BASE GOKU AND VEGETA JOIN THE FIGHT IN DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ
Kefla announced as part of the DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 – EXTRA PACK 3
Today, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe announced Base Goku and Base Vegeta as the newest addition to the DRAGON BALL FighterZ roster. Fighters will additionally be able to try for the first time the NINTENDO Switch version of the game during an open Beta.
Also announced today is the second confirmed character of the DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 –EXTRA PACK 3, Kefla.
DRAGON BALL FighterZ character pool is expanding again, Base Goku and Base Vegeta will be available early August on Xbox One, PlayStation®4, and PCs. The most famous rivals get their original form and with it come their powerful move sets. Base Goku can unleash the Kaioken formidable power to crush his opponent, when facing a fearsome enemy, he can use his most powerful skill: the Super Spirit Bomb. Base Vegeta, the proud Saiyan prince has access to his signature move: the Galick Gun. In order to annihilate any opponent Vegeta will use his deadliest attack, the Galaxy Breaker, a devastating energy blast fired from his whole body.
The NINTENDO Switch players will be able to test DRAGON BALL FighterZ on their consoles with the Open-Beta test scheduled to start in August.
New local multiplayer features are also confirmed to come with the NINTENDO Switch version:
In addition to the classical 3 characters battle, players will be able to fight in 2v2 or even 1v1 match.
The 6-player Party Match mode will now be available offline. Switch players will be able to fight locally each controlling a character by connecting six controllers.
When two strong fighters decide to fuse, the results are powerful… Kefla is the successful fusion of Caulifla’s explosive personality and Kale’s latent monstrous power. Her extremely powerful attacks make her the strongest Saiyan woman. Kefla will be part of the DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 – EXTRA PACK 3 available this summer.
DRAGON BALL FighterZ for the NINTENDO Switch will be available on September 28th, 2018.
DRAGON BALL FighterZ is available for Xbox One, PlayStation®4, and PCs via STEAM
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S. part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc. is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive content for platforms including all major video game consoles, PC and mobile. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises, including PAC-MAN™, TEKKEN™, SOULCALIBUR™, DARK SOULS™, NARUTO™, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, Dragon Ball, GALAGA™, RIDGE RACER™ and ACE COMBAT™. For more information please visit www.bandainamcoent.eu
We all know Valve’s terrible track record for games with the number 3 in the title. So, while gamers wait for to see if Left 4 Dead 3 suffers the same fate as Half Life 3 and Half Life 2: Episode 3, developers are looking to fill the gap with their own take on four player co-op shooters. Holospark is the latest to step in the ring with Earthfall. The game aims to modernize Left 4 Dead with now standard FPS features like sprinting while putting their own spin with tower defense type equipment.
Story
Earthfall is set in the near future after aliens invade Earth. The game follows the adventures of Maya, Roy, Jonas, and Danny as they seek out other survivors. Currently, the game has two campaigns of five missions each plus a collectable lore section. The in-game story is minimal, which is understandable for a multiplayer game like Earthfall. The real meat and potatoes are in the lore section. The overall story is entertaining enough to give some context to the story but isn’t interesting enough to be captivating. The characters end up being dull and one dimensional due to a lack of lines. The general writing quality is okay for the most part. Most of it is passable, but there are a few lines that don’t make much sense in conversational English or are really corny.
Gameplay
Earthfall seeks to be the spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead 2 by copying the co-operative gameplay and adding a few modern touches. The basic formula of four players with guns battling against hordes of minions with a few special enemies interspersed has not changed. Holospark has created a few of their own special enemies with some mixed success. Beasts, Sappers, and Threshers are almost direct copies of Left 4 Dead’s Tanks, Boomers, and Hunters. Whiplash is a giraffe-like alien that grabs players and attempts to trot away with its prey. Whiplash is a bit of a flop as it’s usually very easy to kill due to the need to be in close range for the initial grab. The Enrager is a more entertaining enemy with its ability to increase the difficulty level of the alien horde. The Blackout is another excellent special enemy, offering a ranged alternative to the Beast mini-boss.
The weapons are poor. While it’s nice to see modern FPS features like sprint and aiming down sights, the guns feel poorly balanced and clunky. There is no incentive to use anything beyond the standard pistol and an automatic weapon. The starting SW 22A pistol is decent enough, especially when combined with a second pistol. The higher calibre Vendetta pistol on the other hand doesn’t offer much of a damage boost over two SW 22As, but the rate of fire is atrocious. The automatic MP5x and the AK variants all offer solid rate of fire, accuracy, and time to kill. The so-called specialty weapons should offer intriguing alternatives for specific playstyles. Unfortunately, they are so hobbled in one way or the other that there is little reason to sacrifice the balanced performance of the MP5x or the AKs. The burst fire Combat CVA should cater to users with excellent aim and a willingness to engage further out targets, but the damage drop off is too close to make it worth sacrificing automatic fire capabilities. The penetration of the Glintec rifle puts it in a similar situation. It’s slow rate of fire is rewarded with minimal penetration, making automatic weapons a more reliable way to clear hallways. Shotguns are notoriously difficult to balance in video games. Holospark is the latest to fall short as the shotguns don’t hit the right balance between range, damage, and rate of fire either. The Valkyrie grenade launcher is probably one of the better alternative weapons, trading rate of fire for excellent splash damage.
