Author: Thomas Ortsik

Founder and Kinda-Editor-In-Chief at Twinstiq.
Also known as Dr. Strangethumb

Battlefield Hardline’s DRM Allows 5 Hardware Changes Until Lockout

EA has wrapped some DRM around its newest Battlefield game that is annoying some power users. Flashing new firmware, updating your graphics card, CPU, or motherboard, can lock you out of your own game. Read on for more.
Benchmarkers at Guru3D were locked out of Battlefield Hardline, annoying them enough to make a post ranting about the DRM used in the title. Electronic Arts is locking users out of their games for a 24 hour period following what they deem are too many hardware changes. This made it difficult for Guru3D to complete their graphics hardware benchmarks using the title.

Such DRM restrictions on Ubisoft games like Anno 2070 were met with opposition from their customer base. Do you think of EA's new DRM scheme will be met with the same reaction, or are users more accepting of such things now?

Source: Guru3D

Giveaway Saturday

Giveaway Saturday again and we continue with the bombshells.
Remember when I said that we give away ONE copy of Jazzpunk?

Guess what: Somebody screwed up the selection process. (Who? How? Not gonna name any names, that would be unprofessional. You have to watch the podcast for that)


Ok, it was me.

Still, this is

because it means that we have TWO winners and therefore 2 copies to give away.

Cue the drum-roll.
The winner(s) of our first Saturday Giveaway is (are):

Suhrai and Dante G

Congratulations! To get your prices, send a mail to: competition (at) Twinstiq.com

 

But that’s not where the good news ends. This is called Saturday Giveaway for a reason. A reason so hidden and shrouded in mystery, you probably need a private investigator to uncover it. A guy like him:

So what a coincidence that this week, we give away a copy of Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure to ONE! (unless I screw up again) lucky winner.

How do you qualify? Join our new Steam Group and while you’re at it, make sure to follow our Curator list. Everyone in the group (minus team members) will then be entered.
Bonus entry if you tweet “
GAMING'S MOST PUN*ISHING SITE @twinstiq.com”

Deadline for entry is Friday the 3rd of April. Winners will probably be announced on Saturday, but no promises, since I’m probably away from a PC and want to make this as transparent as can be.

Good Luck!

Nintendo NX Speculation

There's a lot of speculation out there on how Nintendo's NX will take form. A lot of people are hoping for a combination portable/home console, but is that practical? There are many factors worth considering, and we'll focus on a few reasons why it may or may not be possible. Read on after the break.
A system's battery life often dictates its portability, so when designing the original Game Boy, Nintendo aimed for a 20 hour battery life. This would ensure that the system would last on long car or plane trips, or when you had to visit grandma's and couldn't bring your console with you.
If the NX is meant to be used as a portable system, it might not be significantly more powerful than the Wii U. The system can't be too powerful or complex, as a faster processor and more complex graphics chip would quickly whittle down those batteries. Even newer tablets can't power processor intensive games for much longer than a couple of hours, and they just don't reach the graphical fidelity of Wii U games.
We also have to consider the gaming experience and how it suits the mode of play. Portable games don't necessarily translate to a couch experience or vice versa. Frame rate issues aside, Borderlands 2 on the Vita was difficult to play since distant characters were minuscule on the small screen, making it difficult to pick off a sniper, or discern faraway characters from background objects. The game didn't lend itself to short play sessions either. In another example, Picross is a great portable game that uses Nintendo's touch screen well, and sitting there on the couch pointing a Wii remote at the screen just isn't ideal. It's also a boring game for others to sit there and watch, it's more of a solitary experience that's good as a distraction from other things.

Text size is also an issue. Games like Diablo 3 that display a lot of statistics on the screen, and still want to keep the UI out of the way, would be difficult to view comfortably on a smaller screen. If the text were made larger, it would take up too much space on the TV. Perhaps game developers would account for different play methods, designing a different interface for a portable or TV experience, but this adds to development work and there are situations where it just isn't viable. Some games might be compromised for one setup or the other.

Pricing is a difficult issue, since system cost will either be too low to support powerful hardware, or too expensive to sell to parents who want a system for their kids. If Nintendo wants us to upgrade to a new system, it will have to offer a much better gameplay experience, and that requires more powerful hardware.

Making a device that's possible to take with you means an optical disc format is not viable, but load times from slow flash to faster internal memory have to be accounted for. GameCube and 3DS were able to deal well with load times, so perhaps this won't be an issue, but with more powerful hardware there are larger textures and maps to stream in, and having quick access for large amounts of data means a lot of RAM, which will again decrease battery performace. The 3DS has a lower resolution screen and doesn't need as much RAM, but when you're building a system that can also display the same games on your TV, you'll have to account for the TV experience and still power that same hardware on the go.

