G.I. Joe: War on Cobra Pre-registration Now Available on Google Play, Deploys Worldwide on Mobile Devices January 20

Press Releases

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January 8, 2020

Choose Your Side and Build a Team of Your Favorite Heroes, Villains, and Vehicles from the Classic Animated Series and Iconic Action Figure Line

Los Angeles, Calif. — Jan. 7, 2020 — G.I. Joe is here! D3 Go! and Emerald City Games along with Hasbro, Inc. announced today that G.I. Joe: War on Cobra is coming soon to mobile devices. Launching worldwide on the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore on January 20, 2020, G.I. Joe: War on Cobra is full of epic new missions and features a wealth of fan favorite heroes, villains, and vehicles from the 1980s animated TV series and iconic action figure line. Choose your side, build your team, and engage in strategic battles with other players by land, sea, and air!

Players can pre-register G.I. Joe: War on Cobra today via Google Play.

“For us, G.I. Joe is more than just a brand. It’s a shared piece of cultural history that’s near and dear to fans worldwide,” said Brian Etheridge, Vice President of Publishing at D3 Go!” With a proven track record in the mobile space and a passionate team of creatives, we’ve found the right partners with developer Emerald City Games to bring the fun and excitement of the world of G.I. Joe to mobile devices with this game.”

“G.I. Joe has a long, rich history and countless fans around the world,” stated Richard Cleveland, Vice President of Digital Gaming at Hasbro. “We look forward to launching a new way for current and new fans to enjoy the brand, and know that this game brings the brand to life in a new and exciting way!”

In G.I. Joe: War on Cobra, choose a side and fight! The War on Cobra wages on, but where does your allegiance lie? Fight for freedom and save the world from total chaos by joining the Joes. Or show your might in your quest for world domination by joining the forces of Cobra. The fate of the world is at stake. Will you be its savior or conqueror? G.I. Joe: War on Cobra includes many of your favorite heroes, villains, and vehicles. Here’s just a small sample of the fan-favorites players can look forward to collecting to build their ultimate team at launch!

G.I. Joe Heroes · Duke · Scarlett · Roadblock · Snake Eyes G.I. Joe Vehicles · Killer W.H.A.L.E. · V.A.M.P.

Cobra Villains · Cobra Commander · Baroness · Destro · Storm Shadow Cobra Vehicles · Piranha · Stinger

G.I. Joe: War on Cobra Key Features

Collect Hero, Troop, Command, and Vehicle cards inspired by the classic and beloved G.I. Joe animated series and action figure toy lines.
Compete with other players in PvP battles and work your way up the ranks!
Equip your Squad and defend your base from land, sea, or air assaults with special defenses, including Turrets, Sea Mines, and Troop Depots.
Choose a side! Both G.I. Joe and Cobra factions have unique Units and Buildings with different playstyles for a truly substantial experience.

Knowing is half the battle! Visit the game website for game information and stay up to date on the latest news for the game by visiting the official website at www.gijoewaroncobra.com and signing up for the official email newsletter. Join the community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Now you know!

About D3 Go!

D3 Go! is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of original and licensed interactive entertainment video games based in Encino, CA. D3 Go! is dedicated to creating the best player experience and support on all major gaming platforms and mobile devices. D3 Go! is a subsidiary of D3Publisher Inc. and is ultimately owned by BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc. For more information, please visit https://d3go.com.

About Emerald City Games

Located in Burnaby, British Columbia and founded in 2008, Emerald City Games has assembled a team of the industry’s most talented developers. They have consistently pushed the boundaries in gameplay and art to create successful, award-winning games such as Sacred Seasons 1 and 2, Lionheart Tactics and Lionheart Dark Moon. With their latest endeavor, G.I. Joe: War on Cobra, the studio aims to push things even further in their quest to create the next Top 10 game for mobile.

