by Stone Marshall | Jul 4, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Usually, indie games have a habit of performing well on the Nintendo Switch and clearing at least 50,000 copies sold. But Hollow Knight is a special exception, as it’s managed to set an even higher sales record than its predecessors.
The game, which got a surprise release a few weeks ago during Nintendo’s E3 Direct special, has managed to sell over 250,000 copies in its first two weeks of release, according to IGN.
The developers at Team Cherry confirmed the number to the news outlet, making the Metroidvania-style open-world adventure a big hit with fans. And it’s not done yet.
Previously, Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime had noted that the game is “doing exceptionally well” on the platform, but this marks the first time a specific number was given.
But Team Cherry isn’t resting easy, as the company is hard at work on a new patch that will address certain bugs within the game.
Miss out on Hollow Knight during its release? Here’s a breakdown of this amazing game’s features:
Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
Includes all of the new items, areas, characters, and bosses from the currently released free content packs; Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, and Lifeblood. All players will also get access to the final free content pack, Gods and Glory, due later this year!
Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
A haunting, intimate score accompanies the player on their journey, composed by Christopher Larkin. The score echoes the majesty and sadness of a civilisation brought to ruin.
From what we’ve played thus far, the game is a complete blast. And its art style is pretty amazing, going with a simpler hand-drawn design that really complements the Nintendo Switch screen. It’s also wonderful for docked play if that’s your thing.
Hollow Knight is also available for Steam/PC, in case the Switch isn’t your forte.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 3, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Virtual Reality and standard gaming continue to grow, oftentimes together. As the world of VR progresses and carves out its niche in the gaming community, games like Gunheart serve as a middle ground by offering both experiences to all. Gunheart is an incredible online co-op RPG experience that allows players to get up close and personal with the shooter experience. It also offers an interesting mashup for fans of franchises such as Quake, Borderlands, and even other shooters such as Lawbreakers and Halo.
This game combines a little bit of everything from games out now and initially I went into Gunheart thinking it was going to be “just another shooter.” The tutorial right off the bat told me I was wrong on that account, and the dialogue style that would do Vault Hunters from Borderlands proud kept me going. The hodgepodge of shooter blood shouldn't be surprising. The developer team that make up this title is a melting pot of talent from those that worked with Epic Games, as well as others that have Halo and Gears of War under their belt. That also explained some of the more free-style aspects to Gunheart, mechanically there are some subtle inspirations from Microsoft's Halo series, as well as Bungie's Destiny.
Gunheart-enemies
I first tried Gunheart in its standard mode, since many gamers have yet to jump onboard with the VR hype. It played like any other shooter, the controls took a little getting used to with the grappling and the teleportation. That being said, once I got the hang of both of those features – I dominated the playing field. These features made even more sense when I jumped over to try it with the HTC Vive, where the grappling became instantly easier and the teleportation became the way to travel.
VR, especially with games that aim to please both gaming communities, can end up doing a title more harm than good. That's where the team over at Drifter Entertainment did a phenomenal job with a perfect balance executed that made the controls fun, enjoyable, and progressively smooth. Swapping out weapons was incredibly easy, as well as traversing the map areas. That teleportation mentioned earlier? Comes in handy when players get swarmed and need to take high ground quickly. The mechanics just work in this game, letting the simplicity of the graphics make perfect sense and brings the title together in perfect symphony.
Gunheart-bugs
Players have an option to customize “their body,” as the game calls it, though don't expect your avatar to look like you. This was another aspect that reminded me of Borderlands, because the toons look like Zero from the popular series from Gearbox. I was even able to give my character a digital handlebar mustache … which, let's be real, gave the game some major brownie points.
The voice on the other end of comms as I took on “jobs” was also very Borderlands-esque with both the sound and the manner of speech. Badassery is definitely the name of the game and that little voice in the player's ear is meant to pump up the heat against hordes of bug-like creatures. The comedic aspect of the script also helps, because there were just some moments that were just too damn funny, although fleeting. Given the more humorous tones, however, this did keep the game a little more grounded lest it fall too deep into the Arcade-esque pit that a lot of other titles in this same genre tend to trap themselves within.
Gunheart-game-hub
Like many future-driven MMOs, most recently that of Destiny, players are also given certain quests that are definitely more enjoyable in co-op than solo. They are doable, but much more fun with friends. The overall speed of the game seemed to be much more fluid in co-op as well, more of a drive in purpose – though solo play was enjoyable as well. I noticed I lost myself in the game itself much more often when playing with a bud, but completing “jobs” had its own perks as well.
