#and the stickers you can put on your mech of past characters in no way overshadows that

[vaugarde]

its so funny being a pokemon and kirby fan bc of fanservice like pokemon fans will bite and growl when gen 1 gets preferential treatment over and over again while kirby fans hear green greens remastered for the 60th time and collectively shout with joy

[cddump]

Again (Sitting five. 2031 words.)

An awkward silence passed through the hallway for what felt like hours.

“Um,” Casper started, “so I–” “I don’t believe this!” The girl yelled out.

“This is the guy you were telling me about?” Gary the security guard asked.

“Yes! He’s the one! He knocked my new stash over when I was walking out of the store and saw the middle fold with my husbandos!”

“Your…what?”

“Her husbandos, man!” Gary slammed two open palms against his desk as he stood. “The very essence of this young girl’s love has been violated by your intrusive and peering eyes.” “Her love? Are those guys in the magazines drawn versions of real people?” “They’re called doujins!” Ash cried back, “and no,they’re not ‘real people!’ I’m not interested in three dimensional, pig disgusting men!” Casper blinked. What the fuck was she talking about? Did people like this actually exist? “Am…Am I being pranked?” He asked hopelessly.

“A normie like you wouldn’t understand.” “Tell her, girl!” the security egged her on while he pumped a fist into the air. Casper raised his hand in front of him in protest before things got out of hand.

“Hold on. If I’m a 'normie,’ then what are you?”

“I’m a N.E.E.T.!” She answered triumphantly.

“A…what?” “A N.E.E.T.! You know, No Experience, Education, or Training.” “Oh. So you’re a weeaboo loser.” Both Ashwini and Gary winced, as if Casper had thrown a punch to their arm. “…Are you the same, mister security guard?” Gary only nodded.

“Th-that’s a damn rude way of putting it!” Ash yelled.

“Yeah, bro. That was a hella low blow!”

“You owe us an apology!” “Sorry,” Casper said simply.

“At least try and pretend that you mean it!” Casper sighed in his usual tired irritation as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn’t know what time he fell asleep last night, but the fact that it was on the roof while sitting on a folding chair did him no favors. His back was aching and it felt as if he hadn’t slept a wink. He wanted to lay down, far away from the loud chaos these two brought.

“I’m sorry,” Casper repeated.

“Is that all you have to say for–” “Do you want me to fucking bow?!” he snapped. Casper’s sudden comment caused the girl to wince again, but this was far different from last time. Back then she had almost taken it as a joke, as if a friend were teasing her. Now her shocked stance held anxious fear. Casper could see Gary’s body language was different as well. He was leaned forward, ready to dart out of his chair at a moment’s notice. “I-I’m sorry.” Casper ran his fingers through his hair nervously. They landed at the back of his neck where he rubbed his hand against it. “I’m tired. And I haven’t slept well the past few days. I’ve only been awake for a few minutes and haven’t fully settled in yet. I haven’t even been here a full day, after all. I’m…I’m not usually like that. You see, I have…” Casper trailed off. He wasn’t about to tell them he had insomnia. He wasn’t going to let himself use it as an excuse for his shitty behavior. “…Nevermind. Can I sign those papers? I’ll get out of your hair after.” Gary eased himself back into his chair and pulled three documents from his drawer.

“Sign down here, at the bottom of the pages,” he said. Casper nodded as he pulled the papers from the open slot on the bottom of the glass. “Hold on, I’ll grab you a pen.”

“I got one,” Casper told him. He always had a pen and a small sketchpad on him. Both were tiny in comparison to their normal counterparts, but they worked whenever inspiration struck him. He clicked the top of the small pen and scribbled his signature on the papers, one after the other.

“I’ll get these to Chandra. Thanks.” Casper nodded.

“Sorry again. I…just need time.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Though Gary’s words were forgiving, his tone was not. Dear diary: day two and I’ve already fucked up and burned a bridge.

“Um. Casper?” Ash asked. Make that two bridges. And to top it off, she was the daughter of the landlord. Great going, Casp. “About your pen…” Casper held his pen out. He had gotten so used to it, he had forgotten it was a pen made for a convention he had attended last year. He had his own table to sell merchandise, including the small pen which had various images of his characters from his comics.

“Oh,” he yawned, “these guys are from a webcomic.” “Animals Deluxe! I knew it! Do you read it?!” He blinked. Maybe he could use this to win back some points he had lost from his outburst earlier.

“I’m the creator,” he said. It was rare he got to meet anyone in the real world who knew of his work, but in the span of 24 hours he had encountered three people who knew of his comic.

“Bullshit!” Ash and Gary said at the same time.

“Do you read it too?” Casper asked Gary.

