef’s-kiss of a game mechanic is stripped out and we couldn’t tell you why. Perhaps it would make things too easy if it was there. But it means that the last few cats are a pain to spot. They could be flipping anywhere, and there’s no colouration to give you a helping hand.
Hints are limited to one per level. When you have bonus levels like the park, where two cats are nigh-on impossible to spot, having only two hints is an unnecessary limitation. We don’t see why there couldn’t have been a cooldown on that hint. That or force us to find cats on other levels until we unlock it.
Some nice references
And the cats in these scenes are often hidden underneath things. That’s fine when a box jiggles or a carpet has a big lump underneath, but some of the locations are bizarre to say the least. A public service announcement for you: in the park, click on every last cobblestone and under every bench. That will save you the headaches that we had.
The frustrations of the bonus levels only mildly sour the rest of the game. Because Hidden Cats in New York is an absolute steal. A little over £2 nets you two hours of hidden cat enjoyment, perfectly wrapped up in a black and white bow. The presentation is adorable, the art even more so, and everybody in our family has exhausted it once each. We can imagine re-downloading it in a couple of years to do it all again.
So, if you were wondering whether £2.49 is too good to be true, then – just this once – you needn’t worry. Hidden Cats in New York would be worth it at twice the price.
Back at the start of the year, Konami announced that their eFootball franchise had reached some 700 million players. Well, you can add another 50 mil on top of that as they reach the 750 million mark – and they are celebrating the milestone with the return of an Epic Lionel Messi.
Millions upon millions
750 million downloads across all platforms is nothing to be sneezed at, but that’s where we are with Konami and their free-to-play eFootball. Having struggled initially, it’s a game that has started to find its feet, with the eFootball 2024 version up there with the best yet. Is it on PES proportions? Not quite, but hopes are high that they can continue to take it to EA SPORTS FC 24.
So, with a big milestone comes the need to celebrate. eFootball players will get to do that with Lionel Messi in tow, dropping in Epic form. Three options are available here, commemorating some of his finest ever performances. The question is, which is THE finest? Well, you get into the comments and let us know…
Big Time 27th May 2009
Big Time 6th May 2015
Big Time 13thDecember 2022
A range of new events
But there’s more and running from now until May 16th 2024, anyone who logs into eFootball will discover a range of events and items to enjoy. During these three weeks, users can enjoy log in bonuses totalling 70 eFootball coins, 7 position training programs, and 7 skill training programs.
Further to that comes a free log-in present of an FC Barcelona Highlight Lewandowski card. And then in addition, via completion of the Campaign Achievements, users can bolster their in-game resources further with a potential haul of 360,000 GP, 250 eFootball coins, 102,000 Exp, 5 skill programs, and 3 Highlight: European Clubs Chance Deals.
Is that enough? Well, according to Konami, no, and there’s a Coin Sale taking place too. Running between April 25th and June 6th, users can also enjoy a discount on eFootball coins. And then there is also going to be an in-game campaign kicking around to focus on that of FC Internazionale Milano. In place until 2nd May, the campaign will feature a special player list of ‘Highlight’ cards of FC Internazionale Milano players.
Free log-in goodies
From these, users can gain one as a free log-in present and two more via chance deals to be won from the in-game Theme Event. All regular squad players will be given a live update rating of “A” class.
So, what’s not to like? Fire up eFootball today on your favoured system (Xbox, PlayStation, PC, mobile) and enjoy the chance to celebrate with Konami. And if you don’t yet have the game in your library, why not! It’s free to download from the Xbox Store.
Our Dreamland Solitaire marathon continues with Dreamland Solitaire: Dragon’s Fury, the second in ChiliDog Interactive’s quickfire trilogy. They’ve been released about as fast as it’s taken to review them, and we’re determined to close the gap before any more of the things drop onto the store.
That rapid release cadence might wave some red flags, but the series is no cash grab. We handed Dreamland Solitaire an unapologetic 4 out of 5 for good reason: it was that rarest of beasts – a solitaire game on Xbox that didn’t scream ‘lazy port’ and had enough depth and arcadey charm to make it one of, if not the best, versions of the parlour classic on Xbox. Now we’re here reviewing the sequel. We may well be in for a treat.
Dreamland Solitaire: Dragon’s Fury is perhaps as much of a progression as we could have expected from a game released a month after its predecessor. Which is to say that it’s an incremental nudge forward. But that nudge is forward, and on a very capable game in the first place. So hey, we will take it.
