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FREE PRECISION FARMING DLC + CONTENT UPDATE FOR FARMING SIMULATOR 22 AVAILABLE NOW

Philip Federico
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Plenty of new features and machines, but a much lower environmental footprint: Publisher and developer GIANTS Software released the Precision Farming Free DLC for Farming Simulator 22.  Initiated by John Deere and EIT Food, Europe’s leading Food Innovation Initiative, the project is co-funded by the EU and adds various new features for sustainable farming operations. It’s free to download via the official in-game ModHub on PC and consoles. 

Watch the new Farming Simulator 22 Precision Farming DLC Trailer

Increased Sustainability, Thanks to Smart Farming Technology
New gameplay mechanics, based on real smart farming technology, extend the aspect of realism:  Including four different soil types and soil sampling, economic analysis and an environmental score to assess the eco-friendliness of farming operations – calculated by factors like reduced tillage, nitrogen levels, weed control using spot-spraying technology and others.

Crop sensors and variable-rate application of resources for yield improvement and crop care help players to save seeds, lime, fertilizer, herbicide, fuel and, in the end, money. All while reducing the environmental impact. On the Precision Farming screen, virtual farmers keep track of their actions and their effects on their environmental footprint, as well as their finances. 

New Machines Extend the Gameplay Dynamic
To extend your repertoire of agricultural tools to run a sustainable farm, the Precision Farming Free DLC includes the ISARIA Scout to take soil samples, the ISARA PRO Active and PRO Compact sensors to measure the nitrogen levels of crops and the John Deere R732i with “PowrSpray” spot-spraying technology to dynamically combat weeds. Also included are the John Deere Gator and the Kotte Garant PTR 30.000 with a John Deere manure sensing system to fertilize fields.

“We’re excited to offer our fans the ability to enhance the realism of their farming operations through sustainable farming technology”, comments Stefan Maurus, Gameplay Programmer & Lead Integrator at GIANTS Software, responsible for the development of the DLC. “We’re proud of this achievement and the opportunity to work with John Deere, EIT Food and all the other partners bringing this important undertaking to emphasize the benefits of sustainable farming technologies to life.”

The project set out to improve the knowledge of modern agricultural technology in society in cooperation with the University of Hohenheim (Germany), the University of Reading (UK), Grupo AN, the largest cereal cooperative in Spain, and the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research from the Polish Academy of Sciences. The first version of the Precision Farming DLC for Farming Simulator 19 proved a great success, and was downloaded one million times world-wide.

More Machines and a New Brand in Free Content Update
Also now available for Farming Simulator 22 is patch 1.4, required to activate the Precision Farming Free DLC. Included in the patch is another free content update, adding the fan-favourite tractor CLAAS XERION 5000-4000, the ETV 216i forklift by German manufacturer Jungheinrich as well as various implements by Czech company Salek, that is introduced as a new brand to the series. Overall, seven new machines are added to the game, and this new video trailer shows them in action.

Farming Simulator 22 is available for PC, Mac, PlayStation®5 (PS5™), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, and Xbox One. Visit the official Farming Simulator website

AboutGIANTS Software
GIANTS Software is an international video game developer and publisher from Switzerland established in 2004 and known worldwide for creating the popular Farming Simulator series. The team with offices in Switzerland (Zurich), Germany (Erlangen), USA (Chicago) and Czech Republic (Brno) is very committed to maintain close contact to the agricultural industry and to engage with the community. For more information, please visit giants-software.com

About Farming Simulator
Since 2008, over 30 million units of Farming Simulator have been sold worldwide. The game series has been released on all popular platforms including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs since then. From the start, the team enabled users to create mods with the company’s own GIANTS Engine. With the Farming Simulator League (FSL), the series introduced a competitive esports mode in 2019 – with teams competing in professional tournaments and many acclaimed brands and sponsors on board. More information available at farming-simulator.com

© 2022 Published and developed by GIANTS Software GmbH. GIANTS Software and its logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of GIANTS Software GmbH. All manufacturers, agricultural machinery, agricultural equipment, names, brands and associated imagery featured in this game in some cases include trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. The agricultural machines and equipment in this game may be different from the actual machines in shapes, colours and performance. ©2022 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. “PlayStation”, “PS5” and “PS4”, are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, the Xbox Sphere mark, the Series X logo, Series S logo, Series X|S logo, Xbox One and Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X|S are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Stadia, the S logo, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. “Mac” is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. All rights reserved. All other names, trademarks and logos are property of their respective owners.

