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        <description><![CDATA[ 5 articles tagged as Sci-fi ]]></description>
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        <pubDate>2026-04-06 16:25:54</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[So Far, So Good. Overwatch Has Met Expectations]]></title>
                <link>https://novogamer.com/articles/so-far-so-good-overwatch-has-met-expectations-d04dK2O0AZ</link>
                <description><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;">Overwatch, or Team Fortress 2 with waifus, was finally released last week to the delight of many. Arguably one of the most anticipated games of 2016, Overwatch offers 3 different editions available to purchase, a $40 'standard edition' available only by digital download and exclusively for PC users,  a $60 'Origins Edition' and a $130 'Collectors' Edition'. The Origins Edition is available for both PC and consoles as a hard copy or digital download that includes the game, 5 skins, and some random content for other Battle.net/Blizzard games like Hearthstone. The last, and my personal favorite, is the  'Collector's Edition' for $130, which is only available as a physical copy at a brick and mortar store or Amazon, contains everything in the Origins Edition as well as a visual source book, soundtrack and a beautiful Soldier: 76 statue. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But, is this game, with no campaign and only one game mode, online multiplayer, worth allocating a part of your gaming budget? </p><p>Unequivocally, yes.  </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes you should buy this game, regardless of what you own, Xbox 1, PlayStation 4, PC, Genesis, whatever. Concerns over being a poorly ported game are unfounded, the controls are friendly to both controller and k/m (unlike Team Fortress 2, have you ever tried using a controller in the game? Spy is no longer a viable option). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Overwatch answers the age old question of who is better, a skilled archer, or a skilled sniper in ever single game. Overwatch appeals to the FPS gamers, the Sci-Fi lovers, those who love to beat down people with fisticuffs, the ranged lovers, tanks are actually tanky instead of easily exploited like in games past. With a decent amount of playable characters, Overwatch has pulled off what many have thought to be a lost art,  a character line up with each one being unique in their play style and abilities. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The quick games and loot boxes awarded upon every level add to the 'one more game' addiction that already plagues the majority of gamers and helps gamers quickly forget poor results as most games take less than 10 minutes but seem surprisingly longer in-game. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Blizzard has been doing everything right so far, listening to fans and dealing with detractors correctly, i.e, Tracer pose. Game director Jeff Kaphlan even announced that all new heroes and maps will NOT incur an additional charge. <em>"</em><em>We just know that when we patch a new hero into the game, we want it to be free and not as DLC.</em><em>" </em><span class="redactor-invisible-space"> </span></p><p><span class="redactor-invisible-space">Well done Blizzard. Stay true to the game, the gamer base and continue to do what's best for Overwatch.</span></p><p><span class="redactor-invisible-space">GG Yes Re</span></p>]]></description>
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                <guid>d04dK2O0AZ</guid>
                <pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2016 09:23:00 +0000</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Preview: Aliens Go Home Run!]]></title>
                <link>https://novogamer.com/articles/preview-aliens-go-home-run-ZKQmwlGkgv</link>
                <description><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;">I don't often get the chance to play a game before its official release, so when I'm asked if I want an early review copy of a game, assuming that I have the specs to play it, you bet your sweet aft end that I'll take that opportunity. Enter <em>Aliens Go Home Run!</em> by <a href="https://twitter.com/anim_ace" target="_blank">ANIM‚Ä¢ACE</a><span class="redactor-invisible-space"></span>: A rather unique take on the Breakout clone sub-genre. I was given the chance to try out and review the game while its still in its early beta phase, so let's see what there was to offer.</p><p style="text-align: center;" rel="text-align: center;"><strong><br></strong></p><p rel="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;"><strong>(Disclaimer: Any and all content that this game's beta contains may be changed or altered in its final release. Please keep this fact in consideration while reading.)</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;" rel="text-align: center;"><strong><br></strong></p><p><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" alt="" width="440" height="247" style="float: right; width: 440px; height: 247px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"><span style="background-color: initial; letter-spacing: -0.003em;">The story is wacky, but simple. A young but passionate baseball player named Sally hits a homerun so hard that the ball speeds through space and crashes into an alien planet so forcefully that it makes a crater upon impact. As such the aliens get pissed and invade earth to exact their revenge. So Sally takes it upon herself to fend off the invaders with her trusty bat and ball. It gives of that early 90's style of creativity that you don't see very much. The story doesn't make much sense, but it doesn't have to as the gameplay is what matters most. I love games like this because the surreal plot makes for some interesting mechanics due to the setting that the story gave it. Most game companies don't seem to grasp this any more.