The Dragon’s Fury builds on Dreamland Solitaire
Let’s lay those changes out so that Dreamland Solitaire fans can see what they’re getting. There are five of these changes, so it shouldn’t take all that long. The first is that we are blessed with a story. Dreamland Solitaire didn’t bother and chose to let the cards be cards. Dreamland Solitaire: Dragon’s Fury opts to introduce a dragon, a Smaug who has torched the kingdom and now returned to its treasure pile. It’s your job to clean up the mess and then do a spot of dragon slaying.
The story is no Game of Thrones, but it does give a little context to why you’re doing what you’re doing. It also lets Dreamland Solitaire: Dragon’s Fury give a voice and character to its fairy character, who was mostly there to pout last time out. The theme is mostly fine and does no harm.
Then there’s the stuff between the levels. In Dreamland Solitaire, you were tasked with building stuff, erecting pagodas and palaces because you have an architectural fetish. This time, you’re putting out fires, cutting down brambles, and generally returning the world to pre-dragon rights. Again. It’s mostly fine and does no harm.
It’s changes three, four and five that are the meat. These are new special card effects, in the play area for you to trigger rather than adding to your own personal arsenal. There’s fire, because dragons, and it will burn away cards until you uncover and use a water pot. Then there’s a scythe, which does the same but to brambles. And then there are hammer cards – easily confused with the axe cards – which mine away rocks.
If we were a cynic, and we are, we would complain that these effects aren’t exactly dissimilar. They are all keys and locks but with different visual effects attached. Only the hammer really gets a pass, as it mines all of the rocks in a spectacular, satisfying sweep. Why destroy one card when you can destroy them all on one layer?
It’s Solitaire – with a difference
They are fine. They are, at the very least, different shapes of locks, so you are on the search for their relevant keys. Fire can hide hammers, and the rocks can hide the torches that clear the spiders from the first game. So, again, we value the incremental improvement, but it is merely that.
Are there any steps back, we imagine you saying? Only a couple. We’d suggest that the curiously festive-sounding soundtrack isn’t as rousing as the Medieval Faire score from the first game. And there’s a weird visual bug on some burning huts that makes the second world almost fit-inducing. But those are details, so we will brush them off like the spiders we mentioned earlier.
For Dreamland noobs, a quick tour of what’s on offer is due. Dreamland Solitaire: Dragon’s Fury is, like the first game, a 200-strong compendium of Spider Solitaire puzzles. If that number seems high it’s because it is: for your money you are getting many afternoons of entertainment, and more if you want to earn every last trinket and collectible.
The puzzles themselves are very much on the arcadey, OTT side. This is not a simulation – this has the dial turned to fun. So, while you are doing the traditional one up, one down to remove a sequence of cards, you are setting off a domino rally of different effects. Our partner watched as we were playing and wondered what had happened to Spider Solitaire when she wasn’t looking.
On the board, blocking you from cards, are vines, brambles, rocks, locks, fire and spiders. On your cards, should you happen to clear them, are axes, scythes, hammers, water and keys. There’s a very low level skill involved in knowing what reveals what, and prioritising them as targets. But get it right and you can have a veritable firework display.
There’s a Dragon in here somewhere…
Also helping are upgrades. Swipe coins from cards and you can buy golden cards and jokers. Gold cards can be used whenever you fancy, a 2 for when a pesky Ace won’t leave the table, while jokers are wild. Then there are special powers represented as bars, filling up whenever you clear a specific suit. They can zap away cards, call down fireballs and hand you a relevant card. Once you have all upgrades, you will be giving Aang a run for his money.
It’s a bit silly but also a great deal of fun. There’s no challenge here – upgrades will clear the level for you, and you can choose to progress without clearing every card (if you’re some kind of monster). Purple potions will accumulate in your inventory and you can spend them on clearing burned villages that were pillaged by the dragon.
Everything works as well as it did in Dreamland Solitaire. Controlling a speedy, precise cursor rather than snapping from card to card works surprisingly well. There will be the odd curse as you accidentally choose the wrong gold card or press Undo when you meant to press ‘next card’, but it’s mostly on the slick side. Dreamland Solitaire: Dragon’s Fury could be played by pretty much anyone, with any degree of Xbox or solitaire experience.
A little voice is grumbling in my ear saying that Dreamland Solitaire: Dragon’s Fury only represents a tiny step forward, and they would be right. But, for now, we are warm to the idea of a second instalment. This represents 200 levels of watertight, overblown solitaire levels, and the satisfying flow of clearing cards, setting off explosion after explosion, has lost none of its charm.
Now, when we get to Dreamland Solitaire 3 – well – that question of fatigue might get another answer entirely.
For years, KEMCO have very much focused on one gaming genre – the retro RPG, so much so that there are more than 50 of KEMCO’s finest on console. But perhaps they are now seeing the exhaustion of those efforts, as they release their latest game. You see, Horrific Xanatorium is a Visual Novel of the horror kind. What is this madness?
