Tablets are one of those "one-does-all" pieces of technology that The Jetsons writers dreamt of in the 1960s. These screened squares have been aroun?d since the 1980s, but they've so advanced far past their ancient progenitor that it's hard to tell they're part of the?? same technological evolutionary family.

These days, finding something a tablet can't do is a genuine challenge. Many people I know look at tablets and see more accessible versions of their smartphones; they use them to place calls, send emails, and play their favorite mo?bile games. Some of my closest friends prefer to use them as digital artists' easels, and I've seen proof of how well their favorite t?ool works for them at local art shows. Personally, though, I use my Kindle tablet to bring my ever-expanding personal library of books with me wherever I go.

The best Amazon Prime Day tablet deals

To help you make the best out of Amazon Prime Day, I'??ve cobbled together a list of the best Amazon Prime tablet deals I could find. Each entry on this list gives you a sizable discount on one of the many tablets available on Amazon. I, of course, can't tell you which tablet is right for you since I don't even know what you want one for. However, whatever you?? pick, you're getting a great deal on a product that will help you achieve whatever goal you're working towards.

iPad Mini (6th Gen)

• Price: $379.99 ($499.99)
• Storage: 64GB
• A simple, stress-free tablet

The Apple iPad Mini is a fantastic choice for people looking for a basic, function-focused tablet. Essentially, the Apple iPad Mini is the tablet equivalent of a dumb phone: an intentionally simplified device devoid of the distractions that come pre-build into so many modern smart devices. It has several useful apps, a 12MP UltraWide front camera, and an Apple Pen. There's no unnecessary clutter or unwanted distractions here,? so you can take notes, edit photos, or send a message to your friend without worrying about getting blown off track by a flood of notifications.

Lenovo Tab P11

• Price: $129.00 ($199.00)
• Storage: 128GB
• A slender screened beauty

Budget is always a factor to consider when you shop for a new table. The Levono Tab P11 is a lot less expensive than most Android tablets, but that doesn't mean it's less fu?nctional. This tablet has an 11-inch display, four built-in stereo speakers, and two 1080p@30fps cameras. Combine this with full app support, and you have a reliable and fun tablet you won't need to worry about replacing..

Amazon HD Fire 8 Kids

• Price: $74.99 ($149.99)
• Storage: 32GB
• A great tablet for kids

The Amazon HD Fire 8 Kids is a portable entertainment center for children and an excellent tool for parents in the digi?tal age. The talent comes with a free one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, a service with access to various child-oriented apps, including e-readers, gaming hubs, and streaming services. Its parental controls are simple to understand and implement, and its thirteen-hour battery life means children will have plenty of time to play, learn, and share meaningful experiences with their parents.

OnePlus Pad 128 GB

• Price: $399.99 ($479.99)
• Storage: 128GB
• Android's magnum opus

If you're in the market for a solid Android tablet, you don't need to look further than the OnePlus Pad 128 GB. Android has always nailed the frame design of its smart devices, and the smooth and ultra-portable casing of the OnePlus Pad 128 GB is one of the best examples of that fact. This sleek design compliments the OnePlus Pad 128 GB's eleven-inch screen size and 144 Hz refresh rate, allowing you to experience high-quality video and audio in the office or on your couch at equal comfort levels. Best of all, the tablet comes with in-de?pth brightness customization options, so you don't need to worry about messing up your sleep schedule if you do a spot of late-night ebook reading.

Wacom Intuos Pro

• Price: $312.84 (379.95)
• A fantastic tablet for artists

The Wacom Intuos Pro is the go-to drawing tablet for most digital artists. I have a much more basic version of this tablet, and it's served me well for many years. The Wacom Intuos Pro has apps that let you draw images, edit photos, and apply some paint to both. The Pro Pen with the tablet is accessible and highly customizable, enabling you to adjust the sensitivity to your liking. You can also edit the tablet's but?ton commands and create program shortcuts, allowing you to personalize your unique artistic process and increase your productivity.

Kindle Scribe Essentials Bundle

• Price $299.97 ($439.97)
• The ultimate Kindle note-taker

Kindle Scribe's claim to fame is that it doubles as a digital note-taker. The Scribe comes with a fully editable digital notebook and an easy-to-use Apple Pen. If you're like me and love to keep a notebook open while you read, the Kindle Scribe is the perfect Kindle for you. With the Essentials bundle, you also get a ?leather folio sleeve, a magnetic attachment, and a power adapto?r.

Kindle Paperwhite Essentials Collection

• Price: $134.97 ($204.97)
• A fantastic e-reader for

The Kindle Paperwhite is my favorite Kindle model, mainly because it strives to recreate the feeling of reading an actual, made-of-paper book. Its glare-free screen ensures a clean reading experience, and its adjustable warm-light settings mean I never have to worry about throwing my circadian rhythm out of whack if I read at night. The Essential Collection sweetens the deal by throwing in a complimentary fabric cover and adaptor, ensuring your ?Kindle won't suffer wear and tear if you take it on a trip.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+

• Price: $169.99 ($219.99)
• Storage: 64GB
• A splendid choice for non-Apple users

Samsung may be Amazon's biggest rival, but that doesn't mean they're petty enough to keep the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ from getting an outstanding Amazon Prime Day deal. With an 11-inch screen and a top-notch sound system, the Galaxy Tab A9+ is one of the best tablets for streaming. Movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and music will all look and sound fantastic on this ta?blet. To sweeten the deal to cavity-inducing levels, the Ga?laxy Tab a9+ has access to far more Apps than most Apple-produced tablets, and its exceptional processing speed enables you to have multiple apps open simultaneously without running into slowdown or crashes.

Amazon Fire HD 10

• Price: $74.99 ($139.99)
• Storage: 32GB
• The newest Amazon tablet

If you want to splurge on a new Amazon tablet, you can't get much better than the Amazon Fire HD 10. The latest version of the Amazon Fire Tablet runs over twenty-five percent faster than the previous models,?? and its 1080p Full HD display screen bri?ngs out the color of any show you stream, book you read, or game you play. It even has some great parental control options, so you can loan it to younger family members without having to worry about them seeing something they shouldn't

Amazon Fire HD 8

• Price: $54.99 (99.99)
• Storage: 64Gb
• The best Amazon Prime Day tablet deal

Many consider the Amazon Fire HD 8 one of the best versions of Amazon's Fire tablets, and it is currently available for over half off. The Fire HD 8 has everything you could want from a Fire tablet: a fantastic battery life, buttery-smooth streaming capabilities, and in-depth compatibility with Alexa, Kindle, and the Amazon App Store. Compact in design and robust in its customization options, the Fire HD 8 is the Fire tablet, and it's an investment you won't regret?? making.

The post Best Tablet Deals From Amazon’s October Prime Day (2024) appeared first on Destructoid.

Pester all the players

Big news out of GameStop today. The in-store experience is going to morph from an underpaid employee asking if yo??u'd like to pre-order a game or buy a protection plan from behind a desk, to an underpaid employee aski?ng if you'd like to pre-order a game or buy a protection plan with a Microsoft Surface in their hands.

A new "multi-year strategic partnership" between GameStop and Microsoft will outfit store associates with Surface tablets. A press release from GameStop says "The mobility of ?Microsoft Surface will allow associates to move freely within the store footprint, meeting the needs of customers faster and more efficiently." There's no escape!

The crux of this deal is far more boring, though. It'll also see GameStop's backend shift to Microsoft's Dynamics 365 which is a series of cloud-based business ap??plications. GameStop will also move to Microsoft 365 and Teams at some point for better internal communication.

Lastly, it's mentioned that Xbox All Acc??ess -- the rent-to-own payment plan for next-gen Xbox -- is coming to GameStop. That's nothing special,? as All Access is already offered at the other big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. 

Anyway, great news for GameStop employees who want ?to feel a little more tech savvy. Hopefully no one gets fired for streaming? xCloud to their Surface while on the clock.

The post Now GameStop employees will badger yo??u while holding a Microsoft Surface appeared first on Destructoid.

Depleting the world's supply of colons one expansion at a time

Blizzard's Hearthstone has been the face of digital card games for several years now, reliably one of the highest earning mobile titles since it launched in 2014. The simple rules make it easier to follow than competitors such as Magic: The Gathering, and it's been a consistent favorite on streaming platforms such as Twitch and Mixer as well. The game has been downloaded over 100 million times, making it by far the most played Blizzard title in ex??istence. Unfortunately, it's easy for a successful company to become complacent and st??op taking risks, especially when it seems to have hit on a winning formula.

As always, we waited until the entirety of the expansion was available before writing the review. Is diving into Tombs of Terror worth the digital sand in your underpants?

Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum: Tombs of Terror (Android, iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Released: August 6, 2019 (PvE content added September 17-October 1)
MSRP: Free-to-play, packs cost $1.50 apiece. Single player mode can be purchased with in-game currency or costs $7 per chapter or $14.99 as a bundle.

