The original Super Meat Boy was an indie darlings in the early 2010s. It’s been a mainstay for hardcore platform fans for over a decade, but the sequel hasn’t been as well received.
Last year Super Meat Boy Forever received an iOS and Android port, so that you too can enjoy hardcore dismemberment while on your way to work.
A new update has been made available for the mobile port adding procedurally generated levels and a vault of classic levels as well.
Here’s the lowdown on the new ways to play!
Say hello to “Meat Grinder,” which has two ways to experience levels in Super Meat Boy Forever
“The Daily Grind” is a randomly generated level that switches out daily. Get to the end as quickly as possible to top the leaderboards. Keep playing to beat your record!
“Quick Play” lets you play a level generated from all the “level chunks” in a chapter. Maybe you’ll see something new!
Forever Forge: Forever Forge is where we will showcase the best of user- generated levels. Our level creation tools were just released on PC, so check back for updates in the future. For now though, please enjoy a new chapter developed in-house called “Abattoir.” Ryan should really be fired for making these levels.
Diablo Immortal is the first entry in Blizzard’s two decades old ARPG franchise to be developed specifically for mobile phones. Revealed during the Blizzcon 2018 opening ceremonies, Diablo Immortal is promising to be the full dungeon crawling experience that players are used too but optimized for mobile devices and touch-centric interfaces. Development duties aren’t being handled by Blizzard directly but rather by Chinese publisher Net Ease who have published Minecraft in China, as well as the popular mobile Battle Royale, games Knives Out and Rules of Survival.
Is Your Favorite Class In Diablo Immortal?
At launch Diablo Immortal will support six classes:
Monk
Wizard
Crusader
Demon Hunter
Necromancer
No additional classes have been announced but during their “Diablo What’s Next” panel, developers did say that they will be listening to community feedback about what classes to bring to Immortal in the future.
What Do We Know About The World of Diablo Immortal?
Lore-wise Diablo Immortal is set between Diablo II and Diablo III and will explain questions like “what happened once Tyrel left heaven?” and “what was Deckard Cain up to between the two games?”.
Skarn, the Herald of Terror will be featured prominently alongside select baddies from Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction.
8 public zones will be in Diablo Immortal at launch with the first zone to be revealed called “Bilefen”, another zone called “Frozen Throne” (and no – not Arthas’ Frozen Throne) will also be available. Adventurers will also explore a library belonging to Zoltun Kulle that is different from the one that appeared in Diablo III.
Westmarch is a large thriving capital city during the events of Immortal.
Shared multiplayer open world zones will have respawning monsters while instanced dungeons will not have NPC respawns.
When Will It Be Out?
We don’t know when Diablo Immortal will release on either Google Play or iOS App Store just yet. It is also unknown how monetization will work in Diablo Immortal, if the game will be free-to-play or if it will be a premium priced mobile game. By pre-registering on the game’s official website, future players can unlock rewards.
The Elder Scrolls series doesn’t exactly have a positive history with mobile iterations – there’s that cancelled PSP version from 2008 that never saw the light of day and a 2006 Java phone game which is probably better off forgotten. All of that is about to change with the upcoming release of The Elder Scrolls: Blades for Android and iOS.
It seems that technology has finally caught up to Bethesda’s vision for a mobile ES title, as Blades is set to offer full dungeon exploration, full movement via digital touch controls, spell casting and console quality graphics. From the brief look given to the Blades at their E3 press conference it will be a hybrid between dungeon exploration (both procedurally generated and human designed) and customizing a town. Rather than being an open world sandbox players will be upgrading their town, taking on quests in various dungeons and leveling up their player avatar.
No word yet on how The Elder Scrolls: Blades will be monetized – it is available for pre-order on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store right now. Seems pretty silly to pre-order a free to play title, here’s hoping there aren’t literal “loot chests” in Elder Scrolls: Blades. As much as I despise “stamina systems” that encourage you NOT to play a given title, random loot drops are by far more predatory.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades is scheduled for release sometime this fall on Mobile and may eventually come to PC, Nintendo Switch and other consoles.
