THQ Nordic announces Outcast – A New Beginning

THQ Nordic’s Digital Showcase has taken place with numerous announcements for new games that will be coming out in 2024 and beyond. Game reveals included South Park: Snow Day, TMNT: The Last Ronin, Titan Quest II, and Space For Sale. Outcast – A New Beginning from Appeal Studios was another game showcased at the THQ Nordic event. The original team behind Outcast 1 has reunited to create this fascinating world, full of dangerous creatures and home to the Talan people – an ancient culture whose fate has become inextricably linked with earth since the events of the first game. You play as Cutter Slade, ex-Navy SEAL, sporting the same dry wit he had back in the 90s – however, the world around him has changed and eventually, so will he. The trailer takes you on a fantastic journey with the Ulukaï – the name given to our hero, Cutter Slade, by the Talans. He is the chosen one destined to reunite the people of Adelpha and liberate it from the invaders! Discover how all living things on Adelpha coexist in harmony and learn how to forge alliances or gain powerful abilities. Think strategically and act as a true hero, making a difference wherever you go. Outcast – A New Beginning is coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Series XlS in the future. A release window was not mentioned from THQ Nordic. You can wishlist the game on Steam now.

Review: Atlas Fallen

Developer – Deck 13 Publisher – Focus Entertainment Platforms – PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series From the developers of The Surge series, Deck13, comes their newest effort Atlas Fallen. This game is vastly different from The Surge or The Surge 2, which were some of the better Souls-lite game released with unique mechanics and environments that stood out against the rest. Atlas Fallen takes place on a mostly desert world that has been taken over by a corruption which has destroyed most of the plantlife. The most valuable resource, Essence, is harvested by the slave population named The Unnamed. The military that is ruled by The Queen of the Thousand Years who is also ruled by the one God Thelos. This power struggle has lead you, The Gauntlet Bearer, to lead a revolution against the rulers of the planet to try and restore peace through the land. Accessibility / Co-op Atlas Fallen passes the accessibility test with its fantastic co-op and big open spaces for exploration and combat. Most games, such as Remnant 2 are great, but they feature narrow areas, where visual cues don’t suffice as warning for hearing disability-minded players. Atlas Fallens broad, open brightly colored sand dunes provided a unique backdrop for some loose and forgiving action co-op. This is an easy recommend for players who have a friend to patrol through the desert with. You start the game off with a character customization setup which has the basic selections such as gender, hairstyle, facial structure, etc. This is a pretty bare bones customizer, but it is servicable considering you are usually covered head to toe in different styles of armor. After creating your character you are thrust into the vast desert where you were basically left for dead by this military caravan since you are a worthless Unnamed worker. You and a few other nameless decide that after your poor treatment you need to start a revolt. For your disruption, the leader of the military forces you to gather a relic that was stolen by a thief. Once out in the wilderness, you