The level design is a bit of a mixed bag. Levels are generally a linear mix of fighting through to new areas, holding out choke points during enemy rushes or map objectives, then doing it all over again. The defense sections is Earthfall at its best. The addition of barricades, automatic turrets, and big mounted guns gives players quite a bit of flexibility on where they want to create a choke point, instead of being stuck with one or two options like Left 4 Dead series. Navigating through levels is a bit tricky. Unless there is an objective explicitly marked in the world, finding the right path forward can be difficult in forested areas and larger interior zones. The game has too few subtle hints to guide the players in the right direction, forcing them to simply memorize the map.
Earthfall is definitely a multiplayer only game. While there is an option to play alone with three bots, the AI is dumb as a door nail. The difficulty of the enemy and the skill level of friendly AI can be set independently. I found the friendly AI had to be set to the highest skill setting to be of any help.
The PC port of Earthfall is solid. The game offers the usual graphic options expected from a proper PC title, including field of view and borderless full screen. The mouse and keyboard controls work well, though there is not option for secondary binds. The controller follows the standard FPS layout and works without issues.
Visuals
Earthfall’s visuals are excellent. The art direction is realistic with some futuristic notes. The alien design looks great, mixing classic sci-fi with a touch of zombie like behaviour. There are only two major issues with the graphics. The melee animations are awkward looking, and the fire is awful. Compared to the rest of the game, the fire looks like it came out of a title from the early 90s.
Audio
Earthfall’s audio experience is poor. The firearm sound effects are too similar and lack any impact. There is very little variety in the music and it rarely follows the mood of the game. Characters will call out that swarms of aliens are coming, but the music doesn’t change at all. The only time the music picks up from the rather depressing tone is when a Beast spawns. To make matters worse, the voice acting is generally mediocre at best.
Overall
Earthfall modernizes Left 4 Dead series but fails to create a cohesive package that honours the games that inspired Earthfall. While Earthfall excels at defensive holdouts, the poorly designed gunplay hampers the game. The story is rather dull, and the characters are one dimensional. The graphics are excellent for the most part, but the audio experience lacks variety and falls short in quality. Unfortunately, games will have to continue waiting for a true successor to Left 4 Dead 2.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
SQUAD UP IN PUBG MOBILE’S JULY UPDATE THAT FEATURES ALL-NEW WAR MODE AND CLAN SYSTEM
Players Can Now Unlock Achievements to Earn In-Game Rewards and Items
LOS ANGELES – July 24, 2018 – Tencent Games and PUBG Corp. supercharge the intensity of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile (PUBG MOBILE) by introducing a major game update today that introduces an action-packed War Mode and all-new clan system.
Following June’s introduction of First Person Perspective Mode, PUBG MOBILE’s latest content drop amplifies the action from the rugged terrain of the Miramar and Erangel realms. Players on iOS and Android can skydive in to the new epic battle of War Mode where teams duke it out on a small patch of the battlefield. Teamwork and grit are continuously tested, as players respawn repeatedly until one team reaches 100 points. Players earn three points for killing an opponent, one point for killing a downed opponent and one point for saving a teammate.
In addition to War Mode, PUBG MOBILE’s July update delivers an all-new way for players to team up and dominate with the introduction of the clan system. Players can create and customize unique clan icons and work to earn exclusive rewards by climbing in ranks and completing challenges.
Other game-related updates for PUBG MOBILE today include:
New Region Categorization – Nationality, clan, and friend information are now viewable on title screens, and players can enlist in War Zones that are categorized by geographical region;
New Achievement System – Players can participate in fun challenges to unlock achievements and earn in-game items;
Exclusive Skins – Even more zany skins are available for customization, including player armor, weapons, planes, and even vehicle finishes;
SLR Sniper Rifle – The deadly SLR rifle from PUBG on PC arrives in PUBG MOBILE for additional carnage, along with new grip and scope accessories.
PUBG MOBILE is based on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, the original battle royale PC and Xbox One phenomenon that took the world of interactive entertainment by storm in 2017. Up to 100 players parachute onto a remote 8×8 km island to do 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 MOBILE accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
GOOD SHEPHERD ENTERTAINMENT AND NYAMAKOP RELEASE SEMBLANCE, THE WORLD’S FIRST TRUE PLAT-FORMER
Deform yourself and almost everything else in this gorgeous adventure on Nintendo Switch™, Windows PC and Mac
AMSTERDAM and SOUTH AFRICA– July 24, 2018 – Good Shepherd Entertainment has launched Semblance, the new, world-busting puzzle platformer from independent South African developer Nyamakop. The game is available today for $9.99 on Nintendo Switch™ through the Nintendo eShop, as well as Windows PC and Mac via Steam and GOG.com, with a special 10% launch discount on all platforms from now through July 31.
Semblance is an innovative puzzle platformer where nearly everything, including your soft, bouncy character and the environment around you, is entirely deformable! Squish, squash, mold and deform in imaginative ways to solve problems, grab hard-to-reach collectibles and heal the land from an infestation of hard material. Semblance lets you move between challenges at your pace, with an engaging story that unravels organically as you explore.
Throughout development, Semblance won multiple special honors at gaming shows for its unique design and aesthetic. The game bubbles with beautiful colors, minimalist artwork, charming critters and a soothing atmosphere.
