1. Forced Slightly Better Edition Review
2. Forced Slightly Better Edition Local Co Op
3. Forced: Slightly Better Edition
4. Xforcedgamer Yt Minecraft Account
5. Forced Slightly Better Edition Classes
6. Steamforged
7. Forced Slightly Better Edition Difference

1. What is the Slightly Better Edition? Since the release of FORCED back in 2013 we’ve been continuously updating the game. In celebration of our anniversary we released another major update to the game which now makes it the Slightly Better Edition. Features: 1-4 player campaign, carefully balanced for the number of players.
2. The Deluxe edition hasn't changed, except for the fact that the FORCED game you get in it has been upgraded to the Slightly Better Edition. So essentially you'll still be getting; -FORCED Original Soundtrack - two entire albums with both the music that made it into the game and the stuff that was scrapped along the way -A 140-page (!).

For Forced: Slightly Better Edition on the PlayStation 4, GameFAQs has 20 trophies. I got FORCED as it come out with the OST. Is there anything new in the FORCED Slightly Better Deluxe Edition Content?

Forced is a single-player and co-opaction role-playing game developed by BetaDwarf, released in October 2013 for Windows, OS X and Linux through the Steam platform as well as Wii U. It is about gladiators fighting for their freedom in a fantasy arena where they are assisted by a spirit-like character called Balfus. Gameplay consists of selecting a weapon class and abilities to combat the various enemies of each arena, while solving puzzles using the help of Balfus. BetaDwarf was formed by a small group of students in 2011, who began developing the game in an unused classroom in Aalborg University – Copenhagen, Denmark. They were removed months later and launched a successful Kickstarter campaign involving an Imgur picture which documented their progress. Forced received moderate to favorable reviews with most critics praising its competitive gameplay and puzzle-system. The game's weak plot, technical glitches and excess difficulty were the negative highlights. It won the Level Up 2013 Intel award and BetaDwarf received the Danish Developer Of The Year (2013) for it.

Gameplay[edit]

Forced Slightly Better Edition Review

Forced is an action role-playing game^[2] having a top-down view for up to four players in the combat arena. Players have to select a weapon, which has 16 unlockable abilities each, similar to a character class. Though single player mode is also available, the game is mostly about cooperative gameplay by selecting a weapon class and abilities which complement the other players', while combating demons of various sizes and solving environmental puzzles—using a will-o-wisp-like companion called Balfus the Spirit Mentor.^[3]

There are four weapon classes: the Storm Bow, the Volcanic Hammer, the Spirit Knives, and the Frost Shield;^[4] each have the tactical roles of a long range attacker, slow melee attacker, fast melee attacker and a tank respectively. The active and passive abilities available for each class allow some form of customization.^[2] The weapon class and selected abilities (which also have cooldowns) can be changed before the start of any arena level. Each player must choose a different weapon class. Balfus can be made to interact with the environment's spiritual plane by ordering him to activate or trigger props like healing pedestals or set off a stunning blast from traps.^[3][5] He can travel with the characters, float in space or can be called to their location.^[6] Good positioning and communication will help the players use Balfus efficiently; the need to do this while facing waves of enemies, makes the game more challenging.^[2]

Forced Slightly Better Edition Local Co Op

Gems are rewarded after the completion of each arena trial. They can be used to enhance the weapons by unlocking more ability slots and new abilities at regular intervals. Each trial contains three gems as a reward. The first requires completion, the second is a specific challenge and the third is a time trial. If the arena boss is too difficult, it is possible to complete all these challenges to earn extra gems. Forced has a Mark Combat System,^[7] where weapons cause marks on the enemies. A greater number of marks causes certain abilities to have better effects, thus making it more effective to hit a group of enemies a few times before using an ability, rather than using it at the start. Though the difficulty increases in proportion to the number of players and sharing Balfus needs communication between them, multiplayer is easier and lets the player focus on specific abilities and tactical roles instead of being forced to cover every possibility in single player; also, if a player dies, the trial can be completed as long as another survives till the end.^[5]

Plot[edit]

The players are cast as slaves who are forced to fight in a fantasy gladiator arena, which is the reason for the game title.^[3] The slaves are from a village where people are bred solely to be gladiators and fight for the pleasure of demon types to win their freedom. The players have the help of Balfus, a Spirit Mentor, and need to overcome the challenges and defeat the guardians of each arena. Spirit Mentors guide gladiators through the arena and Balfus is revealed to have done so for previous dead gladiators before the player. Balfus remains the source of drama since the protagonists are silent throughout the game and the antagonists do not go beyond taunting them.^[5]

In their first arena fight, they defeat the guardian called 'Wrathhoof', who refuses to accept defeat to let them pass to the next arena. Despite Balfus' warning that this would be against the rules, Wrathhoof continues to attack the players who then kill him. The players and Balfus try to keep this murder of a guardian a secret and embark to the next arena, where the next guardian Slarth, discovers what they did. Slarth and the next guardian Graw are revealed to be former gladiators themselves and Balfus, their mentor. The players then defeat and kill Slarth. On killing Graw, Balfus decides to end this gladiator event by killing the remaining guardian Mordar and the final guardian called 'The Master'.

