Paramount Pictures released a new featurette for Bumblebeetoday. The video stars the cast and production crew of Bumblebee talking about the film’s Generation 1 style. Bumblebee returns to the standard format of Transformers turning into cars and Autobots turning into planes. The art team also dug into the old cartoons for design cues, opting for a boxier design in a nod to the toys.
Bumblebee stars Hailee Steinfeld, Pamela Adlon, John Cena, Stephen Schneider, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Jason Drucker, Kenneth Choi, Ricardo Hoyos, Abby Quinn, Rachel Crow, and Grace Dzienny. The film follows Charlie (Steinfeld), a young woman on the cusp of adulthood. As an 18th birthday present, she buys a yellow VW Beetle to restore. She soon discovers her junkyard find may be the key to saving the world.
Paramount Pictures (Instant Family) released a brand new trailer for their comedy What Men Want. The trailer introduces Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson), a sports agent who has been passed over for a promotion to partner at her firm. Depressed about her work life and her inability to connect with men, Davis decides to visit a psychic with her friends. After a wild night involving tea dosed with drugs and a solid hit to the head, Davis wakes up wit the ability hear men’s thoughts. Now Davis is hoping to put her career back on track with her new found powers, but she will soon discover her new found abilities and her work life come at a cost.
What Men Want is scheduled to hit cinemas on February 14, 2019.
For many years now fans of Bethesda’s open world RPGs have asked for a game that would allow them to explore one of these worlds with their friends. Earlier this year Bethesda revealed that Fallout 76 would allow them to do just that but there is a saying that you should be careful what you wish for. With odd design decisions leading to worry before launch, has Fallout 76 managed to pull itself together and deliver something unique or does it simply fall apart? After facing down seemingly everything that Appalachia has to offer, let’s find out.
Story
In many ways Fallout 76 starts out in a fairly similar fashion to other entries in the series as players wake up as the last resident of Vault 76 on “Reclamation Day,” a self imposed holiday that sees the vault door opening and sending its residents out into the world in an effort to rebuild the world twenty five years after the nuclear apocalypse. After customizing the look of your chosen character (which can be adjusted at any point in the game) players are given a fairly simple intro to the world through a handful of Mr. Handys and signposts left around the vault hallways as you make your way out of the area.
In fact the only real path comes in the form of a message left by the Overseer who left the vault a bit earlier than everyone else as a scout of sorts. Once you actually leave the vault forever, since it is no longer accessible once you leave, there is really no direct objective pointing the players where they should go or what they should do. This sets up the main difference in Fallout 76 that finds players in the land of Appalachia with only a vague mission of following the Overseers journey and listening to the holotapes that she has left behind as a sort of guide. These holotape locations tend to fall into a partially recommended path that players can follow in an attempt to learn more about how to use the C.A.M.P. system and learning useful blueprints for it while also leading them to other more story based quests involving the new Scorched enemy types and mutations that have been found throughout Appalachia.
This idea of giving players the chance to have a truly open ended style of exploration may seem appealing at first but this unfortunately fades rather quickly primarily thanks to the design choice of making sure that outside of some robots and a certain friendly super mutant, the only other living beings that won’t attack you on sight happen to be other players. This means that while it may be enjoyable to explore the huge amount of ruined pieces of civilization, larger buildings, monuments to history, city-scapes, and even cave structures as well as mining areas, you will never really find a complete story to most of these areas. There are a large number of unique pieces of storyline that come from many of these areas that are revealed in the form of notes (that often desperately need a text pop-out function to be legible) or holotapes and occasionally a quest that will see you tracking down various things. The problem is, with every other human being and non-hostile ghoul dead, there is no happy ending or most of the time even an ending to these stories other than the fact that everyone died somehow.
This vague style of storytelling only holds its shine for so long before it begins to lose its luster. It also doesn’t help the fact that while a number of areas may have at least some visual element to give players a hint as to what happened there, there are a large number of areas that are simply devoid of explanation or even a single note about the past making the enjoyment of exploration drop incredibly. This also doesn’t help when you consider how buggy certain aspects of the game can be when it comes to quests in a multiplayer world such as this.
Since many tasks tend to rely on players following objectives that boil down to finding a thing or slaying an enemy in a certain location, there is a real issue with spawns in this game. Multiple quests have resulted in having to log out of a world (game session) and join a different one in the hopes that no one in this world has happened to explore that area yet or killed the creature tied to the quest. Or flat out having to restart the game because your main and side quests failed to load in properly and leave you with only daily missions listed. Combine this with the fact that there is basically no roleplaying element to this game as player choice boils down to ignoring quests or completing them as written, and you have many questlines that feel like they simply go nowhere worthwhile other than providing a small sampling of reward and, if you’re lucky, a bit of story. It used to be that finding a new location would be a sign that a plethora of new interactions would await the player with potential new NPCs and quests to undertake but that has almost entirely been stripped away here.