“Never heard of it, but that sounds like a lie.”

“Okay,” Casper pulled out his phone and opened his pictures before showing the screen the to both of them. “This is me at my table during Emerald City Expo. This same picture was featured on my site for a while too.” The picture was a simple one where he and a male fan stood next to each other in front of a table filled with merchandise for his comic. They both smiled broadly and held their hands out in the peace sign. Casper’s eyes still had dark circles under them, even back then.

“No way!” Ash cried out. “That’s awesome! Have you thought about incorporating a more Eastern style into your artwork?” “…You know, it’s always nice to meet a fan, but I think that’s the first time someone’s suggested something like that right out of the gate.”

“I just think the animals would look better in a chibi style.” Casper brought a hand under his chin.

“I did that once for some stickers, actually. It wasn’t too bad but I wouldn’t want to incorporate it entirely into my comic. The sudden shift would be strange as well.” He rubbed his eyes. “Listen, I’m gonna try and get some sleep. I feel like I haven’t gotten any all night.”

“Wait up a sec, before you go, can I show you something?”

An elevator ride and a short walk later found Casper in front of Ash’s apartment door.

“Should I be worried?” He asked. “Why?” She taunted, “Don’t tell me you’ve never been in a girl’s room before?”

“This feels like the start of a horror movie. Like the room is going to be covered in plastic wrap from carpet to ceiling, Dexter style. Then I wander in, confused and Gary jumps out from behind the sofa with a baseball bat with nails in it, swinging at me. Then you two eat my body and bleach out any blood that got on the wrapping and furniture.” Ash stared at Casper, shocked.

“Wh…what kind of comics do you draw again?”

“I had a phase where I wanted to work with more thrilling genres.”

“You uh, have the imagination for it. I think.” Ash opened the door to her apartment, but the inside was mostly dark, causing Casper to take a step back.

“Holy shit, you really are going to kill me!”

“That’s right! Stabby stabby!” Ash jabbed Casper in the back with her index and middle finger which made him yell out in a high pitched, hollow cry as he jumped against the wall next to the door, completely caught off guard. It wasn’t until he heard Ash laughing did he finally calm down. She had bent over, holding on to her knees for support. “I’m sorry! I’ve never heard a guy make a noise like that before!”

“I’m going to bed,” Casper huffed as he turned around.

“No wait come back!” She grabbed his shoulder just before he started to walk away. “There really is something I want to show you! Come on! Pleeeeaaaaase?” The face Ash was giving him reminded him of his sister’s best friend.

“Fine, fine. What is it?” “A surprise. Come on in. Lemme turn on the lights.” The beige walls were plastered with various posters of different animated shows and movies. A large TV sat on a table opposite the door, with a tall shelf showcasing various different anime figures, most of which were women with different hair colors and large robots. Casper pointed to the largest poster he could see. It showed a red headed girl in a black bikini sitting on the arm of a large mech with a younger boy standing above her.

“I’m noticing the pattern that most of these women aren’t wearing a lot of clothing.”

“Yeah don’t worry about that. Come on, it’s in my bedroom.” Casper raised an eyebrow, remembering the 'yaoi husbando’ nonsense he had experienced downstairs.

“…What kind of anime are you into again?”

“Don’t be weird, come on.” He wanted to turn around and run back to his apartment. Just because she wasn’t going to kill him didn’t mean he was completely home free. He should have brought a witness, like Alex. He was weird as hell but wouldn’t let her try anything funny with him. Hell, he’d probably say anime was a Japanese propaganda tool laced with subliminal messages. Casper mentally shook his head and steeled himself as he followed the otaku to her room. It was definitely bigger than the master bedroom in his own apartment, and she had used the extra space to store her computer on one side of the room, her bed in the middle, and another television on the other wall. Just like the living room, the walls had posters all around, but they were less prominent here. The bed itself was surprisingly normal as well. Casper fully expected the bedspread to have images sewed into it as well, like children comforters did. Without an explanation, Ash had turned on the television and was fiddling with different on-screen menus.

“So what were you gonna show me?”

“Let me find it real quick, hang on.”

“Find it? You’re basically channel surfing. …Wait, did you bring me up her to make me watch anime?” “Uh-huh! There’s a series that’s similar to your comic that might help―Wait don’t leave!” Casper had turned around and was already making his way back to the living room.

“Look, I’m tired, alright? I have…sleeping issues.”

“Okay, I get that, but come on! Just one episode? Please?!” Casper sighed for what felt like the 50th time.

“Can I ask you something?” “Huh?” “Why aren’t you pissed at me? I acted really shitty to you and Gary down there. If it were me, I would have thrown a fit back.”