Hearthstone's latest hearkens back to one of the very first expansions released for the game, all the way back in 2015. The fan-favorite League Of Explorers takes center stage, responding to the looming threat posed by the plagiaristic League of Evil. Saviors of Uldum pits the four Explorers against Arch-Villain Rafaam and his fellow evildoers. It's a continuation of the storyline which began earlier this year, when Rafaam's dream team of bad guys managed to steal the flying city of Dala??ran. 

After a brief crash landing near the Molten Core, the League of Evil drove the city to the Egypt-inspired land of Uldum. There, they bolstered their power by unleashing ancient plagues against any who dared to oppose them. Fortunately for the denizens of Azeroth, the L??e?ague of Explorers have some experience fighting Rafaam and his cronies. 

Uldum is a fairly mysterious setting in World of Warcraft, one which was hinted at early on but wasn't made available until the Cataclysm expansion in 2010. Most of the area is covered by harsh desert,?? but there are ancient temples and tombs everywhere, just waiting to be discovered. Ageless creatures of living stone wander the paths of long-forgotten cities, servants of the Titans who came before. Naturally, the Explorers are interested in whatever secrets and technology they can extract from the area, and Rafaam's plagues give them the motivation to use it a little more recklessly than might otherwise be called for. 

Tombs of Terror lets you take control of one of the Explorers as they traverse the desert and try to fight against one of five Plague Lords awakened by the League of Evil. Each attempt is opposed by a series of semi-random minibosses, each of whom has their own gimmick or special power to overcome. Defeating them will earn the Explorers cards for their deck as well as treasure, in the form of overpowered minions, spells, and weapons. Occasionally, they'll come across Bob's Bazaars, which will let them ma??ke some changes to their deck, removing cards which don't fit their stra?tegy or adding extra copies of overpowered gear to the pile.

Purchasing each chapter unlocks one of four hybrid heroes for use in the roguelike single-player mode, with a fifth final challenge available once all of the other content has been unlocked. This single-player mode hasn't changed much since its first appearance back in Kobolds and Catacombs, though the development team added a few twists this time to try and fres?hen up the gameplay. ;

The main difference between Tombs of Terror and the similar roguelike modes which have come before is the use of hybrid heroes as the playable characters. Each of the Explorers represents two of Hearthstone's nine classes, leaving only the Warlock class unrepresented. Bookish Night Elf Elise Starseeker combines the Druid and Priest classes, and has decks that focus on healing and summoning hordes of small minions to enhance. The brash Reno Jackson (a mustachioed Indiana Jones homage) uses Rogue and Mage cards, and can choose to steal from enemies or just blast them with his Gatling wand. Team mascot Sir Finley represents Paladins and Shamen, and ten??ds to use cheap, fast creatures in his deck. Finally, guild founder Brann Bronzebeard makes use of Hu?nter and Warrior cards, and tends to play with weapons and Beast synergies. 

Every run adds a couple of quirks to deal with as you attempt to take down the Plague Lords. The Plague Lord of Murlocs adds random weak minions to both sides of the board, the Lord of Madness causes creatures to attack randomly at the end of a turn, the Lord of Death adds deathrattle minions to the board when enough other minions die, and the Lord of Wrath rewards creatures which take damage with increased attack. The Lords themselves each have a ridiculous 300 health points at the beginning of your encounter, and their decks and strategies will change after every 100 damage you manage to inflict, making these boss fights much more dynamic than your typical game of Hearthstone. Fortunately, their health pool doesn't reset, so you can whittl??e them down over multiple runs.

The semi-random nature of the cards and gear you discover gives this mode great replay value, though it's always disappointing when you lose a game due to a run of bad luck. I still had a lot of fun playing through the campaign mode, wielding broken combinations and dominating the Evil lackeys who got in my way. But it's hard to deny Tombs of Terror is awfully similar to The Dalaran Heist, and doesn't offer as much in the way of rewards to players who decided to purch?ase the single-player expansion.

The Dalaran Heist was a breath of fresh air back in May and June, offering a premium Hearthstone experience and multiple ways to play through each encounter with all nine classes. As charming as the Explorers are, Tombs of Terror feels like a downgrade, especially since the gameplay is so similar. There are far fewer options available, and players only received a single legendary card when the expansion launched, as opposed to the three provided during Rise of Shadows. 

From a monetary standpoint, most players are better off using their in-game gold or cash to simply buy packs rather than bothering with the single-player mode. The random nature of the rewards earned by playing Tombs of Terror means there's no advantage to buying the expansion, and players who've already gotten the cards they want from the set have little incentive to buy it. I still think Blizzard would do well to let players choose at least one Legendary card from the set as a reward for beating the campaign, something more tangible than just random packs to make the juice worth the squeeze. I'd much prefer a return to the old ways, earning a small set of unique cards which could be unlocked by playing through the single-player modes, but I'm pretty sure the corporate overlords will never let this happen again. ?;

Don't get me wrong, Tombs of Terror is a lot of fun, and it's great to see the League of Explorers again after they were removed from the game three years ago. The problem is, it's the same sort of fun we've been having for two years now. It just feels a little too similar to what we've seen before, especially si??nce so many of the previous Dungeon Run style expansions have been c?ompletely free. In my opinion, slight alterations to the Dungeon Run theme aren't worth $60 per year. If Blizzard wants to continue charging money for these single-player expansions, the company needs to make sure the content is worth the asking price. 

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the free-to-play game, with content provided by the publisher as well as purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Hearthstone: Saviors of Uldum: Tombs of Terro??r appeared first on Destructoid.

Very possibly a new record for colons in an article title

Competition has been good for Hearthstone.

Even though Artifact never really found an audience, other digital Collectible Card Games (CCGs) like Eternal and Magic The Gathering: Arena have provided some legitimate alternatives to Blizzard's venerable card battler over the last few months. To their credit, the team at Blizzard have stepped up to the challenge and recently released the biggest Hearthstone expansion ever created.

As usual, we waited until the entire expansion was available before writing the review, so what does The Dalaran Heist bring to the virtual table?

Hearthstone: Rise of Shadows: The Dalaran Heist (Android, iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Released: April 9, 2019 (PvE content added May 12-June 6)
MSRP: Free-to-play, packs cost $1.50 apiece. Single player mode can be purchased with in-game currency or costs $7 per chapter or $19.99 as a bundle.

Hearthstone's lore seems to take place in a parallel universe, similar to but legally distinct from the Azeroth explored by World of Warcraft players. The most recent expansion calls back to Hearthstone's previous history, letting players join the boss villains from Kobolds and Catacombs, The Boomsday Project, The Witchwood, and even going as far back as The League of Explorers from 2015. The villains from these earlier expansions were called together by Madame Lazul, a troll fortune teller who was the harbinger of the Old Gods.

This group of bad guys have all been defeated by Azeroth's champions, but decide that they might be stronger if they form an alliance. The five combine their powers to form the League of E. V??. I. L. and begin working together to wreak havoc on the world, starting with the magical, floating city of Dalaran. None of them are the type to think small, so when they say they want to take the city for all it's worth, they're quite literal about the concept. 

Dalaran is a fantastic location in which to set a Hearthstone expansion. Run by a cabal of powerful mages, there's a lot of history and lore to borrow from when designing cards and scenarios. The city didn't appear intact in World of Warcraft until the well-regarded Wrath of the Lich King expansion, where it served as a combination travel nexus and base of operations against the undead hordes of the frozen North. It's also a fully functioning metropolis with its own private citizens, merchants, sanitation wo?rk??ers, and a supermax magical prison.

The single player content of The Dalaran Heist puts you in the shoes of one of the five antagonist's underlings, supporting your boss on their mission to disrupt the city and prepare it for a hostile ?takeover. Dalaran's citizens aren't going to stand idle as you attempt to make off with the city however, and everyone from the most powerful mage to the lowliest barber will do their best to stop you ?from completing your task.

The Dalaran Heist follows the now-familiar roguelike format introduced in Kobolds and Catacombs, letting players choose three cards to add to their deck after defeating each foe, and choose from a variety of "treasures" (game-changing spells, creatures, or equipment), at set intervals. These latter cards are far too powerful to be included in the ??main competitive mode, and frequently have greatly reduced costs considering the impact they can have on the game.?? It's a lot of fun unleashing completely broken combinations on the computer-controlled opponents, particularly when you draw just the right card to turn the tables on what looks like an impossible situation.

The goal is to defeat a gauntlet of eight semi-random boss encounters, each with their own unique hero power or some condition which makes them behave differently from a standard Hearthstone opponent. Many of these are based on new cards from the set, while others are borrowed from World of Warcraft or made up from whole cloth. While some bosses seem to be better planned out than others, each is entertaining and requires a different strategy to defeat. It gives this mode great replay value, but it 's always frustrating when a promising r??un crashes into a boss who perfectly counters your deck.

New to The Dalaran Heist is a series of Taverns where henchmen such as yourself can make changes to your deck. The taverns are almost all hosted by Barkeep Bob, though a few rare replacements will appear in his place from time to time. These friendly encounters allow you to remove a few cards that might not fit with your strategy, or im??prove some of your heaviest hitters. It's a welcome improvement to previous versions of the single-player content, and helps reduce the chances you'll draw a dead card in a critical situation. 

