Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 109

2018 Writing Goal Progress

Earlier this year, I set a series of writing goals to complete by 2019.

With the new year on the horizon, it’s time to take a look back and see how things went.

I set goals to:

Finish and revise A Prince’s Price.
Create an outline for the revisions of The Threshing Night.
If The Nightbringer has not been successful, turn it over to someone to critique.
Search for an agent for Agent of the Relari, Penteract of Blood, The Nightbringer, and The Time of Adversity.
Have at least 3 short stories either accepted or actively submitted to markets.
Join a new (paying) video game job.
Manage at least 2 side websites for passive income.
Participate in at least 3 book signing events.

I finished A Prince’s Price, revised it, and sent it to someone to critique, and now I’m making further revisions based on that critique. So while it’s not quite ready to go yet, I did accomplish what I set out to do.

However, I completely neglected The Threshing Night. In its place, I wrote the rough drafts for two new novels, one epic fantasy and one YA fantasy romance.

After some… missteps, I did find a new reader for The Nightbringer and have gotten some feedback already. Now I’m just waiting for the rest of her critique so I can begin editing.

I continued to search for an agent. Although I haven’t had success so far, I did get my first full request for Starlight and Steel (formerly known as The Time of Adversity).

Moving on to short stories, 2018 saw the completion of Darkling’s Beasts and Brews: Poetry with a Drink on the Side, which I have a poem in.

For the goal itself, I’ve had two short story acceptances I hope to reveal more details about soon, with two other stories I’ve been submitting to markets.

As a game writer, I handled the scripts for several mobile visual novels and also joined a few new projects, so things are right on track!

Now let’s take a look at the next goal, “manage at least 2 side websites for passive income.” Since I don’t like to have ads on this site, I thought it would be interesting to experiment with side websites to see if I could draw in passive income from ads.

Well, I am running two additional websites: KH Theories for discussions of Kingdom Hearts theories and Lovecraft Video Games to review games inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.

The “income” part of the goal has yet to work out, however. On the other hand, the sites are still small, so it will be interesting to revisit this next year to see if anything has changed.

Finally, I wanted to participate in at least three book signing events, and I did: one at In Your Write Mind, one at my local fall festival, and one at the local BookFest.

So not everything worked out, but all in all, it was a good year. If you set any goals for yourself for 2018, how did it go?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post 2018 Writing Goal Progress appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Beastmaster and Prince Might Be Localized After All

Back in 2016, I supported a Kickstarter to localize an otome visual novel called Beastmaster and Prince.

The Kickstarter failed, and the team behind it never provided any further updates to backers.

Now, it looks like another publisher might take on Beastmaster and Prince to localize it, at least for mobile devices. As reported by Siliconera, a new Shall We Date app has appeared with a list of available otome games in its description.

This app is a compilation that will let you choose from several localized visual novels. The list includes “Beastmaster and Princes” and “Wand of Fortune,” neither of which has been localized before.

Now, the Kickstarter had hoped to localize Beastmaster and Prince, its fandisc sequel, and side stories. Judging by the listing here, this is probably just for the main visual novel. Nevertheless, that’s a step in the right direction from it not being available at all (even if I would prefer a non-mobile version).

They don’t appear to be available in the app just yet.

Will we finally get to play Beastmaster and Prince? Will mobile be our only option? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Beastmaster and Prince Might Be Localized After All appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Cosmic Star Heroine: Fun Gameplay, Bland Characters

After backing it on Kickstarter and waiting for its release, I finally played the turn-based RPG Cosmic Star Heroine.

We’ve looked at two titles from Zeboyd Games already, Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves the World. Unlike those, which are parodies, Cosmic Star Heroine was billed as a more serious, story-driven RPG in the style of old classics.

Cosmic Star Heroine, while not without humorous moments (including one side quest that’s just a massive shout-out to Resident Evil 2), definitely is more serious. It follows a secret agent named Alyssa L’Salle who goes rogue after discovering a sinister conspiracy.

The original story premise had her on the run from forces all across the galaxy once her former superiors revealed her identity, but the final game doesn’t really do too much with that. Instead, it focuses on Alyssa’s efforts to stop the conspiracy and restore peace.

