One of the only highlights from the fist two days, people liked this game! From the responses, the first game was well-received, and people are looking forward to new characters/fusions, and the good-looking graphics quality.
New Halo Game
FPS-style gamers are Hype for the announcement of a new Halo game!!!
The Entire Nintendo Presentation
BOTW 2 Footage:
People went Hog-wild over the character designs and potential new abilities seen in a small preview. Whispers on the wind want to connect similar visuals to an earlier Zelda game, Skyward sword, as we’ve seen clips of Link dropping himself through the air.
Metroid Dread:
Initially a canceled DS game, it has revived as an upcoming game for the Switch!
Filament (released back in April of 2020) is a sci-fi Puzzle game with a story thread running throughout.
In Filament, you explore the ship and its crew while solving delightfully colorful puzzles.
The game is known for its notorious difficulty, but even as those that review it flounder, they insist that the story and aesthetics make the game worth it.
Filament looks gentle on the eyes, the brightly colored (and titular) filament and the poles are high-contrast, and don’t get lost in the background.
While researching Magic the Gathering (I had heard it was a fun play), I came across something else that piqued my interest: an extinct game by the name of Android: Netrunner.
At the Brain-dead hour of 4 am, the fast-paced commentary on the Netrunner U.S. Nationals 2019 The Cut was a pleasant listen. From what I’ve gathered on a brain full of sleep soup (probably better known as melatonin), I’ve gathered that it’s a combination of Magic the Gathering and Poker.
The game runs as follows: You and another player oppose eachother; one plays a corporation, and the other plays a hacker. Each team has to get 7 “agenda points”. Hackers gain them from taking the cards from the corporation, and the corporation from completing agenda card requirements.
Entertaining, or at the very least, compelling!
This game involves Resource management, and much like our own monetary system, there is some complexity. The game involves 6 kinds of tokens, most of which are double-sided to signify different things.
The Artwork is lovely as well!
“The Personal Touch” Card Art
For those who want a true cyberpunk experience, this is the game for you.
Since it was cancelled in 2017, there’s no chance of getting new cards, but there is an online deckbuilder/play site here.
The PC Alpha version of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is scheduled to arrive on March 29th. Odyssey is the newest DLC for the MMO space flight simulation game Elite Dangerous. Produced by the renowned British developers at Frontier Developments, Elite Dangerous is the fourth installment in the Elite video game series. Having started in 1984 with Elite, it’s one of the longest running video game franchises to date. Without ever having reached a deal with any publisher, Elite Dangerous was originally funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012. After its original release on PC, the game has also been ported to Xbox One and PS4. Following its predecessors in pushing the bar for innovation in space flight games, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey has a wide variety of features that will likely keep players engaged for several hours.
Explore the Milky Way
Elite Dangerous boasts the extraordinary feature of allowing players to explore a 1:1 model of the Milky Way galaxy. Over 100,000 of the game’s star systems use real astronomical data. The game also features some fictional star systems from the past games in the series. Perhaps most impressively, approximately 400 billion star systems have been procedurally generated in the massive game world using scientific models. This essentially means that players will never run out of room to explore and the game can feel fresh to new and old players for many more years. While the game was designed to be played online, it also features an offline single player mode. The game starts you off in this vast open galaxy with a small spaceship and a bit of money. What you do and where you go from there is mostly up to you. There are numerous activities for you to partake in that will help you to accumulate more money and galactic influence.
Elite Dangerous lets you pilot a variety of ships. The carrier, for example, is a huge and expensive ship that lets you carry numerous small fighters aboard the ship.
The Next Chapter
Elite Dangerous already lets you play many different roles to make money. You can find work in mining, exploration, transportation, and trade. You can also go to the darker side of the galaxy and make money in bounty-hunting, piracy, or even assassination. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey lets players step out of their ships. Now, you can disembark and explore planets on foot. Many of the missions that were previously available will now be translated to missions that can be completed on foot. Whether you want to make money through combat or commerce, you’ll now be able to do this outside or your ship. You’ll also finally be able to meet other players up close instead of out in space. Elite Dangerous is available through the Xbox Games Pass, so subscribers should be sure to give it a try if you’re a fan of games in space. While there is a steep learning curve, this game is a favorite among many fans of the genre.
Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) was originally released on November 17th, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It’s the sequel to the initial reboot of the Star Wars Battlefront series from 2015. Developed by DICE and published by EA, Star Wars Battlefront II has had one of the most dynamic and controversial lifetimes in video game history. Battlefront II (2017) took many of the features from Battlefront (2015) and expanded on how much farther the game could go. Deeply criticized for a variety of reasons at its launch, it’s received numerous free updates over the years that have kept many people playing to this day. The game has also just gained a fresh new wave of players since its addition to the lineup of games on EA Play. Regardless of how it was received by consumers at launch, it’s clearly generated a great deal of interest among shooter fans and Star Wars fans alike. So what went right and what went wrong with Star Wars BattleFront II?
Battlefront II lets you play as some of the minor characters from the newest movies, even Captain Phasma.
13 Years to Build On
To appropriately judge Battlefront II (2017), let’s look at what came before it. The first Star Wars Battlefront game came out in 2004 for PC, PS2, and Xbox. It was developed by Pandemic Studios and published by LucasArts. It’s a Star Wars FPS game where you play as a common soldier in the Star Wars universe thrust into a team-battle. There are multiple classes, factions, and maps to choose from. Star Wars fans will love to play on their favorite planet with their favorite army. Shooter fans will love choosing their favorite play-styles and weapons, then jumping right into non-stop action. But the 2005 version of Battlefront II pushed the game to the next level. One of the reasons for the high level of discontent among fans at the 2017 release may have to do with the high bar set by the original Battlefront II.
The original Battlefront II lets you fly your own ship into an enemy flagship and blow up the critical systems from the inside.
An Ever-Expanding Galaxy
Incredibly, even the original Battlefront II still has a player base to this day. How can this be? What made the original Battlefront II shine? It starts with how much content the developers made available to the player. The original Battlefront II added a story mode where you could play as a clone/storm trooper that follows the events of the movies. Starting at the battle of Geonosis, you’ll eventually fight on the Death Star and deeper into the original trilogy. The original sequel also added various other game modes that added endless replayability to the game. The game featured space battles with numerous flyable ships. The game had hunts that pitted aliens versus the traditional armies. It added hero battles where iconic characters joined the fight. It even had a galactic conquest mode where all of the game’s planets were shown on a large map and you had to systematically conquer the galaxy, one battle at a time. The original Battlefront II was loaded with content that showed how much the developers cared about improving the game through its latest release. What about Battlefront II (2017)?
I can’t imagine being forced to spend dozens of hours grinding in the original games just so I could unlock my favorite characters one by one.
The Dark Side
Let’s start with the problems because that’s how the game’s lifecycle started. Hands down, Battlefront II’s progression system upon release was the most egregious sin committed by EA. This was among the most predatory tactics ever attempted to try to extract additional money from players who already payed full price for a game. Upon release, Battlefront II featured a progression system that required the player to use an in-game currency to unlock characters and purchase loot boxes. Opening the loot boxes had the potential to unlock new abilities for units or new cosmetics. What was so egregious about this? There was the moral argument that several national governments made across the globe, claiming this game was introducing gambling to children. But beyond that, the prices for every loot box and unlock were completely out of this world. To cherry pick, Darth Vader is arguably the flagship character in Star Wars. He’s the villain in the original trilogy who comes back to save the day and he’s the hero-turned-villain in the prequels. It took roughly 40-80 hours of dedicated playtime in multiplayer to unlock him! Or, you know, you could just buy the excruciatingly overpriced in-game currency and skip that. This presents the true tragedy of Battlefront II’s release. The game intentionally locked off so much of its content in the hopes that certain players would spend high amounts of money to buy them. Meanwhile, normal players would have to grind for countless hours to unlock anything. It wasn’t just the progression system that disappointed players about the game either. Battlefront II generated plenty of excitement because it would feature a story mode that was almost always marketed as an opportunity to play as a mysterious and elite storm trooper unit clad in black. However, it’s only about three or four missions in that you change sides and end up as rebel with your mask off for the rest of the story. Much like the multiplayer’s progression system, the singleplayer story mode wasn’t accurately portrayed before launch.
Excited to travel through the galaxy as an elite stromtrooper in the story mode? Think again.
