In April, CI Games CEO, Marek Tymiński, released a statement acknowledging issues and bugs found in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3. Various issues, such as crashes, long loading times, and frame rate drops, caused ire among players and critics alike, with some calling the game clunky and unfinished.

However, a new patch has today been implemented on all platforms to address a number of these issues. 

Fixes to Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 in the game's latest patch include, but are not limited to:

• Reducing loading times
• Amending collisions with certain buildings/objects
• Amending issues causing players to fall through stages
• Fixing save file corruption issues 
• Fixing party mission crash bugs
• Eliminating game freezes

For a comprehensive list of all fixes, which platforms they effect, and information on future updates, refer to the official Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 blog.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is developed by CI Games and is available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. 

The follow-up to previously confirmed Lords of the Fallen 2 won’t be released until 2017 developer CI Games has confirmed.

Speaking to Eurogamer, CI Games boss Marek Tyminski revealed that the original Lords of the Fallen had surpassed 900,000 sales since its launch in October 2014. "We are over 900,000 units. Not yet 1m but we are approaching that. And definitely it's a good start for the new IP. Definitely we can say that Lords of the Fallen 1 proved the IP made sense."

Tyminski also stated that co-developer Deck 13 won’t be returning for the next instalment in the Dark Souls-like series

"We are not working with Deck 13 right now," he said. "We are starting the project, we start from the concepting, but we definitely will be working with a lot of partners."

Aside from CI Games and Deck 13 much of the development of the original Lords of the Fallen was outsourced to studios in China as well as the UK, a practice the developer looks keen to continue for the upcoming sequel.

At a certain moment of time, in China, we had more than 100 artists working on Lords of the Fallen. So what you see right now from Lords of the Fallen, a lot of that was created in China. It's a great experience and we learn a lot - what went well, what went really not so well - and we will be keeping that model for the future, including for Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3.

Deck 13 is currently working on an as yet unannounced title with Focus Home Interactive. The game is expected to be unveiled at this year’s E3.

I like to think I have a good sense of control when it comes to my temper while playing games, but apparently I was wrong. No, my anger is not anger expressed because of disappointment in the game or a feeling that I was ripped off. Let's just say my frustration lies with boss fights that rivaled those of the 12 labors of Hercules.

CI Games and Deck 13 Interactive have delivered a third-person action RPG that most have compared to Dark Souls, but it's a game all its own. You are the anti-hero, a convicted criminal named Harkyn in a world where no sin is forgotten. Those convicted of crimes have their faces imprinted with runes that denote their sins. Harkyn is given a chance at redemption after being freed from prison by Kaslo, as the human realm is being invaded by an army of gods and demons. It is on this journey to Rhogar that Harkyn must battle enemies and make alliances in order to be forgiven.

Round **... fight

There are various enemies found throughout the game, some harder than others. I will admit some are also hideous to look at, but thanks to the gorgeous graphics it's hard to look away. Some enemies are shielded, bearing armor, wielding various types of weapons, use magic or even use what I could compare to alien suckers that protrude from their mouths. Some can be easily defeated with blocking and quick mobility; others require a bit more finesse.

You will die and die often.

Let's just say my frustration lies with boss fights that rivaled those of the 12 labors of Hercules.

Upon each death, all enemies respawn. Don't fret about your experience. Your body leaves behind a ghost that retains your experience but you do have a limited amount time to retrieve it to get it all. As each moment passes, a small percentage is removed. The benefit of death is that you know what to expect when you come back, allowing for additional experience to be gained. You'll spawn at the last crystal where you saved.

These bosses want your death and nothing else.

Their names alone can cause fear. Names such as: First Warden, Commander,  Worshiper, Infiltrator, Champion, Beast, Guardian, Annihilator, Lost Brothers, and the Judge. These guys can be frustrating, yes, but it's the amount of time it takes to bring them down that's a pain. This is where my temper was clearly tested.

It took many trials and errors to figure out the best methods to take down each boss. Once achieved, it was GLORIOUS! I'm pretty sure my neighbors heard my screams of victorious delight. Getting to know your weapons and armor are beneficial, as light armor will allow you mobility, which is key. Being clever with your health potions, quick on your feet, and knowing when to charge in for the hit is all it takes.

Character Development

The character development menu is user friendly. Attribute points that are gained from experience can be applied to build up your strength, amount of weight you can carry (which benefits the type of armor you can wear), or to increasing your energy, magic, and your chances of finding rare items.