During the EA Play Pre-E3 press conference a former RTS mainstay made its return in the form of Command & Conquer: Rivals – A presumably Free to Play title similar to Clash of Clans and other action hybrid titles.
Longtime staples of the genre like resource collection and unit production are still present in this scaled down, e-sports focus take on Real time Strategy. Two players square off against each other on a small map to claim a central point and launch a pair of nukes at their opponents to claim victory. Several iconic units from C&C history did make an appearance in Rivals brief appearance on EA’s stage – groups of marines, the mammoth tank, tiberium harvesters and flamethrower units were all accounted for.
No word on how Command & Conquer: Rivals will be monetized and the game is still in pre-alpha. North American Google Android users can head on over to the Play Store and pre-register for access to the pre-alpha release. An iOS release is set to follow sometime later this summer.
EA’s last attempt at reviving the long dormant Command & Conquer franchise happened half a decade ago, all the way back in 2013. Originally announced as “C&C: Generals 2”, 2013’s cancelled entry was focused entirely on multiplayer and was cancelled soon after a closed alpha test concluded.
Square Enix has announced that Star Ocean: Anamesis, a brand new journey in the popular sci-fi fantasy Star Ocean series, is coming to the North America this July on the App Store and Google Play Store for mobile devices. The game will be free to download.
Star Ocean: Anamesis puts players in the captain’s chair as they lead a squad of heroes across the galaxy. They will have the freedom to build endless strategic and iconic teams with returning all-star characters from the Star Ocean series, choosing between attackers, sharpshooters, defenders, invokers and healers to assemble a powerful crew.
Enhanced mobile-specific controls will have users experience fast-paced real-time combat with gorgeous 3D graphics. For the first time in the series, players will also be able to tackle missions together in a brand-new co-op multiplayer mode.
Apple users can now register for the official Apple Testflight closed beta to get an exclusive preview of the game before launch. Additionally, fans can now pre-register through the official Star OceanTwitter and Facebook, as well as Google Play to unlock a variety of awards following launch, which are determined by the total number of pre-registrations across all participating channels. Prizes include bubbly iconic series character Welch Vineyard, as well as the cool and collected Faize, originally from Star Ocean: The Last Hope.
The full list of pre-registration rewards is available below.
The next major update to Final Fantasy XIV Online: Stormblood will come out in late May Producer / Director Naoki Yoshida confirmed during a regularly held community live stream known as Letter From The Producer LIVE. Patch 4.3 brings a number of brand new features to the game – the conclusion of the Doma main story questline, a brand new raid, a new “deep dungeon” leveling experience and so much more!
In terms of in-game content adventurers will be able to take part in the second of the Ivalice themed 24 person raids, The Ridorana Lighthouse. Smaller parties will be able to take on a brand new secret trial (Zeno extreme as rumored by players? The next of the Four Lords series perhaps?) as well as journey through a brand new dungeon called the “Swallow’s Compass”. Crafters and Gatherers who have jobs at least level 60 can start to befriend the fish-like Namazu.
Players who have completed the Stormblood MSQ might remember a Jinga-like structure that received prominent placement in a cut-scene during the Ruby Seas ark. Well it turns out that the structure is actually called “Heaven On High” – similar to Heavensward’s “Palace of the Dead” – a self contained leveling experience where adventurers start at level 1 and rapidly progress through their profession’s abilities. After completing a set number of floors in “Heaven On High” it is expected that players will receive at least 1/4th of a level out of the tower upon completing 10 floors. Unlike Palace of the Dead, the total number of floors is only 100 floors vs the 200 of Palace of the dead. In HoH floors 30+ will be challenging content.
Here is a breakdown of all of the in-game content coming in FFXIV 4.3 – some of these descriptions are obviously just little tidbits:
New Main Scenario Quests – The story of Stormblood continues.
New Alliance Raid – The Ridorana Lighthouse.