come across a magical gauntlet who inhabits the spirit of a mysterious character called Nyaal. Nyaal trains you how to use this gauntlet to fight the creatures that hunt people down called Wraiths. As you kill these monsters you gain currency called Essence which is used to upgrade your armor sets and abilities of the gauntlet to tackle bigger and strong Wraiths. This story is pretty generic at the start but turns a bit better by the end. There are a few different turns in the story which keep it interesting for the 14-hour playthrough of the story. I was able to finish a decent amount of the side quests during my playthrough but they mostly seemed a waste of time in terms of rewards. There were a few, however, especially late game that provided really powerful rewards that I would highly recommend. The game reminds me of a next-gen Darksiders. That isn’t necessarily a terrible thing as Darksiders and Darksiders 2 were great games, but something about Atlas Fallen seems that is was made in the wrong generation. As you unlock more abilities with the gauntlet, you can lift specific pieces of the environment, crush special chest locks, and reach newer areas that you couldn’t reach at the start of the game. After you finish the game, you can actually go back and finish up quests that you haven’t or find additional items through chests and the like.  The combat is fun, but the weapon selection is limited. The abilities and attacks you can equip to the gauntlet are pretty exciting but most seemed lacking compared to obviously amazing ones. You can upgrade these abilities that you find throughout the game to keep them relevant the entire playthrough which was a fantastic feature. Sadly, you can’t upgrade your weapons per se throughout the game once you find the three weapons that are it. The armor selection has around ten sets, each with different passive stats and traits which is nice. You can upgrade each set 2 to 3 times and while you might think it is a waste to spend too much Essence to upgrade the beginning sets, you are given a perk point each time you do upgrade. These perks are selectable and refundable skills that provide additional passives like starting a battle with more momentum (energy) to cast abilities or regain healing items after each match. Of course, the end-game armors are vastly superior to the ones prior, so once you get the main perks you aim for, I would use your Essence to upgrade gauntlet skills and the final armors from the last area of the game. One of the cooler aspects of the game is the sand sliding. You can use this to quickly go around the areas to find secrets and complete challenges. Additionally, you can also do up to three mid-air dashes by the end of the game which is fun. I do wish that by the end you could just dash an infinite amount of times to avoid conflicts and traverse faster around the areas but it is what it is. I wish there were more to say that I enjoyed about Atlas Fallen. It seemed like such an excellent concept, but as I said prior, something just felt a bit off. If it had been released against Darksiders, it would have found its audience! If you are looking for gameplay like that, you will probably enjoy Atlas Fallen quite a bit if you can look past some of the lower-budget aspects of the game. Nothing stands out as terrible in terms of gameplay or story but it didn’t reach any new heights or provide anything new to the genre that would make it stand out against games today in the same genre.

