The next trailers advertising the upcoming Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night feature a pair of characters that featured heavily within the Arc System Works collaboration fighting title, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Sho Minazuki and Labrys can take to the stage in either title as DLC, despite them having exactly zero connection to Persona 5.

Labrys, an Anti-Shadow Weapon like Aigis, is prominently featured in both Persona 4 Arena titles, while Sho Minazuki was the antagonist for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, where he was trying to destroy the world. The DLC will be cross compatible with either version of the game, with Labrys featuring a remix of “Today” from Persona 4 Arena and Sho dancing to a remix of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax’s theme “Break Out Of…”

Previous character trailers have shown off their respective game’s protagonists Makoto Yuki and Ren Amamiya, Ken Amada and Haru Okumura, Fuuka Yamagishi and Futaba Sakura, and several more, including DLC trailers for Lavenza and Theodore. While news of the dancing titles coming West has not happened yet, Japanese players and those willing to import can look forward to release as of May 24, 2018

What you get in essence of Rocketbirds 2 is the same old uniformed, sometimes cleverly plotted 2D maps like in the first game. The platforming within Rocketbirds 2 is a great addition and I believe it is a little more sophisticated than in the previous version. Every few panels, as the game sometimes moves screen by screen, you see a small text conversation about the troubles being caused by your character as it storms a great big facility reeking havoc along the way. Of course, the levels do change, and it introduces some fun situations such as shooting alarms to stop enemies, making your way through several waves of other enemy birds, and so on.

Although this game is a mindless platformer – twin sticks shooter, what story that is fed from time to time had me chuckle a few times. And I did die from laughter —  literally. Well, literally within the game. And that’s one of the things with this game: you will end up dying quite a bit. This isn’t a family-friendly shooter as it contains dark references, but essentially it’s sometimes just very hard in certain areas. I found myself doing some waves over and over before I was able to over come some of the harder areas the game had to offer. But that’s just me. Some players may find it too easy, some may find it harder than I did.

"Although this game is a mindless platformer – twin sticks shooter, what story that is fed from time to time had me chuckle a few times."

What’s cool about Rocketbirds 2 is the incredible weapons the game offers. No, this isn’t Call of Duty quality. But what are available tend to be very entertaining and very accurate. The militaristic bird-hero can wield two weapons at a time but can have a larger arsenal to switch out with. This twin sticks shooter style game has enemies from every angle, and finding out which weapon works best for you is essential to making it through the game properly. I often found the shotgun and assault rifles to be quite entertaining and very well balanced. There are also grenades and other smaller surprises along the way.

Enemies, sometimes  attack in overwhelming swarms, can shoot, throw grenades, carry other heavy weapon rifles and objects and can even come after you with melee. This is quite troubling when you are just one bird and a slew of enemies that sometimes have incredible amounts of health are just pummeling you from every angle. Luckily, there are checkpoints to be earned. But again, these checkpoints are sometimes in bad spots where more waves and even stronger enemies are just ready to pounce. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not awful and most of the time the checkpoints are pretty good. But overall, it’s a little tiresome to die so often.

What’s kind of a disappointment within the second game is the color scheme. Too often you’ll see dull grays, whites, and blacks with very few eye-pleasing colors in between. I enjoy colorful games, though I don’t expect a game such as Gears of War to be full of wonderfully bright colors. But when you have a game that prides itself on its wit, whim, and senseless humor, adding a few colors would have made it a bit more fun.

"This twin sticks shooter style game has enemies from every angle, and finding out which weapon works best for you is essential to making it through the game properly."

Now, this is an indie title so you don’t expect any great orchestra settings or lots of great music anywhere. But what Rocketbirds 2 does offer is great for a wartime feel; again, it should be funny but the music doesn’t quite match the writing. With that being said, the music is a great ambient noise for a sometimes crazily intense game.

Overall, I would definitely give Rocketbirds 2 a try, especially if you’ve been wanting to play a shooter-platformer lately. It gives you just the right amount of platforming with a great amount of shooting. The humor is where the game’s strength lies, but it falls short with the sometimes too hard shooting areas.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Note: This interview was conducted before the launch of Rocketbirds 2 Evolution.

What’s the story behind Rocketbirds 2: Evolution? What should new players expect, seeing all these birds with guns for the first time?

The Rocketbirds universe is populated by anthropomorphic birds with guns and it is oppressed by the Penguin regime and their despotic leader iL Putzki, who keeps all the other bird species under his iron flippers.

In Story Mode, Hardboiled Chicken finds out iL Putzki is actually still alive (this despite being brain-bugged and walked out of his rocket ship into space at the end of Rocketbirds 1) and he goes back into enemy territory to kill him again (vengeance for what the Penguins did to him when he was just a wee chick). Of course, it’s never going to be as straight forward as that, and during this adventure, he’ll find out that different, sinister forces have been at work all this time.

There’s also a Rescue Mode, which can be played alone or with up to 4 players. In it, the Budgie Commandos (from Rocketbirds 1), led by General Puff, have set up shop in the old hotel from which they launch rescue missions deep behind enemy lines. As you complete missions and rescue stranded operatives, they’ll join your team and help shed some light on what those dastardly Penguins have been up to (from a different point of view).

Some of the characters cross over, as the stories happen roughly at the same time, so to get the full Story of the sequel, you’ll want to play both Modes to their conclusion.

How long is the new story mode? Can you tell us about the insane work that went into making it better than the original?

