Category: Game Releases

I’m still unnecessarily upset over the fact that Gundam Battle: Gunpla Warfare still isn’t available in the UK. I mean, gacha nonsense should all get in the sea, but if I’m actually willing to try one out for the greater good of mankind, the least it could do it be available in my region. Oh well, guess I’ll have to settle for Pokemon Masters instead whenever that comes out.

It’s been another list-heavy week this week, so apologies for that, although we did review Beholder 2 and learn that Company of Heroes is coming to iPad. Also, make sure you catch up on what games are still due to release this year. Next week is GamesCom so I’ll be out in Cologne – it may be I’ll need to do some more placeholder content mid-week but I’ll be able to work as normal by and large so if a review or feature does come in, I’ll still put it up.

Out Now

Orc’s Civil War (iPad) – Full Review In Progress

This game came out of nowhere – I have to tip my hat off to Touch Arcade’s round-up for this one as I’d honestly never heard of it until it was released. The game claims to be “the best” iPad RTS game, and it’s a claim I’m eager to put to the test.

It seems very much like a passion project made by a single person, and that person may not speak English as their first language. Still, the graphics aren’t too bad all things considered, and it seems to mix elements of RTS and Tower Defence, with some advanced unit behaviour mechanics thrown in there too. We’ll get a review out as soon as we can, since the price point is unusually high. There’s an official website you can check out too.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47Xn47gRs5U?controls=0]

Spy Tactics (iOS & Android) – Full Review in Progress

This is the other game of note this week – while it’s listed as ‘free’ there’s actually an IAP to unlock the full game. Spy Tactics caught my eye as it reminds me of the GO titles that Square made, which were pretty excellent puzzle/tactics games. This one has a spy/cold war aesthetic which some may enjoy, and boasts over 40 levels with multiple routes to completion.

The trailer is from the PC version on Steam, although admittedly it doesn’t serve as the best advertisement. We’ll see what Michael thinks when he’s done with his review.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtIgO7c1JmM?controls=0]

That’s about it as far as interesting new games is concerned. I took the liberty of trying out Warhammer Combat Cards after it released this week. It’s… well, not really sure how to describe it. Utterly harmless, but also very skippable. It’s essentially a collect-em-all battle game using cards. Except they’re not really cards they’re just pictures of really nicely painted Warhammer 40K miniatures with some stats. You can have up to three on the board at once, and you fight it out. Winning battles gets you more cards, and if you get a dupe you can use it to upgrade a card… and the cycle continues. That’s it. That’s all you do.

There may be some tactical depth in terms of building your mini-deck and how different cards synergies together, but to be honest it feels like a subtle plug for the table-top game. Another RPG card battler released this week is Traitor’s Empire Card RPG. The graphics aren’t amazing, but it’s got a lot more to it and so might be more worthy of your time.

Updates & Other Junk

There’s been a few updates worth looking at this week:

Six Ages: Ride like the Wind received its first update since last November. It introduces a new interactive scene, some gameplay tweaks and fixes, and then improves compatibility for specific devices like the iPhone 4, and the large iPads.

Now that there are several major Auto Chess contenders on mobile, we’re finally starting to see some more creative updates and new modes. Chess Rush is the latest game to try something new with a new 4v4 mode called Squad Clash. It’s similar to the already introduced Co-op mode, just with more people. You can send your pieces to other people’s boards to help them out in their fights. Once Squad Clash has had some time to settle in, it will be put into a rotation with co-op mode where they will alternate.

Pokemon Masters’ impending release can be seen on the horizon, and there’s apparently going to be a lot of us that will be jumping on board when the collect-and-battle game gets its global roll-out. Recent news suggests 5 Million of us have pre-registered for the game across iOS and Android. That’s a lot of trainers.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIwGe83JUo8?controls=0]

While we’re sharing trainers, how about looking at some Commandos 2 HD footage? If you’ll remember, we posted up just after E3 about how Kalypso Media are doing remasters of both Commandos 2 and Praetorians, both of which are classic strategy games. While this is mainly a thing for PC audiences, Commandos 2 HD is also coming to iOS and Android. Kalypso recently shared some new gameplay footage (albeit, PC) which I thought you’d all be interested in.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noBRYZGa7_o?controls=0]

Sales

There’s quite a few more sales this week than usual, so let’s run through them. Unless stated otherwise, assume both platforms:

• Lost Portal CCG (iOS Only) is down to $0.99 for the first time this year.
• Pocket City has also had its priced reduced for the first time this year on both platforms, but it has been cheaper.
• Mystic Vale was only released in June, but it’s already been discounted by a couple of dollars on both platforms, probably to coincide with the release of some new DLC.
• Clarusvictoria are doing a sale on their entire catalogue on both iOS and Android. You’ll remember them recently from Egypt: Old Kingdom.
• Cosmic Express has had its price reduced for the first time this year, but it’s been cheaper.
• If there are any Baseball fans out there, R.B.I. Baseball ‘19 is down to $3.99 on iOS and Android.
• Last but certainly not least, Titan Quest HD is also reduced to just below half price.

