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Purchase an Xbox One with Xbox All Access for No Upfront Cost

By Jeff Gattis, General Manager of Platform and Devices Marketing

At Xbox we believe strongly in choice.  Choice in what, where and how you play, in addition to where and how you buy.  It’s with that that we’re thrilled to reintroduce Xbox All Access to more players around the world starting with the U.S., U.K. and Australia — and now including an all-new upgrade option for the next Xbox console, Project Scarlett.

With Xbox All Access, you get an all-inclusive Xbox experience with everything you need to start playing right out of the box for as little as $27* AUD per month for 24 months (US pricing). The program is a great choice for players who want flexibility in their purchasing options and are looking for a great value. When joining Xbox All Access, you get:

While Xbox All Access isn’t eligible to be stacked with any other discounts or limited time promotions, the price you pay per month is dependent upon which console you choose and saves players over $100 dollars compared to purchasing everything separately.

Here’s how it works in four easy steps:

  • In order to join the program, simply visit a participating retailer.
  • Select the console you would like to purchase with no upfront cost^
  • Qualify with our financing partner (Citizens Bank in the U.S.; Klarna in the U.K.; Telstra in Australia). Once approved, complete your purchase with the retailer.
  • Once you’ve signed up and brought your console home, it’s time to power up and game on.

Xbox All Access will be available beginning on October 29 in Australia, November 5 in the U.K. and November 18 in the U.S. through select partners and retailers, including:

  • Australia: In-person and Online at Telstra
  • U.K.: In-store at GAME or in-person and online at Smyths Toys
  • U.S.: Online from Amazon.com

Some program details vary by country. Please visit country specific links to learn more.

Players in the U.S. and U.K. who purchase an Xbox One console with Xbox All Access have the option to upgrade to Project Scarlett once it’s available Holiday 2020 and they’ve made 18 payments.  Players in Australia can buyout their hardware at any time and upgrade to Project Scarlett once it’s available.

We realize buying a console is an investment and some players are waiting to make the jump to the next generation with Project Scarlett when it launches in Holiday 2020 alongside “Halo Infinite”.  This is why as a limited time offer this holiday season, players in the U.S. and U.K. who purchase an Xbox One X with Xbox All Access, between Oct 30 and December 31, have the option to upgrade to the next Xbox console in as few as 12 months and once Project Scarlett has officially launched.

In order to participate in the upgrade program when Project Scarlett launches in Holiday 2020,  players in the U.S. and U.K. will need to be in good standing with the respective financing partner in their market, purchase Project Scarlett with a new Xbox All Access purchase from the same retail partner where they joined the program, and trade-in the console originally purchased with Xbox All Access. Terms and conditions apply, including an upgrade fee for players upgrading from the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition to Project Scarlett.

As always, we’re grateful to our fans for their support and look forward to bringing Xbox All Access to more players around the world in the coming months.

To find out more about Xbox All Access, including how to join, what consoles are available for purchase, your upgrade option, and terms and conditions, please click here in the US, here in the United Kingdom and here in Australia, or visit your local retail partner.

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Xbox All Access Australia Details

Xbox All Access is available exclusively at Telstra, in-store and Online. Visit https://www.telstra.com.au/tv-movies-music/xbox-all-access or your nearest Telstra Store to join Xbox All Access today.

Things you need to know:  Available to new and existing Telstra customers.  Prices vary by console. 24-month Game Pass Ultimate (subject to cancellation of your service) includes Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass for Console and Xbox Game Pass for PC.  The game catalogue varies over time. If you cancel your monthly service within the first 24 mths, you will need to pay out the remainder of your Xbox as a once-off payment. If you are converting your existing Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass membership(s), they will automatically convert to Ultimate at a conversion ratio.  Your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate token is included in the console box and must be redeemed to your Microsoft account to activate the service. After the first 24 months, you will need to sign up to a standalone Game Pass Ultimate Subscription at the standard in market rate, currently $15.95 per month. Forza Horizon 4 LEGO® Speed Champions digital download token included, game download requires significant storage.  Gameplay requires a suitable TV. Online play and access to games in Game Pass Ultimate service requires a stable internet connection. Not available in conjunction with any other offer.

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WWE 2K20 ORIGINALS: BUMP IN THE NIGHT NOW AVAILABLE

WWE 2K20 Originals: Bump in the Night featuring “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt is live today across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Bump in the Night was the pre-order bonus for the Standard Edition of WWE 2K20 and is included in every copy of the Deluxe and SmackDown! 20th Anniversary Edition. It is also available for individual purchase at $14.99.

Bump in the Night is the first entry in the WWE 2K20 Originals series of downloadable content packs, each with a different theme, that will introduce all new imaginative realms to WWE fans, with new content for all your favorite parts of WWE 2K. Bump in the Night’s horror vibe is perfect for the Halloween season.

WWE 2K20 Originals: Bump in the Night’s centerpiece is the debut playable version of “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, who taunted the WWE Universe for months before his in-ring debut at SummerSlam. Wyatt fits in perfectly with the pack, loaded with a horror-themed Showcase, unique story towers, frightening versions of some of your favorite WWE Superstars, and much more.

WWE 2K20 ORIGINALS: BUMP IN THE NIGHT CONTENT

“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt playable character

Add the most unsettling Superstar in WWE to your WWE 2K20 roster!

