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Square Enix has given us an announcement that they will be giving an announcement next year for the next Tomb Raider game.

The following was posted on the official Tomb Raider Facebook and Twitter…

“Square Enix is excited to share some big news with you next year. Honestly, we wish we could share it with you right now, but we’re taking a new approach this time.

A new Tomb Raider game is coming.

Driven by our goal of putting the fans first, we want you to know that it won’t be very long between the official reveal and when you can play.

Our journey together will begin with a major event in 2018. We simply can’t wait to take you on Lara Croft’s defining adventure.”

There it is, we officially have a new Tomb Raider coming. By the looks of things we can expect to play it in the coming year, potentially. Just looking at this, I am guessing the “major event” is E3 with an expected release date of November, but I could be wrong.

Could this be the Shadow of the Tomb Raider game that was leaked forever ago on a subway and we have not heard of in forever? For those who do not know, it is rumored that Crystal Dynamics, the developer behind the great previous two Tomb Raider games, is not working on Lara Croft’s next adventure. Eidos Montreal is expected to be working on the next game. You can read Kotaku’s article about that situation HERE.

I am very excited for this. Although I never played the older Tomb Raider games, the reboot and Rise of the Tomb Raider were some of my favorite games on the years they came out and I recommend that anyone try them out if you haven’t yet.

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With 2017 coming to an end, it’s time to reflect on the games released during this year. The Game Awards, airing live tomorrow night on Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and Youtube, will feature a special guest appearance by the one and only Hideo Kojima. Other special guest appearances include Norman Reedus, Zachary Levi, and Guillermo del Toro. Also, don’t miss the musical guests, including Synyster Gates, Tina Guo and the Game Awards Live Orchestra, premiering for the first time.

Some of the categories include Best Score & Music, Best Action Game, Best Art Direction, Most Anticipated Game and Game of the Year. Some of the big contenders are Horizon Zero Dawn, Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Destiny 2.

Tune in to see if some of your 2017 favorites win. Don’t miss The Game Awards tomorrow night at 8:30pm EST/ 5:30pm PST. And keep an eye out for special sneak peek previews of upcoming games. There will be a follow up article containing the winners and honorable mentions after the show premiers.

Here are the links to watch the show.

Youtube:

AntiGraviator is an upcoming racing simulation from developer Cybernetic Walrus and Publisher Iceberg Interactive. Cybernetic Walrus was founded by four alumni from Howest University. Their familiarity with the Unity engine has garnered them much praise.

AntiGraviator is a futuristic anti-gravity racer, in the same vein of games such as the Wipeout series, and it seeks to push the limits of the Unity engine. The game is set in the year 2210 and the racers are competing in the appropriately named AntiGraviator Tournament. The races will take place across four worlds with each world boasting 3 unique tracks.

The latest game from Ghost Time Games, Jettometro: Hero of the Universe, follows a lonely robot as he travels through various solar systems and visits planets, hoping that his true purpose in the universe is to help humans. Oddly enough, the humans don’t seem to want his help, and after the first few planets, they begin evacuating the general population and using flying saucers, laser turrets, and other defensive measures. However, various self-destructing satellites appear periodically throughout the game to encourage the robot to continue. And, being an optimistic sort of fella, he perseveres.

You move using WSAD, and the robot is extraordinarily clumsy, especially since movement is directly related to the camera controls. The camera controls are good, but you do have to use them constantly. Most of the objectives involve finding fuel, uncovering robot parts buried on the planets, and battling kaiju-esque monsters in quicktime-event style typing game. Occasionally the robot will indicate that he wants to try something like searching rubble for trapped humans, putting out a building fire, or chasing away a lightning storm. However, there’s really no indication of how to successfully accomplish these tasks- it’s just the player’s best guess. My favorite parts of the game were the decryption puzzles to unlock pieces of the robots memory. These weren’t necessarily more difficult, but were more engaging brain-wise.