Available right now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S is the latest from a prolific KEMCO team. This time around we get the opportunity to visit the world of Horrific Xanatorium. Playing out as a Visual Novel that builds in horror elements, this is a far cry from the usual KEMCO offerings.
If you’re not on Xbox, you’ll find Horrific Xanatorium on PlayStation, PC and Nintendo Switch too. All bases covered then…
A horror Visual Novel from KEMCO
Horrific Xanatorium tells of a world in which a Spiria epidemic is taking hold. This is a virus that causes delusions, hallucinations and more. It’s something that has hit our protagonist – Rui Genzaki. With the aid of his sister, Rui heads to the Kamikawa Sanatorium Hospital, all in order to get the help needed.
From there, standard Visual Novel fare plays out – all as love comes to the fore. And strange monsters, of course.
Priced at £6.69, we’re interested to see where KEMCO go with Horrific Xanatorium. The creation of those at Pageratta, there’s even a ‘beach episode’ included in-game. Again, of course there is, this is a Visual Novel. We just hope that it is better than what plays out in Beautiful Sakura: Surfing Club.
Buy now!
Xbox players will be able to pick up a copy of Horrific Xanatorium through the Xbox Store. It’s playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, fully optimised for the latter.
You’ll also find Horrific Xanatorium on the storefronts of PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Horrific Xanatorium Description
A world where Spiria, a virus that causes delusions and hallucinations, has become an epidemic. The protagonist, Rui Genzaki, unfortunately gets infected with Spiria and begins to have hallucinations. His younger sister, Mone, takes him to Kamikawa Sanatorium Hospital. There he encounters his first love, Riza, the suspicious director, Anri, and strange monsters. Is the world you see reality? Or is it delusion? As a bonus, a beach episode with Mone and Riza has been added! You may have a wonderful time with the two of them!
Player experience has become a crucial differentiating factor in the modern gaming scene. As Microsoft seeks to stand out from its competitors, it evolves to allow players to participate anywhere, anytime, with whomever they wish.
Past Innovations
In 2020, the tech giant launched the Xbox Cloud gaming service, though only Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers could access it. By 2021, players could access Game Pass games on their Xbox consoles from the cloud after Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) was incorporated into Xbox One and Xbox Series.
Later, in 2022, the company reported that it had improved its cloud services on iPhone and iPad. This included optimising video output and network data transmission to encourage the responsiveness of games. These updates came a year after Microsoft had just integrated 1080p and 60fps streams into its cloud gaming. Elsewhere, the company disclosed plans to develop a standalone device that could allow players to stream games on their TVs without consoles.
Meeting the Demands of Elastic Scalability
As player bases grow, the need for elastic scalability becomes increasingly apparent. Microsoft recognises this imperative and, through the Azure cloud platform, meets the demands of a dynamic gaming environment with agility. Azure’s global network of data centres in about 140 countries enables the company to deploy gaming servers closer to players, reducing latency. Through its auto-scaling capabilities, the infrastructure allows Microsoft to adjust resources based on demand, ensuring that games remain responsive even during peak seasons.
This concept of elastic scalability is not unique to the esports industry but is rather common across other entertainment sectors. For example, in the casino industry, where millions of players engage in online games like Slingo for real money, scalability helps to maintain system performance. This way, game providers ensure players have consistent experiences with games regardless of the gaming demand.
It’s not different within the movie industry. During peak hours, such as evenings and weekends, the number of users accessing streaming platforms like Netflix can increase dramatically. To ensure smooth playback and minimal buffering, Netflix relies upon Amazon Web Services to offer seamless experiences. In music, Spotify utilises Kubernetes to ensure optimal performance during peak hours and major music releases.
In April 2024, the tech giant announced a user interface (UI) update of the Xbox Cloud Gaming service that incorporated features similar to those of the Xbox Console. With the interface, users can now access the web version of Xbox Party Chat instead of using mobile apps to communicate with friends. Microsoft, however, noted that they hadn’t made the party chat feature available on Smart TVs.
This announcement came just a few weeks after Microsoft made it possible for Xbox Insiders to test mouse and keyboard support for the service. The tech giant mentioned that only Alpha Skip-Ahead users could access the UI, as it was a preview feature.
Microsoft’s approach to gaming shows how gaming companies utilise technology to deliver exceptional experiences to players around the globe. By leveraging the power of Xbox and Cloud Gaming, Microsoft is not only revolutionising gameplay but also shaping the future of interactive entertainment. As the gaming landscape evolves, innovations that offer users engaging experiences will continue to emerge.
When the aliens attack Earth and turn everyone into zombies, there’s only one thing for it – you grab your biggest guns and fight back. Yep, this one is all about the Zombies, Aliens and Guns!