“Dude, look at this place,” Ash threw her arms open, showing off her living quarters, “Do you think this is normal? It’s like, dysfunctional or something. I can’t just walk down the street and ask them what kind of hentai they’re into, you know? I never give off the best first impressions, so I can’t be mad if the guy that just moved here got irritated at the overbearing weeb.”

Casper laughed. “You really did make a crappy first impression back at the book store.” “The book―aw damn it I had forgotten about that. I pushed it out of my memory.” Tiredness forced Casper to rub his eyes again.

“So how long’s an episode, then?” “They’re split into two separate 10 minute stories per episode, so about 20ish if we skip the opening.” “Let’s skip the opening, then,” he told her as he sat against her bed.

[entergamingxp]

fun fighting let down by a bare-bones launch • Eurogamer.net

Bleeding Edge poses a question I hadn’t considered before: what if the combat from Devil May Cry met Overwatch? A modestly-sized development team at Ninja Theory, spearheaded by DmC Devil May Cry combat designer Rahni Tucker, has worked for the past four years to come up with an answer. The result is a mixed bag. Bleeding Edge is, fundamentally, a fun experience, but it is a tad bland. And this launch on Xbox One and PC feels bare-bones, to put it lightly.

Bleeding Edge

Developer: Ninja Theory

Publisher: Xbox Game Studios

Platform: Reviewed on PC

Availability: Out now on Xbox One and PC

Here’s the setup: two teams of four work together to knock lumps out of each other while fighting for control points or, in the second of the two available game modes, energy canisters. There are 11 characters at launch, categorised into one of three roles: damage, support or tank, and already just two days after Bleeding Edge’s release that doesn’t feel like enough. The diverse roster of augmented heroes (augmentation is a theme, here) is made up of a few Overwatch-alikes and a handful of really quite impressive designs, all drenched in a sort of Borderlands meets ’90s sci-fi aesthetic that rekindles memories of hazy summers spent listening to Garbage. One of the characters is called Zero Cool, a nod to Jonny Lee Miller’s character of the same name from that most wonderfully crap mid-90s cyber thriller, Hackers.

I find myself gravitating towards a few of the characters in particular, the ones that work a little differently to the rank and file. Maeve is a granny (you don’t see many older women in video games – nice one Ninja Theory!) from Wicklow, Ireland, who is a cyber witch ranged assassin who rides a hovering bauble. The trick with Maeve is to perfectly time her traps and land killing blows, the latter of which resets her abilities. Struggle with this and Maeve’s a lightweight. But if you can dip in and out of combat, snatching last hit after last hit, she’s a beast.

On the support side, I enjoy playing as Kulev, who is – and stick with me here – a Voodoo-loving dead professor from Cambridge University whose soul was digitised and reborn into an automated snake that is now the arm of the mummified corpse of the aforementioned dead professor from Cambridge University. He was born in South Cheam, according to his bio. I know of no other video game characters who were born in South Cheam.

On the battlefield, Kulev is a ranged support who uses curses and boons to heal and deal damage. He’s not as direct a healer as fellow support character Zero Cool, but I find him more versatile and, well, cooler.

As far as the tanks go, I have a soft spot for half motorbike girl Buttercup (her “get over here” chain ability is fun to land but hardly inspired design). Makutu, a hulking New Zealander who sacrifices an evade for the ability to switch stances between one that constantly regenerates health, or one that increases movement speed, is more interesting to play. And this is the thing about Bleeding Edge: it is only occasionally interesting. Most of the time it feels one-note.

I’m sure many will be put off by how shallow Bleeding Edge appears to feel during its initial couple of hours. This is a third-person combat game with auto-targeting and just one attack button, which you mash for a melee character’s solitary combo, or hold down to auto-attack as a ranged character (you spend a lot of time pressing X in Bleeding Edge). Each character has just three specials, and you pick one super from a choice of two before heading into a match. It’s pretty limited.

As a result, it feels like your success is determined mostly by your team composition. In reality this is a sort of hit or miss situation. Most of the time players will pick a nice spread of roles – a tank, two damage dealers and a healer, perhaps – but without a role queue you inevitably find yourself paired with a team who refuses to deviate from the ultra popular damage dealers – despite the in-game warning that pops up if you fail to pick a support character.

A zombie from South Cheam. I always knew south of the river was dead cool.

Bleeding Edge also warns that communication is key, and it’s true that if you’re playing with people who stick together, you have a much higher chance of winning. Winning is of course fun! But when you’re in a team of players who do not stick together, Bleeding Edge can feel like pulling teeth. Voice comms are on by default, but you rarely hear anyone speak. Usefully, there’s a ping system, but in my experience it’s rarely used. Bleeding Edge does not suffer lone wolves gladly. If you get caught on your lonesome by more than one enemy player, you’re done for. Bleeding Edge has a sort of MOBA feel in that teamfights are super important and chasing down enemies who try to escape can make all the difference. Target the healers first, then burn down the rest.