Development[edit]

Forced uses the Unity engine.^[8] BetaDwarf was formed by a small group of students in 2010, who moved into an unused classroom in Aalborg University – Copenhagen, Denmark and began developing the game. After seven months, the university discovered them when a lecturer accidentally walked into the room.^[8] They were removed and made a successful Kickstarter campaign involving a picture on Imgur, which described their progress as a team; they were then able to set up their office in Copenhagen.^[8][9] Steffen Kabbelgaard, Game Director and CEO of BetaDwarf, credited the 1996 videogame Crash Bandicoot as an inspiration for the campaigns and gem rewards in Forced.^[8] A demo of the game was available in the 2013 Gamescom and PAX Prime.^[7] A beta version of Forced was initially released on Steam Early Access for Windows, OS X and Linux in the same year. Its full release was on October 24, 2013 which was also for Wii U.^[2] On March 19, 2014, BetaDwarf announced that the game would be available on Xbox One.^[10]

Reception[edit]

Forced won the Level Up 2013 Intel award and BetaDwarf received the Danish Developer Of The Year at the 2013 Spilprisen game awards held by the Danish Producers Association.^[7][15] It received moderate to favorable reviews. Brittany Vincent of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5, calling it 'a gleeful return to form for cooperative play.'^[4]Jim Rossignol from Rock, Paper, Shotgun called it a 'competently produced game' but said that it 'simply lacks flair, and combined with the slightly awkward mechanics in co-op play, means it never feels wholly convincing.'^[3] Lena LeRay from IndieGames.com felt the voice acting was mediocre and acknowledged the lack of depth in the plot but said that the 'engaging gameplay' compensated for it.^[2] Bob Richardson from RPGFan also highlighted these issues in addition to various technical glitches in multiplayer.^[6] Richardson praised the gameplay, the puzzle system and the skill customization, giving the game 80% rating.^[6] He said, 'Forced is purely an intrinsic experience: defeat is the result of lack of cooperation and skill, and victory is directly related to teamwork, communication, and aptitude.'^[6]

Zach Welhouse from RPGamer gave it a 3/5 calling the combat 'complex and rewarding' and multiplayer 'a good balance of tactics and adrenaline.'^[5] He also praised the music, Balfus's character and called the puzzle-solving system 'unique' but noted the bare plot and game difficulty as its negative highlights.^[5] Welhouse commented, 'The sheer number of ways to die makes it difficult to tell how much of Forced is unfair and how much is a series of lessons in avoiding dangerous situations to unlock a new ability is a compelling system for squeezing the most effort out of a player.'^[5] Jason Venter from GameSpot, gave it 5/10 and said, 'It's a challenging game with built-in reasons to revisit familiar areas, but it's also too demanding for its own good, and the results are more frustrating than satisfying.'^[13] Mike Gunn from NZGamer.com gave it 8.6/10 and said, 'Such a simple game, but one with a lot of tactical and strategic depth.'^[14]

References[edit]

1. ^'FORCED: Slightly Better Edition on Steam'. Store.steampowered.com. 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
2. ^ ^abcdeLeRay, Lena (October 3, 2013). 'Forced forces mighty fine co-op play'. IndieGames.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
3. ^ ^abcdRossignol, Jim (November 1, 2013). 'Wot I Think: Forced'. Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
4. ^ ^abcVincent, Brittany (September 11, 2013). 'Review: Forced'. Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
5. ^ ^abcdefgWelhouse, Zach. 'FORCED - Staff Review'. RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
6. ^ ^abcdeRichardson, Bob (September 18, 2013). 'Forced'. RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
7. ^ ^abc'Award-winning Indie Forced Headed to Gamescom, PAX Prime'. Gamasutra. August 15, 2013. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
8. ^ ^abcdWhitehead, Thomas (October 19, 2013). 'Interview: BetaDwarf On Humble Beginnings, Bringing FORCED to the Wii U eShop and Working with Nintendo'. Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
9. ^Forced Out, But Forging Ahead – The Incredible Story of BetaDwarf, retrieved from GameFront, October 4, 2013
10. ^'The gladiators of action-RPG sleeper hit, FORCED, are coming to Xbox One!'. MCV. March 19, 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
11. ^'FORCED for PC'. GameRankings.com. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
12. ^'Forced for PC'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
13. ^ ^abVenter, Jason (October 31, 2013). 'A missed connection'. Gamespot. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
14. ^ ^abGunn, Mike (November 11, 2013). 'Forced'. NZGamer.com. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
15. ^'Region Specific profile: BetaDwarf'. Edge. August 4, 2013. Retrieved 2014-06-30.