That being said, as mentioned before, the Overseer’s journey does lead players into more information about the world and eventually into the more “end-game” style of gameplay and storyline that reveals a larger secret about the Appalachian region and the robots that inhabit it but don’t expect anything to really come from these missions once they are completed other than the ability to access the nuclear missile silos and perhaps trigger some of the bigger boss battles all while the Overseer vaguely keeps herself off-screen but knowledgeable about what you may be doing. This leaves players with brief shining moments of story that give them hints about the lives of survivors and how the world tried to stay together after the bombs fell but these moments are far too short to hold their shine long.
Gameplay
Whenever a player joins a world in Fallout 76 they will find themselves joining an open world with roughly twenty or so players and once you set foot outside the vault the game opens itself up to you almost immediately with every option available outside of PVP which is locked behind reaching level 5. Exploration and combat work in the same exact fashion as Fallout 4 with players being able to run using AP (Action Points), jump, shoot weaponry, swing melee weapons, and simply gather everything in sight like a hoarder before running the risk of over encumbering yourself. Even fast travel is available when you find locations though using this system does cost Caps with the price increasing the further away you are from the destination It is worth noting that the V.A.T.S. system has been reworked a bit to work with the always online and moving nature of Fallout 76.
Rather than freeze time V.A.T.S. now works more like a lock on system that allows the player to focus on a single enemy with their percentage to hit being displayed with every gunshot or attack using a certain amount of AP and it is also worth noting that until players unlock a specific perk V.A.T.S. will only target the general body and not allow for specific limbs to be targeted, but even then targeting specific limbs really never feels necessary outside of a specific flying enemy type that really only comes into play in the end-game.
Speaking of perks, players still have SPECIAL stats to work with in the game with every level up rewarding the player with the chance to place one stat point into a specific SPECIAL stat. The unique way that Fallout 76 handles this system comes in the form of perk cards with players gaining access to higher ability perks as they level up. This means of course that you cannot access things such as level three lockpicking until you happen to reach level forty, but you will also need to be careful of how you select these cards.
While players do unlock a randomized card pack every five levels, the main way you can choose to unlock a specific perk is by choosing it when you level up that specific SPECIAL stat. This means that you will actually need to keep an eye on how you are building your character as it is entirely possible to end up with a poorly balanced character if you happen to place points only depending on the perk cards you want to access. Each SPECIAL stat does cap out at 15 with players only gaining these points up until level 50, meaning that you can either choose to be the master of a couple stats or a jack-of-all trades if you so wish. After level 50 players will still unlock cards through standard level ups and card packs but they will no longer gain SPECIAL points. This is where balancing your perk cards comes into play as each SPECIAL point determines how many perks can be applied to that stat. It is worth noting that, despite certain pieces of equipment providing boosts to SPECIAL stats, they do not allow players to equip additional perk cards which is unfortunate.
Having ten points in intelligence can allow for you to have perks such as level 5 gunsmithing, level two science, and then three single point perks though the good thing is that these perk cards can be changed at literally any time in the game. This means that should you not need to pick a level 3 lock, you can remove all of your lockpicking cards from perception and instead pop in a level three perk in its place, giving players the ability to actually keep their builds fairly fluid especially since so many perks provide different weapon types additional damage boosts or help out only in specific situations but prove incredibly useful when needed. Because of this Fallout 76 actually does end up allowing for players to become incredibly strong in nature, though you’ll likely be wanting at least a few of the perks that lower the weight of some items due to the way other systems play out.
As with any Bethesda RPG, taking everything that isn’t nailed down seems like second nature to a player but this will quickly begin to punish you in Fallout 76. Being over-encumbered slows you down and forces you to use AP to move and prevents fast traveling but there is only one other place to actually place things in the game outside of the robotic vendors who will buy your random loot at a pittance of what it is actually worth with their daily limit of caps, your stash box which has a paltry storage space of only four hundred pounds though Bethesda has stated that they are working to increase the space to an unspecified amount sometime in the future.
Going out on an adventure and finding as much loot as possible from the world and from killing enemies is still an enjoyable gameplay loop but the fact that carrying junk to scrap, medicine to keep your health up, food and water to prevent yourself from starving or being dehydrated, ammo for weapons, and of course the weapons themselves means that you will be needing to limit yourself on how much you actually want to loot at times thanks to this issue. Finding special legendary gear from an enemy, or earning it from a unique quest, or a fancy weapon you like the look of used to mean at least storing it for later use or showing off in some form but now, between the junk needed for crafting and the previously mentioned elements, scrapping or flat out dropping some items ends up being the reality in Fallout 76‘s case. Reaching the limit of what you can hold is a huge drawback for exploration and while scrapping unneeded weapons and pieces of armor can unlock new mods for that type of gear sometimes, it rarely feels like it was worthwhile when all you’ve come back home to your C.A.M.P. with simply ends up as scrap that can be used to repair your damaged gear.