There are a few things that support the theory that Nintendo will make a system suitable for both, however. In their home territory of Japan, mobile is the favored platform, with home consoles dropping significantly in sales compared to prior generations. The trend may continue, and Nintendo will want to be sure that their games are playable by the widest player base. If they design a game only meant for a home console, not as many people may buy it, so designing it for both at once means the game will be able to reach the biggest possible audience.
Familiarity with a single chipset will enhance game production, no longer forcing a developer to learn multiple hardware configurations and split work across each of them, allowing a unified engine and codebase, since there is only one platform to target.

What do you think Nintendo will do? Do you see any other pros and cons that we haven't thought of? Please let us know in the comments.

Warlocks vs Shadows – Preview

Warlocks vs. Shadows is a wave based action brawler that has you fighting through several different dimensions, each composed of several stages where you must defeat waves of enemies before a portal will open and you can progress to the next area. The game just entered Early Access so there is still a lot of room for polish, but what exactly is the current state of Warlocks vs Shadows, and are we eager for it's official release?
The first thing you'll most likely notice about Warlocks vs Shadows is the breathtaking pixel art style of the game. It's reminiscent of Risk of Rain, or the fantastic Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery EP. Enemy designs are all shadow based and I was afraid that they'd be mostly be black blobs, but even with this restraint, developer Frozen District has done an excellent job distinguishing each enemy type. Spell effects are equally gorgeous, with some of them being real eye candy.

You control one of ten characters, called Warlocks, with half of them being available from the get-go. I unlocked my first character upon completion of world one, and the second on completion of world two, so it seems you will unlock a new character after each world. The different warlocks are more than just aesthetically diverse, with some of them being geared toward healing, some toward tanking and others toward DPS or control. In addition, if you hope to get anywhere in the game, you'll need to learn how best to combine your skills.

For instance, playing as Rainer you have a dashing slash that will hit all enemies in a line. This will damage enemies and mark them with a little pink icon above their heads. You can then use another spell to teleport to all marked enemies and damage them with a sword attack. Unfortunately you can actually take a lot of damage dashing through groups of enemies like this, so you also have a bubble that you can cast on yourself to prevent at least some damage. One of the most fun aspects of Warlocks vs Shadows, is figuring out how each power works in conjunction with your other powers.

In addition to leveling up your warlocks abilities, you can also collect equipable loot that increases certain attributes such as movement speed, armor and damage. Some items have more unique and interesting abilities, such as rooting enemies, or being cursed, which leads to the caster taking damage after each spell. Equipment and spell levels carry over between warlocks, so if you level up your second skill and then switch warlocks, the new warlock will have a leveled up second skill as well. This makes it very easy to swap warlocks between levels and test out new characters and styles.

I only got to try coop for a short amount of time so far, but it is much more challenging than single player. The enemies health increases and they seem to do more damage as well. I was dying left and right in the coop game, but hardly died at all in the single player in the same levels. We also experienced some lag issues, such as not seeing yourself take any damage and then suddenly being dead. And then there was a problem with my body disappearing after getting knocked out and my partner not being able to resurrect me because of it.

I've only spent a little over two hours with the game so far, but it has it's hooks in me. The gameplay is extremely fluid and fast, but with a tactically intense feeling as well. It keeps me wanting to load it up, taunting me that it would be so easy to ignore my responsibilities, but no, I must be strong! On offer is also a PVP mode, but I haven't gotten the chance to try it out yet. Hopefully the PVP will be great, and the coop will add some longevity, as there aren't that many worlds in the single player game and the wave based combat could get old after a while.

Overall I am very excited about where Warlocks vs Shadows is at right now, and extremely excited to see where it will go in the future. If they not only fix the bugs during the Early Access period, but also add more content, this could become one of 2015's indie success stories.

Are you as excited as we are to see more of Warlocks vs Shadows? If you've picked up the Early Access game, which Warlock is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

Author: Billy C
Game: Warlocks vs Shadows
Source: Preview copy provided to Twinstiq.com
Website: http://www.omlgames.com/

Legend of Zelda Wii U Delayed, Will not be at E3

According to Nintendo the upcoming Legend of Zelda game for Wii U has been delayed. Originally expected to launch by the end of the year, the game has been postponed with no new release date as of yet. The news was announced in a video by veteran series producer Eiji Aonuma on Nintendo's various social media channels.

The delay comes mere days after Nintendo dropped two major bombshells, the first being the company's entry into the smartphone field in a deal with DeNA and the second being the announcement of its next platform, codenamed "NX."

Check out the video of the announcement after the break.