</span></p><p><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" alt="" width="423" height="239" style="float: left; width: 423px; height: 239px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now as for the game's controls, they are very responsive and I can't seem to find anything wrong with them. You hit the ball into the blocks and aliens on top half of the screen, you grab power-ups that you can activate at any time to make completing the stage easier, and you can slide along the ground to temporarily become invulnerable to enemy fire. You only get three strikes (HP) before you're out though, but I think that's more than fair considering that the game's challenge scales at a natural pace and you don't fail if the ball ever touches the ground; Instead you just lose the score combo you've built up to that point. I never felt like the game was unfairly difficult in the 5 stages that the beta offered at the time.</p><p><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" alt="" width="423" height="237" style="float: right; width: 423px; height: 237px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now while there were so few levels in the beta itself, it did offer a level editor which I tried out to a fair extent. Now while it wasn't the most intuitive level editor I've used, I never found myself frustrated on how to use it. It was very easy to learn and placing blocks and enemies was quite painless because the whole system was tile-based. Now I have no idea if sharing levels will be a feature that will be added to it any time in the future, but I sincerely hope that the developers will at least consider it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I had a ton of fun with what little was presented to me. The music was extremely well composed and had a Sega-like feel to it, the graphics and spritework was expertly made and was vibrantly colored, and the fact that it's gamepad compatible is just icing on the cake. I was especially impressed by the fact that it was made in Unity as the sheer abundance of crappy Unity-made games makes ones like <em>Aliens Go Home Run!</em> shine as a result. There are a few bugs here and there but due to it still being in its testing phase, that's to be expected. I personally can't wait until the full version of this game is completely finished and released on April 2nd, but until then, I'll be seeing you.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oJMbLQYYkNg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br></p>]]></description>
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                <guid>ZKQmwlGkgv</guid>
                <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2017 01:02:00 +0000</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Updated Review: Aliens Go Home Run!]]></title>
                <link>https://novogamer.com/articles/updated-review-aliens-go-home-run-ZeQawVZeYj</link>
                <description><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;">So it came to my attention that the first beta of this game that I played was glitched to the point where beating stage 1-5 wouldn't register as a win, which as a result wouldn't unlock the next stage. I personally thought that the rest of the game past that point was just unfinished so it was left locked until the official release. But the devs got in contact with me and fixed the problem so I could finish the game and give it a more informed review and analysis. Much of my opinion hasn't changed from the initial article I wrote so I'm going to keep this addendum short, sweet and to the point. As such, I would suggest that you should <a href="https://novogamer.com/307/preview-aliens-go-home-run-">read that article</a> first so you aren't lost here.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>(Disclaimer: Like before, any and all content that this game's beta contains may be changed or altered in its final release. Please keep this fact in consideration while reading.)</strong><br></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" alt="" style="float: right; width: 426px; height: 240px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" width="426" height="240"><span class="redactor-invisible-space">So first of all, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Each of the 70 stages and 9 bosses have their own unique challenge to them witch gradually increase in difficulty as you play. But I did have one major problem with one stage and one stage only: 5-7. Every regular stage before and after it were perfectly fine and a lot of fun when it came to their difficulty relative to where it was placed in the game, but this stage in particular was severely unbalanced. I get that the game is still in beta and is currently being tested for bugs, but when I'm subjected to a bullet hell while avoiding mines AND those thwomp-like enemies for nearly an hour where every other stage took roughly 5 minutes (bosses at no more than 10 minutes), it starts to feel more like a chore. The only other gripe I had with the game is that some of the achievements didn't proc when they were supposed to, but that didn't bother me too much. I've never been big on collecting achievements in games.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" rel="text-align: justify;">Now that one stage didn't ruin my experience of this wonderfully crafted game. It would take a helluva lot more than one bad stage to make me hate a video game; I'm not that petty. So like I said, my overall opinion was largely unchanged. And now that I've beaten the game, I feel that I can properly score this game like I have in every other review I've done. So until next time, I'll be seeing you.</p><p style="text-align: center;">Score</p><p><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto;"></p>]]></description>