In terms of gameplay, it draws inspiration from classic turn-based JRPGs and puts its own spin on them. You’ll visit a few different planets, each of which has a mini overworld like classic world maps. The combat system emphasizes strategy, and it ends up being pretty fun – a little easy, maybe, but there’s something satisfying about setting up buffs and waiting for the right turn to unleash a powerful move that will devastate the enemy.

You also eventually get to recruit characters that provide passive support, which reminded me a bit of recruiting characters for my base in Suikoden.

Combat is fun, the game is a great nostalgic throwback to classic JRPGs, and it has a beautiful presentation… but unfortunately, the story and characters don’t quite live up to the same standard. The main story is decent enough, though nothing particularly stands out about it, but the characters are just sort of bland.

They all have a few basic traits, but no one really gets much character development or meaningful scenes. It’s the sort of game where you think of the characters more for their roles in combat, and I doubt I’ll remember much about them at all once time passes.

This disappointed me, both because I love story-driven games and because the developers had said Cosmic Star Heroine would have a deeper story, optional conversations in between missions, and side quests that add more depth to the story and world. Aside from one optional area that adds a bit of depth to a certain character, this doesn’t really happen.

For what it is, Cosmic Star Heroine is a fun, fast-paced homage to classic JRPGs. It just wasn’t quite what I’d hoped it would be.

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Cosmic Star Heroine: Fun Gameplay, Bland Characters appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Holiday 2018 Video Game Shopping Deals

Every year, I write a holiday shopping guide, but I haven’t found the best style yet.

Last year, I focused on newer games. This year, let’s instead take a look at video game deals and sales in time for the holidays.

Ace Attorney didn’t go on sale for Black Friday, but now Spirit of Justice is on sale in the eShop for $11.99. If you haven’t played the latest game yet, this is a great time to catch up while we wait for news about Ace Attorney 7.

The eShop also has a special indie games sale for the holidays. While I haven’t played most of them, it includes Yono and the Celestial Elephants (the deal isn’t showing for me on the store page, but the sale page says $8.99), which I reviewed for Nintendo Chit Chat.

Steam’s winter sale is supposed to begin later this week, but GOG has already starts its sale, which includes Daily Deals. One of today’s deals is Earthlock, an excellent turn-based RPG I reviewed for MonsterVine, on sale for $10.49.

Best Buy has a few sales, including God of War for $24.99. Amazon doesn’t seem to have much on sale yet, although the Xbox One version of World of Final Fantasy Maxima is currently $19.99.

Anyway, these are a few video game days to keep in mind for your holiday shopping. What holiday shopping deals have you seen?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Holiday 2018 Video Game Shopping Deals appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Key Art Revealed for Episode Ardyn’s Prequel Anime

Sorry for not posting on Wednesday; I was temporarily without Internet access.

Anyway, Square Enix has revealed the logo and key art for Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn Prologue, the prequel anime to Episode Ardyn…

…which means this is a prequel to a prequel.

When the other remaining DLC episodes were cancelled, Square Enix announced that Episode Ardyn would take place 30 years before Final Fantasy XV, and an animated prologue would show his reasons for wanting revenge.

This short anime, therefore, should cover the events I actually wanted to see in Episode Ardyn, especially with that savior-like silhouette in the logo.

The key art shows three characters: Ardyn, Somnus Lucis Caelum, and an unknown woman (possibly an Oracle).

A trailer for the anime will also be released tomorrow. Right now, they haven’t said how long it will be or how it will be made available, but more details should be coming soon. Episode Ardyn itself is due out in March.

I’m not crazy about this being an anime prologue, but I’m still looking forward to seeing this story at last. How do you feel about Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn Prologue?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Key Art Revealed for Episode Ardyn’s Prequel Anime appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Explores Kratos’s Past

The fifth and final game included in the God of War Saga collection is God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

When I beat God of War, I unlocked a bonus video that teased the future of the series. That storyline teased there didn’t surface in God of War II. It didn’t happen in Chains of Olympus. It didn’t come up in God of War III. No, they finally brought it back four games later, in Ghost of Sparta.

Set in between God of War and God of War II, Ghost of Sparta was originally released for the PSP, just like Chains of Olympus.

And once again, it features Kratos out for something other than revenge. This time, he’s on a rescue mission.

Haunted by nightmares of his past, Kratos leaves Olympus in search of his mother. When he reunites with her, in a scene adapted from another video unlocked after the original game, she reveals that his brother Deimos is still alive and trapped in the Domain of Death.