New 2K Showcase

An alternate “Swampfather” version of Bray Wyatt has amassed otherworldly power, becoming an embodiment of the swamp itself. He lures Finn Bálor to his compound to recruit Finn’s Demon into his group of powered Superstars, which he calls his “Family.” Finn is forced to fight in a series of matches against members of Wyatt’s Family until finally, the power within Finn Bálor is unleashed. Exclusive commentary brings the story to life.

Story 2K Towers

2K Towers with full stories and unique versions of WWE Superstars

  • “The Fiend” – “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt stars in his own tower
  • “All Fed Up” – “Fed-Up” Sheamus is forced to take on some of his former fellow Superstars, who have all become zombies
  • “Nowhere to Run” – “Twisted” Nikki Cross looks to “play” with other Superstars in her own twisted game
  • “One of the Family” – “The Swampfather” Bray Wyatt decides to bring on one of his past recruits. Can Daniel Bryan avoid becoming one of “The Swampfather’s” thralls?
  • “Nowhere to Hide” – “Survivor” Mandy Rose has had enough of “Twisted” Nikki Cross and her games. She’s going to do what she can to put an end to the madness

Horror-themed WWE Superstar Characters

  • “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
  • “Demon King” Finn Bálor
  • “The Swampfather” Bray Wyatt
  • FrankenStrowman
  • “Wicked” Aleister Black
  • “Unleashed Apex Predator” Randy Orton
  • “Fed-Up” Sheamus
  • More mystery characters

Arenas

  • Wyatt Swamp Arena
  • Cemetery Brawl Arena

Horror-Themed Creation

  • Dozens of Create-a-Superstar parts
  • New Create-an-Arena parts
  • New weapons
  • New moves

If you opt for the WWE 2K20 Deluxe or Collector’s Edition, you’ll also have access to the complete set of WWE 2K20 Originals downloadable content packs releasing down the road, each with a different theme and comparable amount of content. WWE 2K20 Originals: Bump in the Night is also available for individual purchase at $14.99 for Standard Edition players who did not pre-order the game.

WHAT ARE WWE 2K20 ORIGINALS?

WWE 2K20 Originals are a series of four downloadable content packs each based around a different theme and all-new fictional realm.  These are the core downloadable content offerings for WWE 2K20 and each will include a unique 2K Showcase, 2K Towers, playable characters, creation suite parts, new weapons and arenas, and so much more, set to its unique theme. The first WWE 2K20 Originals pack is called Bump in the Night* and is based around a horror theme (details above). More information on the other three WWE 2K20 Originals will be available in the coming months. All WWE 2K20 Originals will be released by spring 2020.

WHAT DO WWE 2K20 ORIGINALS COST?

WWE 2K20 Originals are priced at $14.99 each. The first WWE 2K20 Originals pack, Bump in the Night, was available at no additional charge for those who pre-ordered WWE 2K20 at participating retailers. Players interested in the other three WWE 2K20 Originals outside of Bump in the Night will be able to purchase the WWE 2K20 Backstage Pass for $29.99 (a $44.97 value). The contents of the Backstage Pass are included in the WWE 2K20 Deluxe and Collector’s Editions and will be available for download once available.

All four WWE 2K20 Originals are included in the WWE 2K20 Deluxe and Collector’s Editions at a significant savings!

WWE 2K20 ORIGINALS OPTIONS

  • All four WWE 2K20 Originals included
    • WWE 2K20 Deluxe Edition – $89.99 (a $129.93 value)
    • WWE 2K20 SmackDown! 20th Anniversary Edition – $129.99 (a $249.93 value)
    • Check out the contents of all editions of WWE 2K20 here
  • A la Carte Options
    • WWE 2K20 Backstage Pass – $29.99 ($44.97 value): Save on WWE 2K20 Originals with this bundle featuring packs 2-4. (Deluxe and Collector’s Edition consumers may download all WWE 2K20 Originals at no extra charge when available.)
      • WWE 2K20 Originals: Wasteland Wanderers
      • WWE 2K20 Originals: Southpaw Regional Wrestling
      • WWE 2K20 Originals: Empire of Tomorrow
    • WWE 2K20 Originals are purchasable on PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam digital storefronts:
      • WWE 2K20 Originals: Bump in the Night – $14.99 (Out now)
      • WWE 2K20 Originals: Wasteland Wanderers – $14.99 (Late 2019)
      • WWE 2K20 Originals: Southpaw Regional Wrestling – $14.99 (Coming soon)
      • WWE 2K20 Originals: Empire of Tomorrow – $14.99 (Coming soon)

EarthNight Lands on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam on Dec. 3

EarthNight Lands on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam on Dec. 3

PHILADELPHIA – Oct. 28, 2019 – EarthNight, the hand-drawn action platformer set during the dragon apocalypse and featured in Nintendo’s Indie World presentation earlier this year, makes the jump to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam for Windows PC and Mac on Dec. 3, 2019.

Cleaversoft‘s console and PC debut casts Stanley and Sydney as humanity’s last hope. Ever since dragons overtook Earth, mankind has lived in exile on space colonies orbiting the planet. Despite being faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, the unlikely duo—a sword-wielding freelance photographer and a young student blessed with ethereal superpowers—take it upon themselves to reclaim their home by skydiving through Earth’s atmosphere and striking back against the monsters below.