About Good Shepherd Entertainment Good Shepherd Entertainment publishes video games from independent artists worldwide and operates a proprietary investment platform for a growing global network of qualified investors seeking risk-mitigated participation in the $130B video game industry. Originally established in the Netherlands in 2011 as an equity crowdfunding platform under the name Gambitious BV, the Company became a publisher in 2014 with the release of Train Fever, which was the first game ever successfully published with equity crowdfunding. The Company has since funded and released over a dozen original games across eight digital platforms. The founders of Devolver Digital and Croteam, two very successful companies in independent game development and publishing, invested in the Company and joined its management in 2012. The Company rebranded in 2017 as Good Shepherd Entertainment following an investment by Advance/Newhouse, having established a track record of success with both independent developers and investors. www.GoodShepherd.games
About Nyamakop Since forming Nyamakop in 2015, co-founders Kimani and Myres have built their studio into one of the most promising emerging creators in African game development. Their debut game, Semblance, has been exhibited all over the world at consumer shows such as E3, PAX East, gamescom and EGX, in addition to more than a dozen intimate arts festivals such as Slamdance Film Festival, South by South West (SXSW), A MAZE and Out of Index. They have also participated in prestigious residencies such as the Stugan retreat and ‘Train Jam,’ and were listed on Forbes Africa’s ‘30 under 30’ list for 2018. http://nyamakop.co.za/
What time is it? Adventure Time! This time Finn and Jake take over the role of pirates and there is a reason for it. The Land of Ooo is underwater and it’s dangerous out there! Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion combines turn-based combat with exploration and puzzles and is now my personal favourite game of the licence! Why? Read on!
Story
As mentioned there is something weird going on in Ooo. Ice King’s kingdom melted and nobody knows how this could happen. Finn and Jake use this opportunity to jump in a boat and set sails. On their adventure they travel to known locations from the series like the Fire Kingdom or the Evil Forest. Besides the investigation you’ll meet familiar characters on your journey, who provide you with a bunch of side quests.
Gameplay
Our ship gives us the opportunity to explore Ooo totally free. Unfortunately this is not the whole truth, because as soon as we reach a new area where we leav the waters – we might need a special ability or character to move on. The exploration aspect of the game forces us to revisit certain zones several time and therefore also extends the length of a playthrough. It took me about 8 hours to finish the game including side quests and this seems a bit short looking at the potential. If Ooo wouldn’t be underwater – just imagine the potential for an open-world adventure.
There is a certain charme though travelling the dangerous waters of Ooo with Finn, Jake, BMO and Marceline and the best part is the singing. While sitting in the ship and heading to our next destinations this game always reminded me of God of War. I’ve also spent most time sitting in a boat there and listening to hundreds of dialogues. In Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion the characters will lighten up the time until arrival with some great catchy songs. I absolutely loved this idea and it made this experience very special.
If we want to follow the main story, a marker will guide us the way. If we’re looking for a bit of exploration there’s the world map, but unfortunately we couldn’t spot a mini map. The worst part about this was that our pirate ship stops as soon as we take a look at the world map. Without a mini map it’s almost necessary to check from time to time if you are heading in the right direction, but it’s a real downer to always get your ship moving again. This problem could’ve been easily solved for a better gameplay experience.
Combat represents the biggest strength of Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion. The turn-based system gives you control over Finn, Jake, Marceline and BMO. Every character can use their unique abilities and charge up a meter for a special power. As Finn and Marceline mostly concentrate on dealing high damage, Jake takes the role of a tank while BMO keeps his friends alive as a healer. You can buy additional items from shops that will help you to recover your hit points, remove status effects or give you other advantages in combat. A stink bomb for example can be used to cover one of your adventurers in dirt and enemies won’t attack him or her anymore. There’s a certain strategy needed in some encounters and especially while fighting bosses. With BMO’s ability to uncover the weaknesses from enemies, you’ll always find the time to think about your next best move though.
One thing that was surprising for me was the missing turn order during fights. You never know who’s attacking next and this gives you an element of surprise while also leads to unnecessary actions. Sometimes I used protection spells without use and for example with a turn order shown on the screen I could decide if instead of healing a dying party member I could finish off the enemy instead. The chosen system seems a bit strange because there are items and abilities that makes you slower and faster – so for me it makes a lot of sense to provide players with a turn order.
Another feature are interrogations. Finn and Jake are playing good cop bad cop and want to get information out of certain people that live in Ooo. You’ll always have to decide which approach might work best to convince the characters. The few puzzles in the game are pretty simple and are basically about moving objects from one position to another to reach collectibles. Finding these stuff rewards you with currency to spend in shops, items or new abilities for your characters. Make sure to unlock and hunt for all treasures before you finish the game as there is no return and Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion is not giving any reason regarding replayability.
Visuals & Audio
Graphics are great and the developers recreated the colorful world from Adventure Time with much love. Also the animations combined with the words from the original voice actors deliver an awesome experience for any fan of the series. Did I mention the singing already?
I came across some technical issues like a crash in the tutorial, a lot of invisible walls and some graphical issues but except the crash it didn’t really bother me a lot. Also I’ve never got stuck so I can accept these minor problems
Overall
Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion is not flawless but delivers a great story and really represents the licence well. I had a permanent smile on the face while exploring the flooded Ooo and some jokes really made me laugh out loud! The game gives the impression of an overuse from too many mechanics and ideas, but I found this mix of several genres really refreshing. Fans should definitely pick this up!
It is rare when we can define one era of television by name alone. In many ways, applying a gimmick to a standard line-up can be positive. Look at TGIF for ABC. That line-up took place every Friday night on ABC for most of the 90’s, and consisted of some of the most beloved television shows that an entire generation reference as a golden era of growing up. The same can be said about Toonami, which was so big, it got a rebirth that is still popular today, continuing to introduce the masses to anime. The negative aspect of this kind of branding mainly comes at the failures. Cartoon Network comes to mind with CN Real, which never caught on as it kind of took away from what the Network stood for and made viewers feel alienated as they all tuned in for animation and got kids trying to relate to an audience that were just not interested.
If this logo could only see the future.
