Dino D Day Review

Dino D Day originally a Source Mod, has gone the way of "The Ball" and have turned Independent. Dinosaurs’ vs. humans seems a cool idea but can it really work? Well let’s see if it does!

First thing I must say that there are barely any servers and the times I played there were NO objective game mode! This means that this review will only go over Team Death match and King of the Hill. Sadly the objective mode is meant to be the main game, it's the one shown in the trailers with the Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops. I don't know why this mode is not being played, I was playing for three hours and in all that time NO ONE was playing objective, I asked someone about this and they didn't even know that there was an objective game mode! Anyway with that out the way.

There are 3 types of Dinosaur; the "normal" fast running type like the Raptor and the Dilophosaurus.  A tank like dinosaur with a Rocket launcher on its back (Desmatosuchus) and a Teradactal which is a summon for the German sniper. The only problem with this is; there not balanced, two of the Dinosaurs are not fun to play as, and the allies don't get Dinosaurs. OK, OK let me explain why. The Raptor is probably the most unbalanced. The Raptor is the fastest character in the game, this would be OK but they make them tiny and have an ability to kill a person instantly. The developers tried to compensate by giving the sniper a rabbit that will distract the Raptor for 10 seconds, there's no way to avoid being killed by the Raptors by their special attack (even if someone kills them in their animation your already dead) same for when your distracted by a rabbit, there's no way out of it. This is a big annoyance on both sides.

As I said about two of the Dinosaurs we're not fun to play as this is the Dilophosaurus, which is a tall Raptor like Dinosaur which is played in the third person and is controlled in the third person, the bad thing about this is that it controls like a tank which is a problem with another one of the dinosaurs. (Desmatosuchus get to that later) I wouldn't mind if it moved like a tank, however the model is long and the doorways are thing meaning that you'll keep getting stuck in doors. Turning is annoying and is not fluid. The Dilophosaurus can pick up and throw goats that are scattered around the levels, when thrown at the other team and hit anywhere on the body ends up being an instant kill which is very easy to do meaning it's another annoyance for the Allies. Also if you run and attack the enemy he'll get thrown to the floor where you can pick up the enemy and throw them at a wall. This also instantly kills them.

Finally the Desmatosuchus. This is probably the most balanced dinosaur. It's a small, slow dinosaur with a AT gun on their back. There's not much really to say about it really. It's slow and balanced. The Teradactal is a special ability used by the German snipers; the Teradactal is more a suicide bomber than anything. The Bomb has a wide range however you can use it way to often and in a king of the kill game is an easy way to take over the flag and hold it.

The normal soldiers are bland and plane they have no personality to them only a few one liners every so often. One of the big problems is getting people to join the Allies as there so plain that no one wants to play them; they want to play as the Dinosaurs. Which raises the question why didn’t the Allies get Dinosaurs? I know it's part of the storyline (which is only apparent through the trailers) but there no storyline in the game apart for "THE GERMANS HAVE DINOSAURS!” So why don't the Allies get Dinosaurs so there's arguments over the teams?

There are tons and I mean tons of glitches in this game from animations not working, desktop crash, servers not working and hit boxes not responding. This game bores on being a Beta and someone I was playing with did think it was a paid beta. Presentation isn't at all good, basic lighting (which becomes apparent when you can't see where you’re going in a few levels), basic textures and basic models. It lacks polish too; models sometimes levitate off the ground! Also another thing not present is a level editor which is almost compulsory for a Source game. 

It's a shame that the gameplay is so bad, the jokes and art aesthetics (such as a poster, loading screens so on) are really good, and it’s just a shame about everything else. This game is more of a mod than anything else, and a not very good one at that. It's a shame if there was a little bit more polish and fixed the balance issues, a good game is in there... somewhere... I think. Sadly this game has little to no community so chances are that this game will disappear soon.

Liam Hackett

Mount & Blade with Fire and Sword Interview Part Two

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Part Two of my Interview with one of the Producers behind Mount & Blade with Fire and Sword. Hope you enjoy ;

Turtle Beach's Z2 Review

Turtle Beach is well known for making quality headsets. The Z2 headset is meant to be the best Turtle Beach headset for the PC that's coming to the UK. So does Turtle Beach keep up their reputation of good quality and brilliant build quality or should you save your money?

