The boys are back in format! On this weeks show, the boys discuss the cold had facts about game’s length. Is episodic content the way forward? Do we need shorter games, or for them to be broken down into bite sized chunks of narrative? On top of that, Mat’s been Playing Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD & Monument Valley, while Tom’s been tucking into some tasty Super Crate Box & surprise surprise, more Sonic…
Listen here.
Gadgets and gizmos, we all love them, and this weekend hundreds and thousands of people are flocking to Birmingham’s NEC to get hands on with some of the latest technology at this year’s Gadget Show Live. Created off the back of the popular Channel Five TV series, The Gadget Show Live is a fantastic opportunity for technology enthusiasts to get hands on with current and future tech.
This year the show is also home to a selection of independent videogames. Myself, Mike, Matt and Neil were all given the chance to get hands on with the following eight titles:
Salvaged Ether One Terra Tanks Space Farmers Mighty Tactical Shooter Tiki Taka Soccer Magnets Fortresscraft Evolved
Over the course of the next few days I’ll be writing up about each of these games. To begin with I’ll start with Opposable Game’s tactical action title, Salvaged.
Salvaged was the first title to grab my eye as we approached the indie games stand. With a tablet in hand a member of the development team was controlling a squad of 4 crew members, or in other words acting out the part of the commander, issuing orders to his salvage crew members. The galaxy has become over-run with long dormant, abandoned starships, ripe with items (loot) that can be used, sold or upgraded for future deep space salvage missions.
The main draw to this title is the use of a tablet as a controller. It displays the layout of the current ship you’re on along with the location of each of your crew members. By touching either the ‘dot’ that represents each person or by selecting one of the 4 character profiles on the right hand side of the screen allows you to then tap to where you would like that person to move too. On the monitor connected to the PC running the game were 4 screens, one for each of the crew members, showing their perspective on what was in front of them.
Be warned however, for out in space, you are never alone. While searching for loot you’ll encounter alien lifeforms that aren’t too pleased by your appearance on their new home. Combat is automatic, but it is up to you how you deploy and position your crew members. When I sat down to play Salvaged for the first time I went and made the ultimate alien movie mistake by separating my team into two groups. The first group positioned themselves by a corridor ready to face a couple of menacing aliens, only to find themselves without the time and space required to shoot the aliens dead before being torn to pieces. I managed to negociate the other team a little better, but between the two of them they didn’t really last that much longer.
During the course of your wander around the starship you’ll encounter the previously mentioned loot. As again already mentioned they can be sold, traded or used to upgrade your items and such. The full game will feature some RPG elements to allow your crew members to progress to better weapons and gear. Permadeath is a thing in this game though, so be very cautious with your team, otherwise you may end up losing your geared up salvagers.
It is clear the studio has been inspired by the likes of Space Hulk, Syndicate and of course XCOM. Having the benefit of two viewpoints was refreshing, both the top down perspective for tactical precision and the first-person view of each member of the team so you know exactly what you are facing. I did however find myself looking far too much at the tablet. From a tactical point of view I think it is much better to try and split your attention equally between the two.
Opposable Games take great pride in the technology that allows them to used the tablet with the PC. ‘One Touch Connect’, created in-house, allows multiple devices to discover and thus connect to one and other. All would be for nothing if not for the fact that the technology is supported across all major formats (PC, Mac, iOS and Android).
Nintendo and Sony are both playing with similar play styles with the Wii U and Vita respectively. While the use of two screens can sometimes be heavily debated between gamers, for tactical games such as this having the option to use a touch screen device (of which many households now have some form of Android or iOS tablet) makes perfect sense.
I enjoyed my time on Salvaged, (albeit resulting in the un-timely death of my crew) meaning this will be a title I’ll be keeping an eye on. It will be heading to Kickstarter in the very near future, of which us here at Blast Process will keep you all posted about. I’d recommend for further up to the minute updates regarding the status of the game, including any news regarding Kickstarter by following them on Twitter (@SalvagedGame). You can also check out the game's official website at salvagedgame.com.
During the show we managed to grab a few minutes with James Parker, Design Director of Salvaged. The video can be found below. Further below you will also find a teaser trailer for the title.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49x1GYhNhnc&w=560&h=315]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nubPn6GzLbc&w=560&h=315]
The Blast Process team are currently at the Birmingham NEC for the Gadget Show Live! Follow our adventure around the show floor by heading to our Twitter feed (twitter.com/blastprocess). We've already played a number of fantastic indie games which we shall talk about in more detail in the next few days!
The show opens to the public tomorrow (9th April). Tickets are still available online.
For now though head over to @BlastProcess!