Rescue Mode is designed as a replay-able meta-collection game, with semi-procedurally generated missions and lots of characters, items and weapons to unlock during missions or from the shops.

Story Mode, on the other hand is a carefully scripted, immersive affair, but with multiple ways to traverse the giant Chapters and lots of hidden stuff for you to find and use on your second, or third run-through. Story Mode also has some puzzles and includes Jetpaction and submarine action and will have some big-assed boss fights.

Depending how good you are, we estimate you’ll take between 6-8 hours to complete Story Mode. Rescue Mode can be played a lot longer, but the key missions would keep you busy for at least 4-6 hours, but there’s lots of cool stuff and weapons to unlock (over 100 items). We’ve even added a Dojo mini-game in which you can battle against your team mates using your favorite two weapons to see who has the maddest combat skills and who gets to eat crow.

Making the sequel took a lot of work, I think every single aspect has been improved over the original, like: for the environments we still wanted to maintain that hand crafted, cinematic look of the first game, but you’ll notice each screen needed to tilt both ways to enable you to check for breakable walls, so the background tools were reworked and each screen is now completely 3D with baked lighting and unique details; the look of the characters also received an upgrade, after the characters are rigged and animated, each character texture is repainted with normal maps, so that they would look closer to the painted posters and could react to the dynamic lighting; the characters used to talk only through speech bubbles, but now their lines are fully voiced in English and Japanese by talented, professional voice actors; we have created a unique host of characters for each different chapter and the number of animation frames per character has at least quadrupled in size over the previous game; the game now supports a proper inventory system with customizable clothes and gear as well as a very large array of weapons. Rescue mode is a completely new Co-op game over its predecessor, with mission map generators a hub with four large shops and a PvP arena; the list goes on.

"There’ll be weapons in the later stages more suited to your play style, but in the end we did balance weapons out a bit using ammunition cost, weapon cooldown times, reload times, damage, destabilizing damage and clip size, so we hope to see groups of players play with a variety of weapons and look different from one another."

What can you tell us about the improvements made to controls? How different does the game feel now in terms of responsiveness?

We went out of our way to make the controls feel fast and super responsive – Tech wise, we support full res 60 fps on both PS Vita and PS4, so that’ll help, but we also took care to keep the animations and transitions smooth by supporting animation masking from the start – this opened up a new level of freedom for players where they’d be able to do multiple things at the same time, such as aiming and firing in any direction while climbing up ladders, or reloading their guns while running for cover, switch their weapons during a double jump. Because there is virtually no delay in the game character executing the player’s will, the game has turned into a skill based, action game. This is a far cry from Rocketbirds 1, which is in essence a step based cinematic platformer, which allows only single actions over set periods of time and you could only shoot horizontally.

The other key change was to the controls themselves. Since you can carry out multiple actions at the same time, we needed a simple controls scheme which would allow you to do all these things at the same time (and have it work identically for the PS Vita, which has a few less buttons than the DualShock 4). During combat, you really only want to do four main things – apart from being able to position yourself (L thumb stick) and firing your weapon (R shoulder/trigger), we wanted players to aim as much as possible (R thumb stick), but players also need to jump out of harm’s way (Cross button).

With jump on Cross Button, this meant that your thumb would need to slide off the right thumb stick and onto the Cross Button and slide back onto the right thumb stick, where you’d need to re-aim, which isn’t ideal, especially during the heat of combat.

The X button still works as a jump and I’ve seen people play just fine jumping with X, but we encourage players to start using the left shoulder button (L shoulder/trigger) to get really good.

We reward precise aiming, by having shots at enemy heads inflict serious amounts of damage (and could cause head shots where the head would pop right off); Reward continuous movement, where enemies fire where you were, rather than where you are; And reward jumping, where bullets and projectiles will fly through you during double jumps.

I guess as icing for the cake, we added a mini game called the Dojo, where you can battle against your friends. If you accepted the tweak and learn to use the “shoulder jump”, you’ll perform much better than friends who did not.

BTW: The thing it also allows you to do by completely separating movement-stuff (left) and gun-stuff (right) on the controller is to actually play Rescue Mode with two controllers at the same time, where your left hand controls the movement of the bottom budgie – and your right hand controls aiming, firing, reloading, weapon swapping and stacking of the top budgie – once they are stacked, you can run around and play both characters at the same time so you have an extra chance to survive should one budgie get K.O’d. It just gets a bit crazy when your stack collapses and you’ll have to try and avoid ducts, but it’s still pretty fun and a different way to play the game.

There has been the announcement of customizable characters. Does this mean players can choose different load-outs and appearances for their characters?

Yeah, in Rescue Mode, your characters are fully customizable and the different items you wear adjust your stats a little bit. You can switch to different characters during the game inside the Hub and you can access your inventory and change your get-up and weapons whenever you wish to.

Will there be different abilities to earn and upgrade for your characters?

Since this is a skill based game, we wanted your characters upgrade when you improve 😉

There’ll be weapons in the later stages more suited to your play style, but in the end we did balance weapons out a bit using ammunition cost, weapon cooldown times, reload times, damage, destabilizing damage and clip size, so we hope to see groups of players play with a variety of weapons and look different from one another.

"In rescue mode, at the end of a mission, players are ranked and the best player receives a larger piece of the cash bonus than the others."

Will Rescue Mode have any additional objectives with twists on them similar to stacking hostages and carrying them to safety?