The C.A.M.P. system itself is filled with potential as well as numerous bugs and flaws that often feel more punishing than not. C.A.M.P.s are areas that players choose to build a base for themselves and they can either function as incredibly simplistic forward bases that you choose to move around while progressing deeper into various areas or as steadfast structures that you’ve grown fond of and built and designed to your liking. Fast traveling to your base or the bases of people in your party or friends list is always free, making it a great way to travel across the map and access the necessary work benches to fix gear, craft ammo and meds, or drop off items in a stash box rather than finding workbenches and stash boxes in the wild.
The problems come in the form of how unintuitive building structures in C.A.M.P.s happens to be as the game uses the same building set-up of the settlements in Fallout 4. Often objects will state that they are floating in mid-air or not being supported when they clearly are and even if you get it settled into place, you may even be told that no item is even selected. There also is a “C.A.M.P. budget” that limits how many things you can have at your home base and while it is very understandable from a server stability point to make sure that players cannot build mansions, the limit of what you can actually build is shocking at times. Moving a C.A.M.P. does cost the player caps unless you rather unfortunately happen to find yourself moving into a world where a player already has a C.A.M.P. placed down.
In these instances Bethesda has made it so players will have the ability to move their C.A.M.P. for free but the problem here happens to be the fact that your building will either be saved in piecemeal blueprints that have to be setup again or in one gigantic blueprint that you’ll most likely never be able to properly place, meaning it will need to get broken down and built from the ground up. The bigger issue here also happens to be the fact that, unless you end up really lucky, at least a few of your structures will be lost in transition. This means any crops, power generators, water purifiers, defense turrets, and other things can often vanish with no refund in place meaning you will need to use occasionally precious resources to rebuild them once again. The fact that Bethesda has not allowed a check system to prevent players from losing their bases, provided the option to find another world with a clear location, or prioritized full blown bases with actual structures has left me and other team members more frustrated than anything else, especially when you visit your previous camp location to find a barren location or a simple stash box has replaced your elaborately designed structure. Though beware, taking out your frustration on their small object will net you a bounty.
There is a system in place where players can choose to PVP one another if they so please though various adjustments have been made to try and balance the field unless you happen to have a bounty on your head. Other players can, generally, only do small chunks of damage to someone else until they are engaged by the other player. This is done in an attempt to prevent griefing but it still allows determined griefers to become a real nuisance at times, especially once you happen to reach a higher level as the game’s balancing features then begin to flip to the other side where high level players, such as those in the 60s, can almost instantly be killed by low level players in what is currently a glitched system that can be rather annoying. Thankfully all inter-player damage is negated when taking part in a public event so players can freely attack enemies without worrying about hitting random players that join midway.
As far as end-game content goes, players generally are only really offered a few options at the moment and these really do require the player to be playing with a team of at least one other if not traveling around as a group of four to best enjoy the content. The end-game content comes in the form of tracking down nuclear launch codes and then infiltrating a silo to launch said nuke. These silos spawn an endless number of robotic enemies that are designed to thwart you at every step of the way as you progress to nuking an area of the map in what can become a true drain on resources if you aren’t careful. Once you’ve managed to actually launch a nuke the blast zone will generally spawn higher level foes that can drop unique items and change various pieces of fauna into rare crafting materials though the true end game comes from hitting a specific spot on the map and triggering a large scale boss battle that pits players against a dangerous flying foe that is far stronger than the other flying beast in the game. These encounters are rather exhilarating to take part in and playing with a party does help make the game shine at times but currently this being designed as the only real end-game style content, that can often drop some paltry rewards that feel like a waste of time, makes it feel a bit lacking once you’ve reached far beyond the soft level cap.
To make things worse, Fallout 76 remains as buggy and crash happy as it was during the initial B.E.T.A. versions of the game. Numerous times while playing the game we’ve found objects that would never load in properly, incredibly drastic drops in frame rate as well as freezes that make it seem like the game has crashed before snapping back into place after thirty seconds, quests that only trigger for some party members and not others, C.A.M.P.s glitching out in often spectacular fashion, and an incredibly high frequency of server disconnects that have seen my entire party forced back to the main menu far too many times to count. These disconnects then can run the gambit of losing quest progress or a side quest entirely making it have to go be reacquired to making a player lose their base because they loaded into a world where someone else had only a grill placed down and nothing else.
Visuals & Audio
Exploring the land of Appalachia will find players traveling through forested areas, burned out environments, mutated lands and much more in what may be the most varied map in the series’ history, only making it all the more disappointing that exploration is often not rewarded well enough because most locations do truly stand out from a visual perspective. There are even a number of unique foes only found in this game as well since there are creatures based off of myths mixed in with a large number of new mutated animals such as squirrels, beavers, and opossum, and of course all of the different foes that have been mainstays of the series so far.
That being said, visual glitches do abound in this game with many of them being mentioned already such as objects not loading in properly or textures turning into static fuzz, random floating pieces of debris, and character models glitching out when exiting power armor. More than a few times the games collision detection has forced me to fast travel to an area or party member due to being trapped in the environment and enemies can even find themselves spawning below the ground or inside of walls, occasionally ruining specific quests that involve taking down all enemies in an area forcing either a restart or an abandonment of these pop-up events.