Seen anything else you liked? Played any of the above? Let us know in the comments!

By Joe Robinson 15 Aug 2019

By Joe Robinson 14 Aug 2019

Beholder 2 is nothing if not ambitious, even from the get-go. Its opening scene sets the stage for a cinematic tragedy that springs the plot into motion. Evan Redgrave, the distant son of a prominent Ministry official, comes to fill a post at the shadowy Ministry and discover the truth of his father’s legacy. To get to that grand, juicy finale, though, he has to move up the corporate ladder while paying rent and maintaining a patriotic facade. It’s a story-driven dystopian game about the soul-crushing drudgery of the daily grind and bureaucratic evils. So, yes, the black-and-white scheme here might look like a moral frame, too, and not just an aesthetic one. Beholder 2 is a marked improvement on its predecessor but its wonky control scheme and unpredictable tone make for a diminished experience.

The first game played out like Rear Window writ large, with more gadgets. It had a claustrophobic feeling, with constant surveillance of your neighbors being mandatory for pure survival. You had to try to feed your kids, satisfy your wife, grow close to the neighbors all while pleasing the State and its constant demands for intel. From a mechanics standpoint, the constant real-time clock made the game feel like a real bummer. Survival got in the way of story immersion. Well, the sequel has a totally new approach. First of all, ‘time’ is a discrete resource spent on tasks, so the game has become a management sim rather than a frantic click-fest.

The other big change is the location and camera. Beholder 2 is now populated with scenes and people in serviceable 3D, though its 2.5D environment is still a matter of shuffling back and forth linearly. It uses some tricks of perspective and depth to make the building seem like one endless slab. To earn money and authority, you need to excel at both Evan’s day-job, listening to citizen concerns and filing the pertinent paperwork to refer them to the proper authorities, as well as the various sidequests and tricks used to generate authority. It’s technical enough to be thought-intensive, but the demands are all mundane and run the gamut from existential to trifling. Oh, and your work-buddies are rife with their own insecurities and weaknesses, which Beholder 2 encourages you to exploit for personal gain.

And there’s the rub. In a broken system where the framework for justice and truth have been systematically dismantled and replaced by the rules and needs of a central State and its eternal (literally?) Wise Ruler, any kind of moral compromises are just necessary. Put simply, the game is full of people just struggling to get by, keeping their heads down and their hands (relatively) clean. But our dear Evan is stirring the pot, and to do this he risks losing his head to upset the status quo and get to the truth of his father’s death. Beholder 2 mixes the grand classic sense of good-vs-evil moral absolutism with a pragmatic sense of survival.

So it’s about boredom and the banality of evil. It constantly tempts the player to try to white-knight some situations and black-hat others, and this whiplash is only made possible because every player is holding out for the mythic ‘Good Ending,’ traditionally gated by the purest, nicest choices possible. Well, throw that ideology out the window, because Beholder 2 cares not a whit for precious conventions. It makes suffering and corruption feel boring and everyday because for those living under dire circumstances, the crisis at some point becomes everyday. 

This plays out in good dialogue and character writing. Our main character is a generic bland guy just trudging through life at the player’s command, but everyone else has a unique agenda and voice, and the writing reflects this. It’s satirical bent also comes out strongly. Tons of bizarre quirks are presented unblinkingly, yet the most ordinary folks get sneers and jokes at their expense. The tone is surreal and mis-matched at times. Just like with its predecessor, the plot advances through checkpoints and absolute stat requirements, so for all its feel of slow-paced corporate life, Evan is also breaking into safes left and right, and moving up as fast as possible. 

The story is urgent and fast-paced, and the ‘campaign’ long enough to satisfy but brief enough to be intense. Just like with Beholder, there’s a constant source of stress. Do I have enough money? Did I do the right thing by that poor sap, or will the game punish me for misplaced compassion? Whelp, dear reader, Beholder 2 plays its cards close to its chest, but generally speaking if your stats are okay, you are okay, so extra skulduggery isn’t strictly necessary.  The quest chains, in particular, give enough direct guidance that failure is explicit. Usually there are multiple paths to success, though, so either role-play the decisions or suss out alternatives before committing to one.

There’s a lot of moving parts to Beholder 2, and in general they work pretty well. The basic movement system makes missing dialogue a tad too easy, though, and some decisions are punishing while remaining relatively opaque. (Cue player frustration and furore, like a lighter case of Pathologic 2). It blends the political with the personal without ever getting preachy or high-brow, and the gameplay is more refined, but Beholder 2 still has that brooding, claustrophobic atmosphere in common with the original. Case in point: you can get your coworkers executed as a purely careerist move.  While the game has a lot of good ideas and a much-improved execution of its predecessor’s spirit, it’s not quite a must-play. The humor is cagey and its satire often flat or unsubtle. Still a great game and experience, but Beholder 2 falls just short of compelling.