The Light Side
So what did EA do right? At the very least, they saw that consumers were extremely displeased with the state of the game at launch. Battlefront II has had numerous sizable updates, which have seriously changed the way that the game is played. Loot boxes were fixed and the cost to unlock certain characters has been decreased by as much as 75%. As the Star Wars universe has expanded and evolved over the years, the game has added several new characters, weapons, and cosmetics. No one ever complains about free content updates. It’s undeniable that the game is better today than it was at release. While it mostly received reviews around 6/10 by most games journalists, it now receives very positive reviews from recent players. Beyond all the changes that have been made to the game over the years, it wasn’t all bad at launch either. The graphics are fantastic and if you’ve ever wanted to play a Star Wars shooter that looks great, you can’t find a game better than this. Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) stands along Fallen Order as one of the most visually appealing Star Wars games. Gunplay is smooth and there are plenty of vehicles, weapons, maps, and characters for you to enjoy.
Free content updates have added loads of content, injecting new life into the game.
Conclusion
While EA definitely didn’t hit the nail on the head with Battlefront II, they did produce a game that can stand out on its own. There’s a good reason that so many people are still playing. It’s very fun to play with your friends and engross yourself in the world of Star Wars. It’s still worth playing. Combat is well-done and there are many different ways to have fun. But despite the fact that loot boxes have been fixed, the progression system will never truly be fixed for me. I would have much preferred a leveling system that would award you with specific unlockable content based on time played or successful gameplay. Even with all the flair of EA’s remake, I still prefer the original Battlefront II from 2005. For me, the memorable story, the superior space battles, and the unique galactic conquest mode keep the original Battllefront II at the top spot of the Battlefront series. The internet also has plenty of mods that you can use to add to the classic experience. Should a Battlefront III ever be released, I sincerely hope that they blend some of the great qualities from the original games into the next game in the series. Each game is available on various marketplaces and I encourage you to give them a try if you’re a fan of Star Wars and shooters.
Battlefront II lets you play as characters from every era of Star Wars. Every movie from the 70’s up to the newest have been represented in the game.
On February 4th, CCP Games announced that EVE Online broke the Guinness world record for the most expensive video game battle in history. EVE Online is an enormous free-to-play MMORPG that is set in the expanse of space. The game features hundreds of different spaceships that players can own. The player can use this spaceship to go an endless adventure in a world that they share with a colossal community. While it originally launched for PC in 2003, the game has grown tremendously over the years. EVE Online has also had several free updates over the years that have added a great deal of content for the game’s players. CCP Games tries to make it clear that they are still very committed to the long-term player base of EVE Online, even after all this time.
EVE Online has an incredibly diverse set of ships for you to pilot.
A Community Across the Stars
There are tons of different ways to play EVE Online. Beyond being just an MMORPG with both PVP and PVE gameplay, it’s also an enormous sandbox game. You can be an explorer, a soldier, a miner, a trader, a pirate, and so much more. CCP Games does its best to create an opportunity for players to immerse themselves in a giant breathing world. There is also a vast and expansive lore in the game that you can embrace should you choose to invest yourself in it. While the game is free-to-play, there are various levels of priced starter packs to give a new player an edge. Dedicated players will also often purchase the premium subscription for the game, allowing for faster progression and unlocking more content.
There are plenty of different ways for you to make a name for yourself in EVE Online.
EVE Online’s recent Guinness world record for the most expensive video game battle is the result of the Massacre of M2-XFE. Thousands of players logged into the game and participated in the battle that stretched on for hours. All in all, in the value of the in-game assets that players lost in the battle amounted to over $340,000 USD. Thousands of people had put years of their hard work and in-game progress on the line. The simple fact that EVE Online has created a world where people can do battle at such a massive scale is an incredible feat. Every player existing in the same massive world allows for incredible events to unfold that you’d never really see anywhere else. So if you’re a fan of MMOs, sandbox games, or space adventure games, then consider giving EVE Online a try.
Astrokicker was released as an Early Access game on Steam on January 29th. It was developed by the small and relatively new indie studio Quadrivo Software, LLC. Founded in 2019, this is their first game on Steam. But their founder, Lee Lorenz, has almost four decades of experience in software development. Having sold his first game in 1983, he’s a fan of the classics. Astrokicker pays homage to classic shootemup games while also adding a few twists to the game. It tells its entire story without any cutscenes, allowing the player to experience it entirely through gameplay instead.
Astrokicker will take you back to the old days.
It’s Astrockickin Time
As soon as you start playing Astrokicker, you’ll start to feel the nostalgia of games from years past. Everything from the visuals to the gameplay will remind you of games from decades ago. At its core, Astrokicker is an arcade space shooter with 100 levels, numerous powerups, and over 25 variants of enemy fighters. But even deeper than that, it’s a fresh take on the experience that gamers were given when they played a classic space shooter. The game features both a modern and a retro mode. The modern mode lets you fly in any direction and has more advanced graphics. Ships are rendered in 3D, the user interface is more detailed, and there are 100 unique parallax scrolling backgrounds. The retro mode gives the game a much older feel. Ships are limited to 8 directions and the graphics will reflect the older look that the mode is going for.