Each of the heist's five chapters introduces a special condition which remains in effect throughout the run. The first chapter adds two coins to each side's hand when a neutral minion is defeated, the second adds a random minion to the board after a set number of turns, the third reduces the number of board space available, the fourth swaps the attack and defense value of all minions, and the final chapter adds some extra bosses on top of the eight you'd defeat during a normal run. On top of this, buying all five chapters with cash or in-game gold unlocks the optional "anomaly mode," which adds an additional condition to the run. This can make things much easier or provide additional challenge since both sides of the board are affected equally by the anomaly.&?nbsp;

While each henchman starts with their class's standard hero power, each has two additional unlockable starting decks and hero powers which can be earned by performing certain class-specific actions while playing through the campaign. For example, the Mage can unlo??ck a different hero power by freezing enemies, and the Paladin can earn one by using minions with Divine Shield. This adds even more replay value, since the strategies you can employ are multiplied ninefold when you unlock all the available options for a class. 

Playing through each chapter of The Dalaran Heist earns you three Rise of Shadows packs, and beating all five nets a golden Classic pack. Buying all five chapters also gets you the ability to activate anomalies and unlocks the "Zayle: Shadow Cloak" card, which lets you play with a random Rise of Shadows ;themed d?eck in competitive modes. There are also two card backs that can be earned, one each for ?beating the heist in both normal and "Heroic" (i.e. hard) modes.

It's nice to have a set goal to work towards, but I would still prefer a return to the old ways, where everyone unlocked the same cards ins??tead of having random chance decide what kind of decks you can build. It doesn't look like that's ever going to happen again though, so at least the single-player content we're getting is entertaining. I don't know of any other collectible card-based roguelikes, and the combination of two genres I enjoy continues to be a lot of fun to play around with. 

I've enjoyed my time with The Dalaran Heist more than any other Hearthstone expansion since The Witchwood, but there are a few things I'd like to see in future updates. For The Dalaran Heist and all of the other singl??e-player content, I'd appreciate it if Blizzard removed the always-online requirement so it could be played without an internet connection, on airplanes or in remote areas. I'd also ?like to be able to practice against specific bosses, though I understand that might ruin part of the appeal of the randomized boss gauntlet. 

For those wondering whether The Dalaran Heist's value is worth the price, the packs alone would cost $24.00 if purchased separately, so the expansion is a pretty good deal from a cost standpoint. The fact that it's a lot of fun to play is a bonus, and even if you're not interested in the main multiplayer mode, there's a lot here to recommend. It doesn't hurt that every player who logs in before July 1 also gets a free legendary card in addition to the other legendary freebie provided during Rise of Shadows' initial launch. In my opinion, The Dalaran Heist is well worth the asking price.

Moving on to the state of the game in general, things have improved dramatically since Rastakhan's Rumble came out back in December. Apart from the yearly change to which expansions are allowed in Standard decks, the biggest change to the metagame was the removal of Genn Greymane and Baku The Mooneater from standard play. Both of these cards improved players' hero powers if they built a deck around them, but this mechanic proved to be too strong, particularly for aggress??ive Paladin and Rogue decks. Both cards were sunsetted early, and over the last few months Blizzard has been taking a more active role in tweaking cer??tain cards to make sure multiple deck strategies remain relevant. 

A more recent adjustment was made to several cards released in The Boomsday Project expansion. With the recent Rise of the Mech update, several cards from Dr. Boom's laboratories were augmented with greater power, lowered casting cost, or both. The Boomsday Project was initially regarded as a fairly weak expansion, but the changes made seem to have had the desired effect. Just before Rise of the Mech went live, several  Rogue nerfs were also introduced. This has made an already-strong mech-driven metagame even stronger, but it doesn't feel oppressive since every class has at least one meta-relevant deck. There also seems to be a lot more experimentation now that the powerful Kobolds and Catacombs, Knights of the Frozen Throne, and Journey to Un'goro expansions have rotated out of standard.

Rise of Shadows introduces a couple of new mechanics, and each of the villains brought something from their home expansion to the new set. One of the most interesting new additions is a new minion type called Lackeys. These low-cost minions are semi-random, but each has a fairly powerful effect when they hit the table. They're especially useful in Rogue and Shaman decks, which can both increase the number of times a battlecry effect triggers. The developers have said Lackeys and other themes introduced in Rise of Shadows will be carried throughout the rest of Hearthstone's expansions this year, borrowing the idea of a 3-set block from Magic's physical card sets. 

The other two new mechanics introduced in Rise of Shadows are Twinspell and Schemes, each of which apply only to spell cards for a few specific classes. Schemes increase in power for every turn they sit in your hand, and each is tied to one of the five villains. Twinspell cards can be cast twice before they're removed from your hand, sort of like the More Arms card from Boomsday. Only the four classes not represe?nted by one of the League members ge?t Twinspell cards. ;

Each of the five main villains has also brought one of their signature mechanics to a new card in Rise of Shadows. Lazul's Forbidden Words calls back to the Whispers of the Old Gods Forbidden cards, letting players spend all their remaining mana for greater effect. Dr. Boom's Omega Devastator has additional power if the player has 10 mana crystals unlocked, Hagatha's Witch's Brew has Echo, and the Rogue's Unidentified Contract has a semi-random effect when played, just like other unidentified equipment from Kobolds and Catacombs. Even Arch-Villain Rafaam lends a mechanic from his original set, coming into play like a Golden Monkey.

Hearthstone's development seems to have turned a corner. It's been more than a year since longtime lead Ben Brode left Blizzard, and with the recent card rotation none of the old team's ideas are still active in the game's main competitive mode. Even though it's got plenty of callbacks to Hearthstone's past, The Dalaran Heist feels like a fresh start for the ??five-year old game. For the first time in a long time, I'm eagerly looking forward to whatever's coming next.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the free-to-play game, with content provided by the publisher as well as purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Hearthstone: R??ise of Shadows: The Dalaran Heist appeared first on Destructoid.

Online trolling

Blizzard's collectible card game Hearthstone is one of the brightest spots on the company's ledger sheet, having recently surpassed 100 million registered players. The game is in a pretty good place, with Valve's Artifact stumbling out the gate and Magic: Arena limited to desktop computers for the moment??.

CCGs need a constant stream of new content to keep from becoming stale, and Blizzard has been very consistent in releasing a new expansion every four months for the last few years. Earlier expansions this year explored a haunted forest and a goblin laboratory, and the most recent addition visits a coliseum run by the Darkspear Troll tribe. Rastakhan's Rumble adds 135 new cards and a single-player mode called Rumble Run. This is the final new set for the Year of the Raven, so how do things look as Hearthstone heads into 2019?

Hearthstone: Rastakhan's Rumble (Android, iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Released: December 4, 2018 (PVE content added December 13)
MSRP: Free-to-play, packs cost $1.50 apiece

I've always had a little bit of a problem with how Trolls are portrayed in the Warcraft universe. Something about their faux-Jamaican accent and reliance on Voodoo seems culturally insensitive at the very least. It's my problem, I'll deal with it. In any case, the new Hearthstone expansion takes a deep dive into the Trolls' mai??n form of entertainment, letting players experience the gladiatorial combat of the Gu?rubashi Arena.

As before, we waited until the PVE content went into the game to give this expansion a review. Rumble Run is the new single-player mode, and it challenges players to choose a class, then take on all eight other classes to emerge triumphant as the champion of the arena. Like the Witchwood and Kobolds and Catacombs single-player games, you'll build a deck as you go, choosing from three se??ts of three cards to add to your deck every time you defeat one of the other combatants. 

The main gameplay change in Rumble Run is the addition of Shrines, special totems that start the game in play and go dormant for three turns instead of being removed from? the board when they're killed. These Shrines each have a powerful effect you can build your deck around, and your character usually has a huge advantage while their Shrine is active. A lot of the play and counterplay involves trying to deactivate your opponent's Shrine while saving cards that synergize with yours for turns when your Shrine returns to the battlefield.

Each class has access to three Shrines, and you'll choose yours at the start of a run from three possible options, sort of like starting an Arena run in the PVP mode. Some of these Shrines are considerably better than others; I had good luck with the Priest Shrine that turns healing into damage when used against an opponent, and the Paladin Shrine that deals five damage to the enemy player whenever your hero is damaged. You'll earn some overpowered cards after beating a few opposing Trolls, cards too b??roken to appear in the main game. Your later opponents will have access to a couple of these cheaty cards too though, so battles will become more difficult the further you progress.

I enjoy??ed playing through Rumble Run, but found the rewards very disappointing. Completing the mode with any class unlocks a special card back. That's it. That's all you can earn. 

There's nothing here for players who want to try and beat Rumble Run with every class, no way to play against other players with Shrines active (though I suspect this will become a weekly Tavern Brawl at some point). It can be frustrating to lose multiple games here to RNG or broken plays from the computer, but it's downright insulting how little you get for sticking it out. There's no reason ever to return to this mode after beating it once. It's anticlimactic, and extremely disappointing after the excellent mode that shipped with The Witchwood. 