The rest of the game is an aesthetic 10/10, and the game creators were definitely aware of this, including a photo mode and making the soothing, zen-like soundtrack available for download from Steam or from the Ghost Time Games website. The robot is very cute, and a big part of the completionist draw is collecting his different parts, allowing the player to customize the robot’s look. The environment is all beautiful space-scapes, with colorful planets and stars, and comets and asteroids orbiting in the systems. The sides of planets facing away from the stars are dark, just as actual planets would be, which are visually great but can add difficulty to gameplay. (There is a photosensitive mode available.)

The story is engaging; the decrypted puzzles tell pieces of the robot’s backstory, and keep the player moving to the next system to uncover the next chapter. However, there seem to be a lot of plot-holes- the humans seem unable to communicate with the robot, a mysterious entity who sends messages through self-destructing satellites never has their identity revealed (although you can make an educated guess), and one of the endings leaves the player, in effect, stuck at the end of the universe with no answers.

There is a decent amount of replay value in collecting all the costume pieces, attempting to get all of the achievements (including the ones associated with putting out fires and saving people, and destroying asteroids and comets), and playing with the Stats screen (how many buildings destroyed, how many boats sunk, etc).

Overall, Jettometro: Hero of the Universe is a really good-looking game with some interesting groundwork for world-building laid. It’s a bit minimalist, but I could see this being expanded, allowing the robot to gain more refined skills and clearing up some of the mystery left around the robot’s awakening. I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of classic monster vs robot movies à la Godzilla.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

The post REVIEW / Jettometro: Hero of the Universe (PC) appeared first on That VideoGame Blog.

As a genre, Strategy holds a very warm place in my heart. Actually … if you look at many of the titles I’ve played and reviewed for you lovely lot you’ll probably have noted by now that this is a genre that’s a bit of a go-to for me. This being said, I’m obviously naturally excited when a new game pops its head above the parapets and I can get my peepers on it. So today I’m here to show you a release trailer for a new game from Playdius and indie dev group Studio Chahut. The game in question is their new release Post Human W.A.R.

All Capcom fans rejoice, Mega Man 11 has been announced!

During the company’s 30th anniversary live stream, the Blue Bomber’s first new game since 2010 was shown off with some familiar gameplay that fans of the franchise should feel some nostalgia towards. The game looks to have the old school 2D scroller gameplay of the classic games put into a 3D environment. I have to say, the game looks good from an aesthetic standpoint. You can check out the trailer that plays at the end of a long look back at the series below.

Who’s a good dog? Your dog! Now, who’s a smart dog? Would you believe the answer to this question is also your dog? If you think their proclivity for drinking out of the toilet would say otherwise, it’s only because you haven’t tried the CleverPet. We recently reviewed this game console for dogs and learned that our furry friends are smarter (and sneakier) than we previously imagined.

“One of the things we believe at CleverPet is that animals (including us humans!) are both more intelligent and less intelligent than is commonly believed… We’ve existed as a species for around 300,000 years, but have only had writing and formal education for a few thousand!,” says CleverPet CEO Leo Trotier. “Other species are also both more and less smart than we think, for the same reasons. We’re constantly seeing that they’re able to solve problems that we didn’t expect them to be able to solve, if only the problems are presented in the right way. And they’re less smart because many people attribute skills or concepts to animals that there’s no way animals have: unless you’ve taught them carefully, chances are they can’t understand sentences.”

In other words, it’s up to you to get excited for the both of you when you read this sentence: You can enter to win a free CleverPet ($299 value)! Just pick from any or all of the options below to increase your chances.

CleverPet December Giveaway

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Open-world role-playing games are usually my go-to gaming experience when I’m tired of playing my racing games or my first person shooters. Usually, the theme of the RPGs that I jump into have to deal with knights and dragons in a fantasy world à la Skyrim, or a science fiction themed world like cyberpunk thriller Deus Ex. However, I have often wondered if the two themes can be successfully combined into an engaging and fun experience. Well, to my surprise, developer Piranha Bytes Games, creators of the award-winning Gothic series, and publisher THQ Nordic have taken that challenge and created Elex, an action role-playing open world game set in a post-apocalyptic, science-fantasy universe where machines meets magic. The world of Elex is vast and will take only those willing to brave its wilds in order to conquer it.