Mighty Goose Brings Surfboards, Submarines, Superior Firepower via Free DLC Out Now

Philip Federico
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One final mission on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox Game Pass, Steam

TOKYO – April 19, 2022 – Mighty Goose, the over-the-top, run-and-gun, titled goose game, developed by Blastmode and MP2 Games with publishing by PLAYISM, hatches the fully-armed fowl’s final mission in free DLC available now on Nintendo Switch, Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux; PlayStation 4|5; and Game Pass for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

The waddling, weapon-toting bounty hunter, Mighty Goose, receives a distress call summoning them to the watery Planet Ceto, under attack by the villainous Evil Baron. Land amidst the brutal chaos reigning over the poor inhabitants of what was once a paradise and fight off hordes of enemies in this homage to classic side-scrolling arcade games.

Bring waves of destruction while riding a surfboard. Enter a new submarine-like aquatic assault vehicle, and turn sinister sea creatures into sushi. Then square off with the Baron for the fate of this planet once and for all — and to make sure Mighty Goose gets paid; intergalactic bounty hunting is not cheap.

Thankfully, this ferocious fowl comes fully loaded, as Mighty can use all the unlocked and upgraded abilities in this new world which unlocks after completing the campaign. Enjoy new pixel art from Richard Lems (KUNAI) and some banging new tracks from composer Dominic Ninmark (Blazing Chrome). Remember to bring a second controller and have a friend control Mighty’s companion!

“Bringing the team back together for this free DLC was a reminder of why Mighty Goose was such a dream project,” said Richard Lems, founder of Blastmode. “Regardless if you’re playing it for the 100th time or checking it out now with the DLC, thank you for making Mighty Goose such a success, and enjoy Planet Ceto!”

Mighty Goose’s free DLC is now available on Nintendo Switch, Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux; PlayStation 4 and 5; and Game Pass for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Buy Mighty Goose on sale for 50% off the regular price of $19.99 until April 25 on Xbox, until April 26 on Steam, and until April 27 on Nintendo Switch (only in North America). Might Goose includes support for Japanese, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Korean, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Polish language text.

For more information, please visit the PLAYISM website, follow PLAYISM on Twitter, and search for #Mighty Goose on social media.

About Blastmode

Based out of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Blastmode is a game studio founded in 2019 with a tongue-in-cheek approach, with Mighty Goose being its first published title.

To learn more, follow @BlastmodeGames on Twitter.

About MP2 Games

MP2 Games is a game studio and porting house located in Denmark. MP2 Games collaborates with indies to make games for PC and consoles, and has worked on the award-winning Baba Is You, as well as indie hits such as Cyber Shadow and Freedom Planet.

To learn more, visit the MP2 Games site or follow @matpow2 on Twitter.

About PLAYISM

Japan’s oldest indie publisher, PLAYISM, is known in the West for supporting popular indie games such as Gnosia, Idol Manager, Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight, Touhou Luna Nights, Fight Crab, Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-, the La-Mulana series, Bright Memory, Bright Memory: Infinite, and DEEEER Simulator among other titles. 

PLAYISM’s motto is “Bringing a Different Breed of Indie Game to the World”.

To learn more, visit the PLAYISM official website and follow @PlayismEN on Twitter.

Rune Factory 5 Review

Travis Bruno
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Rune Factory 5 Review

Rune Factory 5

Developer: Hakama Inc.
Publisher: XSEED Games
Platform: Switch
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here $89.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

In many ways the wait for Rune Factory 5 has been a rather long one. Not only has it been almost a decade since Rune Factory 4 consumed hundreds of hours on the 3DS but at one point the thought of another game in the series seemed impossible due to its developer being shut down. Still, after a few enhanced releases of Rune Factory 4, the time for the next entry in the series has arrived with Rune Factory 5 making the full switch to 3D gameplay and introducing a number of new elements to the classic formula. Have these changes made this release a worthwhile entry in the series?

Story

Players begin their story in standard Rune Factory fashion as their male or female character wakes up in a forest where they have no clue where they are let alone who they are. Despite their confusion, the player hears a girl screaming for help and finds a wereanimal girl being attacked by monsters. After saving the girl who introduces herself as Hina, the player once again loses consciousness only to find themselves brought back to the nearby town of Rigbarth and introduced to the local ranger corps in charge of keeping the people of the town safe, SEED. After a quick test to make sure that the player isn’t a threat, the leader of Rigbarth’s branch of SEED not only invites them to use the upstairs as their new home, but also takes them on as a new recruit to the organization.

Players being inducted into something of a defense force is something new for Rune Factory and does help establish a bit more about the world around Rigbarth earlier than usual as players are initially sent on missions to investigate nearby threats that lead to story progression rather than simply traveling into a newly unveiled dungeon and advancing the story as it has been previously. That being said, the SEED element may be new but all of the classic elements of a Rune Factory storyline are still here, such as the balance of nature and Earthmates, including a number of new surprises with the core storyline and the various reveals that it has throughout its numerous arcs. This leads to a fairly satisfying overarching tale that is supported by some of the best characters the series has seen in some time with most of Rigbarth’s villagers standing out in one way or another.