(Amazingly, this is the game that breaks the always-visit-the-underworld trend, since the Domain of Death is a separate realm in between the world of the living and the underworld.)

Ghost of Sparta is one of the shorter games in the series, but it has much better pacing than Chains of Olympus does. The gameplay is solid, not quite as smooth as in God of War II and III, perhaps, but with some nice additions. There’s no clear reason why Kratos doesn’t have all of his powers from the end of God of War, although I suppose it would feel contrived if he lost his powers at the start again.

Anyway, this is a much more personal story for Kratos than we’ve seen in the previous games. Not only is he trying to save his brother, but there are also flashbacks to his childhood, showing how he and his brother were separated.

Ghost of Sparta tells a sad story that provides more context for Kratos’s behavior at the start of God of War II, as well as for a few lines in God of War III that reference it. It’s also a deeper exploration of Kratos as a person, with more humanizing moments for him and insight into his past, and it has a lot of great scenes.

Click for Ghost of Sparta spoilersI loved the part set in Sparta. It felt so strange to see people actually happy to see Kratos. That was nice, finally getting to see how he’s viewed in his home.

…of course, that makes it all the more upsetting that Zeus wiped out Sparta in God of War II.

Even aside from what the gods did to Deimos, I think a major purpose of Ghost of Sparta is to further justify Kratos’s anger.

While it doesn’t have as many epic scenes or battles as some of the previous games, its story is one of the best in the series so far. And that’s it for the God of War Saga, so since I’ve decided to skip Ascension for the time being, I’m finally ready for the new God of War!

What did you think of God of War: Ghost of Sparta?

(Oh, and the Yakuza news teased for Saturday turned out to be an official English title for Project Judge, Judgment, as well as the announcement that it will have an English dub. No release date, but a window of Summer 2019.)

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post God of War: Ghost of Sparta Explores Kratos’s Past appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Highlights From The Game Awards 2018

Last night was The Game Awards 2018. While I couldn’t watch the whole thing live, I caught up on it later.

The show’s structure puzzles me. It’s devoted to the Game Awards, yet some awards aren’t announced in the show itself… and this year, the pre-show included some award announcements and world premieres?

Despite the blurry line between pre-show and actual show (and my disappointment when I checked the full list afterwards and saw that The Missing didn’t win), this was definitely one of the better years. So let’s take a look at the announcements that were personal highlights for me.

I was somewhat intrigued by Journey to the Savage Planet, although now that I’ve looked into it more, it sounds like it won’t emphasize its story too much. I’ll keep my eye on it, but I’m not sure it’s for me.

A little while later, another premiere revealed The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. I loved The Stanley Parable. It was one of my top games of 2013. This new version will have new endings and choices, and it’s planned for both PC and consoles. The trailer was great, and I’ll definitely get this when it comes out.

Supergiant Games has a new game coming out called Hades. Well… actually it’s out now in Early Access, but I’d rather wait for the full release. This also reminded me that I should play Transistor eventually…

And now, of course, there’s the announcement I already showed in the page image, the one with the most credible rumors, Crash Team Racing! Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a remake (remaster?) coming to the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch and it looks beautiful.

(It also appears to confirm split-screen multiplayer, even though they haven’t specifically mentioned it.)

Moving on, Obsidian announced its new game, a single-player RPG called The Outer Worlds. It’s described as having a “player-driven story,” and the world shown in the trailer gave me some Borderlands vibes. I’ll be keeping my eye on it.

The Last Campfire also looks cute.

Another rumor came true with the tease of the next Dragon Age game. While it’s just a tiny teaser that basically shows nothing, it does confirm the one thing I wanted… it will follow the plot set up in Inquisition!

(So, is this game going to be called Dragon Age: The Dread Wolf Rises, or is that just the tagline? Because I took it as a tagline until I saw people using the hashtag like it’s the name of the game.)

Now let’s hope that when we do get something more substantial about it, it looks like a good game with a good story.

A new game called The Pathless was revealed, and it looks like it could be interesting.

And at last, we we got a full trailer for Psychonauts 2! I’ve been a little nervous about this game since I love Psychonauts so much and because Broken Age left me a little disillusioned with Double Fine, but the trailer looks great.