One thing that Fallout 76 does tend to handle well is its soundtrack. Pulling from tracks found in Fallout 3 and 4 as well as a large number of new music listening to the standard radio has never sounded better while classical music is still an option if you are feeling fancy while slaying scorched and super mutants. It also feels like a bit of a missed opportunity at times that there are no living NPCs to interact with in this game because the holotapes you do find have some great sounding voice work accompanying them.
Overall
Fallout 76 often feels like it has the makings of being a great game that can be enjoyed both solo and as a member of a team as the world itself is thriving with new creatures to take down and so many places to explore. However poor design choices such as removing all NPCs and a core storyline without any actual payoff let alone sense of satisfaction puts a real damper on the experience. Put that together with an increasingly frustrating number of glitches and server crashes as well as limitations placed on the game’s storage and item spawning systems to try and get it to a stable pace and you have a game that you can still sink countless hours into exploring but only while suffering through an incredibly buggy experience that has so many flaws and missing story elements that even the best gameplay loops cannot overcome.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
When I first heard about Overlord, I was excited at the prospect of a proper genre film getting a mainstream release. Originally, there was speculation that the film would fit into JJ Abram’s wider Cloverfield cinematic mythos (which is apparently a thing) but I am happy to report that Abrams confirmed the film would not be connected to the series… a fact which saved me from having to watch Cloverfield again. The basic premise of World War II war movie with weird/occult science horror and buckets of gore was an exciting prospect and I went into the theatre with proper excitement for the absolute schlock that was about to shown me.
Story
The film’s story picks up in World War 2 during operation Overlord and the immediate lead-up to the Allied invasion of France and D-day. Pvt. Boyce and his airborne unit get dropped into German occupied France. Following a disastrous landing in which most of his unit gets killed, Boyce rendezvous with the remnants of his unit including the stern Sgt Ford (Wyatt Russell), a wide-eyed army journo (Iain De Caestecker), and a sarcastic wise guy (John Magaro). They decide to continue with the mission and attempt to bring down a Nazi radar jamming facility with only their reduced numbers. As they move into the area of their mission site, they find themselves dealing with forces far stronger and horrific than the already monstrous Third Reich.
Abrams, as a writer, espouses a particular philosophy of screenwriting where he vaunts the use of “mystery box” storytelling. At its most basic, a mystery box holds the attention of an audience by the question of “what is inside the box?”. If you chart the career of Abrams, you can see his philosophy in action with the television series Lost, which maintained significant audience interest across its many seasons by only ever giving more and questions to its audience. His deployment of this philosophy makes him accomplished at set-up and building tension right at the outset of a film. Unfortunately, his skill with set-up does not translate into a successful delivery of denouement; the answer to “what’s in the box” never really lives up to excitement of the mystery.
I came out of the cinema feeling a distinct disappointment in the film’s final showdown with the monstrosities of Nazi experiments. The final act is, without a doubt, a complete anti-climax following its intriguing first half. I was honestly impressed by the creative and ingenious cinematic storytelling and I soaked in the little details which the film generously fed to me with, I assumed, the promise of a satisfying narrative delivery further down the line. You see little things like the prominent use of a flamethrower or changes in characterisation which you instinctively hold on to because the film draws it to your attention. I was correct on some of my assumptions as these tidbits occasionally end up with a payoff in the final act that doesn’t really land in a way that almost feels like it’s more interested in tying up a loose end rather than actually providing a satisfying conclusion.
I think the film’s narrative suffers from a loss of nerve halfway through the story. In my immediate post-screening analysis, I could see the building blocks of an exceptional story about how war turns men into monsters. There were the inklings of visual motifs and narrative themes which could have paid off if the film had just had the confidence to stick to its guns for a slow and more effective burn. You can see that there was some talent in this script by the strong established characterisation of each member of the squad in the film’s opening act. The problem is that all of this falls apart about halfway through the film when it decides to defer story in favour of body horror CGI. This fails to deliver on the film’s opening potential and I yearn to turn back time and have a place in the film’s production so that things might turn out differently.
In terms of non-writing related elements of the film, it has a fairly solid ensemble cast who are only really held back by the material they’re working with. In particular I wanted to highlight the performance of Magaro as the snarky comic relief trooper. His sarcasm and comic timing helped provide a foil to the grim seriousness of Russell’s Ford and the wide-eyed naivety of Adepo’s Boyce. Ultimately, everyone’s character appears to lose all sense of their own desires or reason in favour of going along with the movie’s logic in the second half… the cast do the best they can with what they’ve got and I hope to see them again with roles with a bit more meat to them.