Available to purchase, download and play today on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC is Zombies, Aliens and Guns. It’s from that Ratalaika Games team (you know them, they fill the digital stores with super fun games each and every week!), this time around teaming up with 9Ratones’ Sergio Poverony.
Zombies. Aliens. Guns.
Zombies, Aliens and Guns has been sitting on the Xbox Store for a little while in demo form. But now we get to a full release as players discover the opportunity to fight back against an alien invasion. See, Earth is under threat, and you’re the only person left to save mankind. With the opportunity to rescue survivors, to collect vaccines and to fight back with the biggest of weapons, we’re not sure there’s any reason to sleep on this one.
Helpfully, we’ve been reliably informed that Zombies, Aliens and Guns is a short experience. That makes the £5.99 price tag more tempting, knowing that an evening or two’s worth of play should be enough to experience everything on offer. We’d hazard a guess and say that a ton of easy Gamerscore and Xbox achievements will come your way too. Our review of Zombies, Aliens and Guns on Xbox very much confirms all that.
Jump in and Zombies, Aliens and Guns will see you fighting, upgrading, surviving, all before rinsing and repeating, working both linear and random elements. There is the promise of multiple biomes in Zombies, Aliens and Guns too – a motorway, a village, a tropical island and more. You can be sure that each and every one of those locations will be full to the brim with zombies. And each will need taking down.
Key features
* 33 levels of carnage * 7 survival levels and boss rush mode * 2.5D shooting action gameplay * Variety of terrain and scenarios * Multiple weapons * Boss battles
Buy now!
You’ll find Zombies, Aliens and Guns kicking around on the usual digital storefronts. For Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S players, it’s the Xbox Store which will be most use. Remember, there’s a demo too, if you need to get a little taste of the action.
Alternatively, you’ll find the game on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC too.
Zombies, Aliens and Guns Description
Aliens have attacked the planet, and they’re turning innocent people into mindless zombies. It won’t be long before the invaders have destroyed the planet unless somebody with guns stands in their way. That’s where you come in! Lead a cadre of soldiers who are ready to take down every last enemy in their path. You can fight alone or with a friend thanks to the local co-op mode! Try to beat the 33 levels and unlock all the 7 survival levels and the boss rush mode!
SAND LAND from the ILCA team if the latest to be picked up and pushed out to the gaming world via Bandai Namco. An action-RPG, it drops us into a desert world in which extreme water shortage is front and centre. Are you ready to dive in? Of course you are.
Available right now on Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 and PC, SAND LAND sees us following a gang of Prince Beelzebub, his chaperone Thief and Sheriff Rao as they head out across the world of SAND LAND. Their goal? To find the Legendary Spring – hidden away in and amongst the wasteland.
Created by Akira Toriyama, in SAND LAND you will play as Beelzebub. Complete with all the powers under the sun, you’ll get to tackle wildlife and bandits, utilising tactical nous and strategic calls. And you’ll need to make the most of a combination of all, as you hunt down that spring.
Key features
SAND LAND brings together various ideas, multiple vehicles to help traversal and more. In fact, the key features sum it all up pretty well…
VEHICLES FROM BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION – Unlock vehicles that can be leveled-up with various mechanic parts including weapons, engines, and suspensions. Design and operate a large variety of vehicles including Battle Tanks with powerful cannons, Motorbikes that speed through deserts, and Jump-bots that bounce over rivers to explore every corner of the continent.
BECOME THE SAVIOR THE WORLD NEEDS – Develop your basecamp in the city of Spino, as you build relationships with its inhabitants. As you bring the exiled people of the desert to Spino, watch the town and its capabilities grow. Listen to their requests and wishes, and unlock useful materials and city features.
ADVENTURE BEYOND THE DUNES – Travel through SAND LAND and its canyons, unveil its secrets, overcome all obstacles, and find the entrance to an unknown world.
Buy now!
You’ll find SAND LAND on the usual digital storefronts. For Xbox Series X|S players, it’s the Xbox Store that should be paid a visit. Head over and you’ll find a Standard Edition of SAND LAND for £59.99. A Deluxe Edition ups that to £69.99. That Deluxe Edition adds in a new Army Base and Hideout, a Speed Demon Pack and a Decal Set.
Expect to find similar on the PlayStation Store or that for PC.
SAND LAND is not playable on Xbox One.
Need a review? Our thoughts concerning SAND LAND on Xbox will be coming soon. We’d love to hear yours too – let us know what you think of SAND LAND by dropping into the comments.
