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Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home iOS Game Review – A Great Start, But Still Needs Work

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was a really interesting game to trace down before its release. I say that not only since it’s a premium mobile game, but additionally since the reactions of my friends who’re long-time fans of the series went from apathy to interest with every gameplay snippet shown. It recently released on iOS and Android as a mobile exclusive within the Natsume series, and I’ve been playing it for about every week and a half on my iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro for review. It’s a excellent farming simulation game, nevertheless it’s currently held back by a number of issues.

Many fans of the Marvelous series of games have been around for the reason that SNES or N64, but I only really got into it on the 3DS with . At the time, I had no idea concerning the name change and that the Marvelous releases could be called Marvelous, while Natsume would use that name from then on. I’m explaining this now because I don’t need people to get confused about what it’s, and likewise to inform you my history with the series before I get into my feelings about ($17.99).

If you’re latest to farming and simulation games, it takes you back from the town to a peaceful village where you fish, farm, interact with a bunch of NPCs, attend festivals (which you might have to unlock), and even discover a companion. The village of Alba, your latest home, is dense and comfortable (sorry, but I needed to), and I’m glad it’s not an enormous open area, because those are inclined to end in a whole lot of empty spaces relating to simulation games. If you’ve played a whole lot of this genre, consider this one, which focuses more on the characters and has a bit of less depth relating to farming.

After a brief tutorial explaining the fundamentals of movement and a little bit of farming, you unlock the map and primary menu, allowing you to avoid wasting your game almost anywhere (this may be very vital for mobile games). This is where you begin trying to finish quests for NPCs, upgrade tools, gather, mine (this unlocks a bit later), and naturally, farm within the primary chapters of the sport.

The more I played, the more I spotted that the creators understood what makes life and farming simulation games great, but in some ways they fell short. They may appeal to newcomers to the genre, but those that have played many recent games will find them lacking. The potential partners are probably the weakest aspect. They simply aren’t as interesting as other games within the genre. If you do not care about that aspect, it’s a reasonably well-rounded entry within the genre.

From a life simulation enthusiast’s perspective, the approach seems different. While other platforms are spoiled with a plethora of games from developers big and small, we don’t see a lot of those on mobile, but that doesn’t make up for a few of the flaws here, especially at a much higher price point. I feel it’s a really solid base that developers can construct on to the purpose where it’s an ideal fit for PC and consoles. The only “mobile” aspect for now’s the touch control option.

Visually, performance and cargo times aside, which I’ll discuss below, it looks excellent. Some of the characters look generic, however the interface, farm, constructing layout, and the whole lot else look good. I also appreciate that it supports full screen on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro. It really appears like a game that’s been properly adapted for mobile devices by way of graphics and controls.

While visually it looks nice for essentially the most part, it falls short relating to character designs. This includes your personal character with customization options, which could use more detail, in addition to the primary NPCs within the town. Many of them seem lifeless even during cutscenes. Other than that, I actually just like the aesthetics and it looks great on my iPhone and iPad. The only disappointment is the performance. It is currently capped at 30 fps on my iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro. I used to be expecting over 60 fps, let alone 60 fps, but now you possibly can’t play at the next frame rate. Loading times are also not as fast as they must be.

Sound-wise, I used to be pleased with the music and sounds in . Nothing stood out enough to hearken to outside of the sport, nevertheless it sounded good and the changes in music were appropriate for the gameplay.

When it was announced that the sport could be a mobile exclusive, I used to be curious to see how it might control. The developers have done a improbable job with the touch controls, allowing you to play by tapping to maneuver, swiping to maneuver, and more. Interacting with objects or characters, farming, and navigating menus is enjoyable. Some of the text and touch targets seem a bit too small on the iPhone, but they’re nice on the iPad. I do wish there was some haptic feedback on the iPhone for using tools and even fishing, though. Maybe they will add that in a future update.

If you’ve got played the 2 best life sim games on mobile: and , it feels closer to the primary one, nevertheless it’s not as polished. I do not like comparing other games in the identical genre, but I’m doing it here specifically for the mobile version. These two games were made for PC/console and ported to mobile, while they were made for mobile, and yet they do not feel as tailored to the platform by way of features.

is a mobile-only game, and while I appreciate the touch controls, it currently has a number of issues relating to features. The lack of cloud saves is greater than a bit of disappointing. When I first downloaded the sport on my iPhone, I played for about three hours before I picked up my iPad to see the way it felt. I couldn’t discover a strategy to transfer saves, and I still can’t transfer saves between devices. The lack of controller support can also be disappointing for a game like this. The developers did an awesome job with the touch controls, nevertheless it could be nice to have controller support once I’m playing on an iPad. I also wish there have been some quality of life features that addressed motion, like we’ve seen in recent games within the genre.