Oddly enough, for this gimmickry, there is a middle ground. You can find a balance and run with it, and even if it is not within the genre boundaries of a television network, the right product can strike a chord with the right audience. Enter Celebreality, a block of entertainment created to bring back once big names to television – while still appealing to a mass audience by taking advantage of the huge influx of reality programming that took over western markets in the 2000’s. VH1 branded Celebreality, and no network did it better when it came to coming up with entertaining concepts for the block that lasted just over five years, before coming to a screeching halt before the decade could end.
In this Pop Capsule, we will be exploring your guiltiest pleasure of the decade prior. Before audiences cared about housewives, before anyone kept up with any Kardashian, we got to follow a full cast through what were generally scripted, yet “real” products of television. These shows were ridiculous, shallow, but oddly endearing an entertaining. Join us as we take a look back on an era, and dive into what made this little tagline so special for so many.
I try to remember VH1 before Celebreality. My best recollection of VH1 was that was the station where we got a ton of countdowns and retrospectives of music that came out in previous decades. The Greatest One Hit Wonders, The Most Awesomely Bad Music Videos. I am sure most of you who are of age remember these little gems. VH1 also played a lot of biopics and standard Behind the Music docs, which kind of made the network seem to be the only music network to actually provide audiences with the promised product, as at the time, MTV had already abandoned most of its audience for scripted television and reality shows, so this was the place where you could still indulge.
Without much fanfare, VH1 picked up the third season of The Surreal Life from The WB, and that acquisition would change the future of the network forever. For those who do not remember, The Surreal Life was a television show that put a specific number of B-List celebrities in a house, where they were filmed as they performed in competitions and lived together. They fell in love, fought, and did everything in-between in what was the birth of Celebreality. Remember Full House? Well we got to see what Uncle Joey was like in “real life”. How about Flavor Flav? Well, we also got to see him become an American underdog on the program, finding love with former 80’s starlet, Brigitte Nielsen. The Surreal Life was a stupid, yet fun look into the actual lives of celebrities, displaying life after fame in a raw, yet entertaining way.
One guarantee of The Surreal Life is that if you did not know who someone was before you tuned into episode one of that particular season, you definitely knew who they were afterwards. While I didn’t fully dive into the third season (which again, was the debut season for VH1), I did go head first into the fourth, which featured the likes of Christopher Knight (Peter Brady), Verne Troyer (Mini-Me from Austin Powers), WWE’s Chyna, Da Brat, and several other decently memorable names that would definitely lay the foundation of the product that would eventually anchor the network’s future. While Season 3 made Flavor Flav have a resurgence in a spin-off we will cover in a moment, Season 4 was the prime peak of the show, giving us a dose of realness and humanity for celebrities who were dealing with their time out of the spotlight. There was a cast member that everyone could relate to, even if you may not understand the product that their fame originated with. We got to see subtle love, substance abuse, fights, and the biggest draw for the show, which was simply some of these celebrities dealing with living without the attention and fanfare they had years prior.
One of my main memories of Season 4 was Da Brat going into the house, only to find out that Jane Wiedlen and Christopher Knight were also cast members. Her reaction was one of shock, as she was furious her manager would put her on the same show as a Go-Go and a Brady. For the viewer, this was a look at a piece of the celebrity life we didn’t get to see, which was the initial reaction of a celebrity finding out that they are not as famous as they once were. One thing that many viewers also forget is how dialogue heavy the show was. While there were a lot of oddball jobs and tasks for the cast to do, a good bulk of the show was made up of the cast simply talking back and forth to one another. This was a platform for these cast members to be real with the world, while tackling demons that rose after the spotlight had faded out. In some ways, this television is timeless as despite it living within a forgettable era and probably being just as scripted as any other reality show, there is a lot more edge and realness to The Surreal Life that made it must see television, which was displayed prominently with growing ratings and general interest of each cast within.
Season 5 and 6 were also hits for the network, with season 5 being able to snag Omarosa, who at the time was a huge name in reality TV. Omarosa’s feud with model Janice Dickenson would later become one of the most memorable rivalries in television, further cementing the show’s success. Season 6 was more of the same, bringing out the likes of Sherman Helmsley, C.C. Deville, and even Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth to round out the series. I am sure the franchise could have went on further, but during its peak, The Surreal Life was able to strike while the iron was hot and create multiple spin-offs that were quite beloved during their time. Strange Love followed the relationship and break-up of Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielsen, which to this day and without researching too far, I still believe was a staged encounter. We also got to see My Fair Brady, which followed Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry’s relationship for three whole seasons. Sure, they broke up later, but it was a fairly interesting show that definitely had some sort of entertainment value. Oddly enough, it was Flavor Flav’s next televised effort that would further the transformation of this era, and continue the success of Celebreality.
Flavor of Love had Flav live in a house full of women, who were all competing for his affection. Week by week, ladies were eliminated based off of their “love” for Flav, who would hand out hearts to those who were able to show they were there for him and not the spotlight. Well, let’s face it. Not one of these women were interested in Flav in the long-run. Flavor of Love was a show about creating new characters, quick drama, and shock television that was a trashy trainwreck. Oddly enough, it was amazing to see. Tiffany “New York” Pollard and her bitchy attitude stole the show during the first season, with a cast member by the name of Pumkin spitting on the short-fused contestant, only for New York to nearly attack the blonde in what was again another unforgettable reality TV moment. I never would tell anyone I watched this show as it was show brainless that I thought it would be frowned upon. However, this spin-off of sorts took over pop culture and got the world talking about every single event, becoming one of the biggest water cooler hits I can remember of in my lifetime.