New Trial
New Dungeon – The Swallow’s Compass.
New Beast Tribe Quests – The Namazu.
New Sidequests – The Four Lords, Doman Reconstruction and Further Hildibrand Adventures.
New Deep Dungeon – 100-Floor Heaven-on-High.
The Forbidden Land, Eureka Expansion – Pagos Expedition.
New Ultimate Difficulty Raid – Ultima Weapon.
Updates to jobs, PvP, glamour system, housing, performance actions, new more powerful gear and more.
Coming at some point later will be an official FFXIV Companion App that will enable all users to chat with friends as well as message the Free Company chat channel. Organizing inventory, purchasing and placing items for sale on the in-game market boards will also be supported. A paid for premium plan allows subscribers to double their chocobo Saddle Bag storage, sell up to 2 items per day using Kuppo Nuts (vs 1 with the free plans) and have an extra retainer. We don’t have an official price for the premium tier just yet.
Here’s a breakdown of the companion app that Square Enix provided:
ll players that download the app will be able to enjoy benefits such as the following:
Chat with friends and free company members
Organize events with the scheduler
Organize inventory and armoury chest
Peruse the Market Board
Put items up for sale and purchase items
Register an additional favored destination Aetheryte
An optional, Premium Plan is also available, which unlocks the following features for a monthly fee:
A mobile only entry in the long running Tale of series, Tale of the Rays, will see the “Worldwide” version (read: international editions outside of Japan) end service just 15 months after launch. Originally released in February 2017 on iOS and Android, Tales of the Rays stars two brand new playable characters – Ix and Mileena – who must discover their true potential and the mystery behind Chiral Particles.
Billed by Bandai Namco as a “console quality experience”, Tales of the Rays allowed players to well known Tales of characters from across the franchises’ 23 year history. In practice, the game looked the part of a polished JRPG complete with voice acting and cinematic but the limitations of touch screen controls and up to 5 different forms of micro-transaction currency (!!) didn’t do the game any favors.
As announced on the official North American Tales of the Rays Facebook, service for the game will end on May 29th, 2018:
[Important] Tales of the Rays is Shutting Down
We regret to announce the closure of Tales of the Rays. Thank you all for your support and we hope you enjoyed playing. We will be keeping the servers open until 20:00 PDT May 29, 2018, so please continue to enjoy Tales of the Rays until the very end.
All items can be used until the last day, so if you have any items or Mirrogems in your account, please use them before May 29, 2018. Also, from today, we are disabling the purchase of Mirrogems.
For more information, please check in-game announcements.
*The exact time service will no longer be available may vary depending on your region.
Despite its use of “gacha” forms of microtransaction for random weapon drops, Tales of the Rays, did build quite a fan following across the globe in the short time it has been out. Players took to twitter to vent their frustrations about the game’s closure – including some who posted Change.ORG petitions to plead with Namco Bandai to keep the game open.
Tales fans: At least we still have Tales of the Rays.
Final Fantasy Awakening – the online only, multiplayer focused Final Fantasy Type-0 spin off game – is now available in several more countries, Square Enix announced this morning.
Set in the world of Orience, Final Fantasy Awakening allows players to recruit the 14 members of Class-0 to take part what’s called thee “2+2+1” Battle System – which allows players to select 2 members for their party, swapping them out at will while recharging the abilities of the resting members. Players from around the world join together to earn resources to level up abilities, equipment and unlock new classmates.
This game does employ a “gacha” system of randomization when it comes to both the rarity and % of unlocked class members. I’ve written previously about how these type of systems can be psychologically manipulative – using the same strategies and flashy graphics proven so successful for the gambling industry. Sadly, despite all of the bad press and negative player feedback sorrunding loot boxes and paid RNG drops – the practice is still prevalent in the mobile and space and increasingly so in console games.
Final Fantasy Awakening is available in the additional countries of Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, India, Laos, Cambodia, and Burma on the Google Play Store. It was launched in the USA this past October and is not available in Canada as of press time.