About Hasbro

Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating the World’s Best Play and Entertainment Experiences. From toys and games to television, movies, digital gaming and consumer products, Hasbro offers a variety of ways for audiences to experience its iconic brands, including NERF, MY LITTLE PONY, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY, BABY ALIVE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and POWER RANGERS, as well as premier partner brands. Through its entertainment labels, Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation, the Company is building its brands globally through great storytelling and content on all screens. Hasbro is committed to making the world a better place for children and their families through corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Hasbro ranked No. 13 on the 2019 100 Best Corporate Citizens list by CR Magazine and has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere Institute for the past eight years. Learn more at www.hasbro.com, and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro) and Instagram (@Hasbro).

Frostpunk’s “The Last Autumn” DLC Unveiled

Jamie Laike Tsui

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January 7, 2020

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Frostpunk’s “The Last Autumn” DLC Unveiled

11 bit studios has thrown back the covers on the latest Frostpunk DLC “The Last Autumn.” Set before the endless winter, “The Last Autumn” recounts the British Empire’s last ditch efforts to avert crisis. Additionally, the DLC adds new buildings, technologies, an Books of Laws.

“The Last Autumn” launches on January 21 for PC. No price has been announced yet, but “The Last Autumn” is part of Frostpunk’s Season Pass. 11 bit studios will also be putting the base game on sale when “The Last Autumn” launches on GOG, Steam, and Humble Store.

The console versions of Frostpunk have not yet received DLC releases, but 11 bit studios have assured gamers that plans to port all the DLCs to consoles are still in place. No release date has been set yet.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Trailer Mimics the Anime

Travis Bruno

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January 4, 2020

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Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Trailer Mimics the Anime

With Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot set to be released in a little under two weeks Bandai Namco has chosen to drop a new trailer that tries to copy the magic of the original anime series by featuring the old “Last time on Dragon Ball Z” element though with a different voice actor than fans may remember.

In this trailer fans are shown many of the different elements to the game such as the fights they will be participating in, various side-quests that will be available, and a number of playable characters that will be available outside of Goku. The trailer can be found below and as for the game itself, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will be released in North America and Europe for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on January 17th.

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls Releasing on PC on January 15

Travis Bruno

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January 4, 2020

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Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls Releasing on PC on January 15

After first making its appearance in the West as a PSP game, XSEED G ames now has a set release date for the PC version of Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls. The company has announced that the game will be releasing on PC on January 15th where it will be priced at $14.99 and sold at a temporary 10% discount for one week after release. This enhanced PC version of the dungeon crawler will feature enhanced visuals, all of the previously released DLC, and a turbo mode that will speed up fights.

This announcement was accompanied by a trailer that previews a number of these improvements and can be found below.

Nekopara and BOFURI Anime to Stream on FUNimation

Travis Bruno

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January 4, 2020

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Nekopara and BOFURI Anime to Stream on FUNimation

FUNimation has announced that they have acquired the licenses to stream both the Nekopara anime as well as BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt so I’ll Max out My Defense when they begin airing in Japan with English subtitles with an eventual English dub being produced and streamed at a later date.

The Nekopara anime will begin airing on January 9th and is an adaptation of the popular visual novel series though it appears that a new unknown girl will be making an appearance and BOFURI is an anime adaptation of a light novel series that follows a girl who begins playing a virtual reality MMO with her friend only to create a character with only defensive stats, making her slow, weak, and unable to use magic but immune to nearly all types of damage.

BOFURI will begin airing in Japan a day earlier on January 8th and it is worth noting that FUNimation’s announcement does not confirm an eventual home video release.

Nekopara Preview

BOFURI Preview

Dragon Quest Builders 2 Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

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January 4, 2020

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Dragon Quest Builders 2

Developer: Square Enix, Koei Tecmo
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PlayStation 4, Switch, Windows (Reviewed)
Release Date: 12 July 2019 (Consoles), 10 December 2019 (PC)
Price: $59.99 USD/$89.95 AUD – Available Here

Video Review

Overview

Dragon Quest Builders, the quirky take on the long running JRPG franchise, is back with a sequel. Like the first game, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an alternate version of Dragon Quest 2 that mixes action RPGs with voxel sandbox gameplay. Players will wake up on the shores of the Isle of Awakening and soon make friends with Malroth, a warrior with no memories. Together, the pair will take on the cult Children of Hargon who has a chokehold on the world.