Granted, every player got six free packs and a random Legendary card just for logging in when Rastakhan's Rumble first launched, but these are subject to the same RNG as any other loot box. I still think if Blizzard isn't ??going to let players earn specific cards through single-player campaigns, the company should at least let players choose one of the rare and expensive cards from each expansion by beating its PVE content. 

Moving on from the PVE to player vs. player, Rastakhan's Rumble didn't really do much to shake up the metagame. Hunters continue to top the leaderboards, buoyed by their new champion Zul'Jin. A new patch this week nerfed Odd Paladins, Druids, Shudderwock Shamen, and Kingsbane Rogues, so it'll be interesting to see how things shake out as we enter the new year. The change to Level Up! might just end up shifting the dominant Paladin deck from Odd to Even, particularly since it stacks with Sunkeeper Tarim. I just hope you like playing against Hunters, 'ca?u?se you're probably going to see a lot of them on the ladder through next year.

Some professionals are predicting Discard Warlock will become dominant, while others feel Paladins will be able to leverage healing into a viable threat. Dragon Warrior hasn't quite gelled yet, and Priests' new focus on buffing creatures in their deck is risky, but pays off in the late game. Odd Mage works pretty well, especially now that the class can cheat out Ragnaros with its new Legendary card Jan'alai. Some new neutral legendary cards have potential, particularly Hakkar (who was responsible for World of Warcraft's infamous Corrupted Blood incident) and Da Undatakah. That said, nothing major has shaken up the meta, so if your opponent drops Prince Keleseth on tur?n?? two you're still probably going to lose. 

I do like the new mechanic from this set. Cards with the keyword Overkill do something extra if they deal more damage than necessary to destroy a minion. It's meant to evoke images of a wrestler hyping up the crowd after delivering a particularly heavy hit to an opponent. This can have some fun interactions, especially if you would gain more by killing your own minion than one of your opponent's. Cards with this mechanic can kee?p pressure on or help swing momentum, and the few that have been added so far seem reasonably fair. 

Rastakhan's Rumble isn't the best expansion Hearthstone has ever released, and it's only a small step up from August's Boomsday Project. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, the reward for completing the single-player content is extremely disappointing. Rumble Run is a decent way to spend about an hour, but that's all it is and you'll never go back to it. I hope Bl??izzard puts more resources into the next expansion's single-player mode. 

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the free-to-play game, with content purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Hearthstone: Rastakhan’s Rumble appeared first on Destructoid.

From my hearth and from my hand, why don't people understand, my creation

Blizzard's Hearthstone is one of the company's more unusual creations. A digital representation of a physical card game, based on a venerable MMORPG, itself based on a real-time-strategy game (based on the Warhammer universe, but we don't talk about that). Sanding the edges off of Collectible Card Games (CCGs) like Magic: The Gathering proved to be a big hit, and many of Hearthstone's most ardent f??ans have probably never played any of the games?? that led to its creation.

All CCGs eventually need new expansions to keep the game from becoming stale, and Blizzard has reliably added about three every year since Hearthstone's inception in 2014. The newest expansion, The Boomsday Project, adds 135 cards ??as well as a new single-player campaign. But is that enough to elevate it above some of its predecessors?

Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project (Android, iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Released: August 7, 2018 (PVE content added August 21)
MSRP: Free-to-play, packs cost $1.50 apiece

The Boomsday Project revisits several of the same concepts behind the Goblins vs. Gnomes&??nbsp;expansion from 2014, with a focus on robots, unsafe science experiments, and the inevitable explosions that result from combining the two. The theme is a lot of fun, and the new mechanics have successfully shaken up the metagame to the point where a few decks aren't dominating the leaderboards. 

The main character here is the goblin robo-geneticist Dr. Boom, a mad scientist from Area 52 who's never even heard of Latveria, thank you very much. His secret lab is the setting for this expansion, and the different fields of study his research teams are exploding exploring are the basis of the new single-player content called "The Puzzle Lab."

Unlike the last two expansions, The Puzzle Lab doesn't rely on building a deck or ??semi-random boss encounters. On the contrary, each encounter in the Lab gives you a very specific board state and hand of cards, removing randomness from the equation entirely. There are four types of puzzles, each with their own rules, but each must be solved in a single turn. You can reset the puzzle as much as you want with no penalty other than having to listen to the boss character's canned responses every time you do so. 

Puzzles start out simple but quickly ramp up to become quite devious, requiring precise board placement and specific timing on the interactions between cards. Fortunately there's no time limit, so you can work out in your head what you'd like to do before you start ??throwing cards around. If you mess up or do something out of sequence it's not too bad to reset and try again, so experimentation is encouraged.

The Lethal Challenges are the most straightforward, asking you to figure out how to destroy the enemy hero in one turn. Board Clear is a little strange since you have to wipe out every minion including your own, and it can be tough to break the mindset of trading minions to your advantage at first. Survival puzzles are a little harder and make you heal to full from a very low life total. Finally, Mirror challenges task you with creating a symmetrical board state, with min?ions on both sides of the table ??in perfect balance with one another.

The puzzles require you to think differently about playing Hearthstone than you're probably used to, frequently using destructive abilities and spells on your own minions. I had fun playing through the various challenges, though I was a little disappointed by some of the later ones. By the end, many of the puzzles rely on cards that don't exist in the live game, like zero-mana spells that refresh your mana crystals or swap boards or hands with the opponent. I liked how the single-player challenges in Kobolds and Catacombs and The Witchwood could help you learn how to play the game, but the challenges in The Boomsday Project don't really do that. It's fun trying to figure out how to cause 99?9 damage in a single turn, but there's no practical ?application for doing so since most of the cards you use to do it don't really exist.

The other problem with The Puzzle Lab is the comparative lack of replay value. Each puzzle has one or at best a few po?ssible solutions. If you just want to breeze through the content, you can easily look up a guide online and go through the motions. There isn't much reason to return to the Lab once you've completed Dr. Boom's challenges, and I can't see myself coming back to any of them now that I've finished?? the lot.

I was also a littl??e disappointed with the reward for completing the lab: nothing more than a card back I'll probably never use. It's not even good as a demonstration of bragging rights since anyone can look up a YouTube video and copy the sequence shown to earn the card back. I've said it before, but I'd much prefer the reward for the single-player content be something like a legendary card of your choice from the set rather than a cosmetic option. Ideally, I'd like to see a return to the more story-based expansions that granted everyone the same specific cards, but it doesn't look?? like that's ever going to happen again.

Moving on from the single player game, the multiplayer has changed a fair bit since The Boomsday Project launched. Priest and Hunter Deathrattle decks which take advantage of the Devilsaur Egg have become more popular, and there's a new one-turn-kill deck for Priests that involves repeatedly summoning and destroying ?y??our own Test Subject. Cubelock and Shudderwock Shaman have thankfully fallen by the wayside, but Paladins have maintained their status, adding mechs to their aggro options in addition to the already deadly Murloc and Mooneater aggressive decks. One of the most interesting new ??deck types is Mech Warrior, anchored by Dr. Boom's hero replacement card. The hero power changes every turn, making playing this deck a lo?t of fun even if it's not especially competitive.

The main Magnetic mechanic us??ually involves combining a bunch of robots into a single, nigh-invulnerable Voltron-like behemoth, then plowing through your enemy's board. Attaching mechs to one another is fun, but can be risky if your opponent is prepared for the onslaught. It seems fair, especially since the combination can be cancelled out by silencing or destroying the ma??in 'bot to maintain card advantage. 

The metagame is in an interesting place right now, and with six sets to choose from, there are lots of intriguing card combinations to experiment with. There will be one more expansion during this year of play, and then last year's sets (Un'goro, Frozen Throne, and Kobolds) will rotate out sometime in 2019.

My main problem with Hearthstone was, is, and continues to be the cost associated with unlocking cards. If I want to build an IRL deck for Magic: The Gathering I can go to a comic shop and buy specific cards or trade with another player, but Hearthstone doesn't allow either option. Cards can only be pu??rchased in random packs, and it's tough to play competitively without having access?? to the rarest and most powerful ones. The random nature of the card drops makes it hard to plan a deck without buying more packs, something I won't do on general principle. There's an oily film of pay-to-win surrounding the game, particularly if you want to play ranked matches. 

To be fair, Blizzard did offer a couple of events between The Witchwood and The Boomsday Project to help mitigate the cost of buying packs. Free packs are offered occasionally, and everyone receives some during the promotional period for each new expansion. The Fire Festival in July offered double gold for quest rewards, and an earlier event granted arcane dust in addition to gold, allowing for easier crafting. But Hearthstone still feels stingy when compared to other online CCGs, and the Boomsday mega bundle's preorder bonus of a cosmetic hero replacement was far less generous than Witchwood's bonus packs.

One other issue I ran into was the increased file size associated with this expansion. It may have to do with the age of my smartphone, but Hearthstone's file size has reached a point where it's crowding out a lot of my other apps, and the performance has started to suffer. I can't really play ranked games on my phone anymore because the processor is having trouble keeping up with all the card interactions and I end up losing more than half my turn time to input lag. It may be time for Blizzard to release a lighter weight version of Hearthstone specifically for mobile de??vices, something with fewer back?grounds and lower-resolution card art.