External links[edit]

• 'How we lived together for 3 years while making FORCED', by Steffen Kabbelgaard (CEO of BetaDwarf) on Gamasutra blogs, with the Imgur picture which began their Kickstarter campaign

Arena-based games have grown in popularity lately, mainly due to the rise of the MOBA. Back in 2013 BetaDwarf released Forced, an arena-based action RPG with a slight puzzle mechanic. Two years later, the “Slightly Better Edition” release hits PS4 and, quite frankly, it begs the question of how bad the original version was if this is supposed to be better.

Forced: Slightly Better Edition

You begin as a practically naked bald man, with the story telling us he was branded at birth and that means he had to climb down a pit in order to fight monsters for…you know what? It doesn’t matter. The story is paper-thin and barely even justifies the game’s existence. Billed as an action RPG, Forced doesn’t really offer any roleplaying whatsoever, but that doesn’t mean it offers no customisation.

Your standard, unimaginatively designed character does have four classes to choose from, each with their own look, and you can switch between them in the hub world. If you’re struggling with the slow barbarian’s hammer, try some ranged combat with the bow instead, you’re not tied down to any one choice. Each of the four classes (the other two contain a disc that can be thrown, and a pair of fast blades) have their own unique abilities that are unlocked as you level up, and can be assigned to the other shoulder buttons. The game encourages you to experiment with the different classes but there’s very little to differentiate them, even their special moves offer similar effects in battle.

Xforcedgamer Yt Minecraft Account

The combat itself is standard hack and slash fare, only with twin-stick shooter controls giving you the ability to strike in any direction, no matter which direction you’re moving. It’s incredibly clunky though, with slow animation and poor hit detection, made worse by the enemies often overwhelming you – usually as a result of poor design rather than a fault of the player.

The game essentially tells you at the beginning that playing alone will result in you dying a lot, which makes you wonder why it even gives you the option to play single player at all. Dark Souls warned you that you would die, but its clever design gave you the tools to learn the game and eventually overcome its challenge, and it never felt unfair or badly designed. Forced is essentially the opposite of that, locking its helpful tools behind higher levels, and its basic design offers no aid whatsoever. It just feels lazy.

Forced does offer something a little different by way of your orb companion, at least. Pressing square will move the orb to your location, which is essential for the puzzles as they usually involve moving the orb over a specific trigger to open a door or destroy certain objects. Used with more imagination, this mechanic could have improved the game a huge amount, but its puzzles become repetitive after only a couple of levels. The camera is a huge obstacle during these puzzles, as the top-down view refuses to zoom out enough for you to move the orb and character around properly whilst keeping them both in view – when enemies are thrown into the mix you often find yourself being attacked by creatures you can’t even see, due to the struggling camera.

Even the visual design is painfully average. The various areas offer very little beyond the change from grass to sand, and the levels themselves have no imagination as their architecture (what little there is of it) consists almost entirely of squares, with walls only ever set at ninety degree angles. There are no circular towers or the remains of ruined buildings strewn haphazardly around the environment, it’s all so pedestrian. This extends to the enemies too, with the same few creatures seen throughout the entire game and only the odd special monsters arriving now and again. Bosses are just as unimaginative, usually following set patterns until they get bored and throw waves of enemies at you as well, nothing more than a transparent attempt at artificially increasing the difficulty instead of using clever tricks to add variety to each fight.

Forced: Slightly Better Edition isn’t a bad-looking game, the graphics are vibrant and colourful, but it feels like the two-year old game it is.

Forced: Slightly Better Edition is a game that genuinely had potential. With a better camera and more variety in its puzzles – and its design – it could have been a unique experience, offering a challenging series of battles interspersed with intriguing puzzles. It could even have had a half-decent story or offered a greater breadth of character classes. But, quite simply, potential does not equal a good game.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Sony Playstation 4 code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

Forced Slightly Better Edition Classes

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