When it comes to games such as these, the personalities of the townsfolk plays a significant role in making sure that players have plenty to enjoy when not pursuing a core story event and, as mentioned before, Rune Factory 5’s characters do an exceptional job of making sure that players will want to check in with nearly everyone as they go about their daily routine. This is due to the fact that not only do characters have a significant amount of different dialogue that changes from day to day and comments on various things such as weather, the player’s skills, and more but also that many of them are given interesting character traits and personalities that players will really want to engage with. This includes the bachelorettes and bachelors as well as most of the non-marriage candidates as well. In fact, the inability to marry a few certain characters is rather surprising and a bit disappointing considering the dialogue and interactions they have with the player.

Rune Factory 5 is ready to let players have every option available when it comes to marriage as the Western release of the game has seen the addition of same-sex marriage. Not only does this come as a great way to be inclusive but also gives players twice as much content to enjoy when it comes to character events. These events revolve around one bachelor or bachelorette and reveal more about their past and personality and now players will have access to all of them as long as they raise their friendship with the characters properly. It is also nice to note that, rather than having to hunt down a mysterious trigger or simply hope that an event will trigger on its own, events will be marked on the map where they will occur.

Gameplay

Although Rune Factory 5 may have made the switch to being more 3D based, the game is really still quite similar to past entries in the series with a few new additions and revisions here and there. Farming is still handled the same way with players making use of an initially small field where they must pull weeds, break stones, and chop logs to clear the way for tilling the dirt and planting seeds that must be watered every day. Growing plants still works the same as usual as well with crops, flowers, etc. taking a certain amount of time before they are ready to harvest or be scythed to potentially obtain higher level seeds of that crop while players will also need to keep an eye on soil quality to ensure their crops won’t wilt or provide smaller yields.

Where things do change a bit however is the addition of a certain type of field that players will continuously unlock as they progress through the story. These fields happen to be on the backs of “Farm Dragons” that float above their designated area and can be warped to for fast travel between locations. Farm Dragons serve as giant pieces of living land and the largest plots of tillable soil that players will have access to. Not only will monster barns be built on Farm Dragons where they can help tend the fields when not producing items or coming with the player to fight but players can also make use of a new crystal system to provide some temporary and permanent boosts to the dragons’ soil.

Farm Dragons will see things such as improved soil quality, more tillable land, faster growth rates, and more when fed crystals and while these fields do not appear to feature any specific season like previous games, different dragons require different numbers of crystals to obtain certain benefits. These crystals are obtained either in full form when located while exploring the game’s world or through fragments that can then be traded for a full crystal. These fragments are obtained through another new mechanic that plays into combat in the form of the “Seal” mechanic.  

As a SEED ranger players will be given a seal that can be used out in the field to primarily target “Wanted” monsters that are more challenging than standard foes and provide small rewards when captured. Outside of this players can use their seal on standard enemies as well as bosses to temporarily stun them and potentially obtain a drop item or crystal fragment each time. If fully charged, a monster will be temporarily tamed for that day and fight alongside the player though certain actions, such as riding or obtaining produce items, cannot be performed with monsters that aren’t tamed by players. That being said, using the seal does require RP which is used for every other action in the game, be it skills, magic, using tools, fishing, or crafting anything so players will want to be careful of using it or risk damaging their health as a result. 

The place where most changes may be felt is when it comes to combat and that is primarily due to the new third person view that players will usually be in while playing the game. Encounters with enemies in a 3D field, especially in larger areas, is a bit more hectic feeling at times compared to previous games but that is for the best as not only does it encourage the use of the lock-on system but also helps make the combat feel a bit more exciting as a result. Players will still have access to a variety of weapons and moves that can be unlocked for each weapon type, the ability to use two skills/spells at a time which can be upgraded after a bit of progression, and a dodge button to avoid incoming attacks.

While combat can still feel fairly easy at times, there are many moments that players can find themselves underprepared for what they are encountering. Not only are dungeons a bit more lengthy in this game but they also can feature a variety of traps that can put players on edge in later areas. It is also worth noting that while most dungeons are locked behind story progress, the whole fields outside the town of Rigbarth are not. This means that players can end up walking into groups of enemies that are far stronger than they are, dealing zero damage a hit and nearly killing the player with a single strike so exploring too far can be dangerous. Of course, since Rune Factory 5 allows players to venture out with upwards of three party members, being able to bring any mix of townsfolk and tamed monsters, there are always options available to try and level the field, outside of leveling up everything from dual blades and mining to sleeping and eating to improve the player’s stats of course.