In Rescue Mode, during missions you can find strange, hidden artifacts which the budgie scientists can use to reconstruct some kind of alien portal. Also some walls are breakable and you’ll need to use bombs to blow these up and gain access to hidden treasure which can contain additional clothing items, or special weapons, like melee weapons.

How has the online multiplayer been improved and how does the drop in, drop out system affect co-op play? Is it possible to match make with players in the middle of games?

We basically rewrote the networking code from scratch and Rescue Mode features a lobby where you can select the room you wish to join. It also has a drop-in/drop-out feature, so you’ll not need to wait for your friends to join in and can host a game by yourself. If you need additional fire power when you are playing on your own, you can also Rent-A-Duck, who will aid you and ride shotgun on your back as you go on rescue missions, until reinforcements arrive.

What kinds of new weapons can players expect? How much more expanded is the arsenal from the previous game?

In the old game we had just a hand full of weapons. We did not have a robust inventory system to support more than 5 weapons or so – in the old Co-Op mode it was even less. The weapon you picked was tied to the budgie you picked. This time round, you can unlock some 40 different weapons – we picked the iconic ones like AA12, Frachi-Spass, M60, M16, RPG-7, Flamethrowers, Mossbergs, Bazooka, AK47, Steyer, Uzis, Dessert Eagles, Mortar guns etc. and made sure they reloaded and behaved how you would expect them to behave, but have each weapon offer something unique over the other weapons. There are six types of ammunition – grenades, bullets, shells, fuel, rockets and plasma – and six main types of guns, like the single shot guns (ideal for precise head shots), burst weapons (short, controlled bursts), assault rifles (pull the trigger and shower them with love), scatter guns (able to fire a spread of shot), charger types (like mini-guns which require a run-up) and projectile launchers (like good ol’gas powered grenades and such). In the later locations, you’ll be able to unlock some made up, sci-fi ones as well, like guns that fire bouncer particles and tractor beams etc. Oh and we also have a bunch of melee weapons, like Zulu spears, bowie knives and meat cleavers.

Are there plans for other competitive modes like the Dojo, perhaps a score-based mode for players to compete in involving the main missions?

In rescue mode, at the end of a mission, players are ranked and the best player receives a larger piece of the cash bonus than the others. While it’s great to show off your skills and be the best player with the most kills and headshots, we think it’s also fun to go head to head against your friends, which is why we created a Dojo mini-game – for short bursts of fun in between missions (or to test out that new weapon you bought in one of the shops). Nothing is set in stone yet, but we just might expand on this mini-game if it gets a good response from players!

I am assuming that you must have heard rumors about an upgraded PS4 (code name Neo) flying around the internet. According to sources, there will be boosts in CPU, Memory and GPU.

As you can see, there is a marginal improvement in CPU but impressive improvements in the GPU and Memory bandwidth. As someone who is in the development industry, what is your take on this? What kind of improvements do you think this will result into?

According to this sheet, we can expect games with Higher Resolutions, instead of revolutionary game play J And those GPU-bound games will receive a boost in framerates as well. From this table it looks like it would benefit games that need additional visual speed to hit those higher framerates and resolutions needed for VR, where your game would need to render left and right eyes for stereoscopy to work.

From a theoretical perspective, if you were to work on two PS4’s one which is the current model and the other being the Neo, would you be happy to invest the extra time and effort into developing two games for two platforms?

According to your information, we think the development cost will increase a little, but the testing costs will definitely double to test two systems. I’m not so sure I’d be happy (if this were true) – we developed Rocketbirds 2 for two platforms and it runs in stereoscopic 3D on the PS4, but the PS Vita clearly offers some added utility next to the PS4 for our customers, you can own both or either system and it would make sense to own our game on either, or both systems. Having two systems would just divide the market between those players owning the new PS4 and those players owning the old PS4, because it’s unlikely they’d want, or have the luxury to keep/use both systems.

Do you see devs aiming higher performance parameters for Neo and delivering sub-optimal performance on current base model PS4?

That really depends on the developer and the games they are working on. CPU-bound games will still have a harder time achieving superior performance on the newer model.

If recent reports are anything to by, Sony is all set to reveal an upgraded model of the PlayStation 4 sometime this year. The updated SKU, rumored to have the code name NEO, is expected to have significant amount of boost to GPU and memory. However, it will still keep the same Jaguar CPU configuration with only the clock speed getting a bump from 1.6Ghz to 2.1Ghz, which according to our technical expert does not really matter that much.

GamingBolt recently got in touch with Ratloop, who are working on Rocketbirds 2: Evolution (a PlayStation exclusive) and we asked them about their thoughts from a theoretical perspective about working on the PS4 NEO and whether they will be comfortable working on two different models of the same console and the possible implications behind following such a model.

“According to your information, we think the development cost will increase a little, but the testing costs will definitely double to test two systems. I’m not so sure I’d be happy (if this were true) – we developed Rocketbirds 2 for two platforms and it runs in stereoscopic 3D on the PS4, but the PS Vita clearly offers some added utility next to the PS4 for our customers, you can own both or either system and it would make sense to own our game on either, or both systems. Having two systems would just divide the market between those players owning the new PS4 and those players owning the old PS4, because it’s unlikely they’d want, or have the luxury to keep/use both systems.”