Flavor of Love would go for three seasons, and inspire another spin-off for those wanting some rock. Rock of Love with Bret Michaels featured the same concept, but Bret picking a new mate from a large group of women who were interested in the rocker’s affection, with an intention to bring a larger audience to the network. This new formula worked, and the shows ran one after another, with Bret and Flav never finding love in the long run, despite the amount of seasons that went into each. Even though the main shows never had a long-term, successful outcome, they were both fun and addicting in a satisfying way. We could pick favorites, watch meltdowns, and find stars with the entire world, giving us a break from our own lives and letting us view a polished mess each week.
With those spin-offs came more spin-offs. First, we had New York getting her own competition in I Love New York. Again, same concept, different sex. One woman with an over-the-top personality trying to find love, with her overbearing mother also on set to filter out contestants and add to the drama of each episode. I liked I Love New York decently, as it was silly but satisfying. New York was such a terrible person, but somehow the viewer had reason to root for her. The show went on for two seasons, with the second seeing just as much entertainment value as the first, with big ratings to boot. On the Rock of Love side, Daisy of Love gave us a taste from the other side of another popular runner-up, Daisy Del La Hoya, as she attempted to find love in this format. Again, it was entertaining, but the concept was starting to show its age by this point.
Enter more spin-offs. By this point, we were dealing with reality stars who were so memorable that their personalities were strong enough to stand on their own. We first got Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, which featured host (and later Oscar nominated actress) Monique, as she attempted to teach some of the most popular Flavor of Love contestants charm in an elimination based completion. Rock of Love: Charm School would also come forth, bringing both Sharon Osborne and Ricki Lake on board for two very different seasons with the same general concept. Not enough for you? Well, VH1 did not stop there. I Love Money would bring together contestants from all of these shows as they competed for $250,000 by living together and attempting to score cash by teaming up, forming alliances, and besting competition week after week. It was such a successful brand that seemed to never run out of steam. We will get to the abrupt end in a second, but there is still more to this era to write about.
Outside of this phenomenon came other shows that featured new formulas that worked quite well for the network. Celebrity Fit Club gave us a group of washed-up celebrities trying to lose weight for a fitness competition. Whoever could lose the most weight was the winner. There were no true eliminations for this show, instead – we got to see a darker side of pop culture as the episodes would tackle inner-demons that were behind the cast not being able to lose the pounds they packed on over the years. We also learned a lot about the stars within, which changed a lot of my own personal perception of many people I once admired. Dustin Diamond, who played the lovable dork Screech Powers on Saved by the Bell turned out to be an asshole in real life, as he tormented the cast and bullied fellow cast members such as Kimberly Locke on a regular basis. Jeff Conaway from Grease and Taxi also turned a lot of heads, as he was actually dealing with substance abuse, and was one of many cast members to show a dark side, eventually quitting the show before his season concluded. It is sad how many celebrities bared nasty human sides here, but again – this was oddly entertaining to most as the audience could relate to everyone’s shortcomings, even though the finale may not have been successful for everyone within the cast.
Celebrity Fit Club would shine light on the downfalls of losing the limelight, and in turn spawn a new show about tackling addiction. Celebrity Rehab Featuring Dr. Drew would emerge and give audiences a very dark yet real take on addiction featuring many names that were featured in other projects from the same network. Chyna, Jeff Conaway, Tawny Kitaen, and several other new entrants were cast members of the many seasons of this show that ran, and dammit was it a hard pill to swallow. Audiences were shown their favorite talents deal with withdrawal and denial, where they had to tackle the source of their addiction before each season finalized. It was not pretty television, and intended to “create awareness” for addiction through the celebrities that signed on to participate. Yes, sadly, I can say it was entertaining, but also heartbreaking. I guess the popularity from this show came because so many of us can relate to substance abuse, and seeing someone famous endure tragedy makes for good ratings. That said, there is still a perception that these ratings were being made by publicizing the downfall of a human, and that – in my opinion, makes this the most shallow reality show ever created.
In Celebrity Rehab’s defense, some celebrities such as Jason Wahler (I think he was from Laguna Beach and The Hills?) and Shifty Shellshock managed to find at least some sobriety, though others were not successful, and would die shortly after their season completed (Mike Starr, Chyna, Jeff Conaway, and several others being on this list). Some blame Dr. Drew, as he seems to always be the mouthpiece of addiction for news networks to interview after a celebrity death, but I suppose it is just a sad reality that losing the amount of attention a limelight brings can make demons arise, which tragically ends in death for a good number of humans who are unable to conquer their own addictions.
Going into further spin-offs, New York was featured in New York Goes Hollywood as she looks for work as an actress, as well as New York Goes to Work – which was like The Simple Life, but with Pollard’s larger than life persona attached. These shows were fine, if not a bit noticeably scripted during their original runs. Hogan Knows Best also emerged in the middle of all of these shows, showing Hulk Hogan living the family live with his then wife Linda, daughter Brooke, and son Ryan. Hogan Knows Best was not my cup of tea, even as a wrestling fan, but it did find ratings and success as an audience got to see Hulk deal with day to day life and his many attempts of trying to find a path to fame for his two children.
Now, we can talk about the decline and end of Celebreality, as while there were a few unmentioned shows, the ones mentioned are the only products that actually came off as entertaining. I think that a big part of Celebreality ending as a whole was Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. Sure, it makes for good television seeing the downfall of someone else, as us as humans use it for validation that no matter how bad our lives are, someone always has it worse. Celebrity Rehab however cut a bit too deep, and made it a little less fun to see these out of work talents taped for entertainment value. Dr. Drew can paint it any way he wants to. Every cast featured did this for money, which further enabled them after each taping. While it was good to hear of success from the program for some, there are a lot of dead celebrities who are now remembered for their addictions and downfalls, rather than for the talent that made them famous to start with, and it is all because of this program.