Story

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a generally lighthearted take on the franchise, a nod back to the more youthful and joyous days of early RPGs. The writing is simple and accessible, making the game appropriate for older children. The writers do an excellent job conveying personality and culture through conversational style, though the accents can be so thick it becomes be hard to read. The humour is not very complex so older children will enjoy it; however, adults have a few gags and jokes that were clearly designed to go over the heads of the little ones.

Gameplay

Dragon Quest Builders 2 mixes elements of action RPGs, voxel sandboxes, and puzzlers. The rhythm of the game is often predictable, cycling between exploration, guided building, and set combat pieces. The difficulty level is low for the most part, making the game ideal for older children or anyone looking for a relaxed game to play.

Combat straight forward. Malroth provides 50-65% of the overall damage, leaving the player to fill in the rest. The builder’s basic attack is the player’s bread and butter. There are some other combat abilities that can be used, but these fall under specific use cases. There is also no dodge, so players will need to learn how to run away from power attacks and position themselves out of harms way while still hitting as many enemies as possible. All these elements combined created a very spammy experience that left me with sore fingers. I suspect if the developers tweaked the controls, they could significantly cut down on some of the button mashing.

The game’s set combat segments are not very hard. For the most part, waves of enemies are hurled at the town. A third of the population are usually able to assist the player and Malroth in the defense. As long as players are continuing to outfit their villagers with the most up to date weapons, the villagers and Malroth can almost handle the entire battle the battle alone. The bosses are the main exception. These fights introduce some interesting mechanics to the fight that will require players to do a little problem solving. The boss fights are definitely the best of what the game’s combat has to offer.

Exploration is a key part of Dragon Quest Builders 2. Each island the builder and Malroth visit are massive landscapes with several biomes. Tucked away in all corners are resources, monsters, mini-bosses, builder puzzles, and treasures to discover. The level design is good. There are lots of points of interest with plenty of monsters and resources along the way. The exception is the higher areas, which often are just vast areas with little to no points of interests. Besides completing the map and using the cliffs as a jump off point for the gliders, there is little reason to explore these areas.

The puzzle design deserves a special mention. Since the game is designed to be accessible to a wide range of ages and skill levels, the puzzles are never very hard. Instead, they offer interesting ideas that play up to the game’s focus on building. Many emphasize pattern recognition, observation skills, and multi-step planning.

Building is a simple affair. The room is the basic unit in Dragon Quest Builders 2. It is an enclosed space with walls two blocks high and accessible through a door. Special room types will offer different bonuses based on the types of items and quality of materials inside. For the most part, players are provided with a lot of guidance with what to build. NPCs will pepper the player with special room requests and give players a list of items needed. Players are free to decide where to build the room and sort of the details for themselves. Major building projects for story completion will give players blueprints of well designed structures. The only downside is players have no creativity in the matter as the blueprints require the building to be done to specifications. The larger structures are set down at predetermined locations while players can lay down smaller buildings where they choose. The blueprint system works well enough, but there is room for improvement. The blueprint overlay in the world is only for the base layer and is not very clear about which block goes where, requiring players to constantly bring up the original blueprint plans to check on progress. While a blue effect appears when the correct block is placed, there are better alternatives. I would have liked to see a detailed blueprint overlay that clearly shows a 2D icon of the correct block that also rises as each layer of blocks are placed.

The guided building will not provide all the needed resources for an entire town. Players will need to add their own buildings to ensure the town’s food, housing, and hygiene needs are met. While the game does not strictly require players to keep the population happy, it will significantly increase heart production, allowing players to progress more quickly through the story.

The PC port quality is decent but has room for significant improvement. Mouse and keyboard controls are very good, and I actually preferred them over the controller. The only downside is the restrictive key bind options that prevent most non-alphanumeric keys from being bound. Another frustration is the game’s tendency to reset the camera settings. I preferred the wide camera angle as I found the default angle caused me some minor motion sickness, but the game would return to the default camera angle every time the builder went into a tight space or a plot-related dialogue occurred. There is a setting in the options to prevent camera changes, but I found it had little effect. Additionally, the game is capped at 60 FPS. While the game does provide options for a 30 FPS cap for weaker computers, an uncapped framerate option would be ideal.