Two console SKUs can result into a number of concerns for players. Developers may aim for higher performance parameters for NEO and deliver sub-optimal performance on current base model PS4. The developer told us that such a scenario varies from developer to developer but the real problem is the CPU which may still be a bottleneck for games heavily dependent on it.

“That really depends on the developer and the games they are working on. CPU-bound games will still have a harder time achieving superior performance on the newer model.”

We will see how the NEO will pan out in the coming months. Stay tuned for our full interview with the Rocketbirds 2: Evolution developers in the coming days.

Rocketbirds 2 comes at a great time this year as a number of games from last year’s holidays start becoming stale. Sure, a bunch of other bigger games have come out since then, but this game definitely gives some breathing room for those looking to take a break from heavy AAA games. Ratloop have put a lot of hard work into this sequel and it really pays off. Well, at least the first three chapters do, as those are the only levels that I can preview at this time.

This game has a distinct look of Cold War era Russia, with its steel grey walls, brick red flags flying proudly everywhere, and snow all over the ground. This is definitely a game that wants to pretend it’s serious. That is, until the chickens come out! Rocketbirds 2 focuses its comedic power over the use of many different avian creatures. Oh, and they’re armed and dangerous, and kind of cute.

"Level designs picked for this preview are standard fair for most 2D shooters. There really is not much of getting lost as the game does a great job in assisting every step of the way."

You’ll definitely get your fill of humor in this platformer– anything from birds talking in another room about your shooting style, to roosters gearing up with some comedy gold. These birds have you covered when it comes to laughs and a giving you a hilariously good time.

Starting out, you get two weapons: an assault rifle and a shotgun. Ammo isn’t hard to get and the shotgun has unlimited ammo, but isn’t very good, even up close. The left analog stick is used to traverse and the right analog to aim and shoot; the mechanics of the controls work very much in line with top-down shooters. I was having trouble at first using the left analog to move my bird around the level. The analog just feels too big for a 2D game. So I went into the controls and found out I could switch them for the D pad. After that, the controls felt perfect for this title. Shooting is as satisfying as it could be for a top-down shooter in a 2D platformer. It works, but you won’t be getting too gruesome in this funny game. There are a good variety of other types of weapons as well, but we won’t spoil any of that here.

Though, the controls are well suited for a game like this, it won’t be making everyone happy. The game is challenging and it takes time, patience and practice to do the objectives right. You need to figure out that running, jumping, shooting and aiming all at the same time is going to be standard fair going forward within just the first few minutes. It’s not a constant, grueling chore, but it does take time. Luckily, the checkpoints are always right around the corner.

Level designs picked for this preview are standard fair for most 2D shooters. There really is not much of getting lost as the game does a great job in assisting every step of the way.

"Rocketbirds 2 is shaping into a really solid 2D shooter platformer along with a funny story about birds going commando. This is definitely looking like a game that you should get your feathers on. "

Along with some zany sound effects that you’ll realize will only work in this type of game, there are the standard sounds of any shooter. Nothing special, but nothing of low quality. What caught my ear was the fantastic opening song in the main menu. It sounded like modern rock, so if this is the type of music that’s to be featured throughout the entire game then it will be a big boost to the game’s soundtrack.

What’s left after the hilarious bird antics, solid controls, and what feels like a build up to an excellent soundtrack? Nothing much, really. But there really doesn’t have to be. Rocketbirds 2 is extremely comfortable in its own shell (pun intended) just being what it is. Rocketbirds 2 is shaping into a really solid 2D shooter platformer along with a funny story about birds going commando. This is definitely looking like a game that you should get your feathers on.

This game was previewed on the PlayStation 4.

The game hosts six modes of play for their player to participate in: Skate park, Spots Mode, Rad Mode, Daily Grind, Combo Rush, and Career Mode, the latter of which is where the player will most likely spend the majority of their time. OlliOlli 2 is a game that focuses on two major things: delivering challenge and requiring the player’s utmost attention. Although each mode of play differs in their own unique ways,such as daily challenges and leaderboards, completing specific-set challenges, and competing online or locally, the goal of each one remains largely the same: building combos.

"OlliOlli 2 is a game that focuses on two major things: delivering challenge and requiring the player’s utmost attention."

Playing across a 2D side-scrolling plane, OlliOlli 2 is fast, real fast. As the game’s control scheme is heavily focused on the player’s timing and precision in pulling of tricks, chaining them together and then landing safely, which actually requires the player’s input to do so. OlliOlli 2 presents a degree of difficulty that’s fairly reminiscent of older games; 90s platformers to be more precise.

What’s great about this level of challenge is that none of it feels unfair or broken in anyway. As the design of its gameplay naturally encourages the player to move faster and faster as the game pushes forward while requiring the player to remain in control, any fault that the player may unfortunately undergo is strictly down to them failing to pay attention and responding when appropriate.

This does well in reinforcing motivation to try again and become better, especially within the game’s career mode as it’s essentially a requirement due to the game’s objectives, that must be completed in order to progress to the next level. It’s also worth noting that as with all games that place a heavy-focus around challenges and objective based-game modes, the game does increase in difficulty as the player makes their way throughout each level.

"OlliOlli 2 presents a degree of difficulty that fairly reminiscent of older games; 90s platformers to be more precise."

Taking a pixel art approach to its aesthetics, OlliOlli 2 presents something of a temptation whereby, I’d like to screenshot the most alluring level and frame it in the hallway with a panoramic aspect ratio, and feel no shame by my peers as to why I have something so ridiculously nerdy and unconventional on display. The game utilizes bold, vibrant, and neon colours with just the right amount of detail to show of its incredible level design and artistic freedom.