The first thing to go over is that this headset is HUGE! The ear cups eclipse your whole ear, this keeps the sound in so people can't hear what you’re lessening to and you can't hear loud background noises. As you would think this ads allot of weight on your head (0.27 kg), this does add some irritation when used for a long period of time. On the other hand there's not as much irritation at all on short periods of time. Adjusting the headphones to fit your head is easily done with flexible speakers and adjustable headband.   

The headset is very pretty to look at with an almost full black look with the only bit of possible colour being the blue "Turtle Beach Ear Force" written on the speaker case, silver Turtle Beach logos and silver rings round the speaker case. The whole thing just looks good to look at. I must add that it also doesn't feel fragile or cheep, it feels solid and you can't hear the plastic flex under weight or like anything’s going to fall off at any minute.

One of the problems I had with it is taking any where because of its huge size and very hard to fit in a backpack without something getting in the way. This headset is not made to be taken around anywhere or to be used on a laptop this is made for your computer and not meant to be taken anywhere.

The headset's wire to plug into your PC reaches 10 ft; this is very long for any headset and is good because you don't need to take it off for going short distances. If you find the wire to be a little too long you can always rap the extra wire and tie it up using a piece of Velcro. you have a in-line volume control so you can change your volume without needing to push a button and it also comes with a mute switch and you can use it for your Xbox as well (do need to buy additional wire to use though).  

Now we got past the look of the Headset now let’s get down to the nitty gritty. The mic is very clear and crisp (video showing it off above). However the mic is very sensitive picking up breathing when at mid range away from your mouth; people next to me and at one point me eating (mouth closed) which was pretty embarrassing when talking to someone over Skype. To say the least it's a paint to get the mic in the right place, yes you could change the sensitivity on the game you’re using but it's a bit of a hassle. One way they could have fixed this is by adding a foam cover over the mic which would block out the breathing and only make your voice herd. On the other hand this would remove some of the slickness the headset has and wouldn't fit the style of it at all. (Being very clean and crisp) 

The Speakers are high quality being 50mm meaning that the bass is deeper. The sound quality is pitch perfect, I tested this out with hundreds of games and music (...well not literary) and they all sounded great, explosions where loud and had a satisfying boom to them and help with immersion. Couple this with a game with good sound design (e.g. Battlefield Bad Company 2) and you'll believe you’re really in that world. The sound is the most impressive about the whole headset, not that the mic is bad but it's not as mind blowing as the sound. 

All in all the Z2 is a brilliant peace of kit and if you’re looking for something cheep and high quality, I would go for the Z2, it costs £49.99 and you get your money’s worth and even a little more I fully recommend it. It may have its flaws like the almost too sensitive microphone and it size, however if you’re looking for an all in one headset that you'll only use in one location I would pick this up.

Liam Hackett

Mount & Blade with Fire and Sword Interview Part One

The first part of this interview will be a text interview with one of the Developers/Producers behind the game,going over what's changed, difficulty and why so soon? The next Interview will be spoken and be more discussion which will be up soon. Hope you like this part and if there's anything you want to find out just leave a comment and I'll make sure your voice is heard.

At the very beginning of the game I found myself shying away from most missions concerning bandits or looters as whenever I tried to fight them the Bandits would shoot me with rifles giving me no chance to fight back even with a small party. Is how you going to balance the enemies so guns don’t kill you in one or two shots?

Guns do kill people after all, to stay alive you'll need a little luck and whole lot of tactics at any part of the game.  If you're really having trouble, you can opt to play the game on 'Easy' or 'Normal', we admit With Fire & Sword is quite a difficult game and thus there is no shame in playing it with reduced damage settings,etc.  Other than that, I recommend using a shield to catch some bullets or at least having some decent armour.

In past Mount & Blade games some people found it hard to actually get far into the game due to the big groups of enemies scattering the land which left you outnumbered and overwhelmed with what they should do how have you refined the game so this doesn’t happen in this one? 

Well, this sort of situations won't always happen because of the dynamic nature of the AI controlled NPC parties, but if you do find yourself in a sticky situation we have added a great new feature in the 'camp' menu that allows you to build an envoy of carts to travel in, so that when you are assaulted your party has additional protection(carts acting as small siege walls).  Your party will stay securely inside the cart envoy whilst your attackers rush towards you and try to make their entrance into your cart envoy, think of these as mini-sieges :)

Why is this game coming out so soon after the last Mount & Blade and why should people buy this instead of the last two?

