Monday Impressions: Tekken Revolution

What? A free-to-play Tekken game? It may sound too good to be true but it is. And it's pretty darn good too. Tekken Revolution is a free-to-play game released exclusively on the PS3 via the PSN in June 11, 2013. It uses the same engine as Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and various assets from the same game such as art, music, stages, character models and move sets.

There are 8 playable characters available from the get go as well as 4 more characters to unlock.

They are:

• Marshall Law
• Paul Phoenix
• Asuka Kazama
• Kazuya Mishima
• Lars Alexandersson
• Lili Rochefort
• King
• Jack-6

Unlockable Characters:

• Alisa Bosconovitch
• Leo Kliesen
• Steve Fox
• Bryan Fury

If your favorite Tekken character didn't make it, more characters are planned to be added through future updates.

You may ask yourself "if this is free, why would I buy Tekken Tag Tournament 2 then?". Aside from the small roster of characters, what sets this game appart from Tekken Tag 2 or even Tekken 6 is the lack of the bound mechanic. A bound is that extra bounce that allows you to extend combos. In Tekken 6 and Tag 2, you are allowed 1 bound per combo string. In Tekken Revolution, moves that would normally bound a grounded opponent would allow you to combo after it if it is the starting hit. If you try to perform the bound mid-combo, it just knocks the opponent to the ground instantly. The removal of this may not sound like a big deal but seasoned Tekken players will understand the difference the lack of bound would make.

You will also notice that some moves have special tags on them like a red or blue star. Red star moves would signify that this move has invincibility during a portion of the attack and usually causes a hard knockdown. Blue star tagged moves allow for critical hits which can add a significant amount of damage. You can tell which moves these are as they are identified on the character select screen as well as having special visual effects on screen when the move is performed The inclusion of these attributes definitely move the game to a more casual level as the invincibility moves, though unsafe onblock, are very strong and can award some fraudulent wins (I know I have).

As with any casual free-to-play game, there are things you can buy with real money. That being the premium coins. You see there are 4 types of consumable points, two of which require time to recharge. Red coins, called Arcade Coins, are arcade coins which let you play arcade mode to grind for a bit of experience and gold and is replenished every 60 minutes. You can stack up to a maximum of 2 Arcade Coins. Blue coins, called Battle Coins, are spent for playing online, be it ranked or player matches. You can stock up to 5 of these and each replenish every 30 minutes. Premium Tickers are a bit unique as they can be spent to either play Arcade more or online matches if you've run out of the red or blue coins. If you win an online match using a Premium Ticket, you are award one back. A nice risk and reward chance when using premium tickets online. Lastly are the Premium Coins. These coins works the same way as Premium Tickets and can only be purchased from the PlayStation Store.

Earning experience levels up your account which then awards you points to power up your desired characters. The gold is than spent when applying these points to 3 power up slots. Power, which lets you deal more damage. Endurance, which increases your starting maximum health. And Vigor, which increases the chances of critical hits.

What I like about this game is that there is no true "pay-to-win" aspect here as you'd still need to actually play the fighting game in order to grind experience and gold as opposed to simply buying points for the power ups. Sadly, there is one downside to Tekken Revolution and that is there is no real Training Mode. The complete move set for each character is listed but you can only really access it when playing in Arcade Mode. While waiting for an online match, you are thrown in a sort of training mode against the very dumb AI as the game searches for an opponent. While a nice inclusion, you cannot access your move list or pick the stage. I've only brought what little combo knowledge I have from Tekken 6 and Tag 2 and modified them a bit to make up for the lack of bound.

Is it worth a try?

Of course! It's a fully fledged modern Tekken game, albeit without bound, that is free-to-play. No pay-to-win, no Freemium bullroar. The coins may sound like they take a while to recharge but I'd say it's handled well. I usually start with 1 arcade coin, burn through the 5 online coins, use another arcade coin. By the time I'm done with that, I'd usually have another online coin already recharged. Another good reason to try this game out is that it uses that magic online infrastructure as Tekken Tag Tournament 2. I usually find 3-4 bar connections where you barely feel any lag.

E3 2013: First gameplay footage of Outlast

Aside from The Evil Within, Outlast is another survival horror that's shaping up to be a game to watch out for, if you want a really good scare of course. For PC and PlayStation 4, this game revolves around a journalist entering an abandoned asylum. Of course he regrets that decision when he realizes what was going on inside. Have a look at the gameplay below.