Holy Formatting Listeners! Tom + Mat have dusted off the show & brought in some changes to the format, as well as bringing back classic segments like ‘A Link to The Past’ & ‘Danish Deal of the Week’! We announce the contest winner of a copy of Assassins Creed Liberation, while talking about the wonders of Flea Markets & Gameboy Games. The boys discuss Fez, Qix & the death of our Seaman. Tom finally completes Sonic Lost Worlds & Super Mario Brothers 3D World! Then up for discussion this week is Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus VR, The Morality of Cloning Games & Call of Duty Ghost’s new Predator DLC.
Listen here.
Myself and Neil had a great time at this years Rezzed event that was held at the NEC in Birmingham. Below are are some videos of our hands-on time with these great upcoming games. Speaking with the developers from some of these games really gave a insight of the hard work and dedication that these people and teams put into their own game.
Most of the games at Rezzed are funded by you the public, making these games what they are today so please take the time to search them out if you find interest if any of these games, be sure to back them on there Kickstarter / donations before it's to late.
We stop by the Unruly Attractions stand and checkout StandPoint a First-Person Puzzle Platformer that's currently a Kickstarter project.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwispBZrX8&w=560&h=315]
We had a blast playing this intense combat arena game. Check out the below video for more information and our thoughts on the game. You can find out more details about One Spear Arena right here.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxABele96k8&w=560&h=315]
It's FEZ but this time around it's on the PS Vita and what a perfect match it is.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G9G827hW1c&w=560&h=315]
Neil sets another high score but is TXK worth a download?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSV2eIWhXOI&w=560&h=315]
0RBITALIS it's hard to explain but it's worth your time to checkout this game by Alan Zucconi
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnrYjkeMOek&w=560&h=315]
OlliOlli is not your straight forward skate boarding game! Hard to master but the result is worth it. Roll7 is the team be hide this game, check them out here and show them some support.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7FXaue9XLY&w=560&h=315]
Neil chills out and plays some Samba De Amigo on the Nintendo Wii.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmmNc2rabDU&w=560&h=315]
Love action films? Like shooting games like Metal Slug well BroForce is for you!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e--at4Y95Ho&w=560&h=315]
It’s been a huge week in gaming! So much so, it’d be easier to list the games NOT covered! Papers Please, Kentucky Route Zero, Infamous Second Son, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Steamworld Dig, Towerfall Ascension, Luftrausers and many more besides are covered! Just remember to breath and spend responsibly!
Listen here.
We are back On Tour and heading to Razzed 2014! EGX Rezzed is a gaming event held at the NEC in Birmingham. See the latest PC, Indie and video games in action and join in and watch developer sessions that are held by some of the leading designers on todays biggest games.
Sound's like fun? You can check out the full details and where to find tickets for this three day event, right here.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter for updates surrounding the day and keep an eye out for our videos going up on Monday!
Explodemon is out on Steam Our very first self-published title finally makes it onto Steam this week! About Explodemon
Explodemon is a 16-bit inspired platformer that combines the essence and feel of SNES-era platform games with the depth and variety of modern games.
It's now available on Steam for £6.99 / $8.99 with a 20% discount, or a 30% voucher if you already own Stealth Bastard, Aqua Kitty or Revenge of the Titans.
Just like Stealth Bastard, it began life as the lunchtime project of Jonathan 'Bidds' Biddle, our Design Director, and grew into a full game which includes 12 levels, a full upgrade system, countless collectables and now, Steam achievements!
Although it's less well known than our other games like Stealth Bastard / Stealth Inc and Fluidity, we're still very proud of what we achieved with Explodemon, and much of what we learned in terms of level design went on to help us build our other titles.
Explodemon was also the first game we ever made without the help of a larger publisher. We're well known now for helping other developers bring their games to Steam and console and Explodemon was our first taste of the amount of work that involved! In fact, if you want to check out the development journey of the game, you can still read Bidds' blog about that very subject.
We're currently checking out the game our selfs so check back here and see our thoughts on the game soon!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4avuT6S9oQ&w=560&h=315]
Video uploaded by IGN
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIEdlTWFpGM&w=560&h=315]
Watch as me and Chris (from our Kernal Space Program amongst other gameplay clips over on our YouTube channel) join a number of our friends on Titanfall. It was a battle of Attrition on the Relic map.
Quite pleased with how well I did! (see the scoreboard at the end of the video!)
Don't be fooled by inferior paranormal detection tools on the app store. Phantom Radar is the original ghost dector.
Join Matt and Mike in this weeks App Review of Ghost Detector for the iPhone. It's all fun and games untill you see something...
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJGyShMdF4w&w=560&h=315]
Tune in every Monday at 8PM GMT as we take a look at the standard and not so standard apps that you can find on the Apple App store!
What is Standpoint you might be thinking, well as the produces Unruly Attractions put it:
Standpoint: A Gravity Shifting Puzzle Platformore
Standpoint is an atmospheric first person puzzler, based around a gravity shifting mechanic. The game consists of the player navigating their way through a maze like environment, making their way to the exits while the narrator offers cryptic advice. In the full game, each stage is based on a different stage of grief, with our prequel demo being themed "Loss".