With Fire & Sword is a great companion game to Warband and is not intended to replace our last game in any way, there is plenty of unique content and reasons to play both games.  With Fire & Sword brings to gamers a different style of warfare, new single player content, new gameplay systems that include a new castle, troop, and economic system, great new weaponry and factions for multiplayer and even a new multiplayer mode. 

In the last two games Mods where a big thing, are you still fully supported?

Yes of course, we wouldn't have it any other way.  We love our community and thank them for all they've done for us, we'll never release a game they cannot mod.

Is the Multiplayer going to be the same with its huge battles and skirmishes, also what have you changed in the multiplayer to support the new weapons?  

Multiplayer is even better now because of the unique tactics players can utilize using the new technology of firearms versus the old ways of war.  Also “Captain Team Deathmatch” is a great new mode in which each player commands 3-24 bots, more than 16 players can fight against each other, so these battles will get quite huge!

How big is the main map compared with the other Mount & Blade games and how much more content is in this one compared with the other two?

The main map compares quite well to the original Mount & Blade.  There is a lot more content in the single player game because of the additional systems we've added as well as multiple storyline quests that are accessible through the three main factions in the game; The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, The Tsardom of Moscow, and the Cossack Hetmanate.

Liam Hackett

Men of War: Assault Squad

Men of War: Assault Squad is a World War 2 RTS game featuring every kind of weapon from ground troops to  bombers (of sorts), however one of the biggest problems with World War 2 games is basically almost everything  passable with WW2 has been done from flight sims to card games so people got bored of WW2 and thus we have Modern Warfare games... and Vietnam for some reason, however, as I'm waffling on about this you're probably wondering "will this guy ever get on with the review" and the answer is... Yes.

OK one thing I want to get straight is this; There is NO Campaign mode! All there is, is a loosely tied together Skirmish mode so if your looking for a 400 page epic narrative well you won't find it here, this is strictly fighting no nambie pambie love story. However, this game is extremely cinematic and I'm honestly stunned that it was possible for RTS to be able to pull that off and so well. In fact, it's down to a dynamic battle system that they pull off this type of immersion.

Talking of gameplay there are 5 factions for you to play as ; The Americans, The Germans, The British (AKA Common Wealth), The Russians and the Japanese. However there's one big problem, they all play the same! Yes, the weapons sound and look different, and yes they have different special attacks (I'll get to that in a minute) but the bare bones of it, the factions are the same. The special attacks are unique to every faction, for example, the Americans can call for a single paratrooper to fly in at any given location, this can be handy to take down artillery without endangering your tanks and you can call in a bomber plane... Which is also used to take down artillery... Huuuu... Well to be honest almost every special attack I used was for taking out artillery. The only two I didn't use for taking out artillery was the tiger tank and an ability to call on extra men (controlled by the computer) to charge forwards and basically kill everything in it's path.

While playing more and more, I found out that I was basically doing the same tac-tics in every level. In fact on closer inspection of the mini-map, I found out that almost every map had the same strategic points (flag captures) which is 2 rows of three in a diagonal line and one big base at the end of the level, normally filled with artillery. The maps may be different with snow, desert or urban areas however you can tell by the layout that your doing the same thing and this is not a exaggeration. When you start a level you get told "The Germans (or Americans) have blocked the road ahead, capture this point so we can get our tanks in". This happens every time and it gets extremely repetitive and boring. I would of liked some variety, such as "Get to the train station and defend it as we plant a bomb to destroy a train". This would of given us variety and if the developers did this then we wouldn't be hit with this repetitive vibe. However for now the level design is just lazy, I hope DLC solves this though.

One thing I noticed is that I never used certain units, for example, there are normal infantry, snipers, anti-tank units, flame throwers, and a special type of infantry which is basically normal infantry but in armored vehicles. However, I never saw the point of using the flame throwers, as I never got close enough to using them before blowing up and they cost too much. Snipers aren't really effective as normal infantry because they can shoot at fairly long range and pretty accurately and the anti-tank is pretty much useless in nearly every faction (except the US), because the rocket launcher, almost every time, did little to no damage. So I stuck to normal infantry and tanks. Artillery I only used once, mainly because I got better range and accuracy with the special attacks.  The only time I used most unit types was at the hardest difficulty which is sad, as research shows that most people don't play on hard and only normal, where I only used normal infantry and tanks. So basically, there's a balance, there's a fog of war that can be turned on in the options that could help this, but this makes long range weapons over powered, so it's a double edged sword.