Though Gunheart does offer a sassy experience that is in tune with other beloved games out there, it's not perfect by any means. Nothing major, but enough to make it not everyone's cup of tea. Jumping right into the fray was fun, but nothing immediately stood out about the game as a “hook” until a little further in. It wasn't until I had a few jobs under my belt and saw my “body” evolve a bit more that I started to feel bonded to this particular play experience.
Gunheart-aliens
There were also a few bugs I experienced during my time with the game that would cause something like a bridge toggle not to activate when I needed it to, or the teleport mechanic wouldn't work the way it was supposed to – therefore hurtling me off the edge of a cliff when I had it set in the complete opposite direction. Honestly, though, that's a common issue with VR shooters and one thing that games like Gunheart and others in the genre that toe that Virtual Reality line have to face.
Despite a vast open world and varying environments to explore, the AI system felt repetitive at times. There wasn't enough of a variation when fighting enemies, making fighting the fray and continuing the story at bit monotonous at times. On the other hand, however, that comedic edge mentioned earlier definitely helped with that – so really it just comes down to the individual player as to whether or not that balance between the unbalance is enough to override the slower parts to the game.
Overall though, it was enjoyable. It was more than I was expecting and something I look forward to introducing friends to. It may not be the next Halo or Borderlands, but it's not trying to be and I don't think it has to be. It's a fun experience with flaws, but enough charm to make it a keeper.
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Gunheart is available now on PC.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 3, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Ant-Man and the Wasp debuts soon and we are so excited to see the new villains, the new heroes, and all of the secrets and surprises from the mysterious Quantum Realm. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Douglas are back for the second installment, as well as Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Peña, and new villain Hannah John-Kamen.
The biggest question going into this film is, when does it take place? During Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War? After? Before both? Let’s investigate.
AFTER CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
In the first trailer that debuted, Scott asks Hope if she would have joined him in the film, Captain America: Civl War. His question is laid over scenes from the film, specifically the big airport battle where Scott turned into Giant Man. The choice to cut these scenes into the Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer deliberately lets us know that it takes place after the events of Civil War.
So Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place after the airport scene in Civil War, after Scott, Hawkeye, Falcon and Scarlet Witch were arrested by General Ross and held on the off-shore base. Scott was being held prisoner there, but was set free by Captain America at the end of Civil War. The was the last time we saw Scott Lang and his Ant-Man suit.
Per Black Widow’s line in Avengers: Infinity War, Scott has been on house arrest since those events. Both Ant-Man and Hawkeye cut deals with the US government to go on house arrest for their involvement with Captain America and his violation of the Sokovia Accords.
BEFORE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR?
thanos avengers infinity war feature
In real time, two years will have passed between Captain America: Civil War’s and Avengers Infinity War’s theatrical releases. While Ant-Man and The Wasp technically comes out in theaters after Infinity War, the events of the film must take place between those two years.
According to Black Widow’s house arrest line, Ant-Man and the Wasp could take place during the events of Doctor Strange. It could take place during the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming. It could also take place during the events of Black Panther. That two year time period is vast and Scott could easily still be on technical house arrest when Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place.
One thing is for sure, Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place before Thanos snapped his fingers in Infinity War. A LOT of people disappeared at the end of that film, and we’re pretty sure Ant-Man wasn’t one of them. Hopefully the film answers the timeline question more succinctly, otherwise we may see a lot of dust clouds at the end of the film.
Ant-Man and The Wasp hits theaters on July 6, 2018.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 2, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
With Ant-Man and the Wasp, Marvel has beautifully crafted a hilarious, touching, and inspiring film for families. While this review won’t contain any specific plot spoilers, it will cover the successes of the film, mainly the importance of family, Wasp‘s new role, the remarkably human villain Ghost, and why, out of every film Marvel has ever made, this one feels like the most perfect for families to see together.
FAMILY IS THE FOCUS
It’s rare these days to say something is a family film, especially if its live action and not animated. We’re not really in that golden age of family films anymore and yet here comes Ant-Man and the Wasp, proving that family-oriented adventure stories are indeed alive and well in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Scott Lang‘s bond with his daughter Cassie continues to be a focal point of the Ant-Man film franchise. Scott’s found family with the X-Cons Luis, Dave, and Kurt, and this serves to remind audiences that family can be the friends and co-workers that we choose. Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne’s relentless faith to save Janet van Dyne drives 100 percent of this film. Even Ava/Ghost and her relationship with Bill Foster echoes the importance of adoptive parents. Ant-Man and the Wasp is truly about family, start to finish.