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAegccd6EGE&w=560&h=315]
While from the outside Standpoint may look like a simple first person puzzler but when you dive deep inside the games gravity mechanics, you'll soon discover that Standpoint has been inspired by games such as Aliens vs Predator, Portal and the hard but rewarding elements of Quake 3 trick jump maps.
If this sounds like you're piece of cake then why not checkout their Kickstarter and Greentlight campaign. Need a taste of the action now? Click here for a preview demo you can download today!
Standpoint will also be at Rezzed this weekend so why not stop by and say hi!
This week on TMA, the boy’s talk Seaman. No, pull your mind out of the gutter! We’re taking Caution Seaman! The Leonard Nimoy narrated cult classic on the Dreamcast. On top of that, Mat’s been playing some South Park – Stick of Truth & Yoshi’s New Island, while Tom’s been on some Spin The Bottle Bumpy’s Party & Halo 4!
Listen here.
Has it really been that long since we first launched On Board Processing! We decided to root through our cupboards and attics to find some old Board Games and bring back this feature.
So why not join us every Friday night at 8PM GMT where we will be taking a look at some classic Board Games with a few odd variety's thrown in!
This week's On Board Processing episode sees Matt and Mike play Pass the Pigs. A game of skill or luck?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFU8hUEOWLs&w=560&h=315]
Each Monday we will be taking a look at the iOS app store in search of a hidden tresure to share with you. So why not follow us on our YouTube page and tune in to see what we uncover!
Join Mike and Matt as they test out Horror Movie Maker. A App that lets YOU become a scary and gruesome horror icon or play as the scared victim.
No acting skills required but it'll help!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh-3LRtnELg&w=560&h=315]
You can download the App here. Remember to share you're videos with us!
There is only so long a man can buy and play RPGs before professional counseling is needed. Mat has reached that point. On top of buying Kingdom Hearts 3DS, Rune Factory 4 & a few other games, Mat talks Donkey Kong. Specifically, how deep he’s been into Tom’s copy, who has himself been playing Black Ops 2, TimeSplitters 2, and generally any FPS ending with that number.
Listen here.
As I'm typing this up I'm glancing over at the clock on my computer. In less than 5 minutes Titanfall will be released in the UK, which will lead to an abundance of Titans falling from the sky (although the US have been playing it for a few days already, those lucky people).
I've had the chance to get online and play some of the Campaign today, and I can safely say I feel I made the right choice when it came to which next generation console to purchase (I'm sure fellow processors Mike and Matt would heavily disagree with me!). I fell out of love with Call of Duty a few years ago, and while the Battlefield series has somewhat filled my FPS void I sometimes have those moments where I want to play something on a smaller scale. Less daunting maps...quicker rounds. Titanfall ticks those boxes and much more.
This isn't a review as I can't say I've played enough of it yet, however thus far it feels very balanced. The maps are fairly varied and in and all the game feels solid. Perhaps it is because it hasn't officially hit our shores yet, however during my time playing it today not once did I encounter any of the game's server issues that plagued the US release. It is safe to safe fellow brits that when you all jump online tomorrow you may encounter issues, although hopefully not quite on the same scale as the aforementioned problems. Be patient, you'll be wall-jumping soon enough.
For now I leave you with two small gameplay clips from a couple of rounds I played today. The first clip I just had to upload, although I'm sure a lot of people will find it easy enough to accomplish. I ejected from a doomed titan, weapon swapped to my anti-titan weapon, locked on and finally finished off the enemy titan I was just fighting. Awesome!
The second clip isn't quite as exciting, but I never once managed to escape on a dropship in the beta. Managing to do so felt like a true achievement, made doubly so as I was the only one on my team who made it! I'll be recording lengthier gameplay over the course of the weekend.
For now though, with the clock ever ticking down to midnight, I leave you with those words that Microsoft have plastered all over the mountains of advertisement that has been circulating to prepare the world for this week....ladies and gentleman....
Standby for Titanfall
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6zNi3q2Fjs&w=560&h=315]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ebica3j6Xg&w=560&h=315]
SEGA have teamed up with the folks over at Humble Bundle to offer a plethora of gaming gems for as much, or as little, as you're willing to pay.
Donate any amount and receive the following:
Alpha Protocol
Company of Heroes
Rome: Total War
Hell Yeah! Death of the Dead Rabbit
Make that donation higher than $5.99 and you'll also bag:
Typing of the Dead: Overkill
Binary Domain
Renegade Ops
SEGA Megadrive Collection
Medieval II: Total War
And finally, if you donate over $14.99 you'll get...
SHOGUN II: Total War
You can choose how much of your donation goes where, which includes a number of charities (including UK-based Special Effect who BlastProcess.com has supported in the past).