The gameplay gives a strong resemblance of horror movies taken in the cameraman's perspective(Blair Witch Project), which is a good twist in the genre. The night vision is also a nice touch and seems to be required most of the time. It's being developed over at Red Barrel games, a new studio mixed with ex-splinter cell developers. This will be their first game, and it looks like they will be off with a good start.

Outlast - Official trailer

It's expected to be released later this year for PC and PS4.

Guild Wars 2 Sky Pirates of Tyria update coming next week

The ever-changing MMO is still going at it with the monthly updates and this June the Sky Pirates of Tyria will be introduced to the people of Tyria. The update will include a dungeon just for the event, new items for the gem store, new rewards, a new jumping puzzle, a new scavenger hunt, introduction of the torment condition, and a revamp of certain traits and skills. Arenanet is one busy studio.

Even before Guild Wars 2 was released, the studio announced that they will be rolling out content every month for free. So far, they have kept their promise and were already in June. The Dragon Bash event, another event that included added content, will end on the 25th. With one event over, another begins, Sky Pirates of Tyria will go live on the June 25. Here's what's included:

New Story Dungeon: Aetherblade Retreat – Find the hidden entrance to the Aetherblade base and take the fight to the pirates. It’ll take skill, courage, and no small measure of agility to battle through to the Aetherblade Captain and First Mate.

Sea of Sorrows Scavenger Hunt – In this new, permanent content, players search for clues to the locations of 12 plaques that have been set up to honor the history of the city and its founder, in the novel Sea of Sorrows by our very own Ree Soesbee, narrative designer, ArenaNet, hitting store shelves and Amazon on Tuesday, June 25.

New Rewards – A variety of new rewards are available, including Aetherblade caches, a First Mate Horrik miniature companion, a stylish monocle and more.

Skill and Trait Balance Update – The largest balance patch ever is being introduced in this build, which includes significant updates to traits and skills to introduce more viable build diversity. Every profession trait line is seeing changes. Updates also have been made to some less popular skills to improve their effectiveness.

Custom Arenas and Spectator Mode leaves Beta – Custom PvP arenas allow players to host private matches, and customize their map settings. This feature is leaving beta, which means that Custom Arena Starter Kits will be available for anyone to purchase in the Gem Store. Spectator Mode also is officially out of beta. Together, these two features allow for practice, competitive play and tournaments.

Mortar Mastery Joins the Growing List of World vs. World Abilities – Players can increase their mortar effectiveness by training in Mortar Mastery. Improvements in this line include increasing mortar blast radius, beefing up on damage, reducing skill recharge, and even adding a new skill, Mortar Barrage.

I've been playing Guild Wars 2 since day one and I'm surprised on how the game has changed. Every now and then I jump back into my Charr Engineer and I'm always introduced to new mechanics and content to explore. The game was already amazing at launch, and the constant updates can keeps us grounded in the world of Tyria.

Hopefully they keep with this monthly free update, because this is one practice I wish other studios can implement as well.

[Source: Guild Wars 2 site]

E3 2013 Impressions: Console wars has begun!

Well the E3 dust has cleared. Actually, it's been cleared for some time now. This E3 is one of the most important events in gaming history since this E3 marks the start of a new generation of consoles. Sony and Microsoft has finally shown what each of their new consoles will bring to the table, and by the end of the year(hopefully), we will have the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One out in the market together with Nintendo's Wii U, which was released last year. E3 this year felt like christmas came early. Tons of games were announced and I don't know where to start.

Just like previous E3, press conference starts way before the E3 doors open, and these press cons are the big chunk because that's were all the reveals start happening. This year is extra special with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One revealed before the event To make it even more special, this year Nintendo decided to not have their yearly press conference with the rest. Most probably because they knew all the attention will be focused on the other consoles, no matter what they do. But Nintendo had announcements to do still, so they opt'd for the easier route, an E3 Nintendo Direct that revealed a gameplay trailer for the exclusive Wii U game Bayonetta 2 and first look at the new Smash Bros. game for the Wii U and apparently for the 3DS as well.

Each year, we always ask after each press conference: Who won this year's E3? That's always the case. This question further fuels the divide between consumers to pick a console side, and for this year I'd have to say Sony won by a landslide.

Microsoft tried...