Visuals
The film’s CGI and special effects aren’t really anything to write home about. They’re competently made and I’m sure are technically advanced but there’s limited visual direction which really makes use of it in a way that’s interesting to watch or really unsettling. There were a couple of moments during action sequences where the actors weren’t reacting to the environment around them but most of the time you won’t have your suspension of disbelief broken. There’s just no inspiration behind any of the gore and monstrosities that really ends up unsettling you or making much of an impression at all. The film relies on jump scares to surprise its audience but ultimately can’t really frighten them; there’s just not too much that’s horrifying in this film about Nazis using occult science to experiment on human beings…
Audio
The film’s soundtrack doesn’t particularly stand out for me; it’s an orchestral score which punctuates the film’s emotional beats as necessary and it accomplishes this without leaving an impression for good or ill. There is one audioscape which impressed me in the film’s opening on a transport plane followed by the silence of the night operations of the paratroopers. I quite liked how the film decided to give us an opening scene where you could barely hear any of the characters followed by scenes of quiet paranoia where every rustle and crack could herald danger. It’s audio juxtaposition at its finest and I felt strongly enough about it to spend a couple of sentences gushing about it.
Overall
I am in two minds about this film as although I thought it opened strong, I became less enamoured with it the longer it ran. The film’s narrative has glimmerings of something greater occasionally shining through but it loses its nerve and tries to go for an immediate payoff through CGI action horror. The film’s visual direction and special effects fail due to a lack of creative vision with there being little to awe or horrify on the screen. The film occasionally has flashes of inspiration for how to use its soundscapes in an interesting way but is otherwise simply competent. I honestly did not expect to have such complex thoughts on a film which looked like it was going to a shlock film version of Woflenstein but here we are… the first half of it is great but fails to live up to its promise with a satisfying climax. Buy a ticket to see it and then sneak into a different film halfway through. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
TEAM17 AND BLACK MATTER ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP ON HELL LET LOOSE
REALISTIC PLATOON-BASED WWII SHOOTER UNLEASHED ON PC EARLY ACCESS IN 2019
WAKEFIELD, United Kingdom – Nov. 28, 2018 – Team17, a global games label, creative partner and developer of independent, premium video games, together with independent development team Black Matter announced today that they are collaborating to bring the hotly anticipated authentic WWII shooter Hell Let Loose to PC early access in 2019. A new gameplay video is available now.
Hell Let Loose is a realistic platoon-based multiplayer first-person shooter set during the Second World War and built using Unreal Engine 4. Offering 50 vs. 50 tactical battles in which players must coordinate to capture sectors and resources to beat the opposition into submission, the game creates an epic theater of war across huge maps. Authenticity is key, and players will be able to experience history using a realistic period arsenal, with accurate weapon behavior.
Black Matter, a development team based in Australia, Russia and the United States, have been working on the game since 2016 and completed a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2017.
During the early access period, the team will work collaboratively with the community to create the best possible multiplayer experience and will be regularly updating the game based on feedback. A roadmap of key content drops will also be made available when early access begins.
“Team17 have a long history of delivering robust and highly accomplished titles. Their philosophy of delivering a great final product whilst importantly allowing us to protect the unique identity of an FPS title like Hell Let Loose was a key factor in our partnership,” said Maximilian Rea, co-founder, Black Matter. “And a title this epic in scope posed a huge challenge for a small studio like us. Working with Team17 will allow us to focus on the development of the game while ensuring we deliver players the polished experience they expect.”
“We’ve always said our aim is to work with the most talented game makers on great games regardless of genre,” said Debbie Bestwick, CEO, Team17. “Hell Let Loose offers fans of simulation shooters something truly special and we can’t wait to get the game into players’ hands. Black Matter have created an incredible game and we were blown away when we were first introduced to it. We know fans of the genre will be, too. We are delighted to not only support them in delivering the quality gaming experience they wish for their fans, but to help them on their journey as a team, as well.”
Hell Let Loose is a realistic multiplayer World War II first-person shooter with open battles of 100 players with infantry, tanks, artillery and a shifting front line. At its core is a unique resource-based strategic meta-game that is easy to learn but hard to master. This is World War II at a scale you’ve never played before.
An Epic Theater of War
Take to the battlefield in 50 vs. 50 multiplayer across huge maps. Choose one of 13 playable roles within infantry, recon and armor unit types, each equipped with different weapons, vehicles and equipment. Play as an officer, scout, machine gunner, medic, engineer, tank commander and more to experience every aspect of World War II combat.
Unprecedented Realism
Placing you on real-scale iconic battlefields of World War II is at the heart of the Hell Let Loose experience. Historical vehicles, weapons and uniforms are intricately detailed, and the combat is as brutal and bloody as it was on the day. Combat takes place on huge, to-scale maps from real-battle locations, recreated using archival aerial photography and satellite imagery in stunning detail using Unreal Engine 4.
A Unique Meta-Game
Fight for victory by breaking through the enemy lines on a large, evolving battlefield. The unique sector capture meta-game requires teams to make continual large-scale tactical decisions as to where to attack or defend. Manage resources and supplies to call in support, reinforce strongpoints or flank enemies. Strategy is key to success.