In Elex, you take on the role of a member of the Alb faction which consumes the pure element Elex, a precious mineral that was the main ingredient of the comet that decimated your home-world of Magalan. The Albs believe that it allows them to grow stronger, think with increased clarity and free them from the entanglements of dealing with emotion. The denizens of Magalan have also discovered that Elex can power machines, open the door to magic, and even re-sculpt life into new, different forms. Unfortunately, as the game begins, you have crashed your glider while on a mission without any access to pure Elex which has the side-effect of allowing your emotions to bubble to the surface. Three other factions inhabit Magalan and you will have to join at least one of them in order to survive your emergent ordeal.

As an open-world RPG, you know how gameplay works here. You can see your character in third-person and can switch between many different types of weapons or wield magic or both. You can venture to anyplace on the map but you might want to take your time because some areas will initially be too difficult for you to enter safely as your level will be too low to face the powerful creatures that you will encounter. As I mentioned earlier, you are a member of the Alb faction but there are three other factions that you will invariably cross paths with, so knowing what they are all about may just save your bacon. There are also the Berserkers, they pride themselves on being able to transmute Elex into pure Mana and are transforming Magalan’s shattered wastes into a lush, living woodland; the Clerics, they see the consumption of Elex in any form as a sin and instead they use Elex to power their machines; and the Outlaws, scavengers who worship no god and pledge to live as free as possible.

Like most RPGs, Elex sports a fairly robust weapons and abilities system that is based on you gaining experience and applying earned points into one of five attributes; strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence and cunning. Weapons and items range from shotguns and rifles to laser guns and rocket launchers as well as potions, mana and scrap metal. You can find them hidden in the environments, taken from fallen enemies or purchase them outright with the currency of the world, Elexit. If you have joined the right factions, you can also learn how to wield magic and learn how to cast fireballs and other magic based attacks. In addition, depending on your faction, you can level up several different attributes that are specific to the faction that you belong to.

Visually, Elex doesn’t look bad, and there are certain parts of the environments that really stood out to my discerning eye, however there was something that felt missing to me. Blades of grass sway in the wind or just when you walk through it, trees also sway in the wind with each leaf catching the breeze individually of each other and the dust patches of bare ground looks appropriately dirty and almost photo realistic. There is just a polish that seems to be missing when compared to other open world RPGs like The Witcher III or GTA V even and it released four years ago. The environment design notwithstanding, the character designs seemed a little lackluster as well. For the amount of content that is in this game, PBG has stated it will take about 50+ hours to complete, another month or two of polish would have taken this game up a notch or two visually.

The players progression in the beginning of the game does somewhat concern me because I found the experience to be very tedious and not very fun. My first six hours of gameplay consisted solely of long conversations, fetch quests and continuous dying at the hands of fairly low powered enemies. Among other features, the game sports a stamina system that depletes as you exert yourself by swinging at enemies with one or two-handed weapons or running. While I have experienced this feature in other games, what sets this feature apart in Elex is that initially, you can only make about three regular attacks or one powered up attack leaving you open to attack yourself. At this point, as you wait for the meter to slowly refill, you can only run or dodge which will happen a lot. I don’t know about you, but I would rather be opening up a few cases of whoop@$$ on the enemies instead of running and dodging from them.

The soundtrack and sound effects in Elex were definitely a couple of the high-points of the game. The music is appropriately crafted and helps to settle you into a world that is unique in ways and awesomely familiar in others. The voice acting was a little disappointing as the lines of the game are delivered well, they just don’t usually fit the relationship of the characters that are speaking. It seemed that the voice actors delivered all of their lines individually without having the benefit of working with the other voice actors so that conversations seemed more organic. As it stands, conversations feel strange because the tone in one characters voice does not match the feeling of the specific situation that is being discussed.

