Games, X35 Earthwalker, Page 2

Downloadable content is pretty much popular and everywhere now. All the biggest games and even the mobile games have DLC. Gamers have something to say about this. In fact, gamers have a lot to say and some youtubers are very vocal about it. We at X35 Earthwalker have our own views concerning DLC and have seen the effect of some DLC in certain games. We will also deal with microtransactions as well, as to us we consider them the same thing pretty much but aware of the differences.

Downloadable content is basically additional content for the game that you can download and attach to your game bringing either new characters, skins, weapons, map/levels etc. Some DLC are whole new sections of the game. So straight away DLC allows us get extra, new cool stuff. Now some DLC are free while others cost money. This presents the first problem. There are some cool stuff that becomes available in the game markets but not everyone can get them due to finances. Now we don’t have a problem with that and honestly, no one should. It’s like if you see a nice new chair in the furniture shop and it costs £99, you can only get it if you have the money. If you don’t then come back another time and that’s fair. So price isn’t the issue in most cases.

Some games like Halo 5 and Gears of war 4 have a system in place where you can earn in game currency like credits which can be used to purchase packs to get new items or skins (Gears of war) etc. Now one problem with Gears of war 4 is that the amount of credits you gain per match is very low like 70-80, so if you want to get those 2000 credit packs then you will need to grind quite a bit to get those. This makes it clear that using real money is the better way to go. They need to increase the amount of credits earned. Now many gamers say no micro and DLC but we must understand that video games is also a business and developers want to make money as well. Off course they are going to release new stuff and yes that new stuff takes time and work to make, so putting a price tag on it isn’t wrong. We have to look at it from both sides: the gamers and the developers. It’s only fair. Just don’t release the games true ending in a charged DLC or release single player co-op as charged DLC or anything that should have been in the game from when it was released otherwise you won’t get a pence or dime from us at X35 Earthwalker. Release full games.

Gears of war 4 has a real problem though and we are sure it’s the same with other games as well. At times certain packs will come out with some cool new content but for a limited amount of time. These packs are completely random in their content and never guarantee a new card. You could get doubles, triples and more. So you may get 10 packs not get the legendary new character. People like X35 Earthwalker who has a business to run, other projects and things like see family don’t have time to sit in front of the T.V grinding matches for 8 hours straight. Not in a rude way but some of us are gamers but have a life. We have to be somewhere and do certain things. This isn’t a problem for youtubers as they can sit there and record all their matches and that counts as work for them because it’s what they do. So if we don’t have the time and can only get 1/3 of the pack contents then the only way to get more is to resort to real money which will turn out to be expensive. So it isn’t fair for those who don’t have extra cash at hand.

The contents of the packs make all the difference. If it is just cosmetic as in skins and designs of weapons then it’s less of a problem even though it would be nice to still get them. When the contents are powerful weapons, stats boosters, speeds up processes or new characters with new abilities then it becomes a problem. You have some gamers who have £400 at the ready to spend to get all the skins, weapons and whatever. While some use their mums credit card (do not do that. Seriously Don’t) and instantly upgrade their headquarters up to max level in Boom beach etc and rule the map destroying everyone else is a problem. Halo Wars 2, sadly,suffers from this problem in the blitz game mode. If you get multiple of a certain card they help level up that ability or unit increasing their damage, armour and health. You can get cards from packs that you can unlock but also buy. So what happens if a level 5 tank goes up against a level 2 tank? The answer is that level 2 tank gets destroyed easily. I have seen a max level tank take on and beat 3 cyclops who are anti vehicle units. Now that’s a problem. The bottom line not every gamer has cash like that ready because some pay rent and live by ourselves or whatever the reason. This however; doesn’t mean the ones with more money are in the wrong. If you have the cash and you want to spend it on games and extra packs then go ahead, there’s nothing wrong with that and no one should blame for it but developers need to take into account that certain features can cause problems.

There isn’t really much more to say concerning this matter. If you have the cash to get certain things then why not. If you don’t have it then just forget about it and play to have fun, you will gain the in game currency over time. For DLC like extensions to the game like what Destiny had (The taken king), contain some real awesome stuff like the swords and whole new levels and missions. X35 Earthwalker at the time didn’t have the money for it so he ignored it and to this day he hasn’t bothered with it at all. Games that release as bare boned but bring out, what should have been in the game in the beginning, as DLC are in the wrong. That’s just crooks after our cash. A fully complete game with all it’s stuff brining out DLC is not a issue. Overall DLC and microtransactions (we consider them the same) are a good thing. Good but need to be used right. DLC brings in new stuff that adds more to the experience and fun (at times) and allows you to get new things but when certain items like packs grant an actual advantage to certain gamers then there is a problem. So yes, we should have DLC & micro but they must be done fairly and properly to give all gamers to some extent an equal chance.