Popular mobile Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Arena of Valor was originally set to make its debut on the Nintendo Switch in North America last month, needless to say the scheduled beta Christmas time beta test never materialized.Outlet Comicbook.com got a chance to sit down wth reps from publisher TenCent and get an update on the upcoming Switch port, plans for North American beta testing and obviously quite a few questions about the licensed D.C Comics heroes.
It seems like TenCent will roll the beta version of Arena of Valor in European territories first with North America to follow sometime after. Just as the mobile version on iOS and Android was launched in European territories first, TenCent will start taking applications for Switch Beta testers very soon – with a later, unspecified date, in mind for North America.
“The Nintendo version of Arena of Valor is being handled by a different team at the moment. We’re supporting the Nintendo version with beta testing, branding, and everything company-side. We have the closed beta testing coming up for Europe, and after we have the results from that beta testing, we’ll have a more clear timetable for launches in different regions.”
Comicbook.com also asked a question that I hadn’t considered – would it be possible for mobile players of Arena of Valor to transfer their gold, talent shards and unlocked heroes to the Nintendo Switch version? TenCent says that this is certainly technically feasible but they do have to consider the imbalance that this would create for new players who are just starting out on Switch.From the sound of things there’s still some deliberation going on about the possibility of porting over account progress from one platform to another.
“We had that discussion earlier, internally. The answer is that the decision is still being made. It is technically possible, but having people on the mobile version and Switch version competing with each other may compromise the arena as a “fair” arena, if you see what I mean. Because they’re using different devices, when they compete with each other we feel it could generate complaints of unfair competition, so we’re still balancing it.”
Lastly, the topic of Monetization has of course came up. Naturally with many calling last year – “the year of the loot box” – it is understandable that potential players might be a little skeptical of a free to play title on Nintendo’s latest platform. From my own personal experience, Arena of Valor is filled with blind boxes (loot boxes)– both in the “free” daily variety and those paid for with real currency.
“We haven’t made a decision about that. Monetization has never been the “start.” It’s not the major concern early on, for any version of the game. We will have more information after the beta test in EU.”
Arena of Valor will launch sometime in 2018 in both North America and Europe. The free to play mobile version is currently available in most countries on both Google Android and Apple’s iOS platforms. I’ve played a couple hours here and there on my phone and found it to be a competent M.O.B.A experience, even if I don’t really recognize or resonate with many of the heroes on offer.
PlayStation 4 isn’t the only place where Final Fantasy characters from across the mainline series will do battle against one another. It turns out that Cloud, Sephiroth, Y’Sthola, Steiner and dozens of other FF mainstays will be making their way to mobile phones later this month with the release of Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia for Apple iOS and Google Android.
Unlike its console sibling, Dissidia NT, Opera Omnia turns back the clock to the classic Final Fantasy days and features a turn based battle system like those found in the SNES and PlayStation era titles. The battle system in Opera Omnia isn’t a direct copy of older ATB based games – the BRAVE mechanic from the proir Dissidia games makes its first appearance here. Land a hit at just the right time to do massive amounts of brave damage!
The art style reminds me of the FFIII remake from the Nintendo DS, with adorable low polygon versions of all of your favorite characters, who will.. Ahem *pardon the pun* square off in this free to play title.
Android users can pre-register for Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omni on the Google Play Store right now. No word yet on an exact release date and what regions the game will launch in but it will also be coming to Apple devices this month as well.
Pokemon from the Hoen region are about to find their way into our world with the rollout of pocket monsters from Generation III in Pokemon GO. Over the next few weeks, Niantic will make 50 different monsters from Ruby and Sapphire catchable in the augmented reality game.
Also coming to Pokemon GO for the first time is real-world weather that will affect gameplay. No longer will it be pouring rain on your virtual self while back, in reality, it is bone dry. Weather in POGO won’t just be cosmetic either, it will change which monsters you might find in the wild as well as other factors like combat power and stardust.