However, I’ve found the more you play Bleeding Edge, the more you start to notice there’s a little bit more to combat than that. Team composition is incredibly important, yes, but with the power of mods you can tweak how your character works to re-jig their role slightly. Mod Kulev’s area of effect special so that it does bonus damage, and you turn this support character into something of a shadow priest. Buttercup has a mod that adds an ally buff to her Oil Slick ability, which is by default an area of effect slow. I don’t want to overstate the impact of mods – they can only take you so far. But they do increase the playstyle options per character, which is nice.

Spacing and smart movement is key – and it’s here Bleeding Edge feels most like a MOBA. Moving as a group to interrupt, ambush or swarm the enemy is a tricky thing to achieve in Bleeding Edge, but it’s doable. Don’t fancy that fight? Keep at a safe distance while waiting for backup. Reckon you’re in decent shape to get stuck in? Ping your team and go for it. Retreating is a big part of Bleeding Edge, too. There’s a significant cooldown on your respawn, and given your team is made up of just four characters, staying alive can make all the difference. If Bleeding Edge has a skill gap, it’ll be found in the quiet spaces between the action.

Some of the maps have environmental hazards, such as trains that kill you if they hit you. They are sneaky bastards.

Bleeding Edge also has a parry, which is actually pretty tricky to time when the fights spit out virtual pyrotechnics onto your camera. Mechanically, there’s a good reason why you’d want to use the parry: unlike the evade, the parry does not consume stamina. You can only dodge out of harm’s way for so long, but you can parry forever – assuming you’re good enough.

The problem, though, is the parry doesn’t feel worth the risk of going for it. You can only parry while you’re standing still – in a game that feels like it revolves around keeping on the move that feels stifling. And the effect it causes on your opponent is slight – they’re pushed back a bit. The parry is a deflect, really. It’s not a counter, and I wonder if it should have been, given how hard it is to do in a standard match. It would have been cool to let the characters parry while depositing energy into a collection point. Imagine how cool you’d feel deflecting an interrupt from an enemy while calmly scoring points for your team? That would be some sick 90s Neo stuff right there – and help those who are good enough to parry feel like they can do something most players can’t.

Bleeding Edge’s paltry parry sums up the combat, really. It’s fine. It’s inoffensive. It jabs rather than haymakers. Most of the supers lack spectacle, although I have to admit Nidhoggr’s Ride the Lightning super, which stuns all nearby enemies with an epic guitar solo, hits the right note. Ultimately, though, the bludgeoning in Bleeding Edge is mostly monotonous.

Bleeding Edge has a more pressing problem, though. It has released in such a bare bones state that it feels like a soft launch rather than a full release. Bleeding Edge has just two game modes and already they’re starting to feel old. The power cell collecting and depositing mode is quite obviously weaker than the standard control mode, and I wince whenever the game puts me in it. There are a handful of maps but they all look and feel similar. Mekko, the dolphin who pilots a fishbowl crab mech via a Japanese AI, was supposed to be in the game at launch but is now down as coming soon. There is no ranked play and no meaningful progression system. As you play you level up your profile and your character, but only with the purpose of unlocking mods and earning credits for cosmetics. Ninja Theory has promised Bleeding Edge does not and will not have microtransactions, which I find surprising, but what’s in the game to unlock at launch is uninspiring. There are different board types, stickers for your board and board trails to buy with virtual credits, but I’m more interested in the character skins. Ah – there are just two per character and they’re palette swaps! The emotes are fun but, again, there are only a few to unlock per character. Some characters only have one emote to unlock.

Bleeding Edge is about carefree scraps with a few pals you just met against some random chancers, not unlike a night out in Cheam, actually. Hit FIGHT and the game finds you a match with as little fuss as possible. Hopefully you’re playing with people who stick together, rather than waddle off like some maddening toddler speeding towards their inevitable doom. Rinse and repeat, the hidden rating system (hopefully) working behind the scenes to huddle players of similar skill level together. If you lose – oh well, you get a completion bonus, some experience points and a handful of credits. Win and you get a few more. Do I think Game Pass and the Lockdown (both of which sound like characters in the game) will carry Bleeding Edge till the summer? The combat is just about good enough to get away with it for now, but without some meaningful updates I’ll probably lose interest sooner rather than later.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/03/fun-fighting-let-down-by-a-bare-bones-launch-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fun-fighting-let-down-by-a-bare-bones-launch-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net