Finally, in the surprise announcement of the night, Joker from Persona 5 was announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a DLC character, which I definitely never saw coming.

I was disappointed that we didn’t get any Bayonetta 3 footage, and I wasn’t too invested in the awards themselves since I haven’t played most of them yet, but on the other hand, I’m excited for Crash Team Racing, Psychonauts is looking great, I have hope for Dragon Age, and several interesting games were announced.

What did you think of The Game Awards 2018 and its announcements? And don’t forget, while it was the big night for announcements, we have Yakuza news coming tomorrow!

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Highlights From The Game Awards 2018 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

The Biggest Game Awards Rumors

The Game Awards 2018 is tomorrow, and as we discussed previously, a big lineup of announcements was teased.

At the time, we speculated a little about what they might be.

Now, rumors have started to circulate about what those announcements might include, so let’s take a look at some of the biggest ones.

Many fans believe a Crash Team Racing remaster/remake is being teased, due to these furry orange dice with the message “Sliding into the Game Awards on 6/12” as well as Crash-themed Christmas cookies being sent to people.

I don’t know if it’s necessarily CTR, but it definitely seems like something in the Crash Bandicoot series will be revealed.

Less clear are the rumors of a Metroid Prime Trilogy release for the Switch, which started due to a Swedish retailer listing it for sale along with earlier teases of Metroid news at the Game Awards.

And following the promise of Dragon Age news coming this month, rumors now claim that Dragon Age 4 will be announced tomorrow, but won’t be out for at least three more years.

Finally, as for games we already know about, Bayonetta 3 is a strong contender to be shown at the Game Awards just because it was announced at last year’s show and we still haven’t seen anything more.

These would all be fantastic announcements, but since they’re just rumors, we probably shouldn’t get our hopes up too much. Either way, we’ll find out tomorrow night during the Game Awards show! Do you think any of these rumored games will be announced?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post The Biggest Game Awards Rumors appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

God of War III: Hatred, Hope, and Humanity

I’ve now played four games in the God of War Saga, since after completing Chains of Olympus, I moved on to God of War III.

The first thing that struck me when I started up God of War III was its graphics. It was the first God of War game made for the PS3, and the jump in technology was obvious.

Everything looked so much more realistic and different than the previous three that it actually took some getting used to. Of course, the increased realism also makes everything much more brutal and violent, so this was by far the most gruesome of the series so far.

The last time we saw Kratos (chronologically, since Chains of Olympus is a prequel), he’d brought the Titans forward through time to wage war against Olympus. All right! Epic battles! Gods vs. Titans! Kratos and the Titans razing Olympus!

…is what I expected.

Instead, it quickly becomes apparent why the Titans lost the war, as the gods just start taking them out. Then Gaia tells Kratos he was just a pawn, which I didn’t expect to be revealed that early, and he falls into the underworld to lose all his powers and begin his newest journey of revenge.

(Again, the developers must have really loved Hades.)

The ghost of Athena tells Kratos he needs to find Pandora’s Box again to claim the one power that remained inside of it, to have the ability to kill Zeus.

And so, Kratos sets out on a journey to find both the box and Pandora herself, who is the key to opening the box now that Zeus has it well-guarded.

Gameplay-wise, it felt pretty good. I might favor the second game’s combat slightly more because of how God of War III ties magic to weapons instead of keeping it separate, but aside from that (and the freefall/dive sections, which I wasn’t a fan of), it might have the most polished gameplay so far.

It also felt like a return to the first game’s style in a few ways, particularly how there were notes scattered around that contributed to the overall story/worldbuilding. It had fewer puzzles, but I really liked the weird optical illusion puzzle in the garden.

Everything fits together neatly into the story God of War III wants to tell, and it really feels more like a story that fits with Greek mythology again.

Click for God of War III spoilersHercules is the biggest missed opportunity, though. It’s not just the name–although I was disappointed that a game that loves Greek mythology so much didn’t call him Heracles–but his portrayal.

Kratos is a parallel to the mythological Heracles: sons of Zeus who killed their families due to a god’s meddling and spent years performing tasks for the gods as penance. It feels like Kratos was based on him (rather than being based on the mythological Kratos, oddly enough).

So for the actual Heracles/Hercules to show up… what an opportunity! How will they interact? Do they recognize their similarities?