The Boomsday Project managed to fix some of the problems I had with ranked play by shifting the metagame away from plodding, delay-heavy decks, but the single-player content is a bit of a letdown after the excellent modes included in Kobolds and Catacombs and The Witchwood. It's hard to complain about new free stuf??f in a game I still enjoy, but I'm hopeful the last expansion for the Year of the Raven will have a better single-player mode.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the free-to-play game, with content purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Hearthstone: The Boomsday Project appeared first on Destructoid.

Giant stompy robots are very on-brand around here

Love it or hate it, Blizzard's Hearthstone has become the premier digital collectible card game around, and it's still going strong five years after the initial release. Part of keeping a CCG from becoming stale is a regular influx of new cards, and the next expansion was announced earlier today. Called "The Boomsday Project," the new set will be themed around u??nsafe science projects and will have a particular focus on Mech minions and explosives.

If the concept sounds familiar, that's because it sort of is. Hearthstone's very first expansion in 2014 was called Goblins Vs. Gnomes and incorporated many of the same t??hemes. Dr. Boom, who introduces the video above, was one of the standout cards from that earlier set. 

Five new cards were revealed in an announcement trailer, and more will be revealed as the expansion gets closer to its release on August 7. The Boomsday Project will introduce 135 new cards to Hearthstone, including?? a new Legendary spell for every class and a couple of n??ew mechanics.

The Magnetic ability lets certain cards be played as either a minion or a buff to a Mech minion you already have in play. The example shown is called "Spider Bomb," and it's a Hunter card which can be played as a 2/2 Mech by itself that'll blow something else up when it dies. Alternatively, it can be played targeting a Mech already in p?lay, and if this is done it gives the existing creature all of its bonuses, including +2 power and defense. Being grafted onto an existing Mech like this is a tradeoff because it'll make the existing creature more powerful, but also gives yo?ur opponent the opportunity to take out two of your cards for the price of one.

The other new mechanic doesn't take effect until the endgame when you have a full slate of 10 mana to work with. Cards with the Omega ability will gain additional bonuses if your mana bar is full. The Omega Defender starts as a reasonable 2/6 with Taunt for four mana. If your hero has 10 mana available, however, the Omega Defender gains +10 attack, becoming powerful enough to trade with some of Hearthstone's nastiest beast??s like Tyrantus and Deathwing. The cost to play it doesn't change, so Druids in particular will have added incentive to boost their mana count to the top as quickly as possible.

Speaking of which, it l?ooks like they'll have a new tool to do so. It sounds like every class will get a different type of Project spell which benefits both players equally. The Biology Project is a Druid card that'll give both players some mana acceleration. When a card like this is played, it'll be a race to see which player can exploit the advantage fastest.

While this Druid spell is a common card, the developers also mentioned that each class will be receiving a Legendary spell for the first time. Some classes like Mage have been able to gain a Legendary spell through the Un'Goro quests, ??but for the most part this is the?? first time Legendary spells have been added to the game.

Only the Rogue's was shown, and it seems like a desperation play. Myra's Unstable Element costs five mana and lets you draw the rest of your deck. Playing it will let you draw up to 10 cards and still have five mana left to play with, but will put you into fatigue and burn any cards that don't fit in your hand. It does have some good synergy with Fal'Dorei Strider, which summons creatures as you work through your deck. But since Rogue already has access to Sprint, one of the best card draw spells i?n the game, I'm not sure if the Unstable Element will get much play.

A few other cards were shown, including a Shaman minion which doubles the effect of the next spell you'll play, and will unfortunately slot quite well into the hated Shudderwock deck. A new Warrior hero r??eplacement was also teased, and while the card's title was legible, none of the effects could be read. We'll have to wait for more reveals to find out what effect "Dr. Boom, Mad Genius" has when he takes over for Garrosh. A new Warlock hero will also be added, and anyone who preorders the expansion by buying 80 packs before release will be guaranteed a copy of Mecha Jaraxxus in addition to some other cosmetic goodies. 

The Boomsday Project will bring with it a new single-player game mode, called "The Puzzle Lab." If the two most recent expansions are anything to go by, this will involve building a deck and challenging somewhat randomized boss characters as you work your way through gauntlet of eight challenges. However, the screen shown looks more like the mode which launc?hed with The Frozen Throne expansion, with non-randomized bosses. The last two versions have b??een a lot of fun, but whatever form the Puzzle Lab takes, I hope you'll be able to earn concrete rewards from these challenges rather than random packs.

There were some additional changes to existing cards that went live with today's patch, mostly regarding tribal types. Mountain and Molten Giants are now part of th??e Elemental tribe. Witchwood Piper is now a Demon?? (a possible slight nerf to Warlocks), and North Sea Kraken and Jungle Moonkin are now considered Beasts. The Midsummer Fire event will return soon, offering double gold for quest rewards and adding some firework-themed cosmetics to the hero portraits. 

The post Hearthstone’s latest will have more ‘bots and explosions than a Michael Bay movie appeared first on Destructoid.

Select territories

From literally nowhere, Microsoft has released Miami Street as a free-to-play racer on Windows 10 devices. This new racer is not only compatible with PC, but on Windows Surface tablets as well. The general gameplay of Miami Street is more like a cinematic racer than a traditional Forza or Need for Speed and utilizes a lot of QTEs to pump up the action.

The game features the ever popular energy mechanic, where you'll have a limited amount of attempts at a race before you run out of energy and need to wait (or pay to resume). Your car will automatically steer itself, but you'll need to make strategic use of gas and break to get a boos?t and speed past your opponents. This is all facilitated either by your space bar and mouse or your touch screen, should you be on a tablet.

The game comes from developer Electric Square, which is a sister studio to Studio Gobo (known for For Honor's DLC and Disney Infinity). The game was soft launched on the Microsoft store, so it may not be available in all territories. As a matter of?? fact, it isn't even available in the US, so I can't even give it a shot.

Here is a five-minute gameplay trailer that looks positively devoid of life. I can understand wanting to try something a bit different, but I don't know how much life Miami Street has in it. At the very least, you can earn achievements for your ??Gamertag for free. That is nice...

Microsoft stealth-releases new PC racing game Miami Street [Eurogamer]

The post Micr??osoft surprise releases Miami Street for Windows 10 appeared first on Destructoid.

You're gorram right I'm taking that candle

Blizzard's Hearthstone has gone through some major changes in the last year. The biggest shakeup saw the game disallowing many of its older cards in the standard gameplay modes, moving them to ??a separate format called "Wild." The regular updates the game receives have also been changed. They used to alternate back and forth between campaigns with stories and standard expansions, with the campaigns guaranteeing a specific set of cards for those who completed a series of puzzle battles. Over the last year, the development team has decided to move away from the story expansions, instead releasing just the standard expansions.

As a concession to those who preferred the old ways, the last two expansions have included a free mode similar to the older campaigns, though the reward has been randomized. The most recent freebie is some of the most fun I've had with Hearthstone since I started playing, but it doesn't hide the fact that the game has become a lot less friendly to those who ?aren't willing to pay for digital cards.

Hearthstone: Kobolds and Catacombs (Android, iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Released: December 7, 2017
MSRP: Free to play, packs cost $1.50 apiece

Let's start with that new mode, called Dungeon Run. It's a brilliant combination of a collectable car??d game and a roguelike, adding more than three dozen puzzle fights to the solo adventures portion of the game. It's couched in the idea of exploring an underground lair, with stronger monsters and more fabulous treasure the deeper underground you manage to explore. Each encounter is a different boss monster with its own special rules and powers to work around, and these are randomized every time you play.

Beating a boss earns you a choice of three sets of three cards to add to your deck, and at certain levels you also gain powerful passive abilities or low cost, game changing cards that would be ?too powerful to play in the competitive game. If you can defeat eight bosses with a single deck you win with that class and can try again with another, but if you lose even once you have to start over. Completing this mode with all nine classes unlocks a special card back, and it's a considerable challenge to do so.

The new mode is a fantastic way for new players to learn how to play HearthStone, as it gives them some basic class cards at the beginning and requires learning and crafting a strategy as the game progresses. It's sort of similar to drafting a deck for a??n Arena run, exc??ept the cards you choose tend to fit into a specific strategy rather than being totally randomized.

The bosses you'll face are varied and diverse, much like the opponents you'll come up against in ranked play. It's also a lot of fun since it gives you access to some of your class's best cards, assuming you progress far enough to earn them. The random nature can occasionally make it feel unfair though??, espec?ially if the boss you end up against completely counters the strategy you had been working towards.

The new mode is a blast, ?and I drained my phone's battery eight times over the first weekend after release. I??t's great to have some single-player content to play when I don't want to face off against a human opponent, and the random bosses mean it's always a challenge to finish an entire run. 

As for the expansion cards themselves, they're... fine. The new Recruit mechanic lets you pull a card directly from your deck onto the battlefield, similar to Barnes or Y'sharrj's special abilities. It works better with creatures who do something at the end of your turn or when they die, and Battlecry minions who do something when they're played from your hand aren't triggered by the mechanic. This completely invalidates the Grimy Goons strategy of buffing cards in your hand before they hit the table, but the Gadgetzan expansion is rotating out soon anyway so it's not a hug?e los??s.