There’s plenty of unique gameplay to experience through the game’s 100 levels.
Astrokicker is expected to be in Early Access for another 2 to 3 months. While the game is already fully playable, Quadrivo wants to listen to community feedback and optimize every user’s experience within the game. Improvements might be made to the music and sound effects. There might also be a new boss fight added before the final release. That being said, there’s already a full game on display. At only $10, it’s an inexpensive option for any gamer. But make sure that you have a controller if you intend to pick this game up. Keyboard and mouse gameplay isn’t currently supported.
EVERSPACE 2 was released in Early-Access on January 18th for PC on GOG and Steam. Like so many of Steam’s recently added Early-Access games, there are huge plans for the game’s future. The German development team ROCKFISH Games wants EVERSPACE 2 to become the gold standard for space shooter games. It combines elements from many different genres, culminating in an experience that sets it apart from any other game. It also represents a great shift from the original EVERSPACE. While the developers are taking full advantage of the same community-based method to refine the game, they’re moving in a different direction with gameplay. They want to take the world of EVERSPACE from a linear roguelike space shooter to an epic open-world space looter shooter.
EVERSPACE 2’s story will take you to very unique locations.
Ever Ambitious
There’s already plenty of content available to the player. There are an estimated 12+ hours of content in the story campaign with full English voice acting. With at least 25 hours of gameplay in total, there are already a great deal of special mechanics that will keep a player interested in exploring the star systems. The game is filled with extensive combat and interesting places to explore. Plus, there are tons of puzzles, crafting, trading, customization options, and characters. There are also alien species, hidden treasures, outlaw gangs, and many other mysteries to uncover through the main missions and side missions. But, there are still plenty of features left to be fleshed out or added.
EVERSPACE 2 features various unique ship classes and there are plans to add plenty of customization options in the future.
A Vast Future
ROCKFISH plans to keep EVERSPACE 2 in Early Access for the next 12 to 18 months. There are a multitude of content additions that they plan to release through quarterly updates. There are going to be a plethora of new locations, enemies, missions, challenges, characters, customization options, items, resources, and more. While the game’s graphics already look excellent, several quality of life improvements can also be expected. Expected improvements can include bug fixes, new language support, ac and Linux support, and new difficulties. EVERSPACE 2 has big plans, so check back in on it from time to time over the next year or so.
The Ultimate Universe is/was a total conversion modification of the PC Game, Star Trek: Legacy (released in Late 2006). It is a collaboration of many individuals driven to make the best of Star Trek Legacy.
You MUST start with a Fresh Clean unmodded Legacy install. If you try installing over UU1.0 or 1.5 you will CERTAINLY have problems! This is part 1 of a 2 part installer. Be sure to grab Part 2 of 2 as well, both are required!. UU2.0 is a FULL INSTALL.
Now that’s out of the way. You will find a new menu structure, more races, enhanced missions, the new Vs Armada, and Instant Vs modes. As well as the new “Exploring History” mode which is a mostly non combat mode that explores Earth and Mars development from the NX-01’s time to the NCC-1701F.
Great new intro, loading screens and main menu graphic by Mindwipe. Three interviews with the CoWriter of the Stock Campaign Derek Chester done by Mindwipe himself and a TMP Theme music vid with Mike Shaw. Rebuilt main menu by Muldrf. Enhanced Explosions and weapon effects by Miri as well as some nice new glow work on some of our favorite starships.
New Terran Empire ships by Nix and new Section 31 by Gan as well as some other offerings. Additional ships by Maxloef. New Map Editor menu structure with easier navigation setup by Tjoz with nearly all flyable 2.0 ships as well as the stock components.
A fair number of ships by MRJohn have been added. And lets certainly not forget DJ Curtis’s beautiful Century and Vivace Class starships. Enhanced UUTools utility and the new LMTools Modding Utilties have been released as well, also the Legacy Mission Editor is included although the LMTools has full mission building abilities built in. I have included the Modinstaller for good measure for any aspiring modders out there who might find use for it.