The two heroes approach their dragon-slaying mission with drastically different tactics. Stanley’s powerful legs allow him to make both high jumps and long leaps, while Sydney favors agility by making use of an air dash and double jump ability. Both heroes wield their bespoke skills to overcome hostile environments and push towards the vulnerable heads of their scaled serpentine foes.

Each EarthNight level features procedurally-generated dragons with multiple exits and secrets rewarding exploration. Slaying dragons grants Sydney and Stanley rewards like dragon eggs and other mysterious objects that unlock powerful upgrades. With the right tools, the duo can topple even the toughest opponents while moving through stages at breakneck speeds.

Boasting more than 10,000-plus frames of painstakingly-crafted animation, EarthNight’s hand-drawn visuals come from Paul “Mathattan” Davey. Paul “Chipocrite” Weinstein composed the title’s rocking soundtrack, infusing chiptunes created on Gameboy Hardware with real modern instrumentation. The OST is now available on Bandcamp, Apple Music, and Spotify.

EarthNight represents seven years of hard work from a collective of talented artists and the final product is something we’re immensely proud to share with everyone,” said Rich Siegel, founder of Cleaversoft. “We hope that Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam players are as excited to hurtle back to Earth and slay dragons as we are to watch them.”

EarthNight launches on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam for Windows PC and Mac on Dec. 3, 2019 for $14.99 / €13.99 / £12.59 / $21.00 AUD. The game is currently available via the Apple Arcade subscription service for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac. For more information about EarthNight, please visit the team’s official website and join the Cleaversoft community on Twitter and Facebook.

About Cleaversoft

Cleaversoft is an independent Philadelphia-based collective of video game makers helmed by Rich Siegel. Determined and passionate, the staff has an unrelenting drive to execute its vision. The EarthNight team received contributions from a variety of industry veterans with experience working at Sega, Naughty Dog, Riot Games, Larian Studios, DreamWorks, and more.

NETMARBLE REVEALS ALL-NEW ORIGINAL MARVEL SUPER HERO TEAM ‘WARRIORS OF THE SKY’ EXCLUSIVELY FOR MARVEL FUTURE FIGHT

Four Original Super Heroes Coming Soon to MARVEL Future Fight

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 28, 2019) – At the Thailand Game Show, Netmarble announced an all-new original team of Marvel Super Heroes exclusively for their popular mobile game MARVEL Future Fight. The new ‘Warriors of the Sky’ team consists of four original Super Heroes and will join Luna Snow and Crescent & Io as the latest Marvel original characters created for MARVEL Future Fight.

“We are excited to introduce this original team, Warriors of the Sky, to MARVEL Future Fight fans and expand on the continually growing, wide variety of character choices in the game,” said Danny Koo, Senior Producer for Marvel Games. “Warriors of the Sky is about teamwork. Netmarble is an amazing developer to collaborate with on these concepts, and we are eager to see how they can bring these unique creations to life in the game.”

“Everyone at Marvel loves collaborating with friends around the world to create characters which entertain, inspire and resonate with our global fans,” said Bill Rosemann, VP of Creative for Marvel Games. “Combining awesome powers, cool visuals and memorable backstories, the Warriors of the Sky join the Avengers, the X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy as Marvel’s next major super team.”

Each of the brand new characters has their own unique powers and different backstories for players to learn and explore. The new Warriors of the Sky team includes:

  • War Tiger – Leaping from the West, the massive War Tiger slices through evil with the mystical Tiger’s Fang. This ancient Thai general ensures the success of his fellow Warriors of the Sky with his immense power and hardened combat experience.
  • Blue Dragon – Defending the East, Blue Dragon possesses the ability to transform whatever she touches into a draconic weapon. With her heirloom spear, whip in hand, this child of Vietnamese noble family leads the Warriors of the Sky with her protective spirit and wise judgment through any challenge they may encounter.
  • Sun Bird – Soaring into battle as guardian of the South, the searing Sun Bird provides healing support for the Warriors of the Sky. With agile charm, this Malaysian pirate from the 1600s reborn by the power of his twin krises seeks to make the most of his new life by supporting the world however possible.
  • Shadow Shell – Strategizing in the North, Shadow Shell disables enemies from afar and defends her teammates with her highly advanced rifle and Ba Gua energy shield. When Shadow Shell’s adopted family in Taiwan attempted to poison her, the extremely intelligent tactician gained her unseen powers of toxic immunity and now provides battle strategy for the Warriors of the Sky.

“Creating characters with different backgrounds and diverse stories and giving players a wide variety of Super Heroes to play as is always a joy, especially with how fans have taken to our past original creations with Marvel such as Luna Snow, and Crescent & Io,” said Joe Lee Executive Producer at Netmarble. “We also appreciate collaborating with Marvel on new concepts, especially with The Warriors of the Sky team, and we can’t wait to show more in the future.”

Netmarble revealed the first teaser for the ‘Warriors of theSky’ at New York Comic Con in early October, and unveiled an additional teaser at the Thailand Game Show.

In addition to new characters, Netmarble also released a new remix track of <Tonight>, Luna Snow’s 1st hit single at the Thailand Game Show. Luna Snow is Marvel’s first K-Pop Super Hero and the song’s vocals is performed by Hyungseo, a member of the Korean girl group Busters. 

MARVEL Future Fight celebrated its four-year anniversary with over 100 million players across the world. The game is currently available worldwide in the App Store® and Google Play™.