A NEW FEMALE SUPERHERO TAKES FLIGHT
Ant-Man and the Wasp Hope Van Dyne
The post-credits scene in the first Ant-Man revealed Hope’s Wasp suit. It also gave Evangeline Lilly the opportunity to deliver a line that Marvel fans have been waiting to hear: “It’s about damn time.” Time for what exactly? For a female superhero to lead her own film.
Yes, technically Hope shared superhero duties in this film with Scott, but it really was her film. When the film picks up, Scott is on house arrest for aiding Captain America in Germany. Because he was wearing a Pym Tech suit while helping Cap, both Hank and Hope are on the run from the law. They spend their time off the grid building a quantum tunnel into the quantum realm to save Hope’s mom, Janet.
This quest brings out the best in Hope. She gets the wings, she gets the blasters, she gets to wear the suit and fight the bad guys, all in the name of saving her mom. Hope is no sidekick though. In fact, Scott spends most of the movie helping Hope and Hank, instead of vice versa. Hope is given all of the best action in the film, and she handles the superhero role very well.
GHOST IS NOT AN ORDINARY MARVEL VILLAIN
Ant Man And The Wasp Ghost1
One of the best characters in the film is Ava. At first, she seems like an interested third party on the hunt for quantum technology. But, as the audience gets to know her, we discover that she has a deeply personal reason for wanted to absorb quantum realm energy. It’s not for world domination or for some major quest — it’s personal.
IS ANT-MAN AND THE WASP GOOD?
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Ant-Man and the Wasp is great! Over the last few years since the first film, both And-Man and the Wasp have become very precious characters in the MCU. Hope’s quest to find Janet will require everything from her — a rare sacrifice in large tent-pole films like this.
The film maintains the humor of the first film without repeating any specific jokes. Luis steals the film, again, and the supporting cast brings home the humor while maintaining the fun! It’s a beautiful family film that ends on a very warm note.
Ant-Man and the Wasp opens in theaters on July 6, 2018.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 2, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Scott Lang is lovable in spite of all of his flaws, but no one’s going to accuse the Ant-Man of having his life together any time soon. It’s a miracle that he can even tie his shoes without Hope van Dyne, but, lucky for Scott, she remains in his corner (mostly). Don’t take any of that as a shot on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s favorite gone-straight criminal, there are plenty of superheroes, just like Ant-Man, who would be nothing without the women who support them.
With Ant-Man and the Wasp buzzing into theaters next week, let’s take a look at eight superheroes who are strengthened, supported, and improved by the women in their lives:
IRON MAN AND PEPPER POTTS
Whether it’s in the comics or on screen, in a relationship or merely partners, Tony Stark is nothing without Pepper Potts. Billionaire, genius, playboy philanthropist he may be, but not knowing your own social security number is a little bit more restrictive than one might think. It’s not all Tony’s fault, Howard couldn’t function on his own either, but that’s what Jarvis and Peggy were for. As hopeless as he may be, let’s call it a good thing that Tony’s found his soul mate in the saint that is Virginia “Pepper” Potts.
SUPERMAN AND LOIS LANE
Lois and Clark are the quintessential comic book ship. Even when Superman ends up in other pairings for one reason or another, it always comes back to one woman: Lois Lane. Lois doesn’t give Superman his powers. She can’t stop bullets, or run faster than a train, but she is a huge part of Clark Kent’s most important power: his humanity. The Man of Steel might be able to snatch a plane out of the air, but he’s nothing without his ace reporter.
THE GREEN ARROW AND FELICITY SMOAK/DINAH LANCE
Good old Oliver Queen has all the charm in the world and could split a strand of hair with that bow and arrow of his. He also happens to be a mess and a half without the women in his life. Dinah Lance is the perfect companion for Ollie’s comic book antics, falling in step with his swagger and having absolutely none of his nonsense. Television’s Oliver Queen might be a few shades darker than his comic book counterpart, but his sometimes agonizingly slow progress wouldn’t have even started without Felicity Smoak.
ZAN AND JAYNA
It’s impossible to have a list of male heroes who can’t function without their female counterparts without including the Wonder Twins. Their powers literally don’t activate without each other! Jayna needs Zan for her powers as well, but with Zan only able to become objects or substances, his super sister is still critical to his functionality as a hero.
THE HUMAN TORCH AND THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
Despite his occasional efforts to act otherwise, Johnny Storm is a hero. Each member of the Fantastic Four makes the team work, but no one has pushed Johnny harder than his sister, Sue. She’s calm in all the ways that he’s rash, and in turn he helps her take risks that she might not have every now and again. Like the Wonder Twins, this sibling superhero pair compliments each other nicely, but it feels safe to say that Johnny wouldn’t be the hero he is without Sue Storm.