Snap it up!
Tonight saw this years BAFTA Games Awards, with titles such The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V and Super Mario 3D World.
2014 may have seen the start of a transition from current generation consoles to next generation ones but that didn't stop a number of fantastic games hitting stores, ranging from AAA blockbusters to incredible indie titles. So who were the big winners?
The standout winner went to Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, with the title picking up five awards, including Best Story and the Audio Achievement award. More importantly it also picked up the big one, Overall Game of the Year 2014.
Grand Theft Auto V, unsurprisingly, also did very well, scooping up three awards. The studio behind the franchise, Rockstar Games were inducted into the BAFTA Fellowship. One of my favourite games of last year, Bioshock Infinite, went home with just the one award for its Original Music. While it may still be struggling as a games platform the Playstation Vita was home to Tearaway, a title from the makers of LittleBigPlanet, which picked up awards for Artistic Achievement and Best Mobile/Handheld game.
You can view all the winners, and nominees over at the BAFTA Games Awards site.
Agree with the choices? Did you favourite game do well? Let us know in the comments below.
BlastProcess.com has been online for more than 4 years, which is fantastic considering it was a drunken idea one night after a gig between 3 friends! We've had many guest writers over the years, with plenty of articles and contributions from (to mention a few) Paul (Fallout from my Brain), another Paul (with his Rambleast posts), Mel (mobile gaming) and Ben (regular podcast presenter on the former 'Blast Process Show' podcast).
Behind the scenes however myself, Tom and Mike have been incredibly busy away from the site, which has sadly meant we've not posted half as much as we would have liked. Is this the end?
No, my friends, this is a new beginning.
We are looking for new people to join our site, to create written, video or audio content based on all things geeky. You won't be pressured into scheduled posts, we just want a group of passionate geeks and gamers to help produce a wide variety of content for Blast Process.
Do you enjoy writing about your hobby but require a further platform to advertise your work?
Perhaps you already have a YouTube channel and would like somewhere else to publish your work?
Over the years we've been proud to interview various people within the gaming industry, attended events, created humorous unboxing videos and spoken at length about games on various radio shows and podcasts. We also have on board a regular (not to mention fantastic!) podcast from Tom and Mat recorded over in Denmark. Mike and new Processor Matt have been busy recording new live-reaction videos and to cap off our current content we also have Chris's Lets Play videos over on our YouTube channel.
Interested? If so please do get in touch. You can email us, contact@blastprocess.com or you can get in touch with us via our Twitter account (@BlastProcess). Let us know what your interested in contributing with an example of your work and we'll get back in touch with you.
Now this looks like my kind of game!
Loadout from Edge of Reality, sees over two million signups to it's free 2 play game within 14 days of release.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCphCuwEibM&w=560&h=315]
Press release -
Over-the-Top Shooter Rockets into the Top of Steam’s Charts within First Month
AUSTIN, TX (February 28, 2014) – Edge of Reality today announced its Free-to-Play (F2P), online multiplayer shooter Loadout saw over two million users sign up for the game in its first 14 days of release. Players have logged a total of over 9 million hours in Loadout, and it currently stands as one of the top five most popular F2P titles on Steam.
“The near-overnight success of Loadout has been simultaneously humbling and exhilarating,” said Rob Cohen, CEO of Edge of Reality. “Our community means everything to us, and we can’t thank them enough for helping to makeLoadout what it is today.”
Since its official release on January 31 of this year, Loadout has been wildly popular – so popular, in fact, that it made getting into the game on day one quite the feat. To prepare for the mass influx of people, Edge of Reality set up additional infrastructure, but even those precautions proved insufficient to meet demand. “The incredible surge of interest at launch shattered all our expectations, and it unfortunately just became too much for our servers to handle in the beginning,” added Cohen. “Very few Steam titles have reached the peak concurrent users we achieved upon release. We’re committed to delivering an excellent game to our community, and we continue to work hard to ensure that our servers provide all our players with the same fluid, responsive, and enjoyable experience across the board.”
About Loadout Loadout is the fast-paced, free to play shooter that has been critically praised for its wild humor, acrobatic gameplay, and INSANE quantity of weapons and customization options. From your gun’s chassis and barrel to its trigger and stock, everything can be modified. Fire bullets, rockets, searing flame, plasma beams, healing syringes… if you can dream it, you can build it. Loadout is available for free on Steam and at www.Loadout.com.
For more Loadout mayhem, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
About Edge of Reality Edge of Reality is an independent, world-class console game development studio based in Austin, Texas. Throughout its 16-year history, the studio has released 16 titles on 8 platforms, selling over 20 million units worldwide. The company is entrusted with some of the biggest brands in the industry, and the team works with passion to deliver high-quality entertainment. More information about Edge of Reality and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.edgeofreality.com.