Ranging from many different backgrounds such as city sidewalks to theme parks, and ancient desert ruins to futuristic robotic landscapes, there’s a strong feeling of creativity flowing through each and every level that the player skates through. Combined with such an attractive and visually pleasing design, the game’s soundtrack is one that I’d gladly give my recommendation to. Which is actually plausible since it’s available for download on both iTunes and Google play. Many times when I lacked the concentration to play, I would accept the many fails and falls I would endure during gameplay, just to listen to something that was both moving and peaceful.

There’s two things in particular with OlliOlli 2 that I found to be the most captivating aspects of the game, both of which serve as a magnificent throwback to the 90s era. The first of which is the ungovernable and lawless attitude of the culture that surrounds skateboarding. Throughout the mid-90s and up until now, many skateboarding games have come and gone and while some have attempted to do new things in-terms of gameplay mechanics, the vast majority have been iterations of the infamous Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series.

"The sense of difficulty is prevalent throughout every ramp, hill and grind rail within the levels of the game."

The second that comes to mind is the aspect of challenge that separated the boys from the men, amongst the frustrating yet enjoyable 2D side-scrollers that ruled the early 90s. While Super Mario is clearly the first that the majority of us would think of, those such as MegaMan, Ninja Gaiden, Battletoads, Castlevania and dare I say it…Sonic The Hedgehog all succeeded in delivering an immense amount of challenge. Where some placed a higher emphasis on tight platforming and dealing with enemy attacks, others added an element of speed that would either accelerate the players adrenaline or unfortunately damage the playability of the actual game: Sonic The Hedgehog.

OlliOlli 2 is reminiscent with all of the above as it places a strong emphasis on the player having to keep up their speed and maintaining momentum in order to make sure its platforming is achievable. Blending this well with an interesting control scheme whereby the player has to press and hold different button configurations, so that every single movement their character will make is in-line with how well-perfected their tricks and landings actually are. The sense of difficulty is prevalent throughout every ramp, hill and grind rail within the levels of the game.

"OlliOlli 2 is the illusion of simple that’s worth the appreciation for everything it sets out to do and so gracefully accomplishes."

Although the on-screen button layout is strangely displayed in reverse and recommends to be played with a controller, the game can be played with a mouse and keyboard, and the former of which is nothing to cry home about. Since none actually came to mind, the only real problem that I can actually see with the game is something I had to scrap long and hard for from the bottom of the barrel, examining the game through a looking glass of lies. How would a possible sequel manage to take things further and prove to be more enjoyable than what’s been delivered upon here? Roll7, surprise me.

Brutal? No. Punishing? Not in the slightest. Difficult and demanding that drives you to play on and master everything it has to offer, while consistently throwing out new objectives and combo-chains while playing an exciting soundtrack that will have you pausing the game ten minutes in, so you can go off and purchase it? Yes. OlliOlli 2 is the illusion of simple that’s worth the appreciation for everything it sets out to do and so gracefully accomplishes.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

ollers of the Realm is best described as a pinball puzzle RPG. The game makes use of the mechanics known to a pinball machine and places them in to a medieval fantasy adventure, that lightly implements the features of an RPG. Taking on the role of a Rogue thief as the game’s main character, there’s a strong emphasis on story telling as presented through the game’s cut-scene introduction.

The high usage of narrative voice-overs and fully voiced characters attempts to build a strong set of characters that players will find themselves immersed within as they venture throughout the game. While it’s great to see this implementation and the time taken to flesh out a strong cast is appreciated. Due to the game’s mediocre and “Heard it all before medieval” storyline it was relatively difficult to even care who the main character actually was, or who she would come to meet as I spent more time with the game.

A fair amount of my time spent with the game was focused on the gameplay itself as I found it challenging and enjoyable, and also where the game held the majority of its strengths. Unfortunate as it may be the story itself is fairly bland and makes no attempt to actually diverse itself from any other medieval tale that people would have know doubt heard before, through any other form of media.

" Taking on the role of a Rogue thief as the game's main character, there's a strong emphasis on story telling as presented through the game's cut-scene introduction."

Wondering the land as young thief destined to save the world from an ancient darkness, after it’s former protectors have been imprisoned by a an evil witch. Players will meet other characters along their journey that will form the basis for their team, each with unique and different abilities. Other than her home and family being torn away due to years of war and tyranny making its way throughout the land, not much is known of the main character.

The idea of a game using the mechanics of a pinball machine as a means of use within its level design, story telling, character mechanics, and gameplay, sounds a lot better than it actually plays. Navigating the game’s levels through the means of flippers placed out in certain areas of the maps is where the game holds enjoyability. But the implementation of a story along with RPG elements don’t really seem to make much sense when applied to actual gameplay.

For instance, the player is able to recruit party members throughout the course of the game either by purchasing them within the game’s store, via the use of gold collected from breaking objects and defeating enemies in the game. Or by meeting characters who play a role within the game’s story. Each of these characters that the player encounters will take on a role that most will find familiar to most RPGs. Those such as the Healer and the Knight which players will meet during the early sections of the game.

"Navigating the game's levels through the means of flippers placed out in certain areas of the maps is where the game holds enjoyability."