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                <guid>ZeQawVZeYj</guid>
                <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2017 11:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Gunjack 2: End of Shift

Google Daydream's Best Shooter Game of The Year (So Far)]]></title>
                <link>https://novogamer.com/articles/gunjack-2-end-of-shift-google-daydreams-best-shooter-game-of-the-year-so-far-aARmmBwdxWN</link>
                <description><![CDATA[<p>Google has me hooked on mobile VR with it's headset <i><em>the</em> <strong>Daydream</strong></i><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><strong>. </strong>Mobile VR has become my newest gaming obsession.<span class="redactor-invisible-space"><strong> </strong>I</span><span class="redactor-invisible-space"> have not played standard mobile games as much as I have been besides a few like <span class="redactor-invisible-space"><strong><em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.vaguelycompetent.cardsagainstfriends" target="_blank">Cards Against Friends</a> </em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.vaguelycompetent.cardsagainstfriends" target="_blank"></a></strong><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space">and <strong><em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.criticalforceentertainment.criticalops" target="_blank">Critical Ops</a></em></strong><span class="redactor-invisible-space">. </span></span></span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.vaguelycompetent.cardsagainstfriends" target="_blank"></a></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" alt="" style="display: block; margin: auto;"><del></del></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p>One game that I have not been able to stop playing is <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ccpgames.gunjack2" target="_blank"><strong><em>Gunjack 2: End of Shift</em></strong></a><strong><em>. </em></strong><span class="redactor-invisible-space">It's</span><span class="redactor-invisible-space"> a sequel to the critically acclaimed and best-selling VR shooter <strong><em><a href="https://www.gunjack.com/" target="_blank">Gunjack</a></em></strong><a href="https://www.gunjack.com/" target="_blank"></a>. It originally was a game that was made for the Oculus in 2015, though now you can get the game for every major VR headset besides Daydream.</span></p><p><span class="redactor-invisible-space">The game takes place in what is called the EVE Universe, where you are a turret gunner in the dangerous Outer Ring of New Eden. Though you don't fight for power or for money, you fight just to see another day protecting the Kubera and it's precious cargo.</span></p><p><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><em></em><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" style="font-size: 20px; background-color: transparent;"></span></p><p>The reason why I like <strong><em>Gunjack 2 </em></strong>over other VR shooter games I've played is that the game takes advantage of the full capability of Daydream's controller by using the track pad swipe technology to select your load outs. Along with understanding that it's better to not have the option of using "where you look is how you aim." The controls are very fluid and works perfectly for this type of game. </p><p>This game is stunning. For a mobile game I think this is one of the best VR experience I've had so far this year. The game makes you feel what it's like to be a turret gunner in this EVE Universe. It uses the 180¬∞ game play to its full advantage. You would think all VR shooters would be the same. Though you are sadly mistaken. </p><p><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png"></p><p>Besides a really fun and we'll thought out campaign mode. I have found myself playing the game solely on the games replay factor of daily and weekly challenges. Every day there are three new challenges based on difficulty from easy to hard. I frequently play all three, though the easy challenge at level 13 was the same agonizing hardship you faced on level 2 hard, where you had no load out, you had to kill to keep your health from automatically dropping, and one unshielded hit means you're dead. The challenges are a great way to level up quickly, along with unlocking cool guns and other load outs.</p><p>I think the fine folks over at CCP Games did a great job of being their EVE Universe to life with <strong><em>Gunjack 2</em></strong><span class="redactor-invisible-space">. You may have passed this game up thinking that no mobile game is worth $12. Well I think I've gotten my $12 worth with just the daily and weekly challenges alone.</span></p>]]></description>
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                <author><![CDATA[Archive]]></author>
                <guid>aARmmBwdxWN</guid>
                <pubDate>Fri, 28 Apr 2017 11:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Review: Metroid: Samus Returns]]></title>
                <link>https://novogamer.com/articles/review-metroid-samus-returns-ZkQGwe04Pn</link>