Quake Champions could be coming to Xbox Series XlS very soon

Earlier in the week id Software and Bethesda announced Quake II enhanced is now available for all platforms and it’s possible there’s another announcement coming. Quake Champions has appeared on the Xbox store possibly hinting the game will be coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series XlS very soon. The store listing shows you can ‘Install All’ now and you’re allowed to pin Quake Champions to your home page via the achievements and official club. Thanks to r/QuakeChampions for noticing this first. No official word has been made yet, but we suspect there will be soon. This could also mean Quake Champions is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. With QuakeCon concluding Sunday, August 13 we might see an announcement by the end of the event. Quake Champions has been an only PC game since August 18, 2022 after it was in Early Access for five years. Source: Reddit

Review: Disney Illusion Island

Developer – Dlala Studios Publisher – Disney Electronic Content Platforms – Nintendo Switch (Reviewed) Review copy given by publisher The Disney namesake needs no introduction, existing in virtually every medium, but Disney video games, especially ones starring Mickey Mouse, have been exceedingly rare. Have we forgotten about our longtime red overalls and yellow boot wearing mascot? Developer Dlala Studios aims to fill that hole in our hearts with their newest project, Disney Illusion Island, a colorful and charming cooperative Metroidvania platformer starring our classic beloved Disney protagonists. Mickey and his friends set sail for an island called Monoth as they have been invited to a picnic. But it turns out that it was just a front used by the leader of the inhabitants of the land, known as Hokuns, to plead the mouse and his crew for help. Artifacts known as the Tomes of Knowledge have been stolen and it is up to our beloved heroes to track them down and return them to their rightful owners. It’s a simple yet effective premise that sets up what the rest of the adventure has to offer. You can choose between Mickey, Minnie, Donald, or Goofy, each dawning their own unique silhouette, personality, and antics, yet all the characters play the same mechanically. I always go for my boy Goofy as I adore his famous “Gawrsh” tagline. Even though there’s no real gameplay difference depending on what protagonist you choose, I do appreciate the level of detail Dlala Studios has put into animating each character’s different moves. For example, Minnie uses a cute pink umbrella to glide, Mickey has a helicopter-like device, and Goofy uses a huge mustard bottle to propel him upwards! Expect to obtain and use all the classic abilities you would probably expect in a Metroidvania platformer. You got your classic jump, glide, swing, and swimming skills that can be obtained to visit previously unreachable areas. Every aforementioned ability can be further tuned, so you can  jump higher, cling to walls, or even ground smash to further enhance your traversal experience. Every level boils down to following an objective marker and collecting enough keys to unlock the next biome. Some require you to gain new abilities before being able to access certain areas. Navigation is made easy thanks to distinctly designed environments and a handy dandy map with plenty of markers. The complete absence of combat might be a deal breaker for some players, but it makes sense when thinking about the audience that this game is catered towards. Yes there are still enemies and boss encounters, but they’re more like obstacles to get over and puzzles to solve rather than entities you need to defeat. What the game lacks in fighting it makes up for in its abundance of collectibles to seek out. There are literally hundreds of hidden collectibles to be found, including Mickey Memorabilia, Tokum cards, among other secrets I won’t spoil. Don’t worry, these aren’t all just for completionists either, because collecting enough of one item will grant you an extra life point. Disney Illusion Island aims to be a gateway game for Metroidvania platformers rather than be one that redefines the genre, and it does so quite successfully. While the mechanics are not groundbreaking, they serve the purpose of delivering a fun and family-friendly experience. Younger players or Disney fans may find the gameplay particularly enjoyable, although seasoned gamers might crave more complexity and challenge. A pleasant and wonderful surprise is that the game features local cooperative play of up to 4 players! I was definitely expecting a solo player experience as most other experiences of this genre are as such. Hopping into the shoes of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy definitely allows the game to be enjoyed to its fullest potential. It’s undeniably family fun time for everyone! Just keep in mind that the camera angle follows the first player, so any other player accidentally going off screen will be teleported on-screen. It’s a bit of a bummer that the co-op is offline only, because having online matchmaking would’ve been an extra win. Accessibility is a hot topic in today’s gaming day and age and Dlala Studios does not disappoint when it comes to Disney Illusion Island. You start off with the ability to choose exactly how difficult you want the game to be, ranging from only having one heart to being invincible. The game also offers a convenient jump and wall cling assist in the settings along with excellent subtitle and text options. It’s nice knowing that this entire game from the ground up was made with inclusivity at the center of its design philosophy, something that’s quite rare nowadays. Being able to customize what kind of experience you want naturally increases the replayability factor. Do you want to challenge yourself with just one life or do you want to just have goofy (no pun intended) fun with your buddies? An added bonus is that every player gains co-op specific abilities to help out those that might be less experienced in gaming, such as providing healing or increasing jumping distance. This truly is a game for everyone because any one at any age, from any background, can enjoy this title! However, the game can get a tad bit too easy at times, with plenty of checkpoints along the way. Dlala Studios have truly outdone themselves with both the visual, aural, and technical performance of their project. The team has successfully captured the spirit and charm of what makes Disney, Disney! The art style perfectly captures the charm of classic Disney animation while infusing it with a modern flair. The diverse palette of colors that make up the game’s 3 distinctive biomes immerses players in a captivating world, making every step feel like a journey through a beloved Disney cartoon. The standout music adds an extra layer of magic to the game, enhancing the overall experience and evoking fond memories of Disney classics. Both in handheld and docked mode, the game runs