The spellstones are far more interesting, adding a risk/reward mechanic to some spells that get more powerful if you meet? certain requirements before casting them. Each class also gains ten new cards that can be unwrapped or crafted, including a legendary minion and weapon. 

Every player who logs in during the promotional period gets one of these weapons for free, as well as the legendary minion Marin the Fox. The weapon you get is randomized, which is unfortunate as some are considerably more useful than others. The Druid's Twig of the World Tree works like Astral Communion without a downside, and the Paladin's Val'anyr fits the class perfectly, discouraging the opponent from trying to break the weapon early due to a powerful Deathrattle effect. On the other end, the Rogue's Kingsbane requires a deck to be built around it, and the deck probably?? won't end up being very good. Far too many decks are running weapon destruction cards right now to be able to get much value out of Kingsba?ne.

The problem many players are facing is a lack of resources needed to craft new cards. You can break down cards you don't want into a resource called Arcane Dust, and each card you break is worth about a quarter of what it would cost to craft a new copy. Back when Whispers of the Old Gods and Mean Streets of Gadgetzan released, each class got one legendary minion apiece, and all other class-specific cards were epic or lower. By focusing on a specific class and melting down anything you didn't intend to play, it was possible to build a very competitive deck without spending additional money for packs. Ever since Un'Goro, each class has received two legendary cards in every ??expansion, effectively doubli?ng the cost of entry if you want to be able to play with all the toys. 

Blizzard has made some changes to make things slightly better for the consumer, and you'll no longer get any duplicate legendaries in packs. Doing daily quests to earn in-game money can net you a free pack every two to three days, and you can earn one per week through the "Tavern Brawl" weekly event. But the game feels pretty stingy in how many free packs you can earn, especially when most you open will have four commons and an uncommon card at best. For example, beating the Dungeon Run with all nine classes nets you a cosmetic card back and no other rewards. You do earn some bonus packs just for trying it out, but there's no two ways around it; the game has gotten more expensive since I first started playing.

Kobolds and Catacombs has some great ideas, and I hope future expansions will each add something similar to Dungeon Run. HearthStone is still my favorite digital CCG, but I fully admit I'm a casual player and have no aspirati?ons of topping the leaderboards. It's unfortunate, but it seems like the competitive side has gotten a lot closer to being the pay-to-win game people accuse it of being. If you're just looking to have some fun playing cards, stick to the Arena and Dungeon Run where the players with the deepest pockets don't have the advantage. It's a little on the nose how many money piles you'll see in the background of this expansion.

The post Review: Hearthstone: Kobolds and Catacombs appeared first on Destructoid.

Call up your friends

Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games has a new story-based adventure title out today. Does Hidden Agenda ring any bells? It first made the rounds back at E3 as part of PlayLink, Sony's social gaming initiative that incorporates ??smartphones and tablets as controllers. The idea is to encourage participation from folks who don't normally get? into traditional multiplayer games on PS4.

A few more PlayLink titles released today including Knowledge is Power, a trivia game, and Singstar Celebration, which lets you sing into your smartphone. But for me, Hidden Agenda is and has always been the ?most intriguing part of the whol??e program. It's an up-to-six-player crime thriller in which you'll make decisions that can shift the story and potentially work against your pals in secret.

Also, the plot centers around a killer called "The Trapper." The Trapper. I kinda love that.

Knowledge is Power, Singstar, and Hidden Agenda are $20 a piece.

PlayLink: Three New Games Launch on PS4 [PlayStation Blog]

The post Supermassive’s crime thriller Hidden Agenda hits PS4 today appeared first on Destructoid.

These eyeglasses punish your children for slouching

I've written before about some of the wackier stuff that we get on the Destructoid tip line. Sometimes, we get tips about Kickstarter projects that have concluded successfully. Niero himself brought this one to our attention after seeing it on Facebook, and I have to admit, it's an interesting idea.

EyeForcer is a set of eyeglasses that don't have frames in them, and they appear to use a gyroscope to check the angle a child is holding their head at while using a tablet or other handheld device. If the glasses detect that the wearer is slouching or has their head down for more than a second, it pushes a warnin?g to the device, and the parent can decide how many warnings the child gets before the device shuts off entirely. 

If the child tries to take the glasses off to cheat the system, it knows they aren't wearing it and will still shut down their device. It's a tech solution for a biological problem, and I can't bring myself to make as much fun of it as the sex shorts. St??ill, it's hard to see this as anything ot??her than a digital replacement for nagging.

The part that brought this to our attention was the description of what could happen without the product -- "Game Boy Disease," or "Tech Neck." Nintendo hasn't used the Game Boy moniker since November 2004 when the DS launched, but I suppose it does get the point across. I rather doubt that these glasses would work with an actual Game Boy, though, since the app would be pretty hard to install on 1989 technology. On the other hand, Tech Neck sounds like a minor Venture Brothers villain, or maybe a parody of the He-man character Mekanek.

In all seriousness, it's laudable that someone is? trying to help improve children's posture this way, and threatening to take away a kid's video games is one of the more effective non-corporal punishments. Still, there are a few who might see this as counter to their desires.

Eyeforcer [Kickstarter]

The post EyeForcer fights against ‘Gameboy Disease’ or ‘Tech Neck’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Save Mr. Tofu from a life of...being tofu

This weekend on the PAX East show floor sat the unassuming A Tofu Tail, a mobile puzzle game that draws from Japanese folklore. The premise is simple -- you play as Mr. Tofu, once a human in a past life, but now unfortunately transfo??rmed into a block of tofu by the mischievous Kitsune. To escape his misfortune, Mr. Tofu must traverse various floating levels in an attempt t?o confront the mysterious fox that trapped him in the first place. 

A Tofu Tail is a fairly straightforward block puzzle game in which each level contains various types of terrain that Mr. Tofu can’t approach unless he has abso??rbed the right e??lemental orb in advance. For example, if the tofu is currently absorbing water it cannot pass across grass or any other element on the board. It's a pretty straightforward concept at first, but definitely gets tricky.

Strategizing in advance is the key to success unless you're a huge fan of trial and error, though you can redo your last move or completely start from scratch if things?? go too awry. There’s only one correct solution through each path so car??eful thought needs to be taken before leaping forward.

As you progress through the levels, other mythological beasts appear from time to time that offer different mechanics. An o?gre might wander around the level via calculated moves, blocking your path occasionally, while flying beasts will move you two blocks forward. This adds an additional layer of strategy and diffic??ulty, which I appreciated as it's fairly easy for puzzle games to get old quick.

A Tofu Tail knows how to have fun with its colorful art, Japanese mythos, and pop culture ??elements (like disco-themed levels). I had fun playing it, although at times it was a bit too difficult for my tastes. It comes out for Steam and Android later this year for 10 bucks, and the team has plans for other devices in the future.

The post Japanese mythology meets puzzler in A Tofu Tail appeared first on Destructoid.

That thing'll kill ya!

Have you had more money than sense over the last year (July 2014-July 2015) and bought an Nvidia Shield gaming tablet? Well, it could literally kill you.

Nvidia is urging users to check which battery their Shield uses to see if it is affected by the recall (Settings > About tablet > status), wherein the battery could "overheat and pose a fire hazard" (there have been a few reported instances). B01 is fine, Y01 will literally catch fire, burn a hole through your coffee table and floor, and kill the old lady living below you. 

Nvidia asks, "all users to stop using the tablet immediately," and go here or use the ?recall ?hotline if affected (1-888-943-4196).

I know someone whose iPod caught fire and ruined their dinner table once. Meanwhile, I was just telling you guys about the passenger airbag in my 10 year old car getting recalled because it may shoot out shrapnel and kill passengers on deployment. Ten years later!

The post Nvidia Shield recalled over fire hazard appeared first on Destructoid.

Above: so glad they put me in-game

Everyone’s favourite shaving simulator Don’t Starve is coming to iPad!

The inaccurately titled Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition does two things:

• Includes the base game and Reign of Giants, both optimised for touchscreen controls.
• Assumes any human being ever could fit an iPad 3, or iPad 2 Mini, into their pocket.

The game will be released in iOS tomorrow, July 9, for the very reasonable price of $4.99. This seems to be a more direct port of the game than a mobile downg??rade, as it requires iOS 8.0 or later, and the iPads it'll work on are the higher-spec ones.

Still,?? if I can chase Pigmen around on a tablet then all is well in the world.

The post Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition probably won’t actually fit in your pocket appeared first on Destructoid.

'Set in a long-forgotten world'

Square Enix has some experience putting out mobile games with big name IPs. Hitman GO released last year and by most accounts it was a solid title. Now it looks like it's our favorite tomb raider's turn with Lara Croft GO.

Comparing screens, it looks like Lara Croft GO uses an on-rails movement system similar to Hitman GO. However, rather than getting her assassination on, Lara is more suited to environmental puzzles and fighting supernatural beings. One interesting thing to note is that this takes on the Lara Croft moniker rather than the Tomb Raider name, suggesting it is likely set to be more similar to the more puzzle-focused The Guardian of Light and The Temple of Osiris than to the mainline action series.