Fight Together, Win Together
Hell Let Loose is not about kill/death ratios and unlocks – teamwork is central to gameplay. Communication is essential. Players work together beneath the leadership of officers and their commander to take strategic targets on the battlefield and dominate the opposition. Hell Let Loose is a game that demands teamwork and communication not only to win, but to survive.
About Black Matter
Black Matter is an independent studio founded in 2015 to support the development of the debut title Hell Let Loose. Made up of an international team of selected artists and programmers, Black Matter is focused on creating beautiful worlds ruled by emergent, player-driven game design.
About Team17 Group plc
Founded in 1990, Team17 Group plc is a leading international video games label and creative partner for independent developers. The portfolio comprises over 90 games, including The Escapists, Genesis Alpha One, Overcooked, Yoku’s Island Express, Yooka-Laylee, the Worms franchise and many more from developers around the world. Visit www.team17.com for more info.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The LEGO Group announced The LEGO®Movie 2 Videogame, inspired by the much-anticipated sequel The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part from Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Animation Group. The LEGO®Movie 2 Videogame will be available for Nintendo Switch™ system, PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox One X, and PC in 2019 alongside the film and a collection of The LEGO® Movie 2 building sets.
Based on events from The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part, alien invaders have left Bricksburg in ruins! It is now up to Emmet, Lucy and a host of heroic characters to go beyond their world and save their friends from the strange inhabitants of the Systar System.
“Packed with fan-favourite and exciting new characters, mysterious locations and action from both the sequel and the original blockbuster The LEGO®Movie, TheLEGO®Movie 2 Videogame is a wild adventure for kids to explore,” said Arthur Parsons, Head of Design, TT Games Studios. “Players must scour the stars for rare items, materials and tools to complete their collections and help their journey across the LEGO® universe, experiencing a wide array of amazing environments, wacky vehicles and incredible creatures along the way.”
“TheLEGO®Movie 2 Videogame is a one-of-a-kind experience full of fantastic characters and open-world adventures with a strong emphasis on creative solutions to puzzles and building within the film’s universe,” said Sean William McEvoy, VP Digital Games & Apps, The LEGO Group. “LEGO® fans of all ages will have fun rebuilding their own world using tools to create roads, change the landscape and build structures to unlock more rewards and missions.”
About TT Games TT Games, an affiliate of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., is the developer behind numerous hit LEGO® videogame franchises such as LEGO® Batman™, LEGO® Star Wars™, LEGO® Harry Potter™, LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes and LEGO® Indiana Jones™, as well as popular titles LEGO® Marvel’s Avengers, LEGO® Jurassic World™, LEGO® Worlds and many others, which combined have sold over 180 million units worldwide to date. Incorporating UK developers Traveller’s Tales, TT Fusion, TT Games Brighton and Playdemic, TT Games has a distinctive focus on console, handheld, mobile and PC games of the highest quality, aimed at young gamers and their families. Additional information about TT Games can be found at www.ttgames.com.
About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc., is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all platforms, including console, handheld, mobile and PC-based gaming for both internal and third-party game titles.
About The LEGO Group The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company with headquarters in Billund, Denmark, and main offices in Enfield, USA, London, UK, Shanghai, China, and Singapore. Founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, and based on the iconic LEGO® brick, it is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials. Guided by the company spirit: “Only the best is good enough”, the company is committed to the development of children and aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning. LEGO products are sold worldwide and can be virtually explored at www.LEGO.com. For more news from the LEGO Group, information about our financial performance and responsibility engagement, please visit http://www.LEGO.com/aboutus.
About The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part Opening February 8, 2019, the much-anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, global box office phenomenon that started it all, The LEGO®Movie 2: The Second Part reunites the heroes of Bricksburg in an all new action-packed adventure to save their beloved city. It’s been five years since everything was awesome and the citizens are now facing a huge new threat: LEGO® DUPLO® invaders from outer space, wrecking everything faster than it can be rebuilt. The battle to defeat the invaders and restore harmony to the LEGO® universe will take Emmet, Lucy, Batman and their friends to faraway, unexplored worlds, including a strange galaxy where everything is a musical. It will test their courage, creativity and Master Building skills, and reveal just how special they really are.
The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part stars Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Tiffany Haddish, Will Arnett, Stephanie Beatriz, Charlie Day, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Maya Rudolph. Directed by Mike Mitchell, from a screenplay written by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, based on LEGO® Construction Toys, the film is produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller Roy Lee, and Jinko Gotoh. Executive producers are Jill Wilfert, Keith Malone, Matthew Ashton, Chris McKay, Zareh Nalbandian, Ryan Halprin, Will Allegra, and Chris Leahy. Patrick Marc Hanenberger is the production designer, and Claire Knight is the editor. The music is composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Trisha Gum is the animation director. A Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group presentation, in association with LEGO System A/S, a Rideback/Lord Miller/Vertigo Entertainment Production, The LEGO® Movie 2: The Second Part will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Ubisoft announced Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’sfirst story DLC will launch on December 4th on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. “Hunted” will be the first of three episodes of the “Legacy of the First Blade” story arc. Players will get to meet Darius, the first wielder of the Hidden Blade. The episode will focus on the tense relationship with Darius as players attempt to piece together his motivations.