One thing that unfortunately has suffered from the game’s shift to being 3D is the title’s performance and whether or not it is the fact it is a Switch exclusive is questionable. Players will find that Rune Factory 5 can feel great when it is running smoothly but the game begins to suffer performance drops quite quickly even when entering places like a full monster barn room or even spinning the camera at times. Traveling down the town while villages are walking around often brings some stuttering to the game, especially during festivals, while actually fighting only stays smooth when fighting solo. Bringing a larger party or even some tamed monsters can slow the game’s performance down in fights and is a real disappointment at times considering what players can bring with them to fight. Other issues such as the game taking a fairly lengthy time to load between areas as well as a pair of sudden crashes out of nowhere drag Rune Factory 5’s performance down heavily.

Visuals & Audio

The transition of the series to complete 3D is a mostly painless one visually as the character models are detailed just enough that they match their highly detailed character portraits well enough and there are now more monster types than ever before. Where the transition does hurt is the open field exploration as many areas appear fairly empty including parts of the town. Thankfully the actual dungeons themselves are nicely detailed and feature a nice level of variety between areas to keep things feeling fresh. 

The Western release of Rune Factory 5 comes with a freshly recorded English voice track featuring a fitting cast of voice actors for every character, though it is worth noting that not every line in the game is voiced. In fact, there are scenes in the game that will fluctuate heavily between voiced and unvoiced lines which is a rather strange choice considering how important some of these scenes happen to be. There are also a number of great tracks mixed into the game’s soundtrack that change with the seasons as well as during festivals and dungeon exploration.

Overall

There is a lot to love about Rune Factory 5 as it offers more content than ever before between monster and crop variety as well as some solid combat that offers plenty of ways to take enemies down. The core storyline is enjoyable enough on its own but the cast of characters that help make up the town of Rigbarth really bring things together with more than enough to enjoy long past the story’s finale. Unfortunately long loading times and incredibly rough performance issues put a damper on just how fun and engrossing this game can be.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

They Are Coming! Gnaws Upon Steam May 20; One More Island Docks Onto Steam May 19

Philip Federico
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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – April 18, 2022 – They Are Coming!, the post-apocalyptic strategy game from developer The 6-month initiative and publisher Freedom Games, takes a bite out of PCs via Steam on Wednesday, May 20, 2022. One More Island, the colony-management sim from developer Berg Games, charts a course for PC via Steam on Monday, May 19, 2022.

Turn the tide of World War II in They Are Coming! against a desperate Allied Air Force. Germany’s “Wonder Weapon” (aka Wunderwaffe) goes terribly awry during a science experiment unleashing an unstoppable horde of bloodthirsty zombies. Unburdened by political agendas, these ruthless creatures have one goal in mind… brainssssss. Recruit more cold bodies into the deadly mass of flesh, building the ultimate zombie swarm.

Her Majesty calls for aid with increasing the empire in One More Island. Expand the colonial islands to build a thriving kingdom across numerous enclaves. Gather and manage resources to construct farmlands, bakeries, orchards, sawmills, wells, tea factories, and breweries. Establish production chains to turn neglected outposts into bustling metropolises. Research politics, the economy, and other ways to improve the lives of the citizenry. Forge alliances with neighboring islands, just don’t forget to stay loyal and pay taxes, or face the wrath of The Queen.

“One More Island and They Are Coming! encapsulate why working with indie studios is so much fun,” said Benjamin Tarsa, Director of Publishing, Freedom Games. “Both of these dev teams have tons of creativity and passion that can be seen in their work. Any fans of strategy genres should absolutely check out these titles.”

They Are Coming! will be available on Windows PC via Steam for $9.99 featuring English-language support. For more information on They Are Coming!, please visit the official Steam page.

One More Island will be available on Windows PC via Steam for $14.99 featuring English, German, Dutch, French, and Italian-language support. For more information on One More Island, please visit the official website, join the Discord community, and follow the team on Twitter and Facebook.

About The 6-month initiative

The 6-month initiative is a European-based independent developer creating historical war strategy sims using mechanics from other genres. From minesweeper puzzles to mob-based strategy games, the team creates experiences that break barriers of conventional game design. 

For more information, visit their Steam catalog.

About Berg Games

Berg Games is an independent developer founded by Marco Tonino. Fueled by a passion for city-management sims of the past, Berg Games is releasing its freshman project, One More Island later this year.

For more information, visit the official One More Island website.

About Freedom Games

Freedom Games is a publisher dedicated to offering best-in-class services to partners and providing players around the world with unique and memorable experiences. With over 50 years of combined industry experience at the executive level, Freedom Games seeks to leverage its expertise to facilitate great games and even better publishing experiences.

For more information, visit the official Freedom! Games website.