Visuals

Dragon Quest Builders 2 has a cute super deformed art style that reflects its family-friendly gameplay design. The world is bright and utterly charming. The style is still distinctively Dragon Quest with many classic monsters making an appearance in the game.

Audio

The audio experience is enjoyable. The soundtrack does an excellent job of setting the tone for the game. The sound effects are of high quality. There is no voice acting, opting for the more traditional JRPG convention of using a few standard vocalizations to accent certain parts of dialogue. It is a wise choice as some of the heavily accented characters in the game would require skilled voice actors to pull off, otherwise the performance would sound like a train wreck.

Overall

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a solid, casual game mixing several beloved genres that complement each other well. It’s a family-friendly title that can be enjoyed by adults and older children alike. If you are looking for a more relaxed experience than some of the more hardcore builders out there and need a more guided experience than Minecraft, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is the perfect game for you.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Oddity Springs Forth from Mother 4 Fan Game

Travis Bruno

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January 4, 2020

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Oddity Springs Forth from Mother 4 Fan Game

Fan games can be a bit of an odd beast as they are passion projects by the most die hard fans of a series, but at the same time they are also always met with a cease and desist when they begin to gain popularity. Such is the case with the Mother 4 fan game that has been kicking around for a few years now but has been mostly silent over the past year. Well there seems to be good reason for that as the game has now been changed into something that looks more “inspired” by the classic RPG than anything else and is now called Oddity.

This big reveal comes in the form of a trailer that explains that the game is keeping an original premise and storyline following a boy named Travis Fields and his friends during the ’70s and that, during a camping trip, the group blows up a “Gate” that triggers a worldwide crisis. The developers for the game are currently working on it for PC and have also stated that “it’ll be out when it’s ready” so don’t expect it anytime soon.

Fate/Stay Night Cooking Spin-off Announced for Switch

Travis Bruno

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January 4, 2020

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Fate/Stay Night Cooking Spin-off Announced for Switch

There have always been a few cooking games released here and there but that well has ran dry in recent years so it only makes sense that the Fate franchise expands into that hole. It has been revealed through an official website that a cooking game based around the spin-off anime series, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family, will be releasing on the Nintendo Switch in spring 2020 in Japan. Everyday Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family will feature a variety of cooking mini-games that, at least so far, appear to feature Saber (Artoria) cooking a variety of dishes.

It is currently unknown whether this Fate/Stay Night spin-off game will end up being localized in any form but given the popularity that has seen nearly every spin-off game in the series localized in English, it may only be a matter of time. You can check out the non-region locked version of the trailer announcing the game below courtesy of Gematsu.

LG TO UNVEIL 2020 REAL 8K TV LINEUP FEATURING NEXT-GEN AI PROCESSOR AT CES 2020

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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January 3, 2020

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LG TO UNVEIL 2020 REAL 8K TV LINEUP FEATURING NEXT-GEN AI PROCESSOR AT CES 2020

Advanced Alpha 9 Gen 3 AI Processor Brings Optimised Picture and Sound to Company’s Range of 8K Displays

SEOUL, Jan. 3, 2020 — LG Electronics (LG), the company delivering the Real 8K experience, will introduce its expanded 8K TV lineup next week at CES^® 2020 – eight TVs with new 77- and 65-inch class models joining LG’s existing 88- and 75-inch screen sizes.

The diverse 2020 lineup includes premium 88- and 77-inch class LG SIGNATURE OLED 8K TVs (models 88/77 OLED ZX) and advanced LG NanoCell TVs (models 75/65 Nano99, 75/65 Nano97, 75/65 Nano95), with every model exceeding the 8K Ultra HD definition set by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) with independent labs such as TÜV Rheinland validating that LG SIGNATURE OLED 8K and LG 8K NanoCell TV exceed this definition.^*

Not only do LG 8K TVs deliver Real 8K, they are also future-proofed to provide customers peace of mind with multiple ways to enjoy the Real 8K experience. The new models offer the capability to play native 8K content** thanks to support of a wide selection of 8K content sources from HDMI and USB digital inputs, including codecs such as HEVC, VP9 and AV1, the latter being backed by major streaming providers including YouTube. LG 8K TVs will support 8K content streaming at a rapid 60FPS and are certified to deliver 8K 60P over HDMI.