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Bomberman live Battlefest is absolutely crazy. A lot of people have not heard of this game and that’s a shame as it’s something every Bomberman fan should have. Matter of fact this game is in our top 3 Bomberman games of all time. There is no story mode to this game. It’s all good ol fashion bomb blasting multiplayer. This game is the sequel to the successful ‘Bomberman live’. This game is an improvement in every way, literally… except for one thing. The main menu music in the sequel is not as good as the previous game. That’s it though. Seriously, the menu music in Bomber live’ made us want to jam along with the Bomberman and swing our arms in synchronized style.

There are lots of stages to battle on. You can choose from a pier level, castle level, laser grid like level, volcano, desert, a tropical beach level and more. What’s better is that each level has a gimmick now which changes everything. It’s basically a special condition that stage alone has. For example the pier level’s gimmick is that the stage is no longer a traditional layout but split into 3-4 sections by gaps over water and you can only cross by bridges; however bomb blasts travel across gaps adding more things for players to remember and think about when battling it out. The castle level’s gimmick is that from time to time, a strong wind will blow across the battlefield from top to bottom, blowing out the fuse of all planted bombs, meaning they won’t blow up but can still be set off by other bombs. Crazy stuff like that. So if you are good enough, take the game to the next level with gimmicks. At times it makes things unpredictable and fun.

There is a lot of game types to play. Battle is the classic Bomberman mode we all know and love, where you have to be the last player standing by blowing up your enemies. Paint bomb, where you must use your bombs to change the floor tiles to your colour and be the player who has the most coloured tiles on the battlefield. Capture the crown, where you must grab the crown and hold it for as long as possible and if someone else has it then do what bombermen do best and blow them up to get it. Bankroll, which is the same as ‘battle’ except each player can collect money found in blocks, which can be used to purchase power ups at the start of each round. Then there are the team based game types as well like ‘capture the flag’ where your team must steal the enemies flag and bring it back to your own base. VIP, where each team has a very important person which you must protect at all times. If they die then your team loses. With all these modes, you could do all kinds of things like no gimmicks straight up skill matches, tournaments, team matches and more.

Battlefest truly is a battlefest as the game has more power ups than ever before. The traditional power ups like power bomb, piercing bomb (which is now called passer or pasture bomb, not sure), bomb kick, remote control bomb and power glove are all here but the bunch of new ones are what really shakes things up. Laser bomb is basically a laser trip wire bomb where the lasers reach all the way until hitting a solid surface and anyone who touches the line will set of the bomb. Cluster bomb, which explodes and releases three more bombs which all will explode in a certain pattern, making this bomb dangerous to enemies and if not careful the user as well. Rocket bomb is a rocket that flies in the direction the user was the facing when deployed and anyone in the way is stunned briefly but when it hits something solid it explodes like a regular bomb. Dangerous bomb is pretty much the most feared bomb as it explodes in a grid, not lines, and when bomb blast range is maximized these bombs cover almost half the battlefield! We know, it’s crazy! ‘Double it’ basically allows you to place a second bomb of whatever special bomb you have like rocket, cluster, laser and dangerous bomb. We have seen what horrors two maxed out dangerous bombs can do. It leaves nothing behind.

If that wasn’t enough the game also steps up the character customisation. There are more costumes available and you can mix up the head, face and body. So you can end up with a bear face, bee antennas and samurai armour body if you want. As you play, golden octagonal objects will appear, get them to unlock new items for customisation. Online multiplayer is still there; however single player is more entertaining a snow the bots are actually a challenge. When you set them to hard mode, they actually become a threat. They chase you down, mercilessly, set traps and dodge bombs very well. Fighting them will keep you busy, while fighting three at once is super hard. If you though 3 was bad then imagine facing 4. That’s right. Bomberman battlefest allows up to 8 players at once! You could put yourself on one team and then take on 4 hard mode bots and believe me, victory isn’t certain at all, or jump into a 8 way free for all and see who is king.

Bomberbattlefest live is awesome. This game is great for fun online matches and better for 4 player local play. This game has been out for 6 years I believe and it’s still bringing great entertainment and fun. You have no idea how many times we have laughed at our own silly deaths in this game. The developers ‘Pi Studios’ did a fantastic job. Try the very generous demo and see what you think.

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DLC. Good or bad. Should we have it?

Bomberman battlefest is the bomb