The remaining two episodes “Shadow Heritage” and “Bloodline” is set to launch in 2019. Ubisoft will also follow up “Legacy of the First Blade” with a second story arc called “The Fate of Atlantis” in 2019. Both story arcs is part of the Season Pass, which also includes HD remasters of Assassin’s Creed III and Assassin’s Creed Liberation.
Well, there’s only one month left in 2018 but it seems like most of the devs and publishers saved the best for last. In my recent HITMAN 2 review, I gave praises to the game and said it was a sequel done right. Right now, I got my hands on Darksiders III and in most of the aspects, it’s an improvement than the previous game in the series. Yep, I’m already telling you that it’s a good game worth your time (and money) so lets’ go through the steps now and see why is that.
Story
The story of Darksiders III is a direct continuation from the previous game, except we are now in control of a different Horseman of the Apocalypse, Fury. In contrast to the sarcastic and cynical Death from Darksiders II, Fury is a bit brash, full of temper and dare I say….furyous (heh). In any case, we are tasked with hunting and destroying Seven Deadly Sins on a war-torn Earth. It is a task given to her by a supreme Charred Council. Soon enough, a new entity called Lord of the Hollow joins the story, telling us that there is more to our quest and she is being manipulated by the Charred Council. It is up to us to discover which side is telling the truth while trying to hunt down the Seven Deadly Sins and bring the balance in the war between Angels and Demons.
Gameplay
A lot of things in Darksiders III could be summed up as a case of “less is more” but in this particular case, I’d even say that less is better. A lot of the improvements here (especially when comparing it to previous Darksiders II) came from going back to the roots. No more MMO type loot, gazillion armor sets to collect and hundreds of side quests that reward you with a measly amount of exp. You have a couple of weapons (usually obtained after taking down bosses) that can be upgraded and you can distribute your skill points to either health, strength or arcane boosts. You obtain skill points by collecting souls from enemies which you can either spend (at our friendly merchant demon) on various health items or use them to earn some skill points. Again, everything is far simpler compared to the previous game and it doesn’t overstay its welcome with unnecessary length. Aside from stripping down some things, the game also came with some additions. The most obvious is revamped combat. Since I was in a bit of a rush recently, I figured to pick the easiest difficulty setting when playing the game and just enjoy the story. It should have been fairly simple. Spoiler: it wasn’t. This time around, you have to be careful. Days of jumping into a group of enemies and mowing everyone down with combos are gone. A group of 3-4 enemies is a considerable challenge while bosses require a lot of trial & error approach. However, not everything is without its flaws. One of the two issues I have with Darksiders III is a lack of a decent navigation system. The map is gone and we now have……..well, almost nothing. There is some sort of a compass marker above you but it’s not always consistent. If the objective is above you, under you or around the sharp corner, the pointer may go haywire or give you the illusion as you arrived at the correct spot. The other thing is a block button. As in, there is none. Especially when you encounter enemies that can block and defend from your attacks while you can’t do the same. The only thing left to do is to time your strikes and dodge/roll away from theirs. Not like you have any other choice.
Visuals
While the game is an open world, a lot of the areas are interconnected. With that and a challenging combat system, it’s clear to where a lot of the inspiration came from. I’ll give you a hint – it’s a series that rhymes with Bark Holes. It’s not a bad thing, especially since a lot of inspiration resulted in some really stunning visuals. Most of the areas you go through are remnants of pre-apocalyptic Earth, long before the war of Angels and Demons that destroyed everything. Each of the areas around Seven Deadly Sins has a specific setting to it. There is not much you can do given such a restricted setup to play with but Gunfire Games did some wonders on the visual front.
Audio
While some scenery is nothing short of breathtaking, I cannot say the same for the audio department. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that it’s there and does what’s expected of it. It certainly doesn’t stand out. You’re accompanied with some eerie and soft orchestral chants and mildly menacing instrumentals while platforming. It changes slightly depending on the areas you’re in but the basics are the same. The music kicks into something climactic while slashing enemies and during boss fights but that’s all there is to it. It certainly doesn’t make you feel alone while traversing the open areas.