For more information, please visit http://marvelfuturefight.netmarble.com.

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About Netmarble Corporation

Netmarble Corporation strives to entertain audiences of all ages around the world by providing great mobile gaming experiences. Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble is one of the fastest-growing mobile game companies and consistently ranks as a top mobile developer and publisher worldwide. With more than 6,000 employees, Netmarble has been producing and servicing some of the most successful mobile games including Lineage 2: Revolution, Blade & Soul Revolution, MARVEL Future Fight, BTS WORLD, Everybody’s Marble, and Seven Knights. As a parent company to Kabam, a top mobile game developer in massively multiplayer free-to-play games, and the largest shareholder to Jam City, a leading casual social game developer, Netmarble has a strategic partnership with CJ ENM Corporation, Asia’s largest entertainment company, Tencent Holdings, Asia’s largest internet company, and NCsoft, a prominent MMORPG company. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com. © 2019 MARVEL

App Store is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the US and other countries.  App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc.

PUBG MOBILE UNVEILS NEW ANTI-CHEAT DETECTION SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY AND BAN IN-GAME CHEATERS

World’s most popular mobile game receives new methods for promoting fair gameplay

LOS ANGELES – Oct. 28, 2019 – Since PUBG MOBILE’s launch in 2018, the security team have enforced a zero-tolerance policy towards in-game cheating to create a fair and healthy gaming environment. Today, PUBG MOBILE revealed further insight into existing cheating detection efforts and future initiatives currently being developed, including an upgraded anti-cheat system with advanced real-time detection technology.

With a focus on creating an enjoyable and fair gameplay experience, PUBG MOBILE has given insight into the constant measures taken to remove hackers and cheaters from the game. As the first line of defense, PUBG MOBILE’s system of detection software is able to scan for suspect software and modified game data. To keep up with the constantly evolving hacking and cheating methods, the PUBG MOBILE employs a massive and ever-expanding library to cross-reference when detecting suspicious software.

While PUBG MOBILE developers are working to evolve detection technologies on an ongoing basis their efforts to stop hacking and cheating do not stop at just one line of defense. Using game observation techniques, the developers are able to identify players using unfair means to gain an advantage over their competition.

Additionally, the security team utilizes game observation to fairly monitor players who have been reported through the game’s system to ensure only players using additional software or other means of hacking and cheating to deter from the game’s environment are banned. The team can efficiently observe gameplay to differentiate between the use of unfair software and player skill as well as unusual game occurrences due to lag or packet loss.

“We want players to know that we are 100% committed to providing a fair gameplay experience for everyone. SaidVincent Wang, General Manager of Global Publishing Department from Tencent Games “We take enormous pride in the game we work on every day, and cheaters cheapen all of our work. We’re doing everything possible to keep cheaters out of our game as much as possible, and hundreds of team members are dedicated to this task.”

In a commitment to swiftly deal with players utilizing hacking and cheating software, PUBG MOBILE developers are able to enforce player bans in real-time. By combining detection software, observation, and player reporting the developers are able to efficiently and swiftly remove cheaters even mid-match so as to maintain a positive gaming experience for players.

PUBG MOBILE has become a success with fans since its release captivating over 400 million players. With such a large player base, the developers are working round the clock to enforce and evolve anti-cheat and hacking measures through cutting edge software as well as dedicated staff for observational security. Players can download PUBG MOBILE for free on iOS and Android. To find out more about PUBG MOBILE visit the official site here.

ABOUT PUBG MOBILE

PUBG MOBILE is based on PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, the phenomenon that took the world of interactive entertainment by storm in 2017. Up to 100 players parachute onto a remote island to battle in a winner-takes-all showdown. Players must locate and scavenge their own weapons, vehicles and supplies, and defeat every player in a visually and tactically rich battleground that forces players into a shrinking play zone.

For more information, please visit the official PUBG MOBILEaccounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Rise up against your rivals in the second in a series of F2™ videos released for F1® 2019

Larkspur, Calif. – Oct. 28, 2019 – After the recent launch of the eagerly anticipated free F2™ 2019 season update, Codemasters today released the second video in a series of three trailers for F1® 2019, the official videogame, focusing on the FIA Formula 2 Championship™. For the first time in the official F1® videogame, players can not only choose between F2™ and F1, they can decide between the full 2018 and 2019 F2 seasons.

The second video in the series is dedicated to Anthoine Hubert, following his tragic death at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this year. Anthoine was crowned GP3 Series Champion in 2018, before graduating into F2 with BWT Arden, winning two fantastic races at Monte-Carlo and Le Castellet in his rookie season.

Featuring contributions from Alex Albon, George Russell and Lando Norris, who themselves have risen from F2 to F1 very recently, alongside F2 experts Bruno Michel, Davide Valsecchi and Alex Jacques, this video will excite gamers and encourage them to hit the track for the 2019 F2 season.

The 2018 F2 championship was dominated by the on-track rivalry between title winner George Russell, and runner-up Lando Norris. Detailing their season rivalry, George Russell, who now drives for ROKiT Williams Racing, said: “The 2018 season was incredible really, more than I could have ever asked for.” Detailing a moment with main title rival, Lando Norris, now at McLaren F1 Team, he went on to say, “Monza, from the neutral’s perspective, was one that definitely stood out between myself and Lando, it was a good battle.”