SAND LAND Description
Dive into a desert world where both humans and demons suffer from an extreme water shortage – SAND LAND. Meet the Fiend Prince Beelzebub, his chaperone Thief, and the fearless Sheriff Rao, and follow the team on an extraordinary adventure in search of the Legendary Spring hidden in the desert. The end is only the beginning, as beyond this arid ground lies a new realm to explore.
In this action-RPG, players will find a nostalgic and heartwarming world created by Akira Toriyama, where you will become the main character Beelzebub. Learn how to control his powers and lead your company of heroic misfits exploring the legendary world of SAND LAND. Beware of the many dangers that populate it: between bandits, fierce wildlife, and the Royal Army, reaching the spring won’t be easy! Use your tact and imagination to develop tanks and other vehicles that will help you navigate this vast land, using a wide array of part combinations.
There have been an absolute shedload of Aery games release on Xbox over the years – each one ever-so-slightly amending elements to ensure it – just about – stays fresh. This time around though we get to head to a future world, as Aery – Cyber City soars onto Xbox.
Available right now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S via the EpiXR Game team, Aery – Cyber City is the latest addition to the series. Again, as is standard for the brand, it has us playing as a little bird, flying high, soaring across landscapes, heading into the unknown.
Another Aery game – this time in the future
It’s just the unknown this time is that of a cyberpunk world; a future land that is full of beauty and secrets. Can you uncover the secrets within, grabbing various memory shards as you go?
If you’ve played any of the Aery games to date, you’ll know what to expect here. If not, the one before this was Aery – Stone Age, a complete and utter diversion from what is going on with this Cyber City. It’ll no doubt still be pretty familiar to what is going on here though – stay tuned for our full review of Aery – Cyber City for full confirmation.
Priced at £8.39, a purchase of Aery – Cyber City isn’t going to break the bank. It might just be worth a download from the Xbox Store, as you look to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Let us know if you decide to go flying again. The comments are below. Perhaps you’ve had enough of the minuscule changes that the Aery games bring? Maybe you adore their simplicity. Let us know about it.
Aery – Cyber City Description
In Aery Cyber City you play a little bird on its journey to find a home after losing its dear friend.You will discover unknown, giant, and beautiful environments and you will be able to enjoy the feeling of flying while exploring a whole world filled with beauty and little secrets.Within every area of the world, you must find a certain amount of memory shards to remember the path that leads to your destination and advance with the story. Once you have found all the memory shards you are free to explore the next area.
It is a new Series in Forza Horizon 5, and the title for Series 33 is that of Apex All-Stars. I’m looking forward to some serious racing about to kick off; hopefully I won’t be too disappointed!
So, a new Series, a new set of weekly events, and now it is time to get cracking with the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges for Series 33 Summer. Let’s race!
Forza Horizon 5 Series 33 Summer Photo
Part 1: Weekly Car Challenge – Prepare, Commit, Belong
This week’s challenge gives us a choice of one car, and one car only, but what a car – the McLaren P1 from 2013. The car that scared Clarkson to death when he drove it in the wet at Spa is what we need to take out.
Only 375 were made in real life, but luckily virtual cars have no limits!
Should you not have one in your garage, then they are available in the Autoshow, at 1.350,000 credits. Or, complete the Live Long and Prospera Seasonal Championship to get one for free!
Chapter 1 – Position 1
Get in your new car, take it for a spin. Step one complete.
Chapter 2 – Hybrid Theory
Sadly not the Linkin Park album, instead we need to score three stars at the Autopista Speed Trap. Stock trim is fine. It’s on the highway in case you are unsure.
Chapter 3 – Wingin’ It
With it’s fancy wing, the P1 should be good at winning races, no? Prove it by winning a road circuit race.
Stock again for this, just watch the drift!
I used the Horizon Oval track, which at 13 seconds a lap didn’t take long.
Chapter 4 – Race Active
Now simply score 6 stars at Speed Zones. Your choice!
Complete these tasks and we will be five points closer to the seasonal prizes that are up for grabs with Forza Horizon 5’s Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges for Series 33.
Part 2: Weekly Challenges, Championships and PR Stunts
So, with the weekly challenge done and dusted, let’s dive into the rest of the mayhem on offer.
The Trial, the Eventlab making a triumphant comeback, PR Stunts and only two Seasonal Championships. Where are all the races?
The Trial – Mini Mustang Mixup
This week we need a B Class 700 Mini or Mustang from the 1960’s. I’m guessing that the Mustang will be faster, but the Mini will corner better, no?
Well, I went for a Mustang 2+2 Fastback from ‘65, and the share name is “BMustang” with my GT, Red620Ti.
The prize for managing to find people who actually want to race The Trial like it should be done is a Shelby Cobra. Hopefully you too can find people to race with like I did last week!