The end stake through the heart of Celebreality (even though Dr. Drew continued for a bit after this project), was without a doubt Megan Wants a Millionaire. This show featured Rock of Love alum Megan Hauserman look for love with that same formula. However, three episodes after air, one of the finalists by the name of Ryan Jenkins kidnapped a young model in real life who he was dating, chopped her up, and put her in a suitcase before killing himself during the manhunt. VH1 quickly cancelled the program as well as I Love Money 3, which featured Jenkins. The network also quietly exited the Celebreality brand over time, which was more than likely due to the publicity that came from such a big incident. It’s crazy how something so big that affected pop culture in such a big way just came and went, but due to the circumstances, it is certainly understandable.
While there really is no current place for this type of television, this little era will forever be remembered as one of the most controversial, trashy, and fun times for the silver screen. These shows were the definition of guilty pleasures, and allowed audiences to get a new perspective of celebrity life, with moments that will be forever cemented in television history. I know reality television is still in full swing, but Celebreality was unlike anything, providing us with truly mindless entertainment and escapism by viewing the best and absolute worst of humanity. Perhaps it also taught us a little about boundaries as well, as I don’t think a lot of current shows are willing to push the envelope so far due to the terrible events that occurred in real life from the very cast that led this movement. Pop Culture changes a lot from day to day, but this little piece of it will surely go down as one of the most recognizable (if not darkest) periods in television network history.
Train Sim World® Out Now on Xbox One, PlayStation®4and PC
A Revolution In Train Simulation Is Ready To Depart!
CHATHAM, Kent – July 24, 2018 – Dovetail Games, the multi award-winning developer and publisher of simulation games, is pleased to announce that Train Sim World® is out now on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 and Windows PC.
Train Sim World is a train simulator that brings to life the experience of operating powerful and realistic trains on authentic replicas of some of the world’s most amazing railways. Choose how you want to play, taking control and mastering powerful locomotives, running-to-time, carrying out important tasks or riding along as a passenger and watching the world go by. Watch the action unfold and capture amazing screenshots, or go exploring to hunt down all the hidden collectables. Whatever you choose, there’s lots to see and experience in Train Sim World.
Powered by Unreal Engine 4® technology and Dovetail Games’ proprietary SimuGraph® vehicle dynamics engine, underpinned with expert technical knowledge and real-world data, the performance, look and sound of each train have been accurately reproduced to feel just like the real thing.
Train Sim World features three distinctly unique experiences to test your skills on different trains and routes around the world:
Northeast Corridor New York
Go to work as an engineer on one of America’s most famous railroads, driving Amtrak passenger and CSX freight trains on the world-famous Northeast Corridor from New York City. With freight and impatient passengers to transport on time, your skill, focus and endurance will be tested to the limit.
Great Western Express
Drive high-speed passenger and freight trains on one of Britain’s busiest railways. Take control of the iconic Class 43 High Speed Train (HST), and command it to 125 mph along the Great Western Main Line out of London’s famous Paddington station.
Rapid Transit
Drive commuter passenger trains on one of Germany’s historic city S-Bahn railways. Navigating the busy S-Bahn will require you to master the layout of the route and the functions and systems of your train, as well as Deutsche Bahn’s unique signaling system.
Darren Potter, Executive Producer of Train Sim World at Dovetail Games, said, “In Train Sim World, we put you in the shoes of a train driver so you can climb onboard, see the sights, hear the sounds and feel the immense power of trains under your command. We’ve strived to deliver an authentic and highly detailed simulation across the PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC that will feel intuitive on every platform. Whether using a gamepad or keyboard and mouse, you’ll be able to feel the detail.”
Train Sim World® and Train Sim World® Digital Deluxe are now available to purchase on the Xbox Store, PlayStation®Store and Steam. Train Sim World® is also available at all good retailers.
Owners of Train Sim World® Founders Edition on Xbox One can now activate a discounted upgrade to either version via their in-game route selection screen. Existing Train Sim World® content owners on Steam are now eligible for an upgrade to the full products.
Dovetail Games was launched in 2013. Previously trading as RailSimulator.com Ltd, the business launched in 2009 initially producing and marketing the PC game Train Simulator. Today Dovetail Games is responsible for train, flight and fishing simulation games and is developing for PC and leading consoles. http://www.dovetailgames.com.
About SimuGraph
Developed by Dovetail Games, SimuGraph Vehicle Dynamics Engine is a powerful visual modeling and simulation framework for the construction and real-time simulation of electrical, mechanical and hydraulic systems in the context of vehicle dynamics.
About Unreal Engine
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for world-class graphics, tools and scalability across PC, console and mobile platforms. Unreal Engine technology is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for creating high quality games, applications, training simulations, visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. To access UE4, visit www.unrealengine.com and follow @UnrealEngine.
Blindflug Studios’ beautiful, blistering, aerial adventure AIRHEART out now on PC and PlayStation®4
Download diesel-punk action title today; additional platforms to be announced in coming weeks
ZURICH – July 24, 2018 – Blindflug Studios, the award winning Zurich-based independent development studio, is thrilled to announce that AIRHEART is now available to purchase on PC and PlayStation®4, with additional platforms to be announced in the following weeks.
PlayStation®4 owners can purchase the game via the PlayStation®Store, while PC players can pick it up on Steam, or opt for the Deluxe Edition – which comes bundled with the original soundtrack and additional bonus content.