The F2 2019 season is now available to play in F1 2019 right now. Follow Codemasters F1 games blog and social channels on Twitter and Facebook for future updates and buy F1 2019 from  http://www.formula1game.com/buy.

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About Codemasters
Codemasters (AIM:CDM) is an award winning British video game developer and publisher with over 30 years of heritage. The company specializes in high quality racing games including DiRT, GRID and the BAFTA award-winning official F1® series of videogames.

For more information on Codemasters’ product portfolio, please visit www.codemasters.com. Join in the conversation with @codemasters on Twitter or Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/codemasters.

© 2019 The Codemasters Software Company Limited (“Codemasters”). All rights reserved. “Codemasters”®, “EGO”®, the Codemasters logo and “GRID”® are registered trademarks owned by Codemasters. “RaceNet”™ is a trademark of Codemasters. All rights reserved. All other copyrights or trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are being used under license. Developed by Codemasters.

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. Deep Silver works with its partners to achieve a maximum of success while maintaining 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 grim post-apocalyptic future of the Metro series. Upcoming highlights from Deep Silver include Dead Island 2 and Saints Row V. Deep Silver also owns the development studios Deep Silver Dambuster Studios in Nottingham, UK; Deep Silver Fishlabs in Hamburg, Germany, Deep Silver Volition based in Champaign, IL, USA, and Warhorse Studios based in Prague, Czech Republic. For more information please visit www.deepsilver.com

Koch Media is a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products (software, games and films). The company’s own publishing activities, marketing and distribution extend throughout Europe, North America and Australia. The Koch Media group has more than 20 years of experience in the digital media business and has risen to become the number one publishing partner in Europe. It has also formed strategic alliances with numerous games and software publishers: Bethesda, Capcom, Codemasters, Kaspersky Labs, Konami, Koei Tecmo, Milestone, Sega, Square Enix, etc. in various European countries. With Headquarter in Höfen, Austria Koch Media owns branches in Germany, England, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Nordic regions, Benelux, Australia, Czech Republic and the United States.

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.

EA Pretty Much Confirms That They Are Coming Back to Steam

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Well, here is something that equally amazing as it is shocking. The end of Valve’s relationship with Electronic Arts was like a bad breakup that both parties refuse to talk about. After Origin took off, EA decided to take down most of its games from Steam and transfer it to Origin, as well as making their upcoming releases exclusive to that client.

However, something strange started happening in the past few days. TheNerdMag first reported some strange sightings of Dragon Age II receiving database updates on Steam (the game was briefly there before EA decided to remove it) and The Saboteur being played by someone there. What’s interesting about The Saboteur is that it was never on Steam to begin with, but according to steam.db, the database entry is there. And this would all stay in the realm of unreliable rumors until EA decided to tweet something pretty interesting two days ago.

Something is steaming from the EA branded cup. Steam-ing. G-get it? As far as I know, EA is not the kind to tweet random stuff without any context, so this could be a pretty clear hint that some of their PC games (if not most) might come back to Steam. Please EA, don’t let this be some strange advertising for a new line of EA coffee mugs, I would pay good money to play Titanfall games and Mass Effect 3 on Steam. For now, I keep my fingers crossed and I’ll keep you updated for more development regarding this matter.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III Review

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: NIS America
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here $89.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

When a fanbase follows a series for many years they become worried about any small changes that may come their way and with The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III more than a few big changes were on the way. Not only was there a three year wait instead of the usual one year to see the game be released in the West for the first time on the PlayStation 4, but it also was coming at the hands of a completely different publisher. It wasn’t just changes outside of the game that fans had to worry about as The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III comes off of a major story arc’s conclusion in the previous game and now features more than a few adjustments as a result. With so much change to contend with, is Nihon Falcom’s deft hand at development still as strong as ever?

Story

Being the third game in a series that itself takes place in a larger franchise gives The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III a fairly high barrier to entry but perhaps due to its nature of being the first entry developed for the PlayStation 4 the game also happens to feature an extensive “story so far” that covers not only the events that took place over the course of the first two games but also character biographies and explanations about various pieces of world history. That being said, even with this fairly in-depth effort to keep new players from being lost at entry this recap mostly works best as a refresher course for longtime fans than anything else and even then those who haven’t played other games in The Legend of Heroes franchise will still be missing out on a few elements so be wary of that.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III takes place a year and a half after the events of the previous game that saw the land immersed in a civil war that finally came to a conclusion. While the rest of Class VII chose to graduate from Thors Military Academy early and chase after their own goals, Rean Schwarzer not only stayed through as a student but has now begun working as a teacher at the newly established Thors Military Academy Branch Campus. As a teacher Rean begins instructing a brand new Class VII featuring an almost entirely new cast of characters with only one familiar face being among his pupils. All is not well however as political unrest continues and although the flames of war have faded the embers are ready to reignite across the land.

Since so much worldbuilding has taken place over the course of the first two entries in the series The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III doesn’t take its time getting the narrative rolling and this quick start works quite well with the fact that the writers continue to show their mastery over crafting an engrossing storyline that will keep players wanting to push forward to see what happens next, though fans should be prepared for a storyline that is darker in nature even compared to the events of the second game. It is also worth noting that another certain aspect from the first game, alongside the school-life aesthetic, in the series has returned in this story and it happens to be the fact that a massive cliffhanger awaits those who reach the lengthy storyline and although the fourth entry has already been released in Japan, fans will be left waiting until the localization to see just how things play out this time.