Applying your Spell Points allows you to build up your magic ability. There are three types of magic for each character build (as are the equipment types), so decide on what kind of play style you prefer whether you're the Warrior, the Cleric or the Rogue. Each Spell Set is defined with 4 sub-catergories as well.

• Brawler Spell Set: offers mostly offensive boosts, which can help you brute force your way through some encounters
• Prayer: motionless clone attracts the opponent's attention providing an advantage and with time, replenishes some health.
• Rage: powerful aura reinforcing attack and temporarily provides unlimited energy
• Ram: tremendous power that deals lots of damage to opponents, capable of knocking them off balance, or knocking them down
• Quake: most powerful of Harkyn's allies comes to his aid and knocks down the enemies with a powerful hammer
• Solace Spell Set: offers some great ways to strengthen your turtle tactics
• Prayer: motionless clone attracts the attention of the opponent to providing an advantage and speeds up mana regeneration
• Shelter: protective barrier that raises all types of defense, considerably and reflects damage
• Daze: power to stun the opponents which slows them down and weakens them
• Punishment: instead of stunning the opponent, you make him even more vulnerable to attacks, for a short period of time
• Deception Spell Set: motionless clone attracts the attention of the opponent to provides Harkyn with advantage and speeds up energy regeneration
• Prayer: motionless clone attracts the attention of the opponent to providing an advantage and speeds up energy regeneration
• Mimic: followed by a magic aura that copies your moves and deals as much damage
• Stab: bloodthirsty magic assassin dashes at the opponent to kill him, or at least, to inflict wounds
• Shift: transferred to the dimension of shadows, each attack deals tremendous damage, but makes Harkyn more visible

Let's talk graphics and story, shall we?

First thing that captured my attention were the amazing cutscenes and graphics. I remember whilst playing my first few hours, my fiancé walked in, stopped and had to comment on how gorgeous the game looked. There's no denying - playing on the Xbox One with an HD 52 inch LCD television, I was privileged with seeing the amazing details.

The attention to detail is wondrous. Standing within the gigantic monastery as light pierces through the broken stained glass windows is so realistic. I almost wanted a pair of shades for Harkyn. Every facial characteristic is lifelike, right down to the specks of dirt and grit. Yet, things aren't flawless. The game does struggle to maintain 30FPS, so you'll experience tears at certain times but it doesn't hinder your gameplay. 

There's a storyline somewhere...

Exploring the dark corridors and pathways are typical. You'll find yourself backtracking at times to later open doors and travel through portals that were once inaccessible. There are story missions that must be completed but I found the actual storyline got lost within the relentless battles of enemies. There's no shortage of enemies to challenge your skills with the projectile gauntlet and sword.

Each of the various weapons in Lords of the Fallen all require different methods of use. Some weapons take longer to swing than others, and knowing this information will make the difference of defeat or victory. Like the various weapons, armor ranges from light to heavy. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, so trying them out will help you find what will suit you best for the given task.

Verdict

Overall, I was pleased with my experience with Lords of the Fallen and I do recommend it. Especially if you don't mind getting a bit frustrated at some boss fights. It's definitely a fun game and has earned its right to stand on its own merits. If you enjoy a challenge, this is the game for you.

From the creators of The Witcher, Lords of the Fallen is an upcoming single-player action RPG developed by Deck13, and CI Games, and will published by Bandai Namco for PC, Xbox One and PS4.

Lords of the Fallen takes place in a world once dominated by a cruel and evil god. After aeons of torment, humanity tires of his malice, rising up and destroying his demon army before finally managing to best the god himself in combat.

The effect caused by the humans’ collective psyche and culture is profound. They believe that evil can and should be banished from human nature. A codex of sin is created, listing all the transgressions a mortal can perform. Anyone found to have committed anything in the tome is instantly branded across their face and cast out from society, never to return.

Things progress until, centuries later, the demons start to reappear, reaping destruction across the land. Desperate for aid, the remaining humans make the only logical decision they can--they decide the only force that can stand against evil is evil itself. The search begins to find the outcast that has been branded most heavily in punishment for his crimes--cue in you, the player.

Executive Producer Tomasz Gop has struggled with the game's flattering comparison to Dark Souls, which admittedly was an inspiration--but not a rip-off. 