AIRHEART is a diesel-punk action game set in the beautiful, vibrant, floating city of Granaria. Players will step into the shoes of Amelia, a young pilot who dreams of one day reaching the world’s edge and capturing the legendary Sky Whale.
Amelia must take to the skies in her customizable plane – soaring higher and higher through a uniquely vertical environment as she explores vivid landscapes, partakes in a spot of sky-fishing and takes on rival aircraft in tight, blistering twin-stick combat.
A robust crafting system offers Amelia opportunities to upgrade her highly customizable plane, crafting new items from scrap obtained from fallen foes. Funds can also be earned from sky-fishing, but doing so might have a bigger impact on Granaria’s ecosystem than it first might seem.
“It’s been a long road since we launched AIRHEART in early access; the game has evolved so much since then, and I’d like to thank everyone who supported us during the development process,” said Moritz Zumbühl, Blindflug Studios CEO. “Amelia’s plane is now ready for takeoff, and we can’t wait for the AIRHEART community and newcomers alike to take to the skies and explore Granaria. The Sky Whale is waiting for you!”
AIRHEART is a dieselpunk airplane action game where every colorful level is built on top of the previous one, all the way up to the stratosphere.
Welcome to Granaria, a flying city in the clouds. Meet Amelia – a young pilot and fisherwoman wishing to reach the abundant world’s edge. Sky fishing became a really dangerous job, with pirates roaming around everywhere. So start your engines, arm your airplane and get ready to make the catch of a lifetime!
AIRHEART combines free-roaming, twin-stick gameplay with a beautiful, colorful world. Defeat your enemies, salvage their scrap and reuse it to craft new parts for your airplane. Build and try out over 40 weapons and airplane parts. Combine their abilities to become the pirates’ worst nightmare. Or just have some fun with your enemies, and use your harpoon to disarm, unshield, swing them around or drag them back home to disassemble them.
An airplane game reimagined in a wonderful world, AIRHEART is a treat to fans and newcomers to flight action games alike.
About Blindflug Studios
Blindflug Studios is a young Swiss game developer made up of seven designers and developers. The studio was born in 2014 as a spin-off to the successful Zurich-based web agency Feinheit. Its mission is to develop awesome games that tackle relevant topics of our time by transporting them into fascinating and surprising game worlds. Its debut title, “First Strike,” dealt with nuclear proliferation and the dangers of nuclear weapons, while also being a smash hit, having more than four million players to this day.
2K Grows NBA® Video Game Portfolio as Publisher of NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
Partnership between 2K and Saber Interactive expands 2K’s basketball offerings; Two-on-two arcade-action to be released this fall
New York – July 24, 2018 – 2K today announced that they will publish the next great arcade-action sports game from developer Saber Interactive – NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. This over-the-top, two-on-two basketball experience will complement the best-selling NBA 2K simulation franchise and expand 2K’s footprint in the basketball video game space.
“The original NBA Playgrounds was a fantastic throwback to the glory days of arcade-action sports,” said Greg Thomas, President, Visual Concepts. “The new NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will step up this energy and attitude big time – with a bit of added NBA 2K flair – giving fans of both franchises an exciting new way to game with friends around the world.”
“No one is more committed to bringing fans a great basketball experience than 2K. We can’t wait to share more on how we’re teaming up to make NBA 2K Playgrounds 2’s incredible arcade action bigger and better than ever for players,” said Saber CEO Matt Karch.
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will be released in fall 2018 on the Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Nintendo Switch™ and Windows PC.
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops and publishes products principally through its wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K, as well as its new Private Division label and Social Point, a leading developer of mobile games. Our products are designed for console systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, and are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at http://www.take2games.com.
About 2K
Founded in 2005, 2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, which are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment. The 2K label has some of the most talented development studios in the world today, including Firaxis Games, Visual Concepts, Hangar 13, Cat Daddy Games and 2K China. 2K’s stable of high quality titles includes the critically acclaimed BioShock®, Borderlands™, Mafia, and XCOM® franchises, the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization series, Evolve™, Battleborn®, the popular WWE 2K franchise and NBA 2K, the highest rated* annual sports title of this console generation.
*According to 2008 – 2018 Metacritic.com
About Saber Interactive
Based in the U.S., Russia, and Spain, Saber Interactive is an independent developer whose credits include Quake Champions, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo: Master Chief Collection, and others. Saber’s NBA Playgrounds is one of the best-selling digital console titles of 2017. The company has multiple development studios across the world making great games and bringing fun interactive experiences to life.
Tom clancy’s rainbow Six® Siege Operators join The ghosts in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® Wildlands in operation archangel
Experience this Unique Tom Clancy’s Crossover Event Starting July 25
SYDNEY, Australia — July 24, 2018 — Ubisoft has revealed that the worlds of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® Wildlands and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Siege will be colliding in a free and exclusive crossover mission as part of Special Operation 2, the second major update of the second year of post-launch content for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. Players will be able to team up with Valkyrie, Twitch and Caveira in this two-part crossover event available tomorrow, July 25, on all platforms.
Starting July 25 for all players, exclusive Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege–themed content will be introduced to the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands main campaign and Ghost War PvP mode, including two new Rainbow Six Siege–inspired Ghost War PvP classes and a two-part PvE mission, called Operation Archangel,. The Rainbow Six Siege Operator Caveira has gone missing. Valkyrie, a longtime friend of Karen Bowman, has tracked her down to Bolivia. With the help of Twitch, the Ghosts will follow a trail of clues, to learn more about why Caveira is in Bolivia, and also about her troubled past. This special challenge is playable solo or with up to four players in co-op and can be found in the province of Caimanes.