Play Focus Entertainment’s Evil West at PAX East 2022

Philip Federico
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PARIS — April 15, 2022 — Focus Entertainment is pleased to announce that Evil West will be playable for the first time as part of the publisher’s show floor lineup at PAX East 2022 at booth #12043! The new third-person action game from Flying Wild Hog puts you in the boots of a vampire hunter fighting bloodthirsty monstrosities to save a Wild West consumed by darkness.

Battle through the shadows to eradicate a threat that lies beneath your feet in this exhilarating adventure featuring dynamic, third-person combat and brutal combos, coming soon to PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC.

You can check out other Focus titles during PAX East at booth #12043 as well, including the newly revealed Warstride Challenges, Chants of Sennaar, Dordogne, and Hardspace: Shipbreaker, which officially launches out of Steam Early Access on May 24.

The physical edition of Evil West is available for pre-order now on the Focus Entertainment Store. Add the game to your wishlist now and become a Focus member to get the latest information and future exclusive offers from Evil West and across the entire Focus catalogue.

CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION Review

Admir Brkic
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CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION Review

CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 7 April 2022
Price: $19.99 USD – Available Here

Overview

When it comes to gaming, there are not many things that can take you completely by surprise. In this day and age, most of the games get leaked months before they’re out. It’s hard to keep anything secret. Last year, there was this peculiar NVIDIA leak with a lot of high-profile titles scheduled for a PC release. Some were new, some were remakes, but there was one title that got my attention. Chrono Cross something edition. Wait, THE Chrono Cross from my days of PsOne? It can’t be. That was when I decided most of the leak was fake. I mean, one of the greatest JRPGs ever is getting a stealth PC release? Yeah, right. Then E3 came and went and there wasn’t any announcement for it (which only strengthened my assumption about it being fake). Then bam! I’m watching some inconspicuous Nintendo presentation of upcoming titles and there was a sudden announcement of something called CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION with an added remark of “also on PC a day later”. Grats, Nintendo. You got me good.

Story

There are two stories here actually. Or two games, let’s put it that way. This edition comes with Chrono Cross (as in, base game) and something else called RADICAL DREAMERS – Le Trésor Interdit –. A text-only adventure or a proto visual novel that was only available for Satellaview, a device for Super Famicom which allowed users to receive downloadable content from satellite broadcasts. So you would have to jump through a couple of hoops first before even hoping to get a chance to play it in a needlessly obtuse and complicated way. Now for the important part: both games take place and are also sequels to the acclaimed Chrono Trigger. Though the connections between Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger are a bit obtuse and vague at first, Chrono Cross can be easily played as its own game and it doesn’t require any previous knowledge of Chrono Trigger. I’ll just briefly mention the story of RADICAL DREAMERS – Le Trésor Interdit – since the game is pretty short and it is set in one of the alternate realities of the Chrono Cross universe (more about alternate universes later). It’s not even a mandatory play when combined with the main game but it’s a nice addition if you ever want to know more about the lore of the main characters in Chrono Cross. As for the main game, the story starts fairly innocent. You are Serge, a young boy from Arni Village. You overslept and are late to a meetup with your girlfriend. To make things right, she asks you to get a couple of rainbow shells so she can make a necklace and meet her later at a nearby beach. You do all that, go to the beach, and then…….a strange tidal wave sweeps you off your feet, you almost drown but make it out alive. You go back to your village, except folks tell you Serge has been dead for a long time, he drowned many many years ago and nobody there recognizes you. But wait, you are Serge. What is happening? Well, this is the part where the game gets you hooked with the story. Later on, we find out that there is another world than the one we grew up in. You even get to hop between the worlds later as you try to solve the mystery of who you actually are.

Gameplay

There are a couple of things that are pretty unique to Chrono Cross. Do you know how in other RPG games you have collectibles in form of secret weapons, skills, and summons? Well, think of Chrono Cross as a prototype Pokemon game except the collectibles are various playable characters. This game has a total of 45 playable characters and it is impossible to get them all in the first run. Some will join you in the branching story paths (while some will be locked out), some are hidden behind optional quests and some can only be unlocked by unlocking certain secret characters first. Crazy, I know. But also incredibly fun. Every playable character has 2 unique skills to be used in battle, with a third one usually being hidden through a character-specific quest. Every character is different in terms of stats like strength, magic damage, defense, and also color affinity. Ah, yes we have to talk about colors. You see, magic in Chrono Chross is renamed to “elements” and they come in different colors. As in, the fire-based elements will be (obviously) red, the water ones will be blue, the light ones are white, dark ones are blue…..you get the point. A character with red affinity will do more damage with fire-based element attacks and not so much when using blue elements. However, they will take far more damage if attacked with blue elements by an enemy with blue affinity so watch out for that. Aside from all that, the rest of the battle system comes down to the usual turn-based system, with upgrading weapons and equipping stat enhancing armor and accessories as you play through the game.