Elex is one of those games that I only heard of about a month before its scheduled release. I immediately went over to YouTube and watched the trailer to see if it was something that I could get into. I have to say that the visuals in the trailer looked about ten times better than what was actually delivered in the game. However, once I got a little farther in, the game really opened up and became something that I wished it could have started as. That long build up in the beginning of the game may cause some to give up and trade it before they are able to get to the more interesting parts of the game. However, if you are the type that likes a good story, lots of ways to customize your character and a wide open world filled with fantastical creatures and some cool Science Fantasy, this game provides just that.

Ticket to Earth brings an interesting mix of gaming elements together into one cohesive package. On one side you have hardcore RPG elements, such as tactical combat, character abilities, skill trees and upgradeable equipment. On the other, you have comedic dialogue from a quirky blend of characters, a simple (and colorful!) combat interface and an interesting story to boot.

Speaking of story, it all begins in Episode One: Uprising, when hell breaks loose and villains appear on the news proclaiming that it’s “Zero Day.” To make matters worse, these baddies have hacked the automated security bots and turned them against the citizens of Land’s End. And the local government officials are completely oblivious.

You start the game off playing as Rose, a sensible and down to Earth gardener who was trained in martial arts and spirituality during her youth. When mutant bugs break into her garden during the Zero Day chaos, she must draw on those skills again to defend herself and her plants from the bugs. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Fueled by her strong sense of justice, Rose decides to do what she can to put a stop to those responsible for Zero Day.

Enter Wolf.

Wolf is the much-needed range attacker in Ticket to Earth. He’s laid back and cheerful but knows when it’s time to get serious. Especially if there’s money involved. He balances out Rose’s rather intense personality quite nicely.

They’re the two main characters of Episode One and work very well together in combat. Rose does a lot of damage but primarily focuses on single target damage. Wolf, on the other hand, has several AoE abilities and is able to pick-off or at least soften-up enemies before they reach Rose.

Combat is incredibly fun. There are four different colored types of tiles randomly generated across each stage. You simply draw a path through like-colored tiles to power up your character or charge their abilities. You can then choose to attack, use a fully charged ability, or move again.

With only two actions a turn, however, you really have to consider each move. If you don’t, you could end up out of position and underpowered. That can lead to failing an objective which might cause you to start the stage all over.

The stage’s objectives are listed above.

Successfully completing stages and objectives gives Rose and Wolf the resources they need to upgrade themselves. We’re talking stat increases, weapons, special attacks and passive skills. I was pleasantly surprised by how great a job Ticket to Earth does in regards to character customization. On top of being able to buy stronger weapons, each character has several combat abilities that can also be purchased which provide various advantages in battle.

Wolf’s ability tree.

Rose and Wolf can further upgrade via massive talent trees that require the use of tokens obtainable only by completing stages and bonus objectives (seen above). These talent trees are vast and unique to each character. They provide the gang with passive upgrades such as bonus damage when walking over a colored tile or more health and agility. All helpful when trying to put an end to Zero Day.

Rose’s talent tree.

I had a ton of fun playing this game, with no real complaints. And it’s no surprise as to why. Ticket to Earth offers a top-notch comic book art style, a diverse character customization system and a memorable cast of oddballs that will have you rooting for them every step of the way. The tile-matching combat system was also a breath of fresh air. Combat never got old. It definitely added a new element to tactical combat, which I very much approved of.

The first episode of Ticket to Earth, Uprising, is out now on Steam for only $14.99 with Episode Two, Crash, released as free DLC. The release dates for Episode Three: Meltdown and Episode Four: Revolution is still currently unknown.

Music and games have a interesting chemistry with each other. Obviously I’m not talking about game soundtracks; games having these is a bit of a given, really. I’m not necessarily even talking about games focused on playing music, you know, like Rock Band. I’m referring to those games where your aim is to meet a goal while creating or developing something musical. An example of what I’m on about is Ode, a new experimental release from Ubisoft for PC.