At the beginning of the game there's a great feeling of achievement when taking over a base which is slowly lost due to repetitiveness. However, it's a great feeling when destroying a tank then running for cover to take the flag. It's a feeling that I rarely find in RTS games these days. Animations are fluid and the environments are stunning. I know I don't normally go over this, but the levels are diverse and unique and it's a shame the design and the layout couldn't be changed on some of them to make them more entertaining.

Included with the game is a map editor to make maps and probably mods, but while trying to test it out it crashes. On the other hand, being a modder/ Developer myself I know that this is very much acceptable, being that I know how complex these programs are. So hopefully when the tool is fixed the modding community will come in and spice up the game.

All in all, the game is average while the game-play is exciting and frantic. However, the level design is lazy to an extent. I would like to see the modding community come in which will probably happen, so I would keep an eye on them. So if you want a fun action packed game where you can download mods and map packs.

Liam Hackett
Maria Matthews (Editor)

Wittyreviews: Magicka

"Ok, so, what's the plan?"

Magicka is a game of wizards, goblins, trolls et al but NOT VAMPIRES, AT ALL, NONE. It mixes psuedo RPG elements with plenty of humor, but is it trying to be funny? Or is it a hidden gem? Well, the answer to both those questions is yes...and no. There's plenty of things right with it but a few things wrong aswell. Alot of them are down to personal preference, though, so you may or may not find them a problem. Does it deter from the overall enjoyment? Well, yes quite frankly but it really is all up to opinion.


First of all, let's get the obvious out of the way. The game has several modes, Adventure, Challenge and Multiplayer. Exploring the main menu, already I have a problem. There's no way to alter your controls, at all. And that's where you might find a small bit of annoyance, the idea behind the magic in the game is that you can combine spells for more devistating attacks. A good idea, yes, except that it requires you to use your keyboard to combine them and move by holding down your left mouse button. The keys you need to combine spells include W A S D, so those of you used to using that button combination to move may find it a bit of a learning curve. Well, I tell a lie, you CAN change which keys do what, but you're still unable to change which button you press to move. Next obvious problem, the codeing is a nightmare. I know I'm not the only one who's noticed this, but the game crashes repeatedly just getting to the main menu. And then, you find out the buttons only work SOME of the time. I've gotten killed before because when I slammed the key to use a fire spell, it didn't work. And it's not me, I switched keyboards and still have the same problem. I checked the connection, no that wasn't it either.

This one really speaks for itself

 
Speaking of controls, it's very simple. To move in any direction you move around your mouse while holding down the left mouse button. No problem, right? No, except the right mouse button makes enemies fly backwards after you throw wind at them, and you can't do it while moving. You can comine spells into whatever combos you feel comfortable for just about everything. For instance, combineing the heal spell with the shield spell creates shock wave throwing, healing landmines. Which brings us to the next problem, your spells work on everyone and I do mean EVERYONE. You can heal the enemy, you can kill your allies and I mean ALL of your allies. This can be especialy annoying if they're in the way of your spells and you can't get a clear shot. Among those aspects of the gameplay is the voice acting, it's not bad...if it can be judged in this instance. All characters, apart from the Narrator but I'll get to him in a bit, speak in some made up language that sounds like what you get if you slam your fist on the keyboard multiple times. It sounds like some wierd hybrid of French, German and Itallian, it's strange. Moving right along, I'd also like to point out the presence of melee weapons that serve no purpous. You can't use them to hack at enemies and they do nothing to defend you so...why are they in it? Now, don't get me wrong, the game is fun to play, it's just not groundbreaking. These things keep it back from going from good to great. But let's not forget the story!


Yes, this game has a plot. A very simple one, but a plot none the less! You are...someone going to Havindr to aid the King in defence of the capital city because...um...some reason. Alright so it's not brain taxing but it doesn't need to be, this is a game just having fun with itself. I'll leave it to you, the reader, to decide what the means. We start off getting a Narration by a guy who is totaly not a vampire and then we are given instructions by a guy named Vlad who isn't a vampire at all. And, is it me, or does the magic academy you're in look alot like the one in Avencast? I dunno, it just looks familiar. Ah yes, I forgot to mention, this whole story takes place in Unnamed Land #56 since not once are you told if this is Earth or Ferelden or Azaroth of whatisthisIdon'teven.jpg land. It also has quite the Goblin problem since they seem to be everywhere. Goblins have the annoying power of jumping on your back and running around leaving you unable to aim properly unless you execute the dangerous and evil task of hitting the space bar, seriously. This game also has a strange habit of making fun of other games while also making fun of itself. At one point you bump into a lady with a yellow ! over her head, clearly a reference to WoW, who mentions she'll pay you to destroy her rat problem. Goblins then attack, after you destroy them she says that she would pay you but "This game doesn't have a proper inventory system so I guess I can't". I even spotted a Games Workshop reference, a Godsplitter Hammer from DoW 1 outside a small house with the words "Grams Workshop" on a sign next to it. An RPG referenced Dawn of War...that just blew my mind.

