I was able to stop by the Versus Evil booth at Pax East this year to see what games they were showing off to the convention attending public. There were a wide range of games at the booth so lets get right into it.
First up was a game called At Sundown which was a multiplayer shooting game. It plays as a top-down shooter where stealth is the name of the game. You want to remain hidden and shoot the other players to score the most hits. You play in the dark and can only be seen in the light so the key is to know where you are so you don’t have to come into the light.
Another bit of advice is to not shoot so you can see where you are because the other players are quick and will bounce like sharks when they smell blood in the water. I did that a few times and the few times I did that, they shot me right after. You get a little time before the game starts to figure out what weapon is best so pick wisely. If you pick the wrong one, it’s going to be a long day for you. You play against 3 other players going for high score.
Next up was a game called Holo Drive, an arena shooter where robots are front and center. You need to be fast on your feet if you’re going to kill the enemy robots and not get shot yourself. The action is frantic because the battlefield isn’t large so you will probably see the same robots that you were just shooting at multiple times.
There are tons of weapons to use in the battlefield and you have the option to change weapons during the battle as well as when you meet your demise. You can see what weapon you have when you die and get a better image of the new weapon when you die as well. There are power-ups that will help you in battle and should sway the battle in terms for your team.
The next game was one of the more fun games at Versus Evil’s booth and that game was called Antihero. You play the role of the Master Thief trying to take over the steam punk, gas-lit society he calls home. The game is a turn-based game that could be compared to a game of chess.
You need to be smart and plan your moves in advance. So the other side doesn’t swoop in and take over. You have a say in everything and by everything I mean how everything is run in the town. You can send street urchins to a business to make it yours or you can buy a public official, you know typical mobster stuff.
You can’t forget about stealing and there is plenty of theft in this game. You can rob the small homes twice! You’re the boss of your guild so you need to give them direction. If you want a gang to come to protect the church, you do it. If you need to blackmail someone in town, you send someone from the gang and do it! That’s what makes Antihero so fun, you never know what boss skills/duties you’ll have to do next.
Last up in the Versus Evil booth tour is a mobile device game called Like a Boss. This game is an action RPG where you take on the role of the monster “Boss” trying to fight off the heroes who were sent to take you or your friends down.
Controls for Like a Boss are pretty simple where you really just aim on the tablet and touch the attack buttons and the boss will attack. You’re the coach in the coaches box on this one, up in the sky. You will find plenty of loot while you quest to keep fighters away from the boss.
You can level up your skills and learn new skills in a skill tree. The good thing is if you change monsters, the learned special attacks will carry over for monster to monster. Like a Boss is an interesting idea that players haven’t seen this side of the fight before, being the boss monster.