Here is what Niantic’s official press release said about the upcoming weather feature:
“For the first time in an augmented reality mobile game, the real-world weather will now be a factor in the gameplay experience. As Trainers are exploring the world around them in search of Pokémon, the current weather in their vicinity will be visible on the in-game map. The real-world weather around Trainers will impact the gameplay of Pokémon GO in a variety of ways that include changing Pokémon habitats and where they can be found, increasing Combat Power, and earning more Stardust after catching a Pokémon.”
Is the addition of monsters like Torchick, Mudkip and Swablue enough to keep you playing? Pokemon GO might not be the mega-smash success it once was back in the summer of 2016 but millions of Pokemon trainers still log in daily to catch them all!
Nintendo has updated their mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes and to celebrate the 2.0.0 update, from November 27th at 11:00 pm thru December 12th at 10:59pm PT, gamers can get Orbs up to 10 times from a Log-In Bonus. Not only that but there will also be a double EXP and SP event will also take place from November 27th at 11:00pm to December 4th at 10:59pm PT.
So what’s in store for version 2.0.0? Check it out below.Read More
The latest mobile Final Fantasy adventure has arrived in Final Fantasy Dimensions II. A new adventure that transcends time and space…
The hero Morrow and heroine Aemo travel through the present, past, and future and gain allies along the way on their great quest to save the world. In the game you’ll equip and fight with crystals known as signet stones to acquire new abilities for your characters.
The eastern continent of Ajima and the western continent of Westa. A great disaster caused by human error destroys the civilization of magic that prospered during the Ancient Era and divides the world into east and west, ushering in a long period of conflict between the two. A young boy named Morrow who lives in Navos, a small island at the center of the world, loses himself listening to tales of Wrieg’s travels, a Westan adventurer.
Morrow follows Wrieg after he senses something strange from an odd shooting star and meets a mysterious girl from the future named Aemo. The world of Eidola exists outside the present, past, future, and beyond.
Many of these signet stones possess the powers of the Eidolons, summoned beasts from throughout the history of the Final Fantasy series!
Final Fantasy Dimensions II retails for $19.99 CAD.
Bandai Namco isn’t exactly known for adapting the Tekken franchise for mobile devices. Over the past decade or so there have been two serious efforts: Tekken 6 on the PSP in 2006 and Tekken 3D on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011. Both of those previous games, although premium priced titles, had different shortcomings when adapting the technical fighting style Tekken is known for to both Sony and Nintendo’s handhelds. Seemingly coming out of nowhere – a free to play version of Tekken launched on the Android Play Store and iTunes App Store in Canada. What follows are my thoughts on this iteration of the King of Iron Fist Tournament based upon the still in limited rollout version of Tekken Mobile that is available.
There are a few key features that Tekken has been known for since its’ inception: like a complicated list of multi button combos, rock paper scissors like input system of high & low punches or kicks and three-dimensional movement. Let’s get the unfortunate news out of the way first – none of these well-known gameplay mechanics appear in Tekken Mobile at all. Drastic changes to the core gameplay experience may have longtime series fans asking “Does that make it any less of a true Tekken title if the strategy of move input is removed and movement is restricted to a 2D plane?”
Combat in Tekken Mobile is a huge departure from what the franchise is known for but it is also a huge departure from what Namco’s sometimes collaborator / sometimes rival Capcom have done in the mobile fighting space. Bouts are still 1 Vs 1 affairs but the three round system has been removed in favor of a single 90 second round. Basic attacks are performed by simply tapping the right side of the screen while blocks are performed using the left side of the touchscreen. Swiping in the center allows you to have your character dash forward or back quickly. Once I had adjusted to how combat worked in Tekken Mobile I found myself being able to time successful chains of blocks before rushing in and pulling off one of three available special moves for Asuka, Jin or Nina with ease. In place of the complicated input system by the console games or even the more robust virtual d-pads and buttons used by Capcom, these cards provide ways for fighters to pull off intricate interlinking combos by tapping the appropriate card. Tekken Mobile will even label cards with a “1..2…3” icon, signaling the proper order for maximum damage. Namco Bandai Vancouver has developed a unique fighting system that for the most part enables a sense of strategy while differing itself from the competition. It can be a little annoying when you think you’re going to tap on the right side for a basic attack and accidentally dash in but I chalk that up to my own clumsiness and not the game’s fault.