Now! I'd like to point out before you all either raeg or agree with me, that this game is clearly meant to be played in groups. It's not a game for a single person, though it can be done as such. But, I fail to see how that can make it any better. Surely aiming, fireing and moving around the enemy would make it even harder than it already is. "Ah yes, but!", I hear you say, "You can hit your allies in Left4Dead, and that doesn't cause a problem". Well, yes, that's true, but in Left4Dead you barely do any damage to your allies unless you empty repeated clips into them on purpous. In Magicka, you deal the same amount of damage no matter who you hit. A sense of realism maybe? Yes, because the game has been soooo realistic so far huh? And that's another thing, this game is only realistic some of the time. An explosion right in your face that collapses the floor only does a few points of damage to you, but stepping off the shore line into the water kills you instantly?

So we have a game with barely a plot with awkward gameplay. Is that bad? Well it depends on what you expect from the game. It's a comedy, it's not supposed to be taken seriously. But, that said, I can think of another game that did that and was still amazing.
 

Ye Olde Holy

Yes, exactly. But seriously, the game isn't bad per se, it's good for a laugh and a weekends enjoyment. It's certainly not going on my top 5 list this year if I ever make one, but it's fun if you have nothing else to do and fancy some over the top gameplay for an afternoon. But really, the game needs patching like RIGHT NOW. Addressing the codeing issues, allowing you to turn off friendly fire maybe. Do all that, and I think it would be a very good game.

Final Score: 2.5/5

By: Wittyreviewer

Tales from the Galactopticon Interview

Today I interviewed one of the main Developers (Jaanus) behind the game “Tales from the Galactopticon”.If you like the look of the game and your experienced programmer or Level Designer with Source then contact Jaanus with your Portfolio and you could be involved with this project. Anyway enough of me let’s get on with the interview.

First question why did you choose Source not Unreal or Unity?

Well, all the developers come from Facepunch and more or less have a history of modding Source. So we're sticking to what's familiar to us.

So far we’ve seen a sort of style in the future with futuristic 50s styled weapons so what can we expect from other levels?

The only styled 50s weapon is the Johnny gun. We're trying to get that gritty blade runner or futuristic max payne feel to it and some of the interiors are inspired by Mirror's Edge. We haven't fleshed out the future levels yet, one step at a time.

Will we go to different planets or are we only going to be on one?

Different planets definitely, There will be at least three planets in the game. New New York (with its moon New New Jersey) - A planet entirely covered with cities this is where you start the game. Laituur - The protagonist's home planet where the British Empire has established colonial rule and is exploiting the planet for its resources. finally Kazzin, a trade megalopolis.

Will with have different styles for every planet?

Yeah well, New New York has this max payne noire look and feel to it; Rainy, dark and mysterious. while Laituur is a peaceful jungle planet, so they will definitely have different styles.

How long will the game be?

It's going to be as long as it's going to be. We don't like to estimate things.

As long as a normal mod? (ie Human Error)

Nope, we’re aiming for quality, not quantity as I said; we don't like to estimate things about the mod one step at a time.

The quality is allot better than you see from normal mods especially for alpha. So why haven't you gone indie as you would surly make a success?

Because we're largely a group of artists with limited technical and programming skills. We're using the source engine because we all have significant experience with it. Using things we know how to use is a great way to cut down on production time.

Will there be any Co-op mod or Multiplayer?

Multiplayer, yes. Co-op, undecided. We haven't really thought about it much, we want to finish building the first level before we start on the multiplayer but it will be something like quake or UT Fast-paced and somewhat over the top.

Will we have any companion through the game or is it you and no companion?

Yes, the companion will be Kalasha who is an ex-marine badass lizard chick.

Will there be Just action or puzzles or something else?

Haven't decided that yet, we have only fleshed out the first level.

How meny weapons are there?

At least a few more than there are now, no idea yet. We have nothing set in stone.

Liam Hackett