As a newbie to Natsume’s latest games, but a fan of all of the recent and other life simulation games, the sport proved to be price playing, nevertheless it does need a number of updates and features to be truly worthwhile at full price. I even have nothing against developers charging premium prices on mobile, but the shortage of basic features like cloud saves and controller support definitely make it hard to recommend, given the opposite design issues. If the developers keep working on it, this may very well be among the best games within the genre on mobile, and I’m glad they took a probability and made a premium life simulation game for mobile, because those are very rare.

This article was originally published on : toucharcade.com
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The Pokémon TCG Pocket Mass Outbreak Event is a great opportunity to strengthen your Fire-type collection

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Hot on the heels of Meowth and Chansey Wonder Pick, there’s a latest reason to open your phone within the constant pursuit of more digital cards. The Fire Pokémon Mass Outbreak event doesn’t provide any latest challenges for a single player to overcome, so don’t fret about assembling the Misty deck you have been meaning to construct. Instead, this one specifically rewards those that like to take a look at Wonder Pick options throughout the day.

Here’s how the Fire Pokémon Mass Outbreak event works: From now until November 28, a special “Bonus Pick” option will appear within the Miracle Pick menu. This will allow you to randomly select one in all five Fire-type cards free of charge, so it’s best to all the time select a bonus each time you see one. These may appear several times a day, so make sure to check your Wonders if you determine to play. At the identical time, you’ll occasionally see a “Rare Picks” pop-up within the Wonder Picks menu, which can feature a correspondingly rarer collection of cards. Rare types cost miraculous stamina that takes 36 hours to naturally regenerate.

Let’s take a take a look at what exactly you will get here:

Picture: : Pokemon Company / Kotaku

All cards you possibly can get with bonus picks

The pool of cards that may appear as bonus picks is as follows:

Charmander

Charmeleon

Vulpix

Ninetales

Ponyta

Rapidash

Growlithe

Magmara

Heatmor

Blaine

Again, the bonus picks are actually free, so even when all of the cards are terrible, they’re still price grabbing. That said, the evolution lines of Charmander, Vulpix, and Ponyta will help improve your Fire deck, especially in case you can mix them with Blaine’s Trainer card. Nine-Tails with an extra 30 damage from Blaine can KO Pikachu EX in a single hit!

A screenshot of the Fire Pokémon Mass Outbreak event in Pokémon TCG Pocket shows that an option called

Picture: : Pokemon Company / Kotaku

All cards you possibly can get from rare picks

In the meantime, here’s what the rare pick pool looks like

Arkanine EX

Charizard

Moltresa

Ninetales

Rapidash

Charmeleon

Blaine

Are rare types well worth the miraculous durability?

Admittedly, the worth perspective here is difficult. Charizard EX is probably the greatest cards in the sportbut this is on offer. Arcanine EX is the rarest pick here, nevertheless it’s not exactly a “meta” card. 120 damage for 3 energy can counter the Pikachu EX cards that always show up in online matches, so you certainly shouldn’t write this off. That said, you’ve no actual guarantee that you’re going to catch it, given how Wonder Picks works, so you’ll need to weigh whether the chance is well worth the reward. You can get Miraculous Hourglass and Shop Ticket by pulling Arcanine EX through the event, but that is more of a nice addition than a reason to specifically chase the cardboard.

Fortunately, unlike most regular Miracles, the consolation prizes listed here are pretty good. As mentioned above, Ninetales and Rapidash will be deadly when paired with Blaine. You will need Charmeleon in case you want to construct a Charizard deck. And in case you do not have Charizard or Moltres yet, this is a good opportunity to add to your collection.

Is it price ditching all your stored Wonder Hourglasses for Rare Picks as soon as you see them? Well, in case you haven’t any of those cards in your collection, you most likely don’t need to always chase them. But is this a great way to use up the Miracle Stamina you have already amassed and need to spend? Definitely, so long as you do not get sidetracked by seeing all of the cards you wanted to flip later.

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This article was originally published on : kotaku.com
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The new tank hero in Overwatch 2 looks like an absolute menace

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the most recent tank hero, Hazardwill officially debut next month when the 14th season of the shooter begins, but you may play it now until November 25. Just before the test period began, Blizzard released the primary footage showing Hazard in motion and an outline of the Scottish hero’s activities. In some ways, Hazard feels like an amalgamation of other characters’ skills, as well Juno. However, there’s enough variety here that I can see it feeling quite distinct and never like a carbon copy of the characters it borrows from.