Eventlab 1 – JOHNBOY1782 Presents Italia 458 Racetrack
For this event, we need a Ferrari 458 tuned to S1 Class 900. I know, I was shocked too!
Stock trim is fine for this, but I used the Speciale variant. Why not?
Apart from a couple of ridiculously tight chicanes at the end of the lap, a pretty good track.
For winning out, we can take away a Super Wheelspin. Again.
Eventlab 2 – TORQUEDEMONZ Presents Green River Grand Prix
A Retro supercar tuned to S1 Class 900 is required for this event, and so I chose a Bugatti EB110, with share name “S1EB”.
A good high speed race through the countryside, I liked this one!
We can take away a Lotus 3-Eleven for winning out.
Eventlab 3 – HONZ12 Presents Jungle Race Circuit
This time we need a Modern Sports Car, tuned to only A Class 800. I went with a Toyota GR Supra, and the share code is 984217186.
A good track with a nice flow, I also enjoyed this one!
Take away a Halo Warthog for completing this, why don’t you?
PR Stunt 1 – Speed Trap – Arid Hills
This week, all the Pr stunts need the same class of car, a Track Toy tuned to A Class 800. I chose a stock Jaguar XKR-S GT for this event.
We need to clear the trap at over 155 MPH, and this car should do it easily.
Do so and you’ll find a Super Wheelspin heading your way in return.
PR Stunt 2 – Speed Zone – Festival Speed Zone
Same car class, different challenge – can we average over 93 mph through this short zone?
I went with the BMW M3 GTR, and the share code is :198385025.
Yet another Super Wheelspin? D’oh!
PR Stunt 3 – Speed Zone – Mountain Pass
More average speed driving to do here, and this time the target is 112 mph. I went again with the same Beemer as above.
Another Super Wheelspin. I just can’t…
Seasonal Championship 1 – Live Long and Prospera
Oh dear, it appears the pun writers are back.
We need to use an Extreme Track toy tuned to S2 Class 998 for this event, and so as usual, it is the Bugatti Divo I reached for. Share code for mine is : 169915677.
For winning out, we can take home a McLaren P1.
Seasonal Championship 2 – Burning Up
Hot Hatch, geddit? Sigh.
We need an A Class 800 Super Hot Hatch, and so I chose a Ford Focus RS, share code : 151963655.
The prize for winning is a Pagani Zonda R, a bit quicker!
Part 3: Other Challenges
There’s always more to get involved in than just the racing, and that is the case again this week with Series 33 Summer. A Photo Challenge, Treasure Hunt, The Eliminator and a Horizon Tour this week.
Photo Challenge – #VUHLATAZUL
We have to photograph a Vuhl 05RR at the start line of the Playa Azul Circuit. Should be easy enough, yeah?
Enjoy my artistic effort up at the top of this piece. The location you need to be in is below.
The reward? A new Mexican Race Suit. Woo.
Forza Horizon 5 Series 33 Summer Photo Location
Treasure Hunt – Lotus Laps
The clue this week reads “With eleven in their name and them lacking any doors, win with one in Rivals and the treasure will be yours!”.
The picture shows a Lotus 2-Eleven, and I guess we need to win a race in Rivals to clear this.
I tuned mine a tad, the share code is 113867282. Drag may be the way forward… As is picking the slowest of your friends!
The location of the Treasure chest is shown below, and it contains 250,000 credits.
Forza Horizon 5 Series 33 Summer TreasureForza Horizon 5 Series 33 Summer Treasure Location
Horizon Arcade – Mini Games
This week it is time to do a bit of the Arcade Mini Games. Choose from Drift, Air, Speed, Wreckage and Chaos, and try to complete all three rounds.
I can’t suggest a tune as it depends on what you choose, but join in and have fun!
The reward? A massive 3 points towards the weekly totals. Well worth the investment of time.
The Eliminator – Battle Royale
We have to try to survive into the top 30 players for a change, and however you do it, keep your nose clean and you’ll be okay.
We can win a new Forzalink phrase, “Never tell me the odds!”.
Part 4: Hot Wheels Events
If you have the Hot Wheels expansion and are an Elite Level player, then you get to enjoy a couple of extra events.
Seasonal PR Stunt – Speed Zone – Frozen Rush
Get in a Pickup or 4X4 car, tuned to A Class 800 and start racing around!
I used the Ford Raptor from 2017 and the share code is : 251216374, while the average speed we need to achieve is 142 MPH. Approach from the north so the zone is downhill to help.
A Super Wheelspin is your reward.
Seasonal Championship – Pickup the Pace
We need to use the same car and class as above, so I used the same Raptor. Save the pennies, right?
Completing the championship will get us a Rally Fighter.