Items are available to purchase for each of these party members, which serve purpose in enhancing their skills and stats, which can be used in providing tactics, additional damage, chance of parry, increased critical strikes, bonus gold rewards, Mana, and the like. Items are available to buy once the selected character has met the required skill level, and certain items can be shared directly across the entire party rather than to that specific party member.

Items come in the form of stamina potions, gauntlets, cloaks, daggers, and so on, all relative to the game’s medieval theme. Now while all of this sounds great and could possibly make what is essentially just a pinball game vastly interesting. When applied to practical means I can’t help but think this would have just been better off as a straight up pinball game without the RPG and story, while still keeping  hold of it’s tremendous level designs.

The different classes of characters available actually do make an interest feature in terms of gameplay. The Rogue is light-weighted and quick, and makes use of a special distraction perk which takes on the form of the character’s pet dog. The Knight is heavier but stronger and this is essential in taking down certain enemy types. Those such as the Healer is able to revive the other characters should they face defeat by falling from the bottom of the pinball table.

"When applied to practical means I can't help but think this would have just been better off as a straight up pinball game without the RPG and story, while still keeping it's level designs."

As said previously the characters that the player will encounter are familiar to classes seen in a standard RPG. The problem that lies within the use of these RPG elements isn’t down to the character-specific traits, but within it’s emphasis on skill attributes and items. They don’t really seem to add anything to the game or to that of the character’s abilities.

So long as the player switches characters when dictated by the game’s hints and tips, in order to overcome certain enemies or bypass certain routes on the games map, then the items at the player’s disposal fail to add anything that can be considered of any value.

There’s no denying this is an enjoyable game and an interesting take on pinball. It’s fairly creative. But with that being said this is a game about skill and accuracy. The game can have all the items, perks, and skill attributes that it wants, but at the end of the day this is a game about skill, practice, and accuracy. And I feel this stands in direct conflict with the story and RPG features that the game fails to make any real use of.

"The problem that lies within the use of these RPG elements isn't down to the character-specific traits, but within it's emphasis on skill attributes and items."

Although the game has a story to tell which largely directs the flow of the gameplay and the objectives it delivers to the player. All the player is essentially doing is pushing flippers and destroying enemies. And since the nature of pinball is largely reliant on the player’s skills and control, simple objectives in the game such as reaching a certain gate located on the map, can become increasingly time consuming as well as frustrating.

The nature of an RPG is built around player choice, as well as some form of exploration and control of character progression. But since the game, for the most part guides the player through each level and the player’s only real input is to switch characters when needed and figure out how to overcome obstacles and enemies, the attempted implementation of RPG mechanics just feel shoe-horned in as a way of making a pinball machine seem more interesting than it actually is.

Frankly, I would have enjoyed the game more had it not tried to implement RPG gimmicks, and the basic goal was just get reach the other side of the map. There’s no denying the creativity and design here. Rather than using a simple pinball table, the game takes flippers and places them within the game’s world which in turn makes it appear more arcadey than immersive. And while the story is by no means great or for the most part even that interesting or memorable, it serves as a means for player purpose, and adds a nice touch to what is essentially just a glorified pinball machine.

"Frankly, I would have enjoyed the game more had it not tried to implement RPG gimmicks, and the basic goal was just get reach the other side of the map.< /span>

Level structures aren’t standard to a simple table with enemies and flashing lights that the player is required to defeat. Gameplay takes plays from a top-down perspective peering in to the game’s level, with pinball flippers as the primary means for traversal. The levels have more in common with a simple maze that requires precise timing of using the flippers than to that of an actual pinball machine. It’s in this use of level design that demonstrates the game’s strengths and enjoyability.

As the game’s world adheres to it’s theme of medieval fantasy and magic. Players can be expect to be bouncing around villages, fields, and towns, each with their own branch of distinctive levels. There’s dens, courtyards, caverns, sewers, enemy hideouts, and the like. It’s fair to say the level variety is plenty and the game makes good use of its setting. Progressing from one stage to the next is presented through the game’s map, with past levels to go back on and replay, should the player wish to earn more gold or re-experience certain levels again. And why not? the levels are fantastic.

While I didn’t actually expect anything amazing from the game’s levels due to the theme it takes on, I was pleased with the design of the levels as each one has to incorporate pinball mechanics in order to keep things interesting, and this is where the game shines. Playing through the game with a mouse and keyboard the controls are simple in nature and are user-rebindable should the player desire more control. The player will spend most of the game controlling the left and right flippers, while switching between characters at certain points in the game.

With brief instances of navigating the ball itself with full player control without the need for flippers, I found this to be fairly useless as it didn’t add anything to it’s gameplay. Should the player wish to use a game pad instead, the game welcomes them to do so and I found no control issues whatsoever with either method. It’s one of the only few RPGs that come to mind, where I have no problem recommending a game-pad instead of a keyboard, as they seem to adapt much better due the nature of such games containing a hefty number of controls.

"The use of deep colour and lighting allows the game to visually pop, and it delivers an acceptable amount of detail. "

The visual aspects of the game take on a cartoonish aesthetic with semi-realistic exaggeration. The use of deep colour and lighting allows the game to visually pop, and it delivers an acceptable amount of detail. Nothing appears flat or washed out and the textures of brick work and grass fields look rich in quality.

The game offers various presets to tailor different PC configurations and the performance is reflective of the what the game delivers on visually. Needless to say the game runs without flaws, and enabling the highest preset is by no means taxing, even for those with low-end hardware. The game doesn’t offer up many graphical-specific options and given it’s theme and visual style it’s fair to say it doesn’t need to. A light bloom here and there or maybe a few particle effects would have been nice, but the game looks as well as it plays and is by no means a turn-off.