Like most other tanks in , Hazard’s setup is all about taking over space and disrupting the enemy team. His primary fire is a series of mid-range shotgun-like spikes fired from the Gatling gun in his right hand, complementing the remainder of his playstyle as a mobile, capable tank in the vein of Winston or Doomfist. Hazard can jump like Winston after which perform a robust melee attack using the purple spikes growing from his armor. However, his mobility doesn’t end there, as he also can climb partitions like Hanzo and Genji. Both of those abilities help it easily reach high ground and chase down enemies that might otherwise cause trouble for a more stationary tank.

When Hazard does get to enemies at close range, he also can brawl and take up space along with his Spike Guard ability, which greatly reduces the damage he takes, regenerates ammo, and fires spikes from his back a brief distance in front of him. This is helpful each for engaging enemies and for retreating, but unlike Ramattra’s defensive ability, it has a closing date and can’t be used indefinitely.

Perhaps probably the most interesting tool in Hazard’s arsenal is the Jagged Wall ability. Much like Mei along with her Ice Wall, Hazard is in a position to construct a wall that may block incoming attacks, but is just not as wide as Mei’s. It makes up for this with additional advantages, including a spiky surface that deals damage and pushes away enemies who touch it, and the flexibility to construct it on the edges of partitions. This gives him the flexibility to construct a wall in certain places that Mei cannot, and perhaps even knock an enemy off the side of the map should you can do it at the fitting time.

Completing all that is his ultimate, Downpour. This ability shoots purple spikes a good distance in front of Hazard, keeping enemies caught in the, er, downpour in place. Those affected can proceed to fireside their weapon, but will remain motionless for a brief time frame, leaving them open to a lethal shot.

Overall, Hazard seems to thrive when he gains space, and fragile heroes are unlikely to be thrilled along with his arrival. But I’m curious how players react to it after playing it, because each time a champion is released there are weeks of dialogue about how they ruined the sport or aren’t ok to maneuver the needle. Where will Hazard fall? We’ll see in the approaching days.

This article was originally published on : kotaku.com
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Dragon Age: The Veilguard is getting new photo mode options and a slew of bug fixes in the latest update

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If you want Back With , there are some nice quality of life changes and bug fixes in the latest update that went survive November 21, 2024. I’ll break them down below to let you already know what you are getting into.

Photo mode updates

Screenshot: : BioWare/Kotaku

Photo mode now has filters! And if you happen to do not know where images go in Photo Mode, wonder no more: the file path is now displayed in-game when taking screenshots, and filenames are simplified (with the date appended). You can now also bind arrow keys to input mappings.

Gameplay changes

Gameplay-wise, you’ll be able to now compare the new rings to the currently equipped rings in the slot, and the description for the Flash option is barely different. Some weapons have new icons to make it easier to tell them apart and make it easier to see where your companion’s spells are.

The screenshot shows the skill tree in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Screenshot: : BioWare/Kotaku

Extended dodge won’t be weirdly buggy with Mage’s Tower either. Some ability texts have been modified to be clearer (and accurate), and Antaam Champions deal barely more damage (as intended) and cases where enemies and teammates would get stuck in inaccessible places. Speaking of fixes, this brings us to the bugs that Patch 3 goals to eliminate.

Bug fixes

All kinds of bug fixes are included, but not all of them can have obvious or significant effects. The overall focus is on fixing issues encountered during cutscenes, interacting with meshes and polygons, in addition to some extremely minor balance adjustments to get certain elements working as intended.

In more detail, Rook will not suddenly change body shape or make strange facial expressions during or after certain cutscenes. Other cutscene issues have also been fixed, including strange stretchy capes and clothes showing through the character. The patch also addresses situations where music randomly stopped playing or incorrect sound effects or songs were playing.

The screenshot shows the character selection in Dragon Age.

Screenshot: : BioWare/Kotaku

Camera popup and stutter issues have also been fixed, and preferred HDR settings will now (finally) be saved accurately.

Fixed issues with the Codex, skill trees, quests, merchant inventory, quest objectives and cinematics, exploration, autosave loading, really shiny visuals, stat buffs, and weapon modifiers.

As a little bonus, some of the characters and environment textures have been tweaked to look higher.


There’s plenty to do in Thedas, and with this update landing, your journey should go a little smoother. Go back there, Rook, and test out that photo mode for me.

Full patch notes will be found on the website official blog post. BioWare has confirmed that one other patch may even be coming, with more details to be revealed soon.

This article was originally published on : kotaku.com
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