Instead, Hercules just fights Kratos because he’s jealous of him, apparently at the behest of Hera even though she should be his enemy. His own role in mythology is quietly ignored.

Their conversation does suggest they’ve interacted before, maybe more amicably, so now I really want to see more of Kratos interacting with the gods during his time as the god of war.

But what stood out to me the most is that while Kratos’s hatred for Zeus and the gods takes center stage, there’s a lot more going on in this story. Kratos’s longstanding tradition of sacrificing innocent people to solve puzzles continues, and he kills every god that gets in his way, but he doesn’t always want to. There are multiple scenes where he tries to find a peaceful outcome, but is either forced or provoked into fighting anyway.

God of War III shows Kratos at his most violent, but it also shows his humanity. The second game only touched on it lightly, but here his conflicting nature is back in full force, starting with Hephaestus reminding Kratos that he used to be a father.

This undercurrent runs through the entire story, especially as Kratos begins to interact with Pandora. However, I do think it could have used a few more of those interactions, to make it feel a bit smoother.

Click for God of War III spoilersEscorting Pandora felt so obviously like the game was shouting, “We’re going to make you care for this character, okay?!” when I would have preferred to see a few more scenes between her and Kratos.

He forms a major attachment to her, and while he’s partly conflating her with Calliope, I think it would have felt more natural as a gradual change.

The dual nature of Kratos as both a vengeful god-killer and a tragic man haunted by his past reaches its peak in the ending sequence. While I wasn’t entirely sure about the ending at first, the more I thought about it, the more I’ve come to like it.

Click for God of War III spoilersAthena demands that Kratos surrender the power of hope to her. Instead, he stabs himself and hope is scattered across the world.

At first, I wasn’t sure why he did that. Was he trying to redeem himself? Was it another suicide attempt, especially with some of the parallels to the first game?

But Athena’s final cry that humans won’t know what to do with the power on their own made me realize that this was Kratos’s way of trying to free humanity from the gods.

The gods have done nothing but make Kratos’s life miserable. He’s not giving them, even Athena, that sort of power again. Instead, he gives it to humanity to decide their own fates. I like that ending. It’s a fitting conclusion to the saga.

And the whole sequence before that, with Kratos being haunted by voices from his past, the idea that he has to forgive himself to be forgiven, and finally the revelation that he was carrying hope inside of him and that hope is what lets him finally win… it was brilliant.

The first game still has my favorite symbolic portrayal of Kratos trying to overcome his past, but this one is a close second.

Overall, I enjoyed God of War III a lot, and I was surprised by its story. I expected this to be the game that would highlight my earlier impression of the series as “angry Kratos kills everyone,” but instead it gave him a lot more depth than I expected him to.

One last game remains in the God of War Saga collection, so I’ll be moving on to God of War: Ghost of Sparta next… and trying to decide if I should buy Ascension or not.

What did you think of God of War III?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post God of War III: Hatred, Hope, and Humanity appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Dragon Age News Teased for December

Not only do we have Yakuza and/or Project Judge news coming soon, but it sounds like Dragon Age news is planned for December as well.

BioWare’s November update post includes a tease of upcoming Dragon Age news:

Dragon Age is an incredibly important franchise in our studio, and we’re excited to continue its legacy. Look for more on this in the coming month (though I won’t tell you where to look…)”

That sounds like it might not be something as obvious as a trailer, maybe more like a quiet hint about the next game. On the other hand, it could just be to keep it more mysterious.

I’ve enjoyed all three Dragon Age games, but Dragon Age Inquisition left me conflicted due to the separation of its main plot and exploration, as well as its weak villain. I hope the next Dragon Age game has stronger storytelling.

(Although since Mass Effect: Andromeda also left me conflicted and had an even worse villain, I’m not as hyped for a new BioWare game as I used to be.)

The post also makes a brief mention of Mass Effect, basically just to say they have future plans for the series.

Some people think they might announce a fourth Dragon Age in December, while a lot of other fans think it might be something different, like a remaster of Dragon Age: Origins.

While I did have some issues with Inquisition, I enjoyed it in general and thought it set up a sequel pretty well. If they do announce the next game, I hope it continues the story that began in Inquisition (even if it isn’t an “Inquisition 2”) rather than picking up somewhere else.

Where do you think the Dragon Age series is going from here? What are you hoping for?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Dragon Age News Teased for December appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.