Rollers of the Realm is an enjoyable and challenging game. Character class pinballs put a twist on traditional pinball and this is what the game thrives on, along with it’s intricate and creative use of level design. While I’m not particularly fond of the RPG features in the game, the amount of creativity the game holds is quite impressive and the game as a whole is vastly distinctive to anything out there at this point in time. It feels like quick and easy fun that attempts to keep you invested by integrating a story that’s by no means interesting. It’s in the gameplay where this game holds up well, and it’s the only thing that I found to be of most entertainment.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

Pramath Parijat: To begin with, can you please let us know a bit about yourself and the company you work for?

Sure, I’m David Nottingham, one of the Co-Founders for Dynamighty and a Creative Director here.

Pramath Parijat: One immediate feature that caught my eye is the art style. What was the inspiration behind going for such a unique setting?

I’m going to let Mark Holmes handle this, as he led the Visual Development 🙂

Mark – Both David & I knew from Day One that we wanted to make a strong visual statement with the game. We are both much more aligned creatively to visual stylization in games. Bond is obviously a touchstone for this but we like to go deeper and look at a lot of the other design & art that was part of the culture of that era.

Also, the espionage genre was a huge thing in the 50s, very evident in books, TV & movies so we wanted to draw on the broader pallete to create a feel that was our own. I started with pulling period reference like mid-century modern architecture, graphic design, film & television title design (such as Saul Bass), as well as the architecture, propaganda of the period. As the tone of the game was playful, we also wanted a graphic style that was fun and edgy that could read well on small displays like the Vita.

"Our protagonist is an Agent for C.O.U.N.T.E.R, an independent spy agency considered a rogue entity by the world’s nations. He is called into action when the world's superpowers embark on a twisted Space Race."

Pramath Parijat: I really like how the camera switches from side scrolling to third person. Can you explain how does it impact gameplay?

Although the game is a side-scroller, we wanted to make full use of the fact that we built the world in 3D. The switch to 3rd person was a way for us to open up the spaces for combat while keeping the controls accessible. It also allows us to convey some cinematic feel for the game, which was another way we could pay homage to the cinematic roots of 50s espionage.

Pramath Parijat: Tell us about the protagonist of the game? How does he get involved and what is his goal?

Our protagonist is an Agent for C.O.U.N.T.E.R, an independent spy agency considered a rogue entity by the world’s nations. He is called into action when the world’s superpowers embark on a twisted Space Race. Instead of trying to put a moon on the moon, they are racing to be first to destroy it with Nuclear Weapons! That seems a bad idea to C.O.U.N.T.E.R so you have to stop them.

Pramath Parijat: Since the game takes place in an alternate history Cold War. What tweaks have you made to the story to accommodate your alternate vision?

We took great pains to fictionalize the world. We wanted people to enjoy the satirical tone and playful style, without too much of the real world Cold War history getting in the way. The Cold War was a pretty grim time in recent history! But it also gave us an amazing run of awesome espionage thrillers, whether books, TV shows or movies.

We wanted to capture that sense of style & fun.
At the same time, we wanted to use the symbolism of 2 opposing forces facing off against each other, blinded by there ideological fear of the other, to have some resonance for people that like a bit of deeper meaning in there videogames.

"We've applied a pretty light touch to the stealth mechanics in CounterSpy. One thing we wanted to avoid, is that feeling when you get spotted, that need to reset the level."

Pramath Parijat: Will the PS4 version run at 1080p and 60fps on the PS4?

We are targeting 60FPS and its running very nicely. It’s really smooth on PS4. We also added a bunch of extra VFX to dress it up. And it runs at 1080p!

Pramath Parijat: Are there plans to support cross buy and cross save across the PS4, PS3 and PS Vita?

Absolutely! The game supports Cross Buy and Cross Save.

Pramath Parijat: How many levels/missions the game has and how many hours it will take to complete all of them?

Hard question to answer. The game uses procedural systems to stitch levels together, so even when you finish and replay, you won’t see the same sequence of rooms and enemies. Also, it’s not a strictly linear game. Your objective is to gather Launch Plans not just go from a to b. Also, even after unlocking the final rocket base, you can keep playing to increase your score!

Pramath Parijat: CounterSpy is a stealth game making enemy AI an important element. What have you learnt from games like Metal Gear Solid and applied to enemy behavior in CounterSpy?

We’ve applied a pretty light touch to the stealth mechanics in CounterSpy. One thing we wanted to avoid, is that feeling when you get spotted, that need to reset the level. In CounterSpy, if you get spotted, you can fight your way out of your immediate situation and when you get into another room the enemies are reset back into stealth mode.

Instead of punishing the player for ‘failing’ at stealth we reward the player with stealth combos. The more you do in a row, the higher the points multiple, and if you don’t care about your high score, pts convert to $$ at the end of the level, which are crucial to buying weapons & ammo.

"As you progress in the game, you find blueprints that complete to unlock weapons. There are also formulas that you also unlock the same way."

Pramath Parijat: Are there any plans to add weapon customization and a skill tree?

As you progress in the game, you find blueprints that complete to unlock weapons. There are also formulas that you also unlock the same way. Formulas act like perks, and are active for the next level. As the game gets progressively tougher, formulas are a critical tool to help you combat the tougher enemies and stop the DEFCON getting too high.