Part 5: Rally Adventure Events
The Rally Adventure expansion brings even more events to the roster and provided you are already a Horizon Badlands champion, you’ll get access to the following couple of events…
Seasonal PR Stunt – Speed Trap – Canyon Rush
Get ready to go in an Alfa Romeo, any in fact, as you look to blaze the trap at over 155 mph to win. Tuning Limit is A Class 800.
I used the 33 Stradale. Tthe share name is “AR33” and the GT is Red620Ti.
The prize is another Super Wheelspin. You know, those things we really don’t need…
Seasonal Championship – O Romeo, Romeo
Guess what we need this time? Yep, an Alfa Romeo tuned to A Class again, 800. I went with a 33 Stradale again.
For winning either solo or in a convoy, it is a car horn – Predator Howl.
The rewards for Series 33 and Summer in Forza Horizon 5
With Series 33 just kicking off, we need to start saving up those points to get our hands on the cars for the month. And they are the Pro Stock Camaro for 80 points and a Hot Wheels Trans Am for 160. Start as you mean to go on!
Even more Rivals circuits have now been added with Series 33 as well. There are four to try your hand at this month – Sierra Verde Sprint, Bahia De Plano Circuit, Bola Ocho Circuit and finally Los Jardines Circuit. Post a clean lap on each to score 4 whole points towards the prize cars.
Grab enough points and Series 33 Summer also sees you given access to the exclusive #66 Ford GT for 20 points. Additionally, for 40 points we can get a Corvette Z06 from 2023, a hard to find car apparently.
To enjoy these events in the Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges, you’ll need a copy of Forza Horizon 5. It’s available on Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and on the cloud via mobile. The Xbox Store will sort you out with a download.
Let us know in the comments if I have helped, hindered or missed the mark with these tunes.
Another Crabs Treasure is on Game Pass, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, PC
A Souls-like in which we play as a little crab looking to get their old life back? Yeah, we didn’t expect Another Crab’s Treasure to be anything but mad.
Available today as the latest addition to the Game Pass service, as well as playing out across digital storefronts for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC is Another Crab’s Treasure. It’s from the Aggro Crab team as they provide players with a crustacean-themed Souls-like.
A crustacean-y Souls-like
Game Pass should be the way to go to get in on the Another Crab’s Treasure adventure. Drop in and you’ll find yourself frequenting an underwater world that is on the verge of collapse. It’s here where you play as a little hermit crab, Kril, navigating your way around, in hope of picking up the trash you need to be able to survive in the cut-throat world. It’s that trash which will become your shell, as the hunt for your real shield gets real.
From the trailer and screenshots, you may not see Another Crab’s Treasure as a Souls-like, but that’s exactly what we have here. And you know what that means? Yep, a challenging game that will focus on some proper combat, as you smite your foes with the most powerful of magic.
Will you find the skills needed to help little Kril survive?
Key features
Challenging yet approachable soulslike combat
A grand undersea world to explore
Over 50 shells to try on and fend off attackers
Smite your enemies with powerful Umami Magic
Way Too Many Crabs
Another Crab’s Treasure will be helped along by a stellar voice cast too – expect fun performances from popular content creators Michael Reeves and Gianni Matragrano, as well as voice actor Zuwie LeFou as the anxious and unlikely hero of this story.
Buy now!
You can download and play Another Crab’s Treasure via Game Pass, or through a standard purchase. The Xbox Store will sort you out if you’re playing on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC.
Alternatively, Another Crab’s Treasure is also on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
Let us know how you decide to pick this one up, and let us know about your experience in the comments below. We’ll follow with a full review of Another Crab’s Treasure on Xbox Series X|S as soon as we can.
Another Crab’s Treasure Description
A soulslike adventure set in a crumbling underwater world. In this uniquely colorful soulslike, Kril the hermit crab must wear trash as shells to survive a dangerous undersea world on the verge of collapse. Hone your skills, defeat lethal predators, and embark on a treasure hunt to decide the fate of the ocean. The second game from Aggro Crab.
Can a twin-stick shooter be relaxing? Ask us yesterday and we would have said no. But having played our way through Zombies, Aliens and Guns, front-to-back in one sitting, we are tempted to say yes, it absolutely can.
It might seem like a backhanded compliment, and it’s intended that way. Because it encapsulates a lot of what we liked about Zombies, Aliens and Guns, and also what we didn’t. This is a run-and-gunner that does everything it can to make both its running and gunning simple and entertaining. It’s got nary a frustration in its two hour runtime. But it also failed to really challenge us, and its enemies rarely surprised us either. We ate it up and disposed of it like a mystery-meat burger.