Now it is worth noting that Nihon Falcom took a fairly large risk here as swapping out familiar characters that fans have grown attached to over the course of the last two games is quite jarring, it speaks volumes about the writers’ skill that the new members of Class VII quickly fall into place and feel like characters we’ve known for quite some time. This is partially thanks to the fact that the class itself is smaller and allows for each member of the class to get a little extra time to shine but also thanks to how well they integrate with the story as a whole while rarely overshadowing important reunions with old members of Class VII and various other interactions with returning characters, creating an organic introduction of quite a few new characters that is rare when a series is already on its third entry.

It is interesting to note that the skill of the original Japanese writers only shines through thanks to how adept the localization team at NIS America has been with this translation. Generally this wouldn’t even be worth mentioning unless there were grammatical errors or rampant misspellings but given the fact that the series has transitioned publishers and translators midway through, it is easy to say that fans of the series should not be concerned about the new localization team as the dialogue still retains the same feeling as the original two games.

Gameplay

In an interesting fashion The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III manages to recapture a bit of what the first game in the series had as it places players once again in a school campus. Here players will find very similar gameplay elements that see them interacting with their Class VII students, traveling around campus and having free time while also being able to venture into a dungeon to train. Even the field exercises aspect to drive the story makes a return making the game feel very familiar to the first but considering the new cast, this works well as a core structure.

For the most part combat in the game remains very similar to before as players will have four party members battling against enemies in a turn based system. The most immediate change that fans will notice is that the various battle commands now make use of the D-pad and face buttons for quicker access. These include regular attacks, using an item, moving around the battlefield for positioning, and of course the returning Arts, which is magic that takes time to cast, and Crafts that are immediate but vary depending on what the unit has equipped, as well as the new Brave Order system.

Brave Orders make use of “Brave Points,” that are also used to perform linked attacks, to issue status boosting buffs that vary depending on the character issuing the order. These range from defense boosts to immediate spell casting and can play a large role in how some more difficult fights play out. Players also can now inflict “Break” status to enemies by repeatedly attacking them with everything they have with broken enemies receiving higher damage for a time. 

Another nice little tweak comes in the form of the Divine Knight and Panzer Soldat mech battles. While these fights primarily only featured single unit fights players will now find that they will be having at least two giant mechs fighting on their side at any time. This helps make these already intense looking battles even better. For those who want things a bit speedier, there is also a “turbo” mechanic that will speed up the pace of combat and cutscenes that play when a character uses a special move are also skippable. Along those same lines the game also features five different difficulty options to keep it accessible to those who may be rusty or unfamiliar with the game’s mechanics as they range from being incredibly easy to incredibly hard, though longtime fans will likely want to begin on hard as normal plays a bit too easy.

Outside of the standard story progression players will find that The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III still has plenty of various side tasks that they can sink time into. This includes a deck-building card game called Vantage Masters that allows players to challenge most NPCs to card battles, a number of other smaller mini-games, and of course plenty of side quests that can offer some surprisingly enjoyable story developments as well as worthwhile rewards.

Visuals & Audio

With The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III marking the first entry in the series developed solely for the PlayStation 4 the game has seen a solid jump in presentation and ends up looking fairly good as a whole. There is some solid variety in the places that players will be traveling with most of these areas also appearing larger in size compared to previous entries and the various character models are more impressive looking than before, especially when it comes to some of the flashy moves that can be performed in battle. That being said, don’t expect too much of a significant jump here compared to other JRPGs that have made their way to the console.

NIS America has put quite a bit of effort in making sure that nearly all of the original English voice actors have reprised their roles in the series and they continue to impress in their roles here though if players choose, there is the original Japanese voice track as an option. As far as the soundtrack goes, the series continues to be impressive as there are a number of great pieces of background music that vary throughout the game while exploring and entering combat.

Overall

Fans of the series were likely a bit worried about just how The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III would turn out thanks to the numerous changes within the game and publisher but thankfully those worries can be put to rest. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III‘s English release lives up to the series’ quality so far and excels in telling a lengthy gripping storyline filled with plenty of side-content and a slightly more refined combat system. It may not make the most of its transition to the PlayStation 4 and the wait until the fourth game is released may be long, but this third entry in the series does not disappoint.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Let’s Sing Country Out Now on PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch™ and Xbox One

Let’s Sing Country Out Now on PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch™ and Xbox One

Larkspur, Calif. – Oct. 25, 2019 – Deep Silver and Voxler happily announce that the newest chapter in the highly successful Let’s Sing series, Let’s Sing Country, is now available for the first time in the U.S. on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One as well as, exclusively at GameStop, Nintendo Switch™. Country fans can pick up a party-ready pack which bundles two microphones with either an Xbox One or PS4 copy of the game for $59.99, or karaoke stars who already have microphones at home can opt for a standalone PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch copy for $44.99.

With Let’s Sing Country you can follow in the footsteps of cutting-edge artists like Cody Johnson with “On My Way to You,” Dustin Lynch with “Small Town Boy,” and Jimmie Allen with “Best Shot.” Grab the mic and sing your heart out with well-known hits like Jake Owen’s “Down To The Honkytonk” or Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line with “Meant to Be.” The tracklist includes 30 country hits, offers a great variety, and has something for everyone.