Overall
I imagine there were some strong expectations for Gunfire Games. After the closure of Vigil Games, the previous dev for Darksiders, they had a task of stepping in and continuing with the next game in the series. Despite all of that, Darksiders III comes with some welcomed changes, new additions and tweaked gameplay mechanics. More than enough to establish its own identity and a promise of many good things to come from Gunfire Games. The game is fun, challenging, visually stunning and it feels like a breath of fresh air for the series. It’s all I could ever ask for.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
ASSASSIN’S CREED® ODYSSEY LEGACY OF THE FIRST BLADE, EPISODE 1, AVAILABLE DECEMBER 4
Play the First Episode of the New Episodic Post-Launch Story Arc from the Biggest and Most Ambitious Post-Launch Plan for Assassin’s Creed
Sydney, Australia — November 28, 2018 — Today, Ubisoft® announced the release dates for the episodes of the first post-launch story arc of Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey, Legacy of the First Blade. The first episode, Hunted, will release December 4 across all available platforms. Throughout Hunted and the following two episodes, players will continue their grand Greek Odyssey to encounter Darius, the legend who was first to wield the Assassin’s Hidden Blade.
As the story of Hunted unfolds, players will discover whether Darius is friend or foe, while meeting new characters, engaging in gripping naval combat, fighting new and powerful enemies, and uncovering revelations about the Assassin’s Creed universe. Legacy of the First Blade continues to bring players’ choice to the forefront through the relationships they build with colourful characters and the decisions they make along the way. In Legacy of the First Blade, players can also customize new equipment and master new special abilities as they fight their way across Greece, engaging in visceral battles on land and on sea to continue their Odyssey and become a true hero of legend. After Hunted releases on December 4, the second episode, Shadow Heritage, and the third episode, Bloodline, will complete the first story arc early 2019 on all platforms.
The Assassin’s Creed Odyssey post-launch plan is the biggest and most ambitious in the franchise, and the launch of Legacy of the First Blade is just the beginning for players who wish to progress further with new content in Ancient Greece. Season Pass owners will access two major episodic storylines, Legacy of the First Blade and The Fate of Atlantis. Players can dive into new episodes as they premiere, or experience the epic adventures in their entirety once all episodes are available. The Season Pass also includes Assassin’s Creed® III Remastered and Assassin’s Creed® Liberation Remastered, which will be released in March 2019.
Legacy of the First Blade can be purchased as part of the Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Season Pass from $59.95 AUD, and will be downloadable for free for players who already own the Season Pass or Gold Edition on December 4.
For more information on Assassin’s Creed, please visit: assassinscreed.com.
For the latest on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and all of Ubisoft’s games, visit Ubisoft News: https://news.ubisoft.com
ABOUT UBISOFT Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman, Far Cry and Watch Dogs. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2017–18 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,732 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoft.com.
MARVEL FUTURE FIGHT INTRODUCES NEW ORIGINAL CHARACTER CRESCENT
Update Also Includes New Characters Morgan Le Fay and White Fox
LOS ANGELES (November 28, 2018) – Netmarble Corp. has announced three new characters available now in the superhero mobile game, MARVEL Future Fight. The new characters include an original character, Crescent, as well as fan favorite characters from MARVEL Comics, Morgan Le Fay and White Fox.
Crescent is a 10-year old girl named Dan Bi who grew up in Korea, raised by her single father, an antiques dealer who was forced to acquire powerful artifacts for the ancient sorceress Morgan Le Fay. By touching one of the artifacts, a mystical bear mask, Dan Bi summoned a “half-moon” bear spirit named Io, who bonded with her to become her protector. Crescent and Io use a unique combination of taekwondo, magical power absorption, super strength and other abilities in battle, as they search for Crescent’s missing father. Crescent is the third original, powerful, female character introduced to the world through MARVEL Future Fight, as previously introduced characters Sharon Rogers and Luna Snow have been embraced by gamers and comic fans alike.
In addition to Crescent, the ancient, villainous sorceress Morgan Le Fay will bring her mystical abilities to MARVEL Future Fight, alongside Korean super-agent White Fox, who utilizes her heightened senses and animalistic combat skills in battle.
Players who pre-registered for the Crescent update will also receive several bonus items, including Boost Points, Crystals, Gold and Crescent Biometrics. These bonuses were acquired by the MARVEL Future Fight player base as a reward for the total number of more than 420,000 pre-registrations logged.
Additional updates to MARVEL Future Fight include:
Four new uniforms, including
Captain America (Sharon Rogers) – Dark Star Armor
Luna Snow – Andromeda Suit
Spider-Man (Miles Morales) – Into the Spider-Verse
Hyperion – Classic
Tier-3 Upgrade for Captain America (Sharon Rogers) and Potential Realization for Crescent, Morgan Le Fay, White Fox, Captain America (Sharon Rogers), Luna Snow, Spider-Man (Miles Morales) and Hyperion
Crescent-themed Event Battle
White Fox Heroic Quest Pack and Heroic Quest Improvements
New Monthly Bonus Deals, Giant Boss Raid improvements and a Special Mission Quest Pack
MARVELFuture Fight recently celebrated its third anniversary, hosting special in-game events for its audience of more than 86 million players around the world. The game is currently available worldwide in the App Store® and Google Play™.
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 5,000 employees, Netmarble has been producing and servicing some of the most successful mobile games including Lineage 2: Revolution, MARVEL Future Fight, 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
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.
Gameplay
Visuals
Audio
Overall