Fuck it.

When it comes to strategy RPG games I’m all about the balance of grand and small scale. Grand on the RPG small on the strat or the other way around.  Grand on a few aspects of character building and combat, small on amount of chaotic events that occur and depth of story. This is all hugely personal preference. From the several hours of the prologue chapter alone in King Arthur II, I am not finding the balance. Everything seems cranked to the epic setting on the dial. This usually puts me off of a RTS-centric game, but in this case I think I’ve found myself on the other end of the interest-ravine. I never even knew there was something fun over here. Like the first time I took part in a 500 vs 500 deciding battle in Mount & Blade. Something indescribably refreshing about it. The grandeur blended with the depth and breadth of possibilities. Its electric.

The story being read and voiced like an epic novel. The world being as grim as the very subject contained within. The grand beauty of commanding the waltz of battle. I enjoyed all of this in the first iteration, but this has my jaw on the floor for how much effort was put in to making this IP into the game it truly deserved to be. Leaps and bounds, not just a skip and a jump like most titles ending with a numeric sequence attached. I find myself torn. I’m coming to a stage in my life where just hardcore burning any game is something I can’t just do. I have games I play with friends. I have the webcomic to write/draw/maintain. King Arthur II is begging me to forget all of that and explore its splendor. A promise of things I couldn’t even imagine.

Basically, I’m saying people should check this out. I will say this, it can be a challenge at times. I, and most everyone here at HH, are from an era where games kicked the shit out of you. You’d power your system on and let it take the boots to you, medium style. And you loved every second of it. King Arthur II feels like I could love getting my ass kicked by it, so its almost nostalgic, but with a pretty enough face that you know what year it is. If you think you’re up for the challenge, then dawn your armor and lead your legion to victory.

Because Andyb0y says we should give it a try…

8 out of Box Of Puppies

Links to stuff – King Arthur II

Finally we do a Skype call for a change on this episode of HeroCast. With Andy being intoxicated, Kimerex and Harlock have to endure the slow speech and blabbering to talk about SOPA/PIPA and the media blackout day, Resident Evil Revelations 3DS demo limit, Resident Evil 6 announced and a good amount of random for you to enjoy.

Direct Link | Subscribe | iTunes

Feedback can be emailed to Heroes@HandheldHeroes.net or by leaving a comment below.
Don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes!

Closing music – Martyrial Girl$ by Gym Class Heroes

So I’ve only had a little experience with the Tribes IP. LAN parties with friends tended to be my only inlet to the Tribes universe. The experience wasn’t groundbreaking for me. Nothing in the realm of life changing. But in a way that was refreshing. It didn’t feel like it was trying to “fake” being something it wasn’t. It was a multiplayer fps. All the basic strategy tropes. A little team play elements sprinkled in. A tranquil simplicity for something that, when you add players, becomes chaos on canvas. So when my email lit up with a beta invite I had to see if the game retained any of that original flavor.

Flashy graphics? Latest in light mapping technology? Visuals so real you will actually believe you are there? Why would that matter here? I feel Hi-Rez kept to finding the beauty in simplicity so far. A few hints here and there of some nice visual flair, but nothing over-done. When it comes to gameplay, there has been some tweaks that I need to delve further into though. Perks and a pre-made class system to be exact. I have some worries about these things as they tend to deter new players if done improperly. So far, with a K/D ratio well into the positives, I’ve yet to see these things as a plausible issue.

Definitely one to check out. The beta is still ongoing and you can sign up for it here. If you don’t get in, the release will still be a free-to-play set up. And one more thing. Props to Hi-Rez for avoiding my biggest pet peeve in fps gaming today. Lack of a personal character model that you can both see and have cast a shadow. I applaud you all.

Hits and misses really. I feel that SOE’s basic idea on the in game marketplace is well founded. Nothing in the market that really breaks the game. Nothing stat altering or anything. The f2p players are able to see all the original release content and are able to purchase the DLC that lets them into the large chunks of new content. If, like me, you decide to pay for the service, you get everything you always had since the beginning. No real issues there. The que priorities put paying customers ahead of free-loaders in terms of entering the server. They combined all server into one, which I am a huge fan of. The game can take the extra bodies, and the phasing system keeps the shards from getting to congested, but you can still play side by side with your friends. I can level in the PVE server to move quickly then switch to PVP when I’m leveled with a basic amount of gear. The overhaul of the combat system since last I played really worked out. Combat feels really smooth, despite people on forums griping like hell over people who seem to be hacking. And that is the one thing I didn’t like that was still around since the last time I played.