Nintendo have also confirmed on Twitter Zelda will not be at E3 in June.

In the video Aonuma explains that Nintendo has recently come upon "several new possibilities" that could make the game better on Wii U and is taking more time to realize those ideas.

"Since I declared at the Game Awards in December that the game would launch in 2015, the directors and the many members of the development team have been working hard developing the game," Aonuma said. "In these last three months, as the team has experienced first-hand the freedom of exploration that hasn't existed in any Zelda game to date, we have discovered several new possibilities for this game."

"As we have worked to turn these possibilities into reality, new ideas have continued to spring forth, and it now feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds my own expectations," he added. "As I have watched our development progress, I have come to think that rather than work with meeting a specific schedule as our main objective, and releasing a game that reflects only what we can create within that scheduled time, I feel strongly that our focus should be to bring all these ideas to life in a way that will make Zelda on Wii U the best game it can possibly be."

"So I must apologize to all of you who were expecting the game by year's end, but we are no longer making a 2015 release our number one priority. Instead, our priority is to make it the ultimate and most complete Zelda game. I hope to use the added time to make a Zelda on Wii U that will reward you for your patience. So thank you for your continued support."

While the delay of Legend of Zelda for Wii U will disappoint some Nintendo will have plenty to offer at this year's E3. The company has many other Wii U games in the pipeline, including
Star Fox, Splatoon, Mario Maker, and Xenoblade Chronicles X, in addition to whatever Nintendo may have up its sleeve at E3.

Picture

William Sierra
[Source: Youtube]


WRUP: Nonstiq, Steam Group and Curator

We have some pretty cool announcements to make!

There is now a sub-Blog named Nonstiq, where you’ll find all sorts of not strictly gaming related things in the future. It probably won’t be updated as often, but there is an RSS feed on the right, just below the scrolling header, that shows whenever something gets posted.

Next on the list: We now have a Steam Group for you to join. Make sure to do so, because who knows what awesome stuff might awaits you there. (Spoiler: Our next Weekly Giveaway will be held among its members)

But wait! That’s not all: We are also now Steam Curator! So follow us there too.
ALL THE FOLLOWS!

With that out of the way, what’s everybody playing?

  • Greywolfe (@lostwolfe, YouTube): quest for glory 2, ending my second shovel knight run, more the dig and looking into scrolls + gone home.
  • Andrew J Amideo (@Andoro36): Wolfenstein: The New Order
  • Cody Hall (@Yoda0VGs): I'm going to make my poor PC cry this weekend and play some of the Unreal Tournament alpha! Nostalgia here I come!
  • Trisha Baumgartner (twitch): Have to work all weekend but will be playing some heists on GTA V when I get a chance.
  • Jimmy Vegas (@JimmyPhantom17): Finishing up on Dying Light
  • John Rausch (@visitzebes): I'll be playing Type-0 HD and Mario Party 10 or training a puppy.
  • Jonathan: Bloodborne and more Bloodborne for me.
  • Billy Colley (@Amuntoth): I picked up Pillars of Eternity for my Birthday, so I'll be mostly playing that. Still, I might find time for some coop Warlocks vs Shadows.
  • Thomas Ortsik (@Dr_Strangethumb): I’m going to join the Bloodborne parade. Maybe something else too, but I really want to get the Blood flowing.
  • Jye Cauffle: Bloodborne!
  • Whylekat: I'll be playing as much Neverwinter Nights 2 as possible in preparation for Tuesday's drop of the Neverwinter MMO!
  • Mike Suszek (@mikesuszek): Businessman Simulator 2016. Hoping for Monster Hunter time this weekend. :)
  • Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM): Bloodborne and Hotline Miami 2. A gruesome weekend indeed.
  • Sam Prell (@SamPrell): The doctor says I'm coming down with something. Something Bloodborne.
  • Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello, Twitch): Going to do my damndest to finally finish Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
  • Susan Arendt (@SusanArendt): Story of Seasons! The real Harvest Moon, yo!

LA Cops Review – Let’s Book’em!

Developed by Modern Dream and published by Team17, there's no denying that LA Cops is similar to Hotline Miami. That's not a dig at LA Cops by any means, as without imitation and iteration we wouldn't have the FPS, RTS, or any other gaming genre. So while imitation isn't necessarily a bad thing the hope is that when you do something similar, you also do enough different to distinguish yourself while improving upon what came before. Does LA Cops manage to do that? Hit the break or watch the video to find out.

