Month: August 2018

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Quality mechanical gaming keyboards are rarely cheap. In a market where big-name keyboards like the Razer Huntsman Elite or Corsair K95 Platinum cost upwards of $200, getting a quality mechanical keyboard with decent lighting that doesn’t require taking out a small loan can be a difficult task. Luckily, there are cheaper options out there, but as it is with anything, going with a budget option can sometimes require serious compromises. Peripheral company Cougar has tried to defy that trend with its new Ultimus RGB keyboard (See it on Amazon), which is a full-blown mechanical keyboard with RGB for just $75, making it one of the most affordable keyboards of its type available.

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The Nintendo Direct-style presentation that preceded Gamescom brought with it word on a trio of new Switch games that all released that very day. A new broadcast, this one from Nintendo of America, only had one such game, but it’s a stellar one: Into the Breach.

Originally launched earlier this year on PC, Into the Breach is the latest title from Subset Games, the developer of the acclaimed FTL. The game is now available on the Eshop for $15/£11.39.

Into the Breach is a turn-based strategy game where you control three giant mechs tasked with defending an area from monsters. What makes it unique is the level of transparency with everything about the upcoming turn: You know precisely what order enemies are going to move in, what they’re going to do, and how much damage they will inflict. Likewise, you know the effects of your own actions; there’s nothing random about how much damage you’ll do, for instance. Combined with the ability to physically move units and enemies around (letting you knock enemies off the map or cause them to attack each other), it all makes for an extremely satisfying experience unlike anything else.

Given its turn-based nature, this should make for a perfect fit on Switch. The game itself is terrific, as detailed in our Into the Breach review. “There is so much strategic joy in seeing the potential destruction a swarm of giant monsters is about to unleash on a city, then quickly staging and executing elaborate counter maneuvers to ruin the party,” Edmond Tran wrote. “Into The Breach’s focus on foresight makes its turn-based encounters an action-packed, risk-free puzzle, and the remarkable diversity of playstyles afforded by unique units keeps each new run interesting.”

While this might be the only just-revealed Switch game to come out right away, Nintendo also announced numerous other indie titles and exclusives on the way. Among other things, Hyper Light Drifter for Switch will include some new items, while the system is also getting Samurai Gunn 2, a cool-looking action game called Bullet Age, and Untitled Goose Game.

Nintendo announced 22 indie games coming to Switch in the company’s newest Direct-style broadcast. Most of the games are coming this year, including critically acclaimed titles like Into the Breach and Hyper Light Drifter, but a few are scheduled for 2019.

Into the Breach is the biggest surprise to come out of the Direct. Previously a PC exclusive, the turn-based strategy game turned heads this past February with its superb storytelling written by Chris Avellone–who’s previously written narratives for games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and Fallout: New Vegas–and stunning musical score composed by Ben Prunty–who also made the soundtrack for FTL: Faster Than Light. We gave the game a 9/10 in our review.

Other indie games coming to Switch this year:

• The Messenger on August 30
• Hyper Light Drifter – Special Edition on September 6
• Bastion and Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut on September 13
• Light Fingers on September 20
• TowerFall–with a special appearance of Celeste‘s Madeline–on September 27
• Dragon Marked for Death on December 13.
• Treasure Stack, Zarvot, Bullet Age, Levelhead, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, The Jackbox Party Pack 5, Transistor, and Desert Child are all expected to come to Switch this winter.

Nintendo used the Direct to announce a few indie games coming to Switch in 2019 as well. Mineko’s Night Market is scheduled for early 2019, and tells a 20-hour story about a young girl who opens her own stall in a night market. With four regions to explore and plenty of quests to undertake, you’ll have plenty of activities to keep you busy as you expand your wares in this cat-filled world. Samurai Gunn 2 is also coming to Switch in early 2019, continuing the original title’s lightning-fast brawler gameplay across a medieval metropolis.

The World Next Door puts you into the shoes of a rebellious teenage girl trapped in a magical parallel world. You’ll have to navigate a branching tree of dialogue between battles, and if you play your cards right you’ll develop close friendships with the colorful cast of anime-like characters you’ll meet on your journey to get back home. The World Next Door is also coming early 2019. Both King of the Hat and Untitled Goose Game will be coming out around the same time too. The former is a king of the hill style game where you have to crush your opponents hats to score points. The latter is a goofy goose simulator.

More than 30 years ago, one of film’s most iconic monsters made its debut in the 1987 action classic Predator. Before you watch Shane Black’s The Predator this September, Ryan dives into the movie history, background, and characteristics of the Predator.

When Onimusha: Warlords came out for PS2 back in 2001, it was most often described as a feudal-Japan version of Resident Evil. The survival horror genre of the late ’90s and early 2000s was dominated by games with fixed cameras, tank controls, and lots of pixelated blood-spatter, and Onimusha was right in line with its contemporaries. As a huge fan of the survival-horror genre, I was instantly sold by Onimusha: Warlords’ setting, a blend of Japanese history and mythology.

It’s one of those games I knew I would enjoy long before I even played it, and when I finally did buy myself a copy, I was smitten. It was the Dark Realm sidequest that really cemented my love of Onimusha, and looking back 17 years later, it’s the part of the game I remember most of all.