"It's a tough start for a developer to be associated that strongly with something, even if it is something that's a great inspiration. But at the same time, just one day I said, 'Hey man, you have to let go. Whatever people think, just make sure it's not going to be a rip-off, it's not going to be a bad inspiration,' and I sleep way better since then," said Gop.

Gop explained that combat--"the most prominent feature"--is very different. It takes more inspiration from fighting games, resulting in something that's more fluid, faster, and more reactive. Players can snap out of any animation to block or attack at a moment's notice, for example.

"There are fighting games like Tekken and Street Fighter, there are elements of the Dark Souls games and so on, and we definitely try to nail the elements that bumped the feeling of the game being punishing for a lot of players, especially for people who don't treat games like 600-page books, where they have to bite nails into it. But rather, more like an action movie - we're an action RPG and I believe that Lords is more on the action side of that.

"What it does share, however, is its flair for surprises. Seemingly familiar foes in Lords of the Fallen will change as the adventure progresses, keeping players on their toes, while a hands-off demo showed spider creatures that suddenly dropped from the ceilings, often giving the player a good scare.

"Lords of the Fallen won't be a story-driven game, and while like Dark Souls it will use cut scenes sparingly, it will also tell it through audio files found throughout the world.

"We're not trying to impose the story, which would probably be expected from a heavily story-driven game... But at the same time, we want to keep what the orthodox RPG fans would expect from a decent RPG."

Character development focuses on three pillars: Spells, Attributes and Gear, with only the first being linked to your class. This means the vast variety of the game’s weapons and armour can be mixed to suit your style. 

Magical abilities are extremely powerful in Lords of the Fallen. Tools for tackling tough opponents include sneaking up to strike them from behind for extra damage, or in some cases, taking an alternative route to avoid the fight entirely.

There is a strong emphasis on the importance of observing your opponent and learning their move set in order to defeat them. The game is designed to be challenging, but exactly how challenging is up to you.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

I would like to admit that I agree with those who say that Lords Of The Fallen looks very similar to Dark Souls, but let’s be honest--is that really a bad thing? In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with a game looking, or playing similar to another game. As long as that game plays well and brings something new to the table that the other game could not. So what new things is Lords Of The Fallen bringing to the fray?

Lords Of The Fallen is a fantasy-action RPG, set in a medieval world where a fallen god rules with a mighty fist and an endless army of demons. Players will take the role of Harken, a man with a shady past, who also has a lot of face tattoos. These tattoos represent sins he has committed in his life; those with a face tattoo are cast out forever.

Centuries ago, mankind fought against this fallen god in hopes to rid the world of evil, but it seems they did not succeed. Now Harken must face the demonic army or die trying, and just like Dark Souls, Harken will be dying a lot. Judging from the trailers, Lords Of The Fallen will take a more story-driven and active narrative approach, where Dark Souls has a more passive narrative.

The boss fights in Lords Of The Fallen look progressive, meaning that they will have different phases during the fight. For example, the first boss in the game will begin to lose his armor and become faster and more aggressive as you slowly chip away his health, eventually losing all of his armor and his shield.

So what exactly is Lords Of The Fallen bringing to the table that Dark Souls has not? So far it seems like there are better graphics and a richer story. I enjoyed Dark Souls II a lot, and any game that could potentially have the same epic feeling as that is definitely going on my must-buy list. 

Co-developed by CI Games and Deck 13, and published by Namco Bandai, Lords Of The Fallen sadly has no release date yet, but is scheduled for released on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

City Interactive, the studio behind Sniper Ghost Warrior 1 & 2, is working on a new game called Alien Rage; A sci-fi themed first-person shooter that pits the player against an alien force on an asteroid rich in a fuel known as promethium.

The game will have 14 levels, and is built with Nvidia graphics on the Unreal engine. You'll have ten weapons to choose from, all of which have two firing modes. The aliens you'll be fighting will come in different shapes, sizes, and ugliness.

Watching the E3 game play video, it does look like an interesting game that is packed with plenty of action. Like Gears of War, every room you enter has an enemy in it. The lighting follows the traditional sci-fi shooter style and is a bit dark. It however looks like it may be yet another spray-and-pray style shooter.

The game does show promise. It is set to release on most gaming devices, including the Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Steam. Unfortunately there is no sign of a Mac compatible version of the game, but that doesn't mean we won't see one when the game is released or some time after its release. There is no word on whether Alien Rage will be released on the upcoming next-gen consoles.

I have contacted CI for a possible release date and if the game would be released on the next-gen systems, and will keep you updated when I hear more.