Characters in Tekken Mobile will be familiar to those who have played previous entries in the series, regardless of platform or generation. Mainstays like Jin, Kazuya and Steve Fox are joined by latter additions to the roster like Asuka and Shaheen. There are four brand new characters who were created specifically for this new mobile iteration – Isaak, Ruby, Tiger Miyagi and Yue. Each character has a rarity rating (measured in Stars), one set of equip-able bonuses tied to their Star Rating, a character level, an element type and a full deck of Wanza special moves. If all of this sounds a bit convoluted and confusing – well was for me at the start. Given that this is a free to play title, it makes sense that Namco didn’t hand over every fighter off the hop but managing fighters can become tedious (more on that in the next section). With 15 returning characters and 4 brand new characters there is a lot of room in the roster for expansion before Tekken Mobile becomes packed to the brim with fighters. Here is hoping that longtime antagonist Heihachi and newcomer Lucky Chloe make the cut in future updates.
Managing your stable of fighters can become daunting after a few hours of play but it isn’t an insurmountable challenge. Your fighters overall power appears tied directly to your characters level. Additional Wanza cards and slotted buffs can make a bit of an overall difference but they don’t appear to weight as high as the power rating that is calculated for each character. There is no restriction on the level of a character when challenging opponents – if you want to have a 2000 rated Jin take on a 400 rated Bruce or the other way around you certainly can. What will change is the amount of damage dealt and absorbed by the two fighters. Once a character has been eliminated in any of the three available modes they’ll be knocked out until a real world timer has finished (typically 10 – 15 minutes) or once their health has been restored. You can, of course, bypass these time limits with in-app purchases…
After all of this discussion about available characters, gameplay systems and adapting the Tekken formula for mobile devices the discussion comes full circle as the specter of micro-transactions rears its head. Tekken Mobile contains not one, not two but four different forms of in-game loot boxes that can provide everything from Shards needed to unlock new fighters, to free revive and healing items to rare Wanza cards and elemental crystals used to boost characters overall level. This means that as a player you are managing multiple stats per characters, your level of crystals on hand and an in-game gold currency used for purchasing loot boxes. The drop of in-game gold is quite low: 100 for a win or 25 for a loss but since rounds can take as little as 20 seconds – you can earn a box in about 30 minutes of game play. Tekken Mobile wants you to fork over real world cash for an arbitrary gem currency for randomly generated items you have no control over, but you’ll never find yourself hitting a content wall unless all of your fighters die and you run out of revival items.
Tekken Mobile has quickly become one of my most played iOS games in the past few weeks – easily eclipsing long-time installs like Pokemon Go. Rounds are short enough that completing a single round campaign mission or a three round Dojo match can be done while waiting for the bus or standing in line at the supermarket. Once I acquired a number of fighters and leveled them up extended gameplay sessions were possible – the other morning I spent 45 minutes battling it out against the CPU before all of my 1 star fighters were retired. Whether or not you’ll get enjoyment out of Tekken Mobile will probably depend on how much RNG loot boxes and fighter countdowns you can stand before uninstalling the game or forking over some cold hard cash for gems. I’ve probably sunk a good ten hours into Tekken Mobile and haven’t paid a cent. Complaints about the loot boxes and limited roster aside I’m impressed with the surprisingly functional combat system and this game is probably the closest a Tekken portable title has ever come to capturing the aesthetic presentation of modern entries in the franchise.
Capcom has announced the sequel to one of the most popular mobile puzzle games of all time with the all new Puzzle Fighter.
Developed by Capcom Vancouver from the ground up, the classic arcade puzzle game gets modernized with a new look and new features for free download on iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The game will be coming soon for soft-launch in select countries and a global release is planned for late 2017.