Whether you’re training your voice solo or enjoying your next karaoke party with friends and family, with Let’s Sing Country fun is guaranteed.

Grab the microphone and choose your song before rocking the stage solo or with friends. If you don’t have a USB microphone at hand, just transform your phone into one with the Let’s Sing Microphone App and your performance will begin straight away … the stage is all yours.

Let’s Sing Country Songlist
Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line , ‘Meant to Be’
Cole Swindell , ‘You Should Be Here’
Darryl Worley , ‘Awful, Beautiful Life’
Kelsea Ballerini , ‘Peter Pan ‘
Lady Antebellum , ‘Just a Kiss ‘
Rascal Flatts , ‘These Days ‘
Sam Hunt , ‘Take your Time ‘
Toby Keith , ‘I Wanna Talk About Me ‘
Chris Janson , ‘Buy Me A Boat’
Dylan Scott , ‘My Girl ‘
Michael Ray , ‘Think A Little Less ‘
Granger Smith , ‘Backroad Song ‘
Joe Nichols , ‘Sunny and 75 ‘
Jordan Davis , ‘Singles you up ‘
Dierks Bentley , ‘Burning Man’
Dustin Lynch , ‘Small Town Boy’
Jimmie Allen , ‘Best Shot ‘
LoCash , ‘I Love This Life ‘
Devin Dawson , ‘All On Me’
Jon Pardi , ‘Dirt on My Boots ‘
Eric Church , ‘Round Here Buzz ‘
Lauren Alaina , ‘Road Less Traveled ‘
Jake Owen , ‘Down To The Honkytonk ‘
Chris Lane , ‘Fix ‘
Kacey Musgraves , ‘Follow Your Arrow ‘
Cody Johnson , ‘On My Way to You’
Dwight Yoakam & Buck Owens , ‘Streets Of Bakersfield’
George Strait , ‘The Chair ‘
Glen Campell , ‘Rhinestone Cowboy ‘
Kenny Rogers , ‘The Gambler ‘

Key Features
Strong playlist with 30 country songs from chart-toppers to all-time classics with original music videos.

Fun across the USA: Find new challenges in the online game mode.

Complete in-game country design and optimized performance including animations and improved speech recognition for the best singing feedback.

Sing solo or with up to four players together (PS4 & Switch: 2x USB microphone + 2x smartphone app).

Five exciting game modes: ‘Classic’, ‘Mixtape’, ‘feat.’, Jukebox and ‘World Contest’.

No microphone at hand? It doesn’t matter – with the Let’s Sing Microphone-App, you can turn your phone into a microphone in no time at all with your Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Climb the online leaderboard and crush encores via song packs in the online store.

Handheld Mode supported on Switch.

Game Modes

Classic: Perform solo or together with your friends. Hit the right notes to score the most points – can you crack the high score?

Feat.: Find your perfect match. The better you sing together, the higher your “compatibility score” is. Not only can you sing with friends, but you can also team up with your idol in single-player mode.

World Contest: Take on the world. Try to reach the top of the leaderboard or just have fun with your friends – choose a singer you want to challenge and try to beat them online. The game shows the performance of the other singer as if you were singing together.

Mix Tape: Mix different song extracts together with this innovative game mode. Each mix is dynamically generated and thus guarantees a playlist that never repeats itself. Create your own mixtapes with your favourite songs with the mixtape creator.

Jukebox: Relax after your singing session with a list of songs for the next groovy party.

Product Details
Title: Let’s Sing Country
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch
Genre: Singing Game / Karaoke
Players: Single player / Local 1-4 players
Developer: Voxler
Publisher: Deep Silver
Age Rating: ERSB T         
Release Date: Oct. 25

Pricing:
Game & 2-Mic Bundle for Xbox One: $59.99
Game & 2-Mic Bundle for PlayStation 4: $59.99
PlayStation 4 Standalone Game: $44.99
Xbox One Standalone Game: $44.99
Nintendo Switch Standalone Game (GameStop exclusive): $44.99

# # #

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. Deep Silver works with its partners to achieve a maximum of success while maintaining 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 grim post-apocalyptic future of the Metro series. Upcoming highlights from Deep Silver include Dead Island 2 and Saints Row V. Deep Silver also owns the development studios Deep Silver Dambuster Studios in Nottingham, UK; Deep Silver Fishlabs in Hamburg, Germany, Deep Silver Volition based in Champaign, IL, USA, and Warhorse Studios based in Prague, Czech Republic. For more information please visit www.deepsilver.com

Koch Media is a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products (software, games and films). The company’s own publishing activities, marketing and distribution extend throughout Europe, North America and Australia. The Koch Media group has more than 20 years of experience in the digital media business and has risen to become the number one publishing partner in Europe. It has also formed strategic alliances with numerous games and software publishers: Bethesda, Capcom, Codemasters, Kaspersky Labs, Konami, Koei Tecmo, Milestone, Sega, Square Enix, etc. in various European countries. With Headquarter in Höfen, Austria Koch Media owns branches in Germany, England, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Nordic regions, Benelux, Australia, Czech Republic and the United States.

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 Voxler
Voxler is a French developer of music games. The company was created in 2005 and the team focuses its energy on developing great music games based on advanced technology. Voxler develops or has developed several games on all platforms (Wii™, Switch™, PlayStation®3, PlayStation®4, Xbox 360® and Xbox One®) and on iOS, Android and PC. The team’s key commitment is to give players unforgettable moments in high-quality games. The studio works with leading worldwide publishers and invests continuously in order to exploit the full potential of each platform. More information at http://www.voxler.fr.