The post Lara Croft GO headed to mobile and tablet ‘soon’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Self-aware, spooky, but not smug

_{[Til Morning's Light is a new horror adventure title from WayForward and Amazon Game Studios, bringing together talent from titles such as Aliens: Infestation, Skullgirls, and... Sailor Moon? We've got a variety of exclusive articles and interviews about the game coming this week, so stay tuned.]}

In the 1990s, the popularity of slasher films was on the decline. Whil??e the slasher formula had been a huge part of the genre's success at the start, oversaturation had caused it to become a liability. It’s very hard for most of us to remain impressed, let alone frightened, by a film once we have meta-awareness of the patterns it may be following. In the case of the slasher genre, that meant feelings of concern for the horny teens and dread of an u??nstoppable mass murderer gave way to feelings of irritation and boredom. 

A similar issue of fatigue has befallen the survival horror genre of late, at least in the world of AAA. Now when players are pitted against jump scares, lack of ammo, disorienting environments, and surplus gore, they aren't likely to think about how much trouble they're in. They're more likely to think about the last time they saw these tropes in a survival horror game. When a new AAA horror dog jumps out at us from an unsuspecting place, they don't think about that dog. They think about the Resident Evil dogs, or the Silent Hill inside-out dog-things, and immediately start comparing their old ?horror dogs to the new. Being aware of how the sausage is made works well to make eating sausage more horrific, but it only works to make horror games or fil??m feel passe.

With Scream, horror legend Wes Craven managed to take the audience's familiarity with slasher tropes and make it work in everyone's favor. By acknowledging that the audience knows the "rules" of the genre, he engaged them on their level while making the familiar feel fresh and unpredictable again. That's exactly what Adam Tierney and WayForward appear to be doing with Til Morning's Light. It's a game that affectionately acknowledges the player's awareness of the genre's language while working to take ?it to new places.

Til Morning's Light starts off with protagonist Erica Page being forced into a big spooky house by two of her more narcissistic, subtly sociopathic peers. While they aren't as overtly monstrous as some of the enemies Erica ?will encounter later in the game, they definitely come across as soulless. I won't be surprised in the slightest if they turn out to be c?annibals.

Erica doesn't seem deterred, even in the face of harsh teenage snark and a probable death trap. This is the point in the game where Til Morning’s Light first shows you're playing as a character who has probably played a lot of the same survival horror games you have. Like the movie Kick-Ass, w??here the costumed heroes are open fans of superhero comics like Batman and Spider-Man, Erica seems to recognize how much her current di?lemma feels like something from a PS1- or PS2-era horror title.

It's a risky move, which if done poorly, could have easily broken suspension of disbelief. Thankful, Til Morning's Light has the tact needed to have the opposite effect. Erica seems even more believable and easy to relate to given her knowledge of survival horror. If you are the kind of person whose mind might wander to memories of virtual Raccoon City if you were ever trapped in a old, abandoned mansion, then you and Erica already have something in common.? 

You won't have too much time to sit and relate with Erica, though. It only takes her a few minutes of mansion exploring before she comes into contact with some serious threats in the? form of giant flying insects. In the face of actual danger, she's less apt to wear her experiences with horror games on her sleeve and more apt to get into a kill-or-be-killed mentality, which also makes her easy to relate with. 

Til Morning's Light is coming to multiple platforms, but it was designed for touch screen interfaces, which might have some of you worried about how fun its combat might be. Much as Superbrothers did with Sword and Sworcery, WayForward has found a smart way around the touch-only design interface that keeps the action simple but ??tense. Bumping into an enemy on the ex??ploration screen triggers a battle not unlike in a turn-based RPG.

Once you start fighting, there's no time for passivity. Things break down into a design that's probably most easily comparable to Elite Beat Agents, except without the upbeat p?arty feel and all the fear of total failure. Tap a circle at just the right time as a ring closes around it. Hit it at the perfect time, do big damage. Come close, you'll squeak by. Fail outright, and you take a hit. Circles appear on screen at unpredictable rhythms and placements, so you'll have to keep your eyes and fingers active to stay alive. 

It might not sound like it should work for a horror game, but the level or powerlessness and tension I felt during these encounters was a perfect fit for the genre. Like most real-life fights, combat in Til Morning's Light seems like it should be simple -- just hit the thing that's causing you problems and don't screw up. Of course, these fights are rarely that simple (especially as you gain new weapons that change the combat system) leading to teeth-clenching suspense wh?ere even the smallest mistake can make you suffer.

These bloodthirsty bugs might feel like arbitrary horror game enemies at first, but dig a little deeper and you'll find that there is a valid explanation for their place in the mansion. I don't want to give too much away, but rest assured that in my time with Til Morning's Light, none of the action, exploration, and puzzle solving felt like it was there just to follow the "rules" of survival horror game design. Everything had an explanation, even the Resident Evil 4-like shop keeper who manages to pop up in the most unusual, dangerous places. Knowing that those explanations are there, should I be brave enough to discover them, was just one of the things that kept me wanting more from Til Morning's Light.

The post Til Morning’s Light is a smart take on traditional survival horror appeared first on Destructoid.

'Darkness cannot drive out darkness'

Sometimes I just want to zone out with some synth music, bright colors, and pure gameplay. Super Hexagon works well for that, but it is always nice to try something new. Project J has an interesting hook to it, where the light is navigating through ??a maze drawn with perspective, but ??leaving out any lines to get a good feel for it without moving the light source.

Project J is free to play with in-app purchases to remove ads, which is a bit of a turnoff, but from what little I have played already the ads are not too intrusive. It is available on Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.

The post Project J lo?oks like a trippy little game I could ??waste some time with appeared first on Destructoid.

Turns out tax collectin? is more fun than tax payin?

Flick, flick, flick. That’s all you’ll be doing in Skullduggery. Flicking to collect treasure. Flicking to outrun bosses. Flicking to line up stealthy headshots on unsuspecting enemies. You can play the game however you?? want (usually) -- fast or slow; just know that you’ll be flicking the whole time. And, if the build we saw at PAX Prime is any indication, it’s a flicking good time.

Skullduggery’s a title developed for tablets that borrows liberally from the simple mechanic that Rovio (maybe) popularized. By pulling back and letting go, players launch a skull across the screen. Do this ad nauseum, and you have Skullduggery. However, inste?ad of an interspecies vendetta against pigs, this game’s protagonist has a goal that’s much easier to empathize with: riches.

Two things are certain in this world -- death and taxes. Skullduggery staunchly enforces the idea that even in the former, the latter’s still an inevitability. Dammit, maybe Wes Snipes was onto something, even if he’s spending some time in the clink as a result. Skullduggery’s titular skull (maybe he has a name; let’s call him Johnny Rotten because that sounds punk rock as H-E-double hockey sticks) is out to collect taxes in the afterlife, and even the po??st-alive like to keep what’s rightfully theirs. Rock, flag, eagle, and all.

That’s where the flicking comes into play. Well, actually, that’s the whole game (pay attention!) Three-quarters action with maybe one-quarter puzzler dashed in, Skullduggery requires the player to constantly send Rotten ?flying through levels in search of more and more to claim in the name of the undead IRS. Each level features three artifacts that typically aren’t completely obvious as to where they are, and judging by my time with the demo, will get continually more difficult -- both with regard to skill required to obtain, and cleverness with which they’re hidden.

The artifacts, just like the three objectives presented in each level, aren’t necessary for advancement, however. They’re just there for a sense of fulfillment. (Have you been ??the best little tax collector you can be? By the way, Rotten -- working for the man isn’t very punk rock.) Just g??etting through the levels might prove challenging at times; definitely in the instance of the boss that I encountered.

Facing a skull about 30 times the size of my suddenly harmless-looking Rotten (so many skulls, it’s like an Affliction shirt up in here!) I was given no choice but to run away. Run away quickly, that is. This is where one of Skullyduggery’s more nuanced and handy mechanics come into play. While in the air, you can tap and hold the screen to slow down time considerably, giving temporary faux-pause to more sele?ctively line up your next move.

For a game that’s seemingly centered on the premise of speed and greed, this facet significantly changes the approach you’ll take to Skullduggery, as you now find yourself seamlessly shifting between quick and slow play. Given more time to analyze any given situation, the wise decision’s just a well-placed flick ahead, but gah, there’s more gold in that offsh??oot, and I can definitely snag it quick before this giant skull smashes me, righ?t?

Maybe you can. Maybe you can’t. But you’ll probably try. That’s because Skullduggery makes everything look so easy, so attai??nable -- even when crushing defeat is imminent. Who knows what damned you to an eternity of tax collecting, but your greed just damned you to the welcome mat of the after-afterlife. Change your fortunes by playing it slow and carefully considering your flic?ks next time. Things might work out better that way. But, whatever happens, never stop flicking.

The post You?ll play Sk??ullduggery greedily, whether fa??st or slow appeared first on Destructoid.