                <description><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify;">I am not proud to admit this, but I was completely uninterested in the Metroid series up until the release of <em>Metroid Prime</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space"> and <em>Metroid Fusion</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space"> back in 2002. It never really appealed to me since the first game in the series that I played was <em>Metroid II</em> back in 2000. But thankfully all of that changed when I first played those glorious games on the Game Cube way back then. The gameplay, the creatures, the atmosphere, the lore, EVERYTHING about the games hit every high note for me and I was instantly hooked. So imagine how much patience I've lost waiting for another proper entry to the series, especially after Nintendo DMCA'ed that fan game <em>AM2R</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space">... That being said, I was ecstatic when Nintendo revealed not one, but TWO brand new Metroid games at E3 this year. <em>Metroid Prime 4</em> unfortunately won't be released for quite some time, but I think that the game I'm reviewing today, <em>Metroid</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space">:<em> Samus Returns</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space"> which is a reimagining of <em>Metroid II</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space">, will definitely fill the gap until then, I hope...</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" rel="text-align: justify;"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" style="font-size: 20px; background-color: transparent; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="">First off let's recap the lore of the game: Samus is a bounty hunter well known for her heroic exploits against a massive group of interstellar terrorists known as Space Pirates who in turn were most well known for using an alien species known as Metroids as both a bio-weapon and organic energy source. After her climactic battle with them and Mother Brain on the planet Zebes, she became the one the Galactic Federation turned to when things started to become too difficult to control; Think along the lines of a one man SWAT team. After a botched recon mission to the planet SR388 in order to collect a living Metroid sample, the federation concluded that the Metroids were too dangerous to be left alive and called for Samus to commit mass genocide against the entire species. Not overly complicated and just interesting enough to keep your attention.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" style="font-size: 20px; background-color: transparent; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" alt="">Now the gameplay is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. You have your usual move, jump and shoot actions plus Samus's unique ability to curl into a ball, but in this entry you have three new abilities that alter the feel of the game quite significantly: free aiming in full 360 degrees, a melee counter-attack, and the brand new Aeion abilities. Aeion let Samus perform special skills like revealing breakable blocks or slowing down time. All of these new abilities are just what the series needed to evolve the gameplay of the 2D entries further. Plus once you get the hang of the melee counter, you feel like a real bad-ass, especially against the larger enemies.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png" style="font-size: 20px; background-color: transparent; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px;" alt="">As for everything else in this game, it hits all of the marks I was hoping for a remake of game that did not age well. The music is fantastic and captures the atmosphere of the world extremely well, the gameplay and exploration is top notch and incredibly responsive and I love how many classic abilities make a return with brand new functions like the Spider-Spark and Grapple Lasso, and as for the ultimate goal in the game, it is exactly the same as what it was in the original; slay every metroid on the planet. This can range from relatively easy to quite a hefty challenge, but if you're having trouble you can scan a compatible amiibo to give you reserve tanks or the location of the metroid nearest to you.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space">Overall, I was initially skeptical about Mercury Steam developing a game in one of my favorite game series, especially after the lukewarm reception that <em>Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space"> got from the fans. But my fears were eased when I played the game to 100% completion as this was probably one of the best 2D Metroid games I've played since I first experienced <em>Super Metroid</em><span class="redactor-invisible-space">. Nintendo has successfully revived a series I long thought might be forever dormant and I can't wait for more in the coming years. But until then, I'll be seeing you.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" rel="text-align: center;"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space">Score</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" rel="text-align: center;"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><span class="redactor-invisible-space"><img src="https://novogamer.com/images/archive-broken-image.png"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>]]></description>
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                <author><![CDATA[Archive]]></author>
                <guid>ZkQGwe04Pn</guid>
                <pubDate>Fri, 29 Sep 2017 11:47:00 +0000</pubDate>
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