Forum trolls. Despite at the time of writing this there being between 5,000 and 6,000 people playing through Steam alone right now, there are still people who sit in several forum sites and non-stop trash talk a game that they obviously know nothing about. And since f2p went up, it hasn’t slowed down. The truly weird part in all of this is that no one notices that all the complaints seem to be coming from the same small group of people. There is never anyone coming forward to put down any of the falsehoods perpetrated by these people either. Its like all the players who are loving it have a “don’t feed the trolls” policy. It makes it very hard to find any legitimate information without having to dig through hours of nonsense.

As of today the latest major DLC release “Lightning Strikes” has come out. I plan on working towards testing it out. Kind of disappointed that the new city added seems not as intricate as I thought, but until I get the gear to get in, I won’t know for sure. Hopefully my lazy ass friends get their shit together and help me kick the crap out of some heroes.

A changing of the guard has taken place. Capullo has moved on to DC’s Batman and has left Haunt in the hands of a team I haven’t heard of before. This is most likely due to my over-zealous focus on only a few names in the industry, but this still had me worried going in. Would the overall feel change? Would a new art direction break the concept all together? Will I find myself hoping that Capullo & Glapion will take it upon themselves to juggle to major release titles? None of those things. I find that I’m more pissed that the new team nailed exactly what I wanted our site’s webcomic to look like and kept it epic. Damn people doing what I want well before my apathy wears off.

I’ve been spending weeks trying to figure out an art direction for this site’s comic. I was stumbling closer and closer to getting something together, never quite there but always hoping for that breakthrough. Then WHAM! I finally get out to the local shop and see that Nathan Fox and his equally as skilled colorist FCO Plascencia had figured everything out and nailed it first time through. Beyond the great new visuals I’ve also noticed that the story has picked up pace, drastically. Props to Joe Casey on giving Haunt an edge I had been waiting for ever since his fight with the The Apparition. After a quick moment of foreshadowing I was introduced to a group I had yet to see in the series (started with the 2nd trade book. Really pissed at myself for this). Then I was given a bunch of WHAT THE FUCK moments that now has me yearning to read the next issue. In all of the Haunt series that I’ve been privileged enough to check out, #19 is now my hook that will have me certainly coming back for more.

Can’t wait to pick up #20. I feel so reinvigorated. If it weren’t 3 in the morning I would put several more hours into my lore books. *grumble grumble

Max Payne 3
12/01/2011

Having grown up with the iconic shooters I’m curious to see where Rockstar is taking Max. The gritty neo-noir action of the first two games (especially the sequel) kept me guessing and gunning down baddies all the way through my adolescence and the mouse pad included with the original game still has a place on my desk so that every day I’m reminded of the good old days I had with this game. Rockstar’s brilliant track record assures me that the franchise is in good hands, even when Max’s new look gets me a little apprehensive. I’ve purposefully stayed away from newer trailers and clips so that when the game finally does arrive I can drink it all in and see exactly what I’m in for. December can’t come soon enough!

Mass Effect 3
03/06/2012

The wait for the finale to one of my absolute favorite Western RPG series seems to get further and further away. After my last scuffle with the Reapers (complete with air quotes) I’ve been salivating over every piece of new info, the promise of cooperative play, and the new additions to my squad. Mass Effect 3 is just over the horizon, and when it finally drops I’m pretty sure all work that week is about to be shirked. Can BioWare deliver the explosive ending we’re all waiting for? The answer is likely a resounding yes. Too bad the grand reveal is still months away. You can bet I’ll be waiting with bated breath.

Aliens: Colonial Marines
Spring 2012

Ever since I walked into the demo being performed by Randy Pitchford at E3, Aliens: Colonial Marines has been at the top of my must-play list. As a longtime fan of the franchise it warmed the cockles of my heart to see such a faithful tale woven with so many elements of the original movies. Though I didn’t actually get any hands-on time with the game, it absolutely wowed me. I’m hoping plenty of care is taken so that this potential blockbuster avoids the pitfalls that befell the previous Aliens game. I mean, it’s been years since this game was announced. It’s finally time to see it come to fruition. And you can bet I’m gonna snag it on day one.

What new releases are you foaming at the mouth for?