Upon completing Operation Archangel before August 14, players will be rewarded with Caveira gloves. When equipped, players will be able to perform Caveira’s iconic CQC move and automatically unlock the position of all enemies in the vicinity. In addition to the rewards for completing the challenge, players can further customise and arm their Ghosts with the Rainbow Six Gear Pack, which includes new customisation items and weapons such as Caveira’s iconic Luison handgun, a fully customisable HK 416 assault rifle, a head-wrapped shemagh inspired by Valkyrie and a skull balaclava inspired by Twitch.
Special Operation 2 will also bring two new Ghost War PvP classes, Toxic and Surgeon, which were inspired by Smoke and Doc of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. Toxic uses his drone to deploy a large cloud of toxic smoke, which allows players to both trap the enemy team and create area denials, while Surgeon uses his stim pistol to revive teammates from a distance, creating new opportunities to deploy support strategies at medium range. In addition to two new classes, this update will also contain two new PvP maps, Factory and Checkpoint, a new spectate feature called Observer mode and Ghost mode, a higher difficulty permadeath PvE game mode.
Ghost War players will be able to get seven-day early access to the new classes, maps and Ghost mode with the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Year 2 Pass. For newcomers, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands will be up to 67% off from July 24–31. For further information, please visit ghostrecon.com.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Year 2 will continue to expand on the Ghost Recon universe with free major Special Operation updates, each of which will feature a unique theme, updates for the PvE campaign with special free missions and special challenges with exclusive rewards, updates for the Ghost War 4v4 PvP experience and community-requested features. The team is committed to supporting the game by offering free new content and continuing to improve the core experience.
For more information about how Operation Archangel came together, please visit news.ubisoft.com
Developed by Ubisoft Paris,* Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is a military shooter entirely playable in up to four-player co-op or single-player from beginning to end. Players have total freedom to accomplish their missions how they want and watch as the world reacts to their actions. Players can choose to move quietly in the night, go in hot at dawn or work together to execute a sync shot that takes out enemies in one fell swoop. Each choice has a consequence, and players must improvise or adapt their plans to ensure the completion and success of each mission. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Ghost War allows players to live the ultimate co-op experience in 4v4 modes. Featuring a growing roster of classes, maps and modes, Ghost War focuses on teamwork, strategy and tense tactical engagements.
For more information about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, please visit ghostrecon.com, follow us on twitter.com/ghostrecon or facebook.com/ghostrecon and join the conversation by using #ghostrecon. For the latest about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands and other Ubisoft games, please visit news.ubisoft.com.
*In collaboration with Ubisoft Annecy, Bucharest, Montpellier, Milan, Belgrade and Reflections studios.
About Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Launched in 2001 with critical acclaim from fans of the Tom Clancy’s world, the Ghost Recon franchise has since convinced 30 million players thanks to breakthrough releases and has become the best-selling Tom Clancy’s brand on the last generation of consoles and PC. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands brings the franchise to the next level with an episode designed from the ground up for a new generation, featuring a massive and visually stunning open world, playable for the first time online in four-player co-op.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is a work of fiction. Like similar Tom Clancy’s games from Ubisoft, the game takes place in a modern universe inspired by reality, but the characters, locations and stories are created solely for entertainment purposes. One of the reasons Bolivia was chosen as the background of this game was due to its magnificent landscapes and rich culture. While the game’s premise imagines a different reality than the one that exists in Bolivia today, we do hope that the in-game world comes close to representing the country’s beautiful topography, and that players enjoy exploring the diverse and open landscapes it moved us to create. Any resemblance to actual events or any real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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.
The level design is a bit of a mixed bag. Levels are generally a linear mix of fighting through to new areas, holding out choke points during enemy rushes or map objectives, then doing it all over again. The defense sections is Earthfall at its best. The addition of barricades, automatic turrets, and big mounted guns gives players quite a bit of flexibility on where they want to create a choke point, instead of being stuck with one or two options like Left 4 Dead series. Navigating through levels is a bit tricky. Unless there is an objective explicitly marked in the world, finding the right path forward can be difficult in forested areas and larger interior zones. The game has too few subtle hints to guide the players in the right direction, forcing them to simply memorize the map.
If we want to follow the main story, a marker will guide us the way. If we’re looking for a bit of exploration there’s the world map, but unfortunately we couldn’t spot a mini map. The worst part about this was that our pirate ship stops as soon as we take a look at the world map. Without a mini map it’s almost necessary to check from time to time if you are heading in the right direction, but it’s a real downer to always get your ship moving again. This problem could’ve been easily solved for a better gameplay experience.
Overall
One of my main memories of Season 4 was Da Brat going into the house, only to find out that Jane Wiedlen and Christopher Knight were also cast members. Her reaction was one of shock, as she was furious her manager would put her on the same show as a Go-Go and a Brady. For the viewer, this was a look at a piece of the celebrity life we didn’t get to see, which was the initial reaction of a celebrity finding out that they are not as famous as they once were. One thing that many viewers also forget is how dialogue heavy the show was. While there were a lot of oddball jobs and tasks for the cast to do, a good bulk of the show was made up of the cast simply talking back and forth to one another. This was a platform for these cast members to be real with the world, while tackling demons that rose after the spotlight had faded out. In some ways, this television is timeless as despite it living within a forgettable era and probably being just as scripted as any other reality show, there is a lot more edge and realness to The Surreal Life that made it must see television, which was displayed prominently with growing ratings and general interest of each cast within.
