Category: PC

Interview with Ashes of Creation’s Steven Sharif [ZAM]

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Since the halcyon days of Double Fine Adventure just a few years ago, Kickstarter has faded as a legitimate source of revenue for video game companies. While some veteran developers and spiritual sequels can still find success on Kickstarter, it’s the last place one would expect to find a multi-million dollar MMORPG by a brand new studio.

Intrepid Studios has discovered an audience who is hungry for their upcoming title Ashes of Creation, an ambitious MMORPG that promises an impressive degree of player involvement within the politics, economy, and history of the world. The Kickstarter campaign surged to over $1 million after 36 hours. The campaign wrapped up last week with nearly 20,000 backers pledging over $3.2 million.

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Endless Space 2 Review [Pixelkin]

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The original Endless Space launched in 2012 as the debut title from indie developer Amplitude Studios. It posited the Civilization-in-Space concept that had been tackled several times before. Endless Space offered a simple yet effective interface and many interesting new gameplay mechanics to make it a very underrated turn-based strategy game.

Endless Space 2 is very much a direct sequel, building upon all the core gameplay features of the original. This time around, Amplitude has several more games under their belt – specifically the much more intriguing and innovative Endless Legend.

Endless Space 2 utilizes all the best elements of Endless Legend and stirs in a well-integrated political system to craft a fantastic follow-up that easily emerges from its Civilization shadow.

READ THE FULL REVIEW AT PIXELKIN

Heroes of the Storm 2.0 Makes a Great Game Better [Zam]

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No one would accuse Activision-Blizzard of being the “little guy.” But when it comes to the MOBA space, Heroes of the Storm remains in a distant third (or maybe even fourth) position behind Valve’s Dota 2 and the reigning champion, Riot’s League of Legends.

For the last two years, Heroes of the Storm has benefited from a steady flow of balance patches and additional heroes and battlegrounds. The iterative updates have culminated in a massive overhaul known as Heroes of the Storm 2.0.

The Heroes 2.0 update launched in April, adding an entirely new loot chest system, revamped experience and leveling, UI improvements, and more Overwatch content. It has never been a better time to jump into the most intuitive and user-friendly MOBA.

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Holy Potatoes! We’re in Space!? Review [Pixelkin]

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FTL: Faster Than Light’s successful foray into rogue-like space exploration serves as an excellent model for Holy Potatoes! We’re in Space?! Don’t let the adorable vegetable characters and punny geek culture-referencing dialogue fool you. There’s a surprising amount of depth and tactical satisfaction in this game about potato starship captains.

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Hyper Universe Could Be the Next Big MOBA [Pixelkin]

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Hyper Universe took up a sizable portion of the show floor at PAX South 2017. After playing the game it more than earned its prominent spot at the front of the expo hall.

Hyper Universe is a colorful, side-scrolling MOBA developed by Korean designers Cwavesoft and published by Nexon. MOBAs, those Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas have exploded in popularity thanks to popular esports games like League of Legends and DOTA 2. MOBAs now come in all shapes and sizes. Hyper Universe carves a unique niche by combining the look and feel of a 2D platformer or fighting game spread out over a single, massive level.

READ THE FULL PREVIEW AT PIXELKIN

PAX South Preview: Has-Been Heroes [Pixelkin]

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Despite gaming’s large and often confusing list of genres and sub-genres, Has-Been Heroes is a tricky game to peg. It notably draws from side-scrolling Beat ‘Em Ups, tower defense and rogue-like RPGs to create a highly replayable adventure with its own unique rhythm.

In Has-Been Heroes you play as the old veterans of a typical RPG. With the big bad defeated and the world relatively safe, your task these days is to simply escort the young princesses to school. Unfortunately the lands aren’t quite as safe as you thought.

READ THE FULL PREVIEW AT PIXELKIN

PAX South: 20 Great Games to Look For In 2017 [Pixelkin]

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PAX South 2017 hosted a large expo hall full of tabletop and video games, from wonderfully obscure indie titles to the large spectacle of the Nintendo and Capcom booths. I saw and played as many games as I possibly could over the weekend, and met with some amazing developers.

I didn’t get a chance to see everything that the convention had to offer. But here’s my list of 20 promising games you’ll want to look for this year.

READ THE FULL LIST AT PIXELKIN