Visuals

CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION comes with some specific enhancements. You can toggle enemy encounters on or off, you can speed up or slow down the battle and even activate a battle boost for the “easy mode”. That way, every enemy attack is guaranteed to miss, you just have to sit back and enjoy the show. But now you will say, ok but what about visual enhancements? This is why we are here, after all. The good news is that there are those too. 3D models have been converted to HD, you also have a background filter feature and you can now change the screen resolution from the default 4:3 (remember, this was a PsOne game). The bad news is that….all of that doesn’t matter much in the long run. The game will have occasional frame drops (in battles and even on the world map) and most of the visual improvements that are advertised on the story page are barely noticeable.

Audio

When it comes to audio, even with or without a selling point of “higher-quality background music” on the store page, you should know that you are getting one of the greatest video game soundtracks in the history of …….well, video games. For me, Yasunori Mitsuda is right up there with Nobuo Uematsu and Mick Gordon when it comes to video game composers. I’m not gonna say the music of CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION is worth the purchase alone, but it’s a tight race. The whole soundtrack is (and always will be) one of the greatest things about this game.

Overall

Here is a classic example of an iconic game being fumbled by a mediocre release. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I finally got to play one of the PsOne classics on PC. It’s been what, more than 20 years now? I wouldn’t even care about the advertised enhancements really if the game came with some sort of acceptable framerate. The good thing is that this can all be remedied with a performance patch or two, it’s just a question of how much Square Enix cares now that the game is out. In the end, I got my wish. It’s a monkey paw type of granted wish, though. Here is your Chrono Cross, but here is your below 30 fps play experience as well.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

DEEP SILVER & VOLITION TEASE SAINTS ROW ULTIMATE CUSTOMIZATION SHOWCASE

Philip Federico
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Customization powerhouse to be revealed in all its glory on 21st April

Santo Ileso, USA, / Sydney, Australia, 15th April 2022 | Publisher Deep Silver together with developer Volition will exclusively reveal full details of Saints Row’s best in class customization suite, during an incredible premiere featuring a trailer, interviews and insider information on 21st April, 2022.

The extensive showcase, starring key members from developer Volition and hosted by actress and host, Mica Burton, will air on Deep Silver’s Twitch and YouTube channels at 12pm PDT on 20th April / 5am AEST on 21st April.

Within the showcase itself, longtime fans and newcomers alike will be delighted to see a brand new trailer fully focused on customization across all aspects of player choice in the game, that will get gamers excited about all the incredible ways you can Be Your Own Boss in Saints Row – it will truly show off the breadth and depth of the customization features Volition have packed into the title.  

Set in the fictional vibrant city of Santo Ileso, Saints Row is complete reboot of the series and combines all the action, crime and humor you’d expect from a Saints Row game. The extensive customization suite is Volition’s most powerful toolset to date and is best in class; you can modify almost anything in outlandish or aspirational fashion. How your Boss looks as you take over the city’s criminal underbelly is entirely up to you.

Volition has removed the boundaries of gender and restrictions for players – put anything on without limits and rules. Plus, there’s an incredible amount of vehicle options and weapon customization tools. Ultimately, in Saints Row, Player Choice comes first.

Saints Row will launch 23rd August, 2022 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, the all-in-one games and entertainment systems from Microsoft, the PlayStation® 4 and the PlayStation® 5 computer entertainment systems and on Epic Games Store for PC.

Players can pre-order the game via Microsoft Store, PlayStation Store, Epic Games Store, all good retailers and via the official Saints Row website: SaintsRow.com/preorder

For more information on Saints Row visit the website SaintsRow.com follow us on Twitter and Instagram @SaintsRow and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SaintsRow.

©2022 and published by Deep Silver, a division of Koch Media GmbH, Austria.  Developed by Deep Silver Volition LLC. Deep Silver, Saints Row, Volition and their respective logos are trademarks of Koch Media GmbH. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved.

ABOUT DEEP SILVER

Deep Silver develops and distributes interactive games for all platforms. The Deep Silver label means to captivate all gamers who have a passion for thrilling gameplay in exciting game worlds by creating products of the highest possible quality, always focusing on what the customer desires. Deep Silver has published more than 200 games since 2003, including its own brands like the open world extravaganza Saints Row, the zombie action franchise Dead Island, and the gritty, post-apocalyptic Metro series. Upcoming highlights from Deep Silver include the next entries into the Saints Row, TimeSplitters and Dead Island franchises. Deep Silver development studios include Deep Silver Dambuster Studios and Free Radical Design, both in Nottingham, UK; Deep Silver Fishlabs in Hamburg, Germany, and Deep Silver Volition based in Champaign, IL, USA. For more information please visit www.deepsilver.com All product titles, publisher names, trademarks, artwork and associated imagery are trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyright material of the respective owners. All rights reserved.