The latest LG 8K TVs also feature upgraded performance thanks to the new α (Alpha) 9 Gen 3 AI Processor. By leveraging deep learning technology, the 2020 lineup delivers optimised picture and sound quality for wide range of content through AI-based 8K upscaling. Based on an intelligent deep learning network, AI 8K Upscaling delivers vivid and accurate 8K images by analysing the content and applying Quad Step Noise Reduction and frequency-based Sharpness Enhancer to increase lower resolution content to near 8K.

The α9 Gen 3 processor’s AI Picture Pro is capable of recognising faces and text on screen, fine-tuning and sharpening each to produce more natural skin tones, well-defined facial features and clearer, more readable characters. What’s more? Auto Genre Selection recognises the type of content being watched and automatically applies picture settings to deliver realistic image quality among four genres: movie, sports, standard and animation.

The LG AI Sound Pro analyses and classifies the audio of content among five categories –music, movies, sports, drama or news – for clearer voices and richer, more textured background sound. Spoken words are isolated and their volume increased, making it distinctively easier for viewers to understand. Meanwhile, background noises are identified and the scene up-mixed to virtual 5.1 surround for a heightened level of viewer immersion.

On top of the viewing experience, LG 8K TVs offer a new level of convenience made possible by AI technology. Users can monitor and control compatible IoT devices directly from the TV’s Home Dashboard, while Hands-Free Voice Control allows viewers to easily control multiple connected devices with just their voice, even from across the room. Available in 144 countries, ThinQ voice recognition is built into every LG 8K TV. And with the LG smart TV platform, webOS, the new TVs support Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit as well as both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, with Amazon Alexa Premium Far-Field Voice compatibility in the future.

“LG is deeply committed to providing consumers with an outstanding viewing experience,” said Park Hyoung-sei, president of the LG Home Entertainment Company. “With LG 8K OLED and NanoCell TVs, customers can know they are getting future-proofed products that will deliver mesmerising picture quality regardless of the format.”

LG’s comprehensive, 8K lineup will be on show during CES 2020 from January 7-10 at the company’s booth (#11100, Central Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center). Follow all of LG’s CES activities and announcements on social media using #LGCES2020.

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*Test results for LG’s new 77-inch LG SIGNATURE OLED 8K and 65-inch NanoCell 8K (Nano97 series) TVs confirmed by TÜV Rheinland as surpassing minimum contrast modulation (CM) threshold requirements for Real 8K.

** Native 8K content is currently not available in Australia and New Zealand.SD, HD and 4K UHD content is upscaled and image quality will vary depending on source content.

About LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company

The LG Home Entertainment Company is an industry leader in televisions, audio video systems, monitors, projectors and portable computers. The company is a recognized innovator in the industry for its leadership in OLED TVs which is revolutionizing the premium TV category. LG is committed to improving customers’ lives with innovative home entertainment products led by category-leading OLED TVs and award-winning NanoCell TVs featuring artificial intelligence capabilities. For more information, visit www.LG.com.

BanG Dream! 3rd Season Licensed by Sentai Filmworks

Travis Bruno

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January 3, 2020

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BanG Dream! 3rd Season Licensed by Sentai Filmworks

Sentai Filmworks has announced that they have acquired the license for the third anime season of BanG Dream!. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as the company has already previously licensed both of the previous seasons of the anime series, though at the moment only the first season has been released on home video in North America.

This license acquisition for BanG Dream! 3rd Season as it is called will allow for the series to stream digitally on a number of outlets when the season starts airing on January 23rd and the company has already stated that a home video release is planned.

For those unaware of the season, Sentai Filmworks describes it as such: The girl-powered bands are gigging again. That means Poppin’Party and other fan favorites are set to return for an all new season of BanG Dream!. Now that Kasumi and the rest of Poppin’Party are taking charge of their own show, the sky’s the limit for their rockin’ musical ambitions and dreams of stardom. But they’ll have to contend with other bands looking for their big break, and their friendship will be put to the ultimate test as they rock their way to the top of the charts!