————————————- Nov 27th, 2009 – Part 2 of 2 You will find a new menu structure, more races, enhanced missions, the new Vs Armada, and Instant Vs modes. As well as the new “Exploring History” mode which is a mostly non combat mode that explores Earth and Mars development from the NX-01’s time to the Ncc-1701F.
Great new intro, loading screens and main menu graphic by Mindwipe. Three interviews with the CoWriter of the Stock Campaign Derek Chester sone by Mindwipe himself and a TMP Theme music vid with Mike Shaw. Rebuilt mainmenu by Muldrf. Enhanced Explosions and weapon effects by Miri as well as some nice new Glow work on some of our favorite starships. New Terran Empire ships by Nix and new Section 31 by Gan as well as some other offerings. Additional ships by Maxloef. New Map Editor menu structure with easier navigation setup by Tjoz with nearly all flyable 2.0 ships as well as the stock components. A fair number of ships by MRJohn have been added. And lets certainly not forget DJ Curtis’s beautiful Century and Vivace Class starships. Enhanced UUTools utility and the new LMTools Modding Utilties have been released as well, also the Legacymissioneditor is included although the LMTools has full mission building abilities built in. I have included the Modinstaller for good measure for any aspiring modders out there who might find use for it.
————————————- April 7, 2011 – Hosted by Moddb Ultimate Universe 2.2 Update (Build 2) – This release includes updates to a fair number of existing ships to add features to them such as breaking nacelles with plasma effects, animated bussards, reduced torpedo circling, bump maps, and some torpedo circling prevention work. There are also a number of new ships, Wagaugusto’s Olympic Class. Phoenix’s TOS Proxima which was released to public in December is now included. The ole Marauder from BC ported by Muldrf with Acidfluxxbass’s take on it’s textures and Miri and Gan’s effects and weapons. Galaxy X (Evolution) Class, The Icarus Class. There are also numerous ships by Rudianos. Additional texture work by Gan and Acidfluxxbass on various ships. Great new effects work by Miri as usual. New Destruction Damage work by Gan making it a bad idea to get to close to a dying ship..
Please note that this does not represent (yet) the full extent of the mod. This site will, when time permits, contain credits and readmes for the many great talents involved in the making of the mod.
Stellaris: Console Edition is releasing the MegaCorp expansion DLC on January 26th 2021. This is the third expansion pass released for the console edition. This expansion adds giants corporations into the world that can help build giant megastructures and facilitate booming populations. Originally released for PC on May 9th 2016, Stellaris is a grand strategy game set in space. Your goal is to explore the universe and steadily grow your galactic empire/republic/nation. Stellaris: Console Edition was released for Playstation 4 and Xbox One on September 6th 2020. The game provides the player with a wide variety of personalization options for their galactic civilization. You choose what your alien race looks like, where they live, how they think, and how they survive. Whether you want to play as war-mongering bird people or trade-faring plant creatures, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who went down the same road as you. Like most of Paradox Interactive’s games, there is a steep learning curve. But once you figure out a successful strategy, there’s an endless amount of fun to be had with the game.
The galaxy is filled with alien empires to be conquered or befriended.
An Infinite Universe
The player isn’t the only one with a unique civilization. Every time you play, you’ll experience varied and unique species. This will make every player’s galactic journey different. Stellaris features an expansive diplomacy system where you can communicate with the different species that you encounter. The types of diplomatic options that you have with each species can vary based on technological, cultural, and other factors. Plus, the galaxies in the game are procedurally generated. This means that you’ll see different planets, stars, quests, races, and events every time you start a new game. No two playthroughs will ever be the same. Because of how different each playthrough can be, Stellaris has a high replayability value.
When diplomacy fails, war will follow. Space battles might unfold between two galactic empires. There are also battles against giant space-traveling monsters as well.
Galactic Conflict
Stellaris features beautiful 3D models and artwork that keep the player excited to continue exploring distant galaxies. You might find a cute alien race that wants to be your friend or you might find a terrifying alien race that wants to devour your people. Or you could even find a cute-looking alien empire that wants to blow your home planet to bits. As you build up your own empire, you’ll see it all. Beyond the alien races, there are also beautifully crafted spaceships that are unique to different species classes. Humans, insectoid aliens, and plantoid aliens all fly in very different looking spaceships. Each species has its own personality beyond the statistical bonuses and drawbacks for each species. They don’t just play different, they look and feel different. If you’re a fan of sci-fi and strategy games, then consider giving Stellaris a try. But be prepared for a learning curve when figuring out how to manage your galactic empire.