ABOUT DEEP SILVER VOLITION

Deep Silver Volition combines long-standing industry experience and state-of-the-art technology with creativity and a strong dash of humor, to create the truly unique gaming experience their fans know and love. Its portfolio comprises the critically acclaimed Saints Row series of games, Agents of Mayhem, Red Faction, Descent/Freespace and Summoner series. It is currently working on the next Saints Row game. The studio is in downtown Champaign, Illinois. The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area is home to the University of Illinois and is a diverse, growing community that combines the arts, a vibrant technology sector, and affordable housing. Deep Silver Volition currently employs over 240 talented people. In 2013, Volition joined Koch Media / Deep Silver as one of their three international development studios. Four years later, the group was acquired by Embracer Group. To learn more about Deep Silver Volition, please visit the official website DSVolition.com, and follow on Twitter @DSVolition and Facebook @VolitionGames.

ABOUT KOCH MEDIA 

The Koch Media Group is a global developer, publisher and distributor of video games, VR games, gaming hardware and merchandise. The group’s publishing, marketing and distribution activities extend throughout Europe, America, Australia and Asia. Koch Media has more than 25 years of experience in the digital media business and has risen to become a leading global publishing partner. The Koch Media Group runs a multi-label strategy, with fully owned publishing units, such as Deep Silver, Prime Matter, Milestone, Vertigo Games and Ravenscourt; publishing games for consoles, PC and VR platforms across all physical and digital channels. Additionally – as a global publishing partner – Koch Media has formed long-term multinational publishing collaborations with numerous game publishers including; Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Capcom, Focus Multimedia, Giants Software, Koei Tecmo, Paradox, Sega, SNK, Square Enix, Techland, THQ Nordic, Tripwire, Warner Bros and many others. With its parent company in Höfen / Austria – and the HQ in Munich / Germany – Koch Media owns local publishing companies in Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, the United States as well as Japan and Hong Kong. The Koch Media Group owns 10 game development studios: Deep Silver Volition (Champaign, IL / USA), Deep Silver Dambuster Studios (Nottingham / UK), Deep Silver Fishlabs (Hamburg / Germany), Warhorse Studios (Prague / Czech Republic), Milestone (Milan / Italy), Voxler (Paris / France) , Digixart (Montpellier / France), Flying Wild Hog (Warsaw, Kraków, Rzeszów  / Poland), Free Radical Design (Nottingham / UK) and Vertigo Games (Rotterdam / the Netherlands). Additionally, the Koch Media Group collaborates with numerous independent development studios around the world. Part of the Koch Media Group is also Koch Films; a leading European independent film distributor with business primarily in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy as a cinema, TV, online and Home Entertainment distributor. The Koch Media Group also owns leading video game merchandise companies Gaya Entertainment (Munich / Germany) and DPI Merchandising (Denver, Roseburg / USA) and a Quality Assurance Facility in Olomouc / Czech Republic. Koch Media is an Embracer Group company. 

Cat Cafe Manager Serves Cat-puccinos on Nintendo Switch, PC Today

Philip Federico
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UTRECHT – April 14, 2022 – Cat Cafe Manager, the charming restaurant management and feline adoption simulator from developer Roost Games and publisher Freedom Games, serves scrumptious bowls of wholesomeness for Nintendo Switch as well as PC via Steam and Epic Game Store today.

Enter the cozy community of Caterwaul Village, where warm welcomes and adorable kitties go hand-in-hand. The family business, Granny’s cafe, beckons for a grand reopening and the latest resident of Caterwaul is the person for the job. Create delectable dishes, get to know the locals, and aid fuzzy residents in finding their fur-ever home all while uncovering a magical mystery.

Boost the cafe’s appeal by welcoming in more of Caterwaul’s four-legged residents and learning their personality quirks. Befriend colorful characters like Carla-Lala, a helpful witch who understands the pressures of walking in family footsteps, to learn about the village’s culture and earn presents from friends. Breathe new life into Granny’s cafe with redesigned interior decor and hire fresh staff yearning to care for fluffy and human customers alike.   

Choose from an amalgamation of decor and menu selections to attract newcomers of all varieties like fishermen and witches to increase profits and spend on the cafe’s expansion. Build additional rooms with special themes of any desired design from the wallpaper down to the lamps on end tables. Craft a menu with everyone’s favorite snacks and regular coffee orders to make this café a direct line to a relaxation station.

“Connecting with a happy cat is an experience that just sticks with you,” said Rick Sorgdrager, Lead Game Designer and Writer, Roost Games. “Cat Cafe Manager empowers cat lovers to create these magical encounters for others daily!”

Cat Cafe Manager is available on Nintendo Switch as well as Windows PC via Steam for $19.99 featuring English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese language support. 

For more information on Cat Cafe Manager, please visit the official website, join the Discord community, and follow the team on Twitter.