There are zombies…
We should clarify that ‘rarely surprised us’ statement. Because Zombies, Aliens and Guns is very, very capable of dishing up interesting ideas. Take the way the game is structured, for example: instead of selecting a level and strutting in, you’re strapped in for a rollercoaster. Each level follows thematically from the last (we’d hesitate to call it a story, as there’s not much in that way of plot or dialogue), but there’s no stopping for breath, and what you do in each level is surprisingly varied. In one level you can be hunting for hostages, while another will put you in the back of a boat, firing at zombies that splash towards you. It’s got a relentlessness that’s really endearing.
The lack of surprise is very much pointed at the enemies. Zombies, Aliens and Guns doesn’t have a huge number of them, and it’s eager to show you them from the get-go. Dozens of levels pass without a new enemy added, and we felt like it was a slightly too realistic interpretation of a zombie infestation: mowing down hordes of faceless enemies without really changing much about how we did it.
Not that shooting the zombies isn’t fun. Zombies, Aliens and Guns takes the approach of making 90% of them one-shottable. You might be surrounded by a hundred zombies, but you can thin them out pretty quickly with a shotgun (a gun that we started out hating, but soon learned was fab once we stopped holding the trigger down). They pop in a fountain of claret, making you feel unutterably cool as a result. Very rarely do you get bogged down in Zombies, Aliens and Guns, and that gives it a slick momentum. You’re tobogganing through the dead.
There are aliens…
But here comes the backhandedness again. Because while it is enjoyable, it’s not varied. Even the more gnarly enemies, such as a Creeper-like dude who fires in a circle around itself and an alien who swoops in on a UFO are defeated in largely the same manner: you need to strafe around in a circle. It’s a tale as old as twin-stick time, but we longed for just a little more depth.
And it’s not challenging – at least not for the greatest proportion of levels. Bosses are easy (and sometimes duplicated) but the encounter is stretched out through long life bars. Enemies are only really challenging if they surprise you (all too possible with a zoomed-in camera that makes zombies coming from the south, in particular, late to spot) and if there’s a lot of them. They’re the only levers that Zombies, Aliens and Guns can use to introduce difficulty spikes.
Actually, scratch that, Zombies, Aliens and Guns can be difficult in one unintended way. It’s particularly poor at telling you what you need to do. Sure, an arrow nudges you in certain directions, but important information is neglected. Are enemies infinite? In some levels they are, and it takes a little time (and some health) before you might realise whether it’s the case in a given level. In one level, we were escorting a train, protecting it from zombies, only to realise – after the third retry – that we were meant to destroy the train. You could have given us a clue, Zombies, Aliens and Guns.
The thing is, as we look up from writing, we realise that we’ve painted a pretty bleak picture of Zombies, Aliens and Guns. And that’s unfair, because it’s downplaying the sheer breeziness of it. Killing zombies, no matter how continuously, does plaster a big old smile onto the face. We wouldn’t say that it doesn’t get old, but it’s close. And the constant switching up of the levels means that there’s rarely a dull moment. Vehicle stages, bosses and various flavours of escort mission are all packed into a reasonably stuffed suitcase.
And there are guns!
Which is to say that we blitzed through Zombies, Aliens and Guns in one go. And that’s rarely a negative, particularly for a game that is medium-sized rather than short. It must be doing something right, then, and no amount of faceless zombies can smother that.
In zombie media terms, then, Zombies, Aliens and Guns isn’t ponderous like a Walking Dead, funny like a Shaun of the Dead or cerebral like a Last of Us. Instead, it’s a big, dumb Army of the Dead, and it will be just as forgettable once it’s over. If you like your zombie-killing easy and brainless then Zombies, Aliens and Guns will scratch an open wound.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles is coming
Bandai Namco have today announced the first console and PC game of the Tensura series – that of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles. And it’s coming this August.
Currently in the works and set to release on August 8th 2024, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles is an action-RPG for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. It’s also coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
A new RPG
In That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles, players will follow leader Rimuru Tempest and companions as they build a nation, the Jura Tempest Federation, from the ground up and develop it.
Playing out as a 2D side-scrolling RPG, it follows the original story, including the encounters with the Kijin and the battle against the Kingdom of Falmuth, making it a great way for newcomers to discover the universe. It also includes two additional exclusive stories supervised by the original author, Fuse.
Expect new characters designed by the original illustrator of the series to go along with these new stories, creating a fresh experience that longtime fans will be sure to enjoy! And should you think about leaving town, players will discover the world of Tempest through exploration, where heated battles against foes and bosses await alongside dynamic combos and techniques from the anime. They will also be able to take on sub-quests when back in town, helping their companions, strengthening their relationships and fighting skills at the same time.
Get ready for August
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI Chronicles is set to release August 8th 2024 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.
For now, take in the trailer and let us know if you’ll be picking this up.