Presentation:

The style of LA Cops is fantastic. From the cell shaded rooms and characters to the ridiculous 70's cop show setting that recalls some of the best movies of my childhood. Even the music is great for a while, though it does get old due to the limited selection of tracks available. I really do have very little to complain about with this games presentation but there are a few issues. The first is that the camera doesn't zoom out enough to see an entire room, which means that you might have to walk halfway through a room away from all cover before you see that the far end is littered with Uzi wielding enemies. The second problem is that the objectives window is massive and useless. Most missions are just about killing all enemies, with maybe destroying some items, but the objectives window takes up such a large portion of the top right of the screen that it can block incoming enemies.

Mechanics:

The gameplay of LA Cops is an isometric twin stick shooter with an element of tactics thrown in to differentiate it from Hotline Miami. When I first started playing the game, having not played Hotline Miami before this, I did not immediately have a good time. The game felt very tactical, having two characters you could either take direct control of, or use a 'move to' command to position your AI controlled partner. Bullets shot into walls draw the attention of enemies in adjoining rooms which can quickly overwhelm you as well, so it seemed necessary to stealth through levels, handcuffing as many enemies as possible before all hell finally breaks loose.

Sadly that's just not what LA Cops is. That is possibly what it aspires to be, but if so it falls short. In fact the only strategy that seemed to work was to go in guns blazing and lure enemies through doors. You have a second cop that the game instructs you to station at doorways, or to send him into a room through one door while you burst through a door on the other side, but sadly he's near useless as a true partner. Sometimes he will kill 4 or 5 enemies in as many seconds, and other times he will stand there not firing a single shot while enemies run through the doorway he is guarding. This leads to him being murdered, and shortly after you being murdered.

In LA Cops you get two police officers and a single, randomly placed resurrection per level in the form of a health pack. To use the health pack you need to find it, grab it, and return it to the body of your fallen partner. In reality it is almost always a better idea to have your partner stay far back out of harms way as a second life than it is to risk him by sending him to near certain death by trying to fight.

It doesn't help anything when the games mechanics seem like they are fighting you either. In a fast paced twitch style shooter like this where bullets are at a premium for the nice guns, it should be obvious what it will take to kill an enemy so that you can start to engage the next. In LA Cops I could sometimes kill an enemy in one shot, and other times it would take two or three shotgun shells at near point blank to take them down.

If you are locked onto an enemy and you have a clear line of site then you will always hit that enemy, which is essential for controller play and indeed feels essential for keyboard and mouse too, which is odd. It is so powerful that you can sometimes take our waves of 5 or 6 enemies without taking damage, simply by alternating the lock-on and fire buttons. The problem is that the game doesn't lock-on to the enemy closest to your reticle and instead it locks-on to the enemy closest to your character. This means you might have two enemies rushing through an open door, but you accidentally lock-on to an enemy behind you and in another room, leading to your death. Interestingly the lock-on feature is disabled in impossible difficulty, which makes controller play feel truly impossible.

Doors are another source of frustration in LA Cops. Most doors are closed when you first come to them and you can swing them open either way just by moving into them. Sometimes though the door will explode for no reason leaving you exposed to enemy fire. Additionally doors can be used to stun enemies by swinging the door into them, as long as they aren't walking in the remote direction of the door. If they are then you'll just end up pushing on each side of the door and slowly opening it.

Another way that the game stands out from the crowd is it's stable of playable characters. You can pick from an assortment of cops, each of which can be leveled up individually. This makes each cop unique as you experiment, but you quickly realize that unless you want to repeat the same levels over and over to grind for XP it's just better to stick with two characters throughout the game. XP is shared among all officers as well, so you can either spend your XP leveling up one cop, the two cops you are using, or seriously dilute it by spending it on more cops. Make no mistake either, you'll need to spend you XP if you want to get anywhere in the game, leveling up things ranging from starting weapon, clip size, health, damage, and speed.


Conclusion:

LA Cops has many problems that keep it from being a classic like the game it takes inspiration from, but it does enough to stand apart that it's a fun game in it's own right. With 9 levels to play, a selection of bonus levels, multiple officers that are really just different skins, and an attempt at tactical gameplay that just turns into an interesting way to handle multiple lives, LA cops is a fun little game that kept me interested for a while but ultimately didn't make any headway into my daily gaming schedule.

LA Cops gets a 2 1/2 out of 5, but with the caveat that most of it's problems could be patched. Indeed the developers have stated that they are working on the partner AI, so this could all change in the future. My recommendation is to pick it up if you find it on sale for $10 or less, but unless you are a huge fan of this fledgling genre I wouldn't pay full price while there are more coherent offerings out there.

Author: Billy C
Source: Review copy provided to Twinstiq.com by Team17 Digital Ltd.
Rating: 2 1/2 out of 5
Developer: Modern Dream
Website: http://www.la-cops.com/
Platform: Reviewed on PC, also available for XBox One and Mac.