About Roost Games

Roost Games is a video game collective comprised of three indie gaming veterans. With previous experience working on projects including Reus, Renowned Explorers, and Godhood, Roost Games strives to create charming sims that meld inviting settings with cerebral gameplay.

To learn more, check out the official Twitter account.

About Freedom Games

Freedom Games is a publisher dedicated to offering best-in-class services to partners and providing players around the world with unique and memorable experiences. With over 50 years of combined industry experience at the executive level, Freedom Games seeks to leverage its expertise to facilitate great games and even better publishing experiences.

For more information, visit the official Freedom! Games website.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker Officially Launches Out of Early Access on May 24 for Steam & PC Game Pass

Philip Federico
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Hardspace: Shipbreaker Officially Launches Out of Early Access on May 24 for Steam & PC Game Pass

PARIS — April 14, 2022 — Blackbird Interactive and Focus Entertainment’s acclaimed, zero-g, sandbox spaceship-salvaging game Hardspace: Shipbreaker is blasting out of Steam Early Access on May 24! After nearly two years of regular content additions, the 1.0 version will officially release on PC via Steam, the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass. Prepare to roll up your sleeves and get to work in the perilous (but profitable!) world of deep-space salvage, where your planning and execution will be put to the test.

Get ready to explore the world of a blue-collar worker salvaging the dangerous husks of decommissioned spaceships. You’ll cut, pull apart and destroy all manner of vessels while contending with reactive, true-to-life, zero-g physics. With several classes of procedurally designed ships, from small transports to large freighters, every vessel is a unique and open-ended challenge for your creative thinking.

Experience a thrilling campaign where your employer – the LYNX Megacorporation – may not be your friend, and your coworkers may be the only people you can trust. Upgrade your tools, take on more and more valuable ships, and recover hazardous materials to pay back your astronomical debt to the Lynx company – without blowing yourself up in the process.

Take a break from the day-to-day work of a shipbreaker and flex your skills in competitive challenges against other players in the R.A.C.E. game mode leaderboards. And if you want to simply relax, hone your technique or just enjoy the calming, meditative nature of high-stakes salvage, you can play on any ship with no limits in the Freeplay game mode.

Want to try the game before launch? Hardspace: Shipbreaker will be playable this month at PAX East, where it was first unveiled and played by the public two years ago! Come visit Focus Entertainment booth #12043 and discover the latest enhancements to the Freeplay game mode.Hardspace: Shipbreaker is also in development for a future release on consoles. For more on the game, visit https://hardspace-shipbreaker.com.

HARDCORE PLATFORMER SOCKVENTURE AVAILABLE NOW FOR NINTENDO SWITCH

Philip Federico
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0

Frenetic 2D Platform Brings Lightning Fast Action From Inside a Cursed Washing Machine

Denver, CO – April 14th, 2022 – Independent games publisher Versus Evil and developer Nighthouse Games today announced that their 2D platform action game Sockventure is now available on Nintendo Switch..

Sockventure brings super fast, eye catching gameplay with its stunningly colorful graphics and frenetic 2D platform action over 200 handcrafted levels across 7 chapters. Developed by Nighthouse Games players take on the role of Supersock, a superhero tasked with finding all the missing socks inside a cursed washing machine.

Check out the Sockventure Official Nintendo Switch Announcement Trailer:

Precision-based gameplay and split second timing are essential to navigate the intricately designed levels filled with deadly hazards such as fire, lasers, circular saws and other dangerous threats.

Sockhero can acquire new skills during his deadly sock retrieval mission, wall jumping, double jumping, dashing and stomping help him navigate the myriad of colorful levels and devious hazards in the search for lost socks. Sockhero can also collect coins scattered throughout the levels which unlock dark chapters, presenting a whole new platforming challenge without auto-run.

“Sockventure brings a fantastic mix of difficulty, depth, vibrant level design and rapid fun gameplay.” said Steve Escalante General Manager of Versus Evil. “We are excited to bring Sockventure to Nintendo Switch and know that fans of this genre are getting one of the best platformers to grace our lineup of releases in 2022”

For more information on Versus Evil’s 2022 titles and release dates head over to www.versusevil.com

About Nighthouse Games
 
Nighthouse Games was founded in 2020. Nighthouse Games is an award-winning two-man game studio from Tampere, Finland and its focus is in making high quality 2D platformer games for PC and consoles. Learn more at nighthousegames.com.

About Versus Evil

Founded in 2013, Versus Evil, LLC is the US based video game publisher behind critically acclaimed video games First Class Trouble, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and The Banner Saga trilogy. Publishing games on all major mobile, PC and console platforms, Versus Evil works with independent development studios from around the world. The corporate philosophy is to champion for the independent game developer. For more information visit versusevil.com

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