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While both Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan are leaving The Walking Dead in Season 9, a big focus of the trailers for the new episodes are focussed on a rivalry between the two as to who should lead the group. The latest look at the new season is no different with their feud seemingly coming to a head.

“You told me that you’d be the one following me, but you didn’t,” Maggie (Cohan) tells Rick (Lincoln) in a new trailer for the series. “That changes now.”

For its previous eight seasons, the primary group of survivors on The Walking Dead have been constantly at odds with outside forces, both living and dead. After finally defeating Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), though, the fight seems to be turning inward and chances are it won’t end well for anybody. Well, except for the zombies. They’d surely love to have new dead members among their ranks, though it could dramatically cut down on their food supply.

Of course, that’s not the only drama The Walking Dead will be facing in its upcoming season. In the Season 9 trailer from San Diego Comic-Con, the arrival of the Whisperers, another big bad from the comics, was teased. While the show certainly isn’t done with Negan just yet, the arrival of another notable foe from the source material is very exciting.

However, it does beg the question of where zombies enter the equation. The further the series goes, the less the zombies are treated as a villain. Instead, they become simply another weapon in the arsenal of the bad guys, and occasionally the heroes as well. With not only the Whisperers but a potential war within the group, that trend may be continuing in the new season.

The Walking Dead Season 9 premieres Sunday, October 7, at 9 PM ET on AMC.

With the big Forsaken DLC expansion drawing close, Bungie has released a major Destiny 2 update (as well as a Forsaken launch trailer). Patch 2.0 is now live and makes sweeping changes to certain areas of the game before the DLC launches. While some changes, like the overhaul of mods, won’t come until the expansion hits, the patch does completely rework how weapon slots work, among many other things.

As detailed in the patch notes on Bungie’s website, most weapons are no longer locked to the Kinetic, Energy, or Heavy slot. While those that use Heavy ammo will remain confined to the Heavy slot, you’ll be able to have weapons that use Primary ammo or Special ammo in either the Kinetic or Energy slot. Additionally, the type of ammo used and damage dealt by a weapon is now fixed.

With this adjustment comes a variety of other changes. Each class of weapon will now take a set type of ammo; hand cannons take Primary ammo, while shotguns take Special and rocket launchers take Heavy. Grenade launchers, depending on how they’re loaded, will take either Special or Heavy ammo.

Here’s exactly how things shake out on that front:

Primary Ammo Weapons

• Hand Cannons
• Scout Rifles
• Auto Rifles
• Sidearms
• Submachine Guns

Special Ammo Weapons

• Fusion Rifles
• Shotguns, Sniper Rifles
• Trace Rifles
• Single Shot Grenade Launchers

Heavy Ammo Weapons

• Drum-Loaded Grenade Launchers
• Rocket launchers
• Linear Fusion Rifles
• Swords

Because of the change to what weapons go in which slots, there are a variety of former Heavy weapons you’ll find in new slots. For instance, Hawthorne’s Field-Forged Shotgun now goes in the Kinetic slot. However, there are some exceptions–while shotguns and snipers now use Special ammo, the Exotic DARCI continues to use Heavy ammo, as does Tractor Cannon, The Legend of Acrius, and Whisper of the Worm.

“The tuning of Destiny weapons and abilities is inexorably tied to the systems that we build upon,” Bungie explained. “Ultimately our goal is to still provide gameplay challenge despite a global increase in player damage output due to the new systems introduced.” With weapons that formerly used Heavy ammo like shotguns, snipers, and fusion rifles now being a more regular part of the rotation, Bungie has made numerous adjustments to other weapon types and perks to compensate.

For example, precision damage has been increased for weapons that use Primary ammo, but Special ammo weapons deal less damage overall. The full list of changes is too numerous to list here, but it looks to be a major shake-up for Destiny 2.

Other changes of note in update 2.0 include being able to apply shaders to swords; the replacement of Year 1 Meditations with a Heroic Story playlist; new Strike playlists; more Vault space; adjustments to Xur; Cayde has left the Tower; and the appearance of escaped prisoners from the Prison of Elders (though they won’t drop rewards until Forsaken is out). There’s a lot going on.

Forsaken launches on September 4 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, increasing the level cap, adding new subclasses and Supers, introducing Gambit mode, and more. Before then, you’ll be able to try out Gambit on September 1.

With Resident Evil 7’s successful reinvigoration of the horror franchise last year and the upcoming remake of Resident Evil 2 looking equally terrifying, it’s safe to say that Capcom’s premiere franchise is riding high. Now that’s all well and good, but in their efforts to repair their favored series, Capcom are missing a golden opportunity to revive a few of their extinct titles, starting with Dino Crisis.

For those too young to remember the time when dinosaurs roamed the PlayStation, Dino Crisis was a survival horror game from legendary director Shinji Mikami – one of the lead creating forces behind the Resident Evil series and, more recently, The Evil Within. Set on a remote island, Dino Crisis follows a special forces team’s attempts to capture Dr. Kirk, an archetypal mad scientist who had faked his own death and gone into hiding. Not long after landing, the team discovers that the facility has been infested by Cretaceous carnivores and has to battle their way off the island.

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