Digital sales are up 16% over 2012

To the surprise of probably no one, it looks like the vast majority of PC games that are sold are through digital channels. PC site PCR has been told by analyst DFC Intelligence that in 2013, 92% of games sold were digital, while physical sales have declined to 8%.

In the UK specifically, physical games sales accounted for £1.015 billion which was just pipped by digital games sales at £1.18 billion, which includes mobile and tablet games. That is a rise of 16.4% from 2012. There's no ?breakdown of how the digital sales were spread between formats but I'd have to imagine free-to-play and mobile titles made up a fair chunk of those sales.&?nbsp;

That comes as no surprise for me, persona?lly. I mainly play games on my PC and really, there's no reason for me to buy physical copies of PC games. There's a much better range of titles available online and shops here don't accept trade-ins o?f PC titles.

Digital downloads account for 92% ?of PC game sales [PCR] [Image]

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Nexus 7 killer?

The newest entries in the Nvidia Shield family, the Shield tablet and the Shield wireless controller, have joined the Shield portable as part of Nvidia's homegrown line-up of gam??ing-focused Android-based devices.

The Shield tablet hosts some top of the line hardware with an 8-inch IPS LCD display at a resolution of 1920x1200. It also features Nvidia's latest Tegra K1 Cortex A15r3 processor clocked at 2.2 GHz and a Kepler 1 SMX GPU as well as 2 GBs of RAM. The Shield also has 5 MP front and back cameras and a large 519?7 mAh battery.

The Shield tablet also features stylus support and one is included with the tablet. The base model features 16 G??Bs of internal stora?ge and retails for $299.00 The Shield wireless controller, which connects via Wi-Fi instead of the usual Bluetooth and also features a stereo jack and microphone as well as a touchpad, retails for $59.99.

There are also a menagerie of accessories for the Shield tablet such as replacement stylus and AC adapters, and ?a specially designed tablet cover.

I know as ?far as Android gaming goes this would be my number one device choice a?t the time of writing.

The post Nvidia Shield tablet now shipping appeared first on Destructoid.

Steam user reviews currently not good

Almost a year to the day after its announcement, Wayward Manor from author Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Sandman) and the team behind  The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, is now on Steam. 

The Beetlejuice-esque puzzle/adventure game set in the 1920's has you playing a ghost trying to scare the c?urrent residents from your old manor. 

The post Author Neil Gaiman’s first game is up on Steam right now appeared first on Destructoid.

Banner? I hardly even know her!

Versus Evil has announced Banner Saga is coming to tablets this summer. Those beautiful visuals would be nice to curl up with in bed. Though if you want to play the strategy game on PC, it's on sale on Steam right now.

The post The Banner Saga coming to tablets this summer appeared first on Destructoid.

'A full PC, and a brilliant tablet'

Microsoft won't give up on the Surface because of failures of past iterations. No, it's intent on makin??g an impression on the tablet market. As such, Microsoft revealed the Surface Pro 3 today.

It seems that Microsoft's primary goal with the design of the Surface Pro 3 was to do away with consumer uncertainty about whether they should buy a laptop or a tablet. That'??s because Microsoft? wants this tablet to replace your laptop.

As far as specs go, the Surface Pro 3 will have models that feature C??ore i3 (starting at $799), i5 (starting at $999), and i7 (starting at $1,549) processors, up to 512GB storage, and up to 8GB RAM. The tablet has a 12-inch screen with 2160x1440 resolution, and is only 9.1mm thick. It'll be available on June 20 in the US and Canada.

Announcing Surface Pro 3 [Microsoft Surface Blog]

The post Third time’s the charm? Microsoft reveals Surface Pro 3 tablet appeared first on Destructoid.

Free-to-play, you say?

My Final Fantasy hype meter is at an all-time high. What with all the glorious Theatrhythm news and the upcoming Final Fantasy XV, I'm positively ticked pink. Now we've got a handful of gameplay videos on the horizon for Final Fantasy Agito, the game formerly known as Prince Final Fantasy Type-0, by way of Famitsu.

Final Fantasy Agito is actually a mobile prequel port of the PSP game Final Fantasy Type-0, and it's set for a release in the near future. It's actually gone the free-to-play route with several different changes in presentation and an overall makeov??er, having been divided int??o chapters delivered every two weeks.

All six gameplay clips have been collected into one video above, via All Games Beta. I think I would have pr??eferred a normal handheld release, personally.

Final Fantasy Agito Gameplay Clips [All Games Beta]

The post Check out six? new cl?ips showcasing Final Fantasy Agito appeared first on Destructoid.

48-hour jam game needs to be in my life

Watch this. It's a teaser for Trainfinity, a game developed in 48 hours during the Nordic Game Jam last week. A local cooperative multiplayer game, tracks run in three lanes from one player's tablet to the next while trains begin to run on the tracks in both directions at increasing frequency. Players have to com?municate with each other to prevent collisions and derailments along the line.

The design is simple enough that anybody who can operate a tablet should understand it, a major plus for a party game. Hell, you could probably sell this as a team-building exercise in how it rewards effective communication with your neighbors. I'm a big fan of this idea and hope it se?es further development.

The post Trainfinity transforms tablets to train tracks appeared first on Destructoid.

The first game from the veteran game designer in four years

After 2012's successful Kickstarter campaign, we'll get our hands Jane Jensen's new game, Moebius: Empire Rising on April 15, 2014. It's Jensen's first game since 2010's Gray Matter, so it's been some time coming. Players will control the antiques dealer Malach??i Rector (because in what other genre of g?ame would you control an antiques dealer?) as he is tasked by a shadowy government agency to identify a mysterious woman.

The trailer that's been out for the game makes it look like your avera??ge adventure ??game but the strength of the genre is always the story, dialogue, and characters.

I'm keen to play Moebius: Empire Rising as I love adventure games that are detective mysteries, like Gemini Rue, so this is right up my alley. The PC and Mac versio??ns are out on April 15 but the tablet and Linux version ?will follow later in the year. 

The post Jane Jensen’s Moebius is arriving April 15 appeared first on Destructoid.

It's actually a board game, not a point-'n'-click title

Whilst fantasy RPG fans like myself bide their time until the arrival of The Witcher 3 later this year, we might have another game set in the world of Geralt of Rivia. The Witcher Adventure Game isn't a?ctually a point-'n'-click title, it's the name of an upcoming board?? game being developed by Fantasy Flight Games along with CD Projeckt RED.

With the ability to level up a character and go on a variety of different quest types, it looks like the board game has all the elements of the games. Players can take their pick of four of the franchise's stalwart characters: Geralt, naturally, along with?? the sorceress Triss, the bard Dandelion, and the Dwarven warrior Yarpen Zigrin.

Along with the actual board game, a digital version to play on either iOS or Android tablets will be available too. There have been a few interesting videogame-based boardgames to have come out recently (yes I know The Witcher is based on a series of books, pedants) but I've not tried any of them out, part?ly due to price an??d partly down to a lack of fellow players. Maybe a digital version might be the way to go here unless any of you guys fancy heading round to my house to play. 

The post Take on monsters in the Witcher Adventure Game appeared first on Destructoid.

I wonder if there will be any hedgehog silhouettes...

Shadow art is one of the cool things I've seen on the Internet and marveled at, knowing I could never come close to creating something similar. Taking three-dimensional objects and arranging them in such a way that they cast a different two-dimensional image in shadow is just mind boggling. Though I may never create my own pieces of shadow art, with Shadowmatic,? I ??may be able to play around with it and feel partly awesome.

Presented with an abstract, almost nonsens?ical 3D object, players must rotate it until they find the orientation that casts a recognizable shadow on the wall. Soon, multiple objects come into play, and one must worry not only about individual object orientation, but position relative to other obje??cts. As a neat touch, the room that a given puzzle takes place in provides a hint toward the solution. For instance, the "5" in the video above exists inside a geometry classroom.

Shadowmatic is currently in development for iOS devices, to be released in March of next year, but developer Triada Studio Games has stated that it will begin work on an Android port after the iOS launch. Though it may not end up on any Game of the Year lists, it looks like it could be a really cool little game t?o carry aroun?d everywhere.

The post Play with light and darkness in Shadowmatic appeared first on Destructoid.

A $199 value!

[Update: Contest over! Winner is Qtwentyseven!]

Our friends at Disney have just handed us a brand new Google Nexus 7 pre-loaded with their hit game Star Wars: Tiny Death Star to give ?away to one luck??y jbsgame.community member!

In the game, you get to decorate your own personal Death Star from a sel??ection of themed floors, and work to capture Rebel scum like Luke and Leia. I have never heard of something more adorable i??n all my life. And what better way to play such an amazing sounding game than with a brand new 32GB Nexus 7?!

To enter, just leave a comment in this thread telling me what you think the cutest thing about Tiny Death Star is. Limit one entry per person, and the contest is?? open to anyone in the US. You have until this Sunday, December 1 at 11:5??9pm Pacific to enter.

Good luck! And don't forget, our Huge members? get automatic entry into all contests (as well as a bunch of other awesome perks). It's pretty great!

The post Contest: Win a Ne??xus 7? pre-loaded with Tiny Death Star! appeared first on Destructoid.