HAWKMAN AND HAWKGIRL
If there’s one thing Hawkman makes abundantly clear, it’s that he can’t survive without Hawkgirl. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are literally linked across time and space through the power of mutual resurrection. On Legends of Tomorrow, their relationship was less than healthy, but once Hawkgirl started to get her memories back things got a little less pushy on Hawkman’s part.
SPIDER-MAN AND AUNT MAY
They say behind every good man is the woman that raised him. That phrase couldn’t be more right when it comes to Peter Parker and his Aunt May. Uncle Ben might have been the one to bestow the knowledge of great responsibility to Pete, but it was May who had to keep on living and raising a teenager who was still trying to figure out how to deal with being a superhero.
MON-EL AND SUPERGIRL
Kara Zor-El might have been a touch discriminatory towards Mon-El because of his Daxamite heritage when the two first met, but eventually they overcame their families’ prejudices and found themselves in a pseudo-relationship. When Mon-El returned from the future, he was hero who had realized that he needed to use his powers for good. This was all because of Supergirl’s influence. He founded the Legion of Superheroes in her memory, making her the reason Mon-El became the hero she knew he could be.
All of this is to say that Scott Lang, lovable mess, isn’t alone in his need for a smart woman to help him out every once in a while. All of these incredible heroes acknowledge that there’s no shame in that either. Just another trait they all share that helps make them incredible.
by Stone Marshall | Jul 1, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized |
Funny things happen when you start attaching real-world value to in-game play. It’s a concept being explored by MEGO Games, a Chilean outfit specialising in integrating Bitcoin directly into games.
Earning cryptocurrency while you play is a relatively new concept. But very quickly, multiple versions of this idea have been realised. We covered cryptos in gaming and esports a while back in this guide:
GAMES
A Guide to Gaming and Esports Cryptocurrencies
JEREMY RAY Feb 9
While your computer is playing basic games like Minecraft, it’s not using its hardware to its full capacity. In fact, games rarely do these days. Workstation tasks like video editing and transcoding are needed to really push hardware.
So while it’s not doing much, it may as well be mining Bitcoin, right?
That’s the philosophy behind many of these systems. With Minecraft, the similarities are obvious. You mine in-game, and you’re effectively mining in the real world.
MEGO takes a bit of a different approach, however. Its server is funded through a combination of donations, sponsorships, and in-house mining. The results on player behaviour are surprising.
EMERALDS FOR NOTHIN’, BITS FOR FREE
Cristian Gonzalez is the CEO of MEGO Games. Since 2014, he’s been running a public Minecraft server called BitQuest, and observing the results of letting players mine real-world value in the game.
To create an in-game economy, he valued one bit (the equivalent of one millionth of a Bitcoin) to equal one of Minecraft‘s emeralds. Crucial to creating an even playing field, deposits of Bitcoin weren’t allowed — but withdrawals were.
MEGO is now onto its new project, Hammercoin, which is an RPG built from the ground up with Bitcoin as its currency. But not before learning a few lessons from the BitQuest project.
According to Gonzalez, venturing into the Nether zone on his Minecraft server became quite rare. Dying in the Nether leaves all of your items there for a while. All of a sudden, people had something to lose. The materials in this dangerous area became exceedingly valuable.
“Demand was created from people afraid to go into the Nether zone,” he said.
Not only did the economy change due to the new rarity of materials, some players were acting like it wasn’t a game at all. With a solid connection between in-game labour and real-world value, people started refusing to help others unless they were paid.
“If someone wanted to build a tower, they would pay other people to help build it,” said Gonzalez. “Whereas before, they might have just done it.”
Because that’s kind of what people are there to do anyway. That’s Minecraft.
IT’S A GAMBLE
Of course, it was only a matter of time for gambling to come into play.
“You can ride horses in the game, so people would collect money together into a big prize pool, and race the horses,” according to Gonzalez. “The winner of the race would get the pool.”
Though the players seemed to stop short of gambling amongst the spectators on who would win.
Unsurprisingly, Gonzalez sees the whole experiment as a fundamental shift in how games will be played. But as the head of a gaming cryptocurrency, he’s paid to think that way.
Minecraft pirate bay
“I see it as this situation in which Pay to Win has become Win to Pay,” he told us.
Certainly it’s an interesting time, when you can actually gain value for playing a game — like one of those ridiculous “Earn money while playing!” spam ads. Undoubtedly the majority of these platforms will be faring a lot better than you, as they use your graphics card’s cycles to mine away. But BitQuest, which has recently released its 2.0, seems to be more experiment than cash cow.
Either way, it doesn’t make the change in player behaviors any less interesting. And it’s surely just the beginning.