Madden NFL 24 – Green Bay Packers Player Ratings

EA Sports has released the Team and Player Ratings in Madden NFL 24 that is releasing on August 15 for Deluxe Edition owners and August 18 for the official launch. We are going to list off the top rated players on the Green Bay Packers lineup of the NFC North. In Madden NFL 24 the highest rated player on the Green Bay Packers is Cornerback, Jaire Alexander at an Overall of 95. Followed by Left Tackle, David Bakhtiari at an Overall of 90 and Quarterback Jordan Love is at an Overall of 70.  Green Bay Packers lineup in Madden NFL 24: Player Name Position Rating Jordan Love QB 70 Jaire Alexander CB 95 David Bakhtiari LT 90 Aaron Jones HB 88 Rashan Gary LOLB 88 Elgton Jenkins LG 87 Kenny Clark DT 86 De’vondre Campbell MLB 85 Rasul Douglas CB 81 A.J. Dillon HB 78 Quay Walker MLB 78 Christian Watson WR 77 Darnell Savage SS 76 Josh Myers C 73 Anders Carlson K 69 Josiah Deguara TE 68 The Green Bay Packers look to prove everyone wrong without Aaron Rodgers for the first time. Does this team have enough firepower to compete against the Washington Commanders who are also among one of the lowest rated teams in Madden NFL 24? You can view the entire Green Bay Packers roster here. 

THQ Nordic announces Titan Quest II

THQ Nordic held a Digital Showcase on Friday, August 11 that showcased a handful of games that are in development and releasing over the next year. Announcements included South Park: Snow Day, Space For Sale and TMNT: The Last Ronin that is in development with no release window provided yet. Titan Quest II was revealed at the THQ Nordic showcase as the legendary Action RPG makes its triumphant return. Once more, players will be immersed in the mythological realm of ancient Greece, facing unimaginable challenges, striving for exquisite loot, and combining different masteries to create unique, powerful character builds. Their ultimate goal is to stop Nemesis, the Goddess of Retribution herself, as she weaves malevolence into the Threads of Fate itself. Are you prepared to challenge a deity and etch your own heroic saga? Titan Quest II is currently under development by Grimlore Games for PC via Steam, Xbox Series XlS and PlayStation 5.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 might be releasing this December

A listing from the Plaion and Koch Media Store might have revealed the release date for long awaited S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl. The listing suggests the first-person shooter will release December 1, 2023 for Xbox Series XlS and PC. This information first came from Andrew Marmo on Twitter who shared images of the listing that you can actually view here. An announcement regarding S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 could be imminent since its rumored the game will be showcased at Gamescom 2023 at the Xbox booth. It’s very possible we see more gameplay and the release date announcement during Opening Night Live at Gamescom hosted by Geoff Keighley. Gamescom 2023 takes place in Cologne, Germany from August 23 – 27. Usually release date placeholders for games are listed as December 31st and with a busy Fall for games it seems very realistic to see S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 release on December 1st. Stay tuned for updates on S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Madden NFL 24 – Kansas City Chiefs Player Ratings

EA Sports has released the Team and Player Ratings in Madden NFL 24 that is releasing on August 15 for Deluxe Edition owners and August 18 for the official launch. We are going to list off the top rated players on the Kansas City Chiefs starting lineup of the AFC West.  In Madden NFL 24 the highest rated player on the Kansas City Chiefs is Quarterback  Patrick Mahomes at an Overall of 99. Following Mahomes is Tight End Travis Kelce at an Overall of 99. Defensive Tackle, Chris Jones is third on the list at 96 Overall.  Kansas City Chiefs lineup in Madden NFL 24: Player Name Position Rating Patrick Mahomes QB 99 Travis Kelce TE 99 Chris Jones DT 96 Creed Humphrey C 90 Joe Thuney LG 89 Nick Bolton MLB 87 L’jarius Sneed CB 84 Tommy Townsend P 83 Trey Smith RG 82 Justin Reid FS 81 Kadarius Toney WR 81 Isiah Pacheo HB 80 Trent Mcduffie CB 80 Harrison Butker K 78 The Kansas City Chiefs look to make some noise once again in the AFC West with this strong lineup in Madden NFL 24. How well do the Chiefs stack up against their previous Super Bowl opponent in the Philadelphia Eagles?   You can view the entire Kansas City Chiefs roster here. 