Pramath Parijat: How was it like working on the PlayStation 4? Was the development smooth and silky or did you faced any challenges?

I’ll let John (Our Technical Director) answer this! 🙂

John – Getting CounterSpy running on PS4 was actually pretty smooth! The game was already running well on PS3 and Vita which obviously helps, but the power of the PS4 let us go to the next level. We were able to up the resolution to 1080 while keeping a really good framerate. There is always work involved in supporting a new platform but overall it was way easier than other consoles I’ve worked on.

Pramath Parijat: Is there anything else you want to tell us before we take off?

We hope everyone enjoys the game! It’s our first game together as a studio so we are excited to get it into people’s hands.
Oh also follow us on twitter @dynamighty and check out our tumblr http://dynamighty.tumblr.com/ for some more insight into the process of making the game!

The main objective in each mission is to collect a certain number of nuclear weapon plans from either the Imperialists (USA) or the Socialists (Russia), before exiting the area. The concept of infiltrating both countries in this era is not something you see very often, but it is nice to see a neutral take on the subject matter.

" The concept of infiltrating both countries in this era is not something you see very often, but it is nice to see a neutral take on the subject matter. "

When enemies become aware of your presence, or you die, the defcon level is raised gradually. Level 5 is the lowest level, and it can be raised as far as 0. If the defcon level reaches 0 during a mission, you have 60 seconds to get to the end of the level before the country you infiltrated launches it’s nuclear weapons. If that happens, game over. In theory this gives you a maximum of 5 deaths to complete a level before having to restart completely with a different layout (I’ll get to this later). You must be careful because the defcon level will carry on to the next mission. There are ways to lower the defcon level through formulas and holding up special officer rank enemies, but for the most part the best way to keep this in check is to just not get caught.

Throughout the missions you will collect pieces of weapon blueprints, and chemical formula components. Usually all of the pieces for these will be on the same level, so if you do a bit of exploring you will unlock them in no time.  If you miss a few, its no big deal as they will appear again. The weapons are standard fare for the most part, silenced pistols, tranq guns, assault rifles, shotguns, etc. But the formulas provide unique buffs for the player to take on the next mission. Examples of these include lowering the defcon level, making your movements more silent, or taking less damage from enemies.

As a gamer for almost 20 years, its not often that a game does something I haven’t seen before but Counterspy delivers in that respect. The game uses a dynamic cover system that switches the perspective from a 2D side scrolling view to a 3D aiming perspective. This is useful for hiding from patrolling guards, or engaging them in intense firefights. It isn’t the first 2D sidescroller to allow cover, however the switch in perspective while doing so is an innovative addition to the genre that I hope gets noticed by other developers.

" It isn’t the first 2D sidescroller to allow cover, however the switch in perspective while doing so is an innovative addition to the genre that I hope gets noticed by other developers. "

Although the campaign has a definite start and end, the levels you play to get there are procedurally generated. Layouts, collectables, and enemy locations will change when quitting a mission and coming back later. This adds a certain replayability that a lot of games lack. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a rogue-lite like Spelunky or Rogue Legacy, but the inspiration is definitely there. Think less “random” and more “curated.” As stated above, whenever you get a game over and reenter a mission, the layout will be different as well.

You may notice from the screenshots that Counterspy has a familiar look and tone. This makes sense as the creative director is a former art director of Pixar, working on notable projects such as The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., and Wall-E. Everything from the character designs, to the classic 60s cold war motifs are beautifully realized and consistent.

"I wouldn't go as far as to call it a rogue-lite like Spelunky or Rogue Legacy, but the inspiration is definitely there. Think less “random” and more “curated.” "

Keeping in tradition with Sony’s recent indie titles, the game is cross-buy and cross-save with the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita. Which means that when you buy one version, you automatically get the others. On top of that, your saves will dynamically upload to the cloud and remain the same no matter where you are playing. This is old hat for Vita owners at this point, but the way the game seamlessly does this without having to fiddle around with save settings is fairly new. As usual playing on these other systems will mean a hit in graphical quality, resolution, and framerate but the game holds up either way. Make no mistake though, the best version is on Playstation 4 by far.

Overall Counterspy is a great addition to the Playstation brand, and is hopefully a sign of more new IPs coming down the pipe. If you enjoy classic cold war era spy action, Counterspy is oozing with style and integrity. The enemy AI is a little inconsistent and can cause frustration with the defcon system, and the game is maybe a bit too short, but these things don’t bring down an otherwise great game.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Child of Light, Ubisoft’s gorgeous JRPG built using the UbiArt engine that previously powered Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, released last month on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Steam; now, it will also be getting a release on Sony’s PlayStation Vita, Ubisoft has announced, on July 2nd.

On the same day, the Vita will also get a retail Complete Edition, that will feature the game, in addition to extra content, such as a bonus quest, a new character and a pack of collectibles.

Child of Light is a gorgeous throwback to the past, as it channels the golden age of Japanese role playing games on the SNES and creates a wonderfully compelling and charming modern role playing adventure. We at GamingBolt loved it, and it will probably be an even better fit for Sony’s handheld.

Child of Light is just the first in a line of innovative and imaginative small scale interesting side projects Ubisoft is creating using the UbiArt engine- coming up next is Valiant Hearts, a charming, striking World War I video game that uses the UbiArt powered visuals to great effect.