It's easy to why this is so. Microsoft took the risk. They attempted to change the game by forcing more DRM policies and get a better control of the used game market. The 24 hour online check-in for the Xbox One and the restrictions on borrowing used games outraged millions. I for one was confused to why Microsoft decided to make such a move. Many were left with so many questions with Microsoft leaving half-baked answers creating more questions. The reveal was a complete mess and come E3, they hoped to ease the reaction by filling their press conference with nothing but games. Great move, we saw amazing demo's from Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid V, a small take of a new Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break, we were also treated with Dead Rising 3 being an exclusive, a small teaser to Halo, and the world premiere of Titanfall, which is one of my personal favorites this year(quick in and out mech gameplay = win).

But after all the impressive presentation on what games are coming to Xbox One, it felt like everything was normal again, until Microsoft sticks a $500 price tag on their new unit, and all of a sudden all the worries start coming back in, as if the press conference never happened. With a price like that, plus all the games mentioned, it was hard to consider the unit.

Then comes Sony. With an impressive presentation as well. But it wasn't the games that blew viewers away. Sony gave what gamers wanted to hear, and as much everybody says Sony has won, they just did one thing - announce that the PlayStation 4 isn't going the same route as the Xbox One. When Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Entertainment of America announced they fully support used games, the crowd went wild. I laughed so hard because it was obvious what they are doing. Then followed that there will be no online check ins to use your PS4 offline, another big blow to their competitor. It made my day though, but yes, Sony has won the battle at E3 because of announcing that they would be retaining the same policies pretty much used on consoles today.

Right now, I'm actually shifting to the PlayStation 4 just because it will come out $100 cheaper. The games I'm mostly curious on are actually multi-platform. But it's still too early to tell. We have months to go before released and we don't know if there will be a drastic change.

But enough about who won. There were a lot of titles revealed, but a few of them got me excited to make the conversion to next-gen early. Here are some to name a few:

Titanfall

Titanfall is the first game of Respawn Entertainment, the new studio of Jason West, Vince Zampella, best known for their work at Infinity Ward on Call of Duty. It's a FPS mecha and FPS shooter that is purely focused on multiplayer. From what I've heard, they will be integrating Single-Player elements into multiplayer. But that's not what pulled me in. The amazing detail, the quick mobility of your soldier, and the mech gameplay makes this game worth getting for the Xbox One.

Metal Gear Solid V

Microsoft started their press conference with Metal Gear Solid V. The demo shown during that presentation blew my mind. Hideo Kojima is aiming for an open world MGS and gave us the first look of that goal in action. I don't mind Kiefer Sutherland replacing David Hayter as the voice of Snake anymore, this game is just a must buy.

Super Smash Bros. Wii U

I'm sorry, if there's one game that would force me to get a Wii U, it's this one. This is what Nintendo should have revealed together with the Wii U, not Nintendo Land. This is a great start, but this will definitely help Nintendo in the months to come, sales-wise.

Destiny

Destiny is the next game for Bungie after they retired from making Halo games. It's no surprise its another shooter, but it's an online shooter that has MMO elements in it. It was hard to get what they were aiming with this game, but I got it once they released their first gameplay demo of the game during Sony's press conference. The game will be available for current and next-gen consoles.

Tom Clancy's The Division

Ubisoft wow'd E3 with the reveal of Watch Dogs in their press conference, but now they bring yet another IP that did the same effect to me. The Divison is an online shooter that incorporates RPG elements in its gameplay. Watch the gameplay below and you'll understand why I want this game now. Also notice that they incorporated tablet gaming into the game.

As always, this year's E3 was a treat to watch . Don't think that's the only good thing to come out of E3 in terms of games. Final Fantasy XV has been revealed, as well as Resident Evil's creators new title that aims to revive the survival horror genre. Check out our E3 posts for more.

Tekken Revolution Online Ranked

So the free-to-play Tekken Revolution has been for almost 2 weeks and I am loving it. The lack of bound and small cast of characters may come off a bit cheap but it is a free game with some elements added to make it more, for lack of a better word, "casual".

I won't go into specifics about what makes this game super casual other than saying that every character has at least 1 move that has invincibility. That may not sound like much but if you check out our video, then you might get a better understanding.

Migoy and Bud once again team up (to be specific: pass the controller around) to take on the online world of ranked battles with their country's less than stellar internet connection.