Wii and Wii U are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2012 Nintendo.

The Alliance Alive HD Remastered Review

The Alliance Alive HD Remastered

Developer: Cattle Call
Publisher: NIS America
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PC, PlayStation 4
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $49.99 USD – Available Here $79.95 AUD – Available Here

Overview

Although the focus in 2018 saw many Nintendo 3DS games switching to the Switch, the little handheld still saw a steady supply of quality games well past the point where many people had already moved on. As such, The Alliance Alive which released in the West that year never really took off despite having some fairly significant names working as writers and developers from the SaGa and Suikoden series. Now Cattle Call and NIS America are giving fans RPG fans another chance to see what the game has to offer in the form of The Alliance Alive HD Remastered but is this chance worth taking?

Story

Thousands of years prior to the beginning of The Alliance Alive HD Remastered’s story the world was torn asunder when the Daemons invaded the human world and took over, separating the lands into separate regions divided by a magical barrier called “The Great Barrier.” With each region suffering various types of calamities, humanity became the lowest race in their world with Daemons ruling and beastmen taking up the middle position.

In interesting fashion, and true to the alliance aspect of the game’s name, players will find that rather than following any single hero or even one party, players will instead see the story jumps around between three groups of characters before eventually bringing everyone together to form an alliance. These characters run the entire gamut of races and provide some rather unique outlooks on the game’s story aspects as human characters may see certain things different from a girl that happens to be Daemon nobility.

While a bit of a slow burn at the start, players will quickly find this cast of characters growing on them, especially when they begin to interact with one another and we get a chance to see their personalities grow throughout the ever growing conflict. By giving nearly every character plenty of interesting bits of personality, and giving them time to actually grow throughout the game, their parts in the story feel more organic and it is much easier to become invested in the world and the story that unfolds. Unfortunately, given the fact that the game still features no voice over in any form, there are a number of important scenes that lack impact.

Gameplay

One of the first things that players will realize when playing The Alliance Alive HD Remastered is that it unfolds and plays a bit different from your standard RPG. Plenty of the standard features are there, with players being able to explore an over world and various locations teeming with enemies that, when touched, will drop them into a turn based battle. That is basically where these similarities come to an end however as players will find that their party members do not level up in a traditional manner. Instead, the focus is placed more on a character’s equipment and their various abilities.

While the end of combat will still reward the entire party with Talent points as well as the chance to, seemingly at random, gain a boost to their HP or SP, most advantages will occur while fighting. By attacking using certain weapon types a character can awaken to new skills that can allow them to use a special weapon skill or a magic spell and the more these abilities are used, the stronger they become or the higher chance they have at unlocking an additional ability. The randomness of this system can feel a little frustrating at times but it allows for players to adjust their party as needed without too much restriction. Along those same lines players can use aforementioned Talent points to unlock various passive bonuses that range from being overall boosts to just standard buffs for a character when using certain weapon types.

Players can form various formations with their party members, with there being three lines of placement that not only change how much damage they deal and receive but also how often they end up being attacked. These formations can be formed ahead of time and then swapped around during combat should the need arise, allowing for players to better adjust to the flow of battle by easily shifting their party members from Attacking, Guarding, or Supporting depending on what is needed at the time. Of course, this will take a bit of trial and error but don’t worry too much, The Alliance Alive HD Remastered often feels a bit too easy for its own good. One noteworthy feature that The Alliance Alive HD Remastered includes is the ability to speed up combat should the player wish. There are various levels of acceleration and these higher speeds make fighting against simpler enemies and grinding various boosts a much easier task than your standard RPG. 

Another way players can gain various boosts comes in the form of Guilds. As players travel the lands they will be able to unlock and even establish various towers throughout the world and these guilds will provide various buffs to the player’s party as long as they are nearby. These can range from unlocking new techniques in battle to providing extra information about enemies. It is interesting to note that players can even recruit various NPCs to provide bonuses to guilds if they so choose.

Visuals & Audio

The biggest, and in fact pretty much the only difference between this release and the original happens to be the fact that the game has seen a solid improvement in the graphical department. Originally limited heavily by the handheld 3DS The Alliance Alive HD Remastered now is presented in a more visually pleasing manner that still shows its limitations but is certainly a solid improvement that breathes some new life into the game. It also helps that the character designs are quite solid and the various environments players will explore are incredibly varied in nature. 

It is interesting to note that although the game continues to feature a solid soundtrack and decent enough sound effects, the game continues to suffer from the complete lack of voice acting. As mentioned before, the title does not include voice work in any form which was another limitation of its origins on the 3DS, and it is certainly disappointing to find that even with this re-release there was no effort to provide any voice work to the cast of characters.

Overall

The Alliance Alive HD Remastered is an interesting release as it still holds all of the charm and unique gameplay mechanics that it had when it was originally released but also doesn’t really offer too much else other than a better presentation compared to its 3DS counterpart. This means that those who have already played the original will likely find this release only worthwhile if they want to experience the story once again in a better looking manner though those who have yet to experience what The Alliance Alive HD Remastered has to offer will find a well-written storyline that features some unique gameplay mechanics that help set it apart from other RPGs of its kind.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.