THQ Nordic announces Space For Sale is in development for PC

The THQ Nordic Digital Showcase revealed new projects the publisher will be releasing over the next year. We saw the announcement of South Park: Snow Day! which is planned to release in 2024 and TMNT: The Last Ronin is currently in development. Space For Sale is a new game currently in development for PC by Mirage Game Studios in Sweden, renowned for their work on Little Big Workshop.  If you want to be among the first explorers to set foot on all the exciting new worlds that Space for Sale has to offer, you can now sign up for the closed beta test. A mysterious planet, far, far away. Home to strange wildlife and weird creatures – it’s the ideal place to make a fortune! As an intergalactic property developer, your mission is to construct habitats for eccentric alien clients and sell them for a sweet profit. You can Wishlist Space for Sale on Steam.

Essential Considerations for Perfecting Your Slots Gaming Skills

Slot machines have long been a part of the casino experience, both in physical locations and on the Internet. The attractiveness of these games stems from their simplicity, rapid gameplay, and the possibility of hefty payouts. While slots are essentially a game of chance, there are several methods and factors to consider that can improve your abilities and overall pleasure. Whether you’re a beginner trying to get started in the slots world or a seasoned player looking to improve your skills, this article will present you with vital information to help you improve your slots gaming expertise. Understand Slot Machine Mechanics Before getting into techniques, it’s critical to understand the essential physics of slot machines. Slot machines use Random Number Generators (RNGs) to ensure the outcomes are entirely random and impartial. Because each spin is independent of prior spins, it is impossible to foresee or affect the outcome. Understanding this fundamental feature can assist you in approaching the game with the proper mentality, realizing that every spin has an equal chance of success. Manage Your Bankroll: Play Within Your Means Effective bankroll management is essential for gaming success. When engaging with http://iienetwork.org/daftar, set a budget that you can live without losing and stick to it. It’s easy to become swept up in the excitement of the game, but rigorous bankroll management guarantees that you may play slots without risking more than you can afford. Divide your budget between sessions and prevent chasing losses, which can result in rash judgments and higher losses. Choose the Best Slot Machine Choosing the proper one may make or break your experience with so many slot games. Themes, features, and payment mechanisms differ between games. Some slots have higher volatility, which means they provide larger prizes but less frequently, and others have lower volatility, which means they provide more consistent but lesser payouts. When selecting a slot game, consider your tastes and risk tolerance, and try out several games to find the ones that appeal to you. Understand Paylines and Betting Strategies Paylines are the combinations of symbols across the reels that result in a win. When playing daftar joker123 it’s critical to understand how pay lines function and how different betting tactics might impact your odds of winning. Betting on more pay lines boosts your chances of scoring a winning combination and necessitates a more significant investment. Finding the perfect balance between the number of pay lines and your betting amount is critical for improving your gaming. Take Advantage of Bonuses and Free Spins Online casinos frequently provide bonuses, promotions, and free spins to entice players. These bonuses can dramatically lengthen your playtime and boost your chances of winning. Understand the terms and conditions of these bonuses since they may have wagering requirements that must be completed before you can withdraw any wins. To optimize your prospective benefits, take advantage of these possibilities intelligently. Responsible Gambling Practice Responsible gaming is an essential component of any gaming experience. Set time limitations for your sessions, take breaks, and avoid gambling if you are under the influence of alcohol or are emotionally upset. Recognize when to quit, whether on a winning streak or a losing skid. Gambling should always be pleasurable, so get treatment if it becomes obsessive or stressful. Taking Advantage of the Entertainment Factor While the prospect of monetary rewards is undeniably alluring, keep in mind that slots are primarily enjoyable. Approach the game with a sense of humor and an open mind. Instead of focusing entirely on the outcome, celebrate tiny triumphs and enjoy the pleasure of the game itself. Conclusion Slot machines are games of chance, and there is no perfect formula for ensuring constant winnings. However, approaching slots thoroughly aware of their complexities and employing cautious techniques may maximize your gaming pleasure while reducing dangers. So, whether you’re spinning the wheels at a brick-and-mortar casino or playing online slots from your home, these fundamental principles will surely add to your enjoyment and possible success.