STAY Review

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May 15, 2018

STAY

Developer: Appnormals Team
Publisher: PQube Limited
Format: PC (Reviewed), Xbox One
Release Date: 16 May 2018
Price: $11.99USD – Available Here

Overview

After reviewing The Thin Silence recently, it seems like another game with a similar topic found its way to my PC. On top of dealing with depression, STAY goes an extra mile by adding loneliness and anxiety to the mix. Jolly. That and an interesting gameplay mechanic (more on that later) already got me curious, so let’s dive in deeper. Hopefully, the game won’t overSTAY its welcome (first and last pun of the article, I promise).

Story

We find our protagonist, Quinn, waking up in a locked room with nothing but a computer (pretty sweet deal, if you ask me). He has to find answers to why is he there, who trapped him in the room and how can he get out. His most valuable asset is you. Specifically, the person chatting with him from the other end of the screen. You’ll be there to guide him, help solve some puzzles and gain Quinn’s trust by choosing correct conversation options. Your decisions will guide you to one of the seven different endings and death scenarios. Fun!

Gameplay

You won’t find much to do at first as Quinn, so chatting with the player will be a sure way to kill some boredom. Maybe even get out alive as a bonus. Much like real life, the computer screen is where you’ll spend most of the time. You will have access to Quinn’s webcam so you can observe him constantly. This will be useful later on to better observe his behavior and mental state. Below the tiny webcam screen on the left, you can look at four different graphs representing Quinn’s mood. The way you interact with him, whether it is being understanding or giving harsh replies, will have an impact on his actions. Sometimes he might not listen to your advice which can even lead to his certain death. Yep, it happened to me more than once. Moral of the story is: always be nice! Another interesting thing is that gameplay mechanic I mentioned at the start. In STAY, time passes regardless if you play the game or not and leaving Quinn for far too long will have an effect on the story and his behavior. I guess that’s one way to keep you glued to the screen. One of you, at least.

Visuals

Despite the minimalistic presentation and having the story in the confined environment, there is some impressive attention to details in STAY. The game features wonderful pixel art and a well-animated character. While the color palette can be rather grim at first, once you progress more in the story and gain to some new areas, that only changes for the better.

Audio

Never judge a book by its cover, as they say. It’s something I remembered an hour into the game. The soundtrack is something I didn’t expect to be on this level in STAY, at least when compared to the rest of the visuals. If anything, I’d say it raises the overall atmosphere to a whole new level. The music here is barely noticeable at the start but pretty soon is opens up with a good selection of intense piano notes. Things will usually pick up the pace during intense story moments and dialogue, adding more fuel to the fire.

Overall

The main thing that I find remarkable in STAY is the way the story is presented. Quinn is in danger, yes. There are many answers to be found by solving puzzles and making Quinn open up a bit. Most of the story is served to you through these drops of info from items you find and while exploring your surroundings. However, the more you play, the more you move away from the main plot and get up close and personal with Quinn. Eventually, I felt like the main story was a well-made bait hiding another story behind it. One that seemed special to me. In the end, I completely forgot about saving Quinn and helping him get out of that place. I was more focused on establishing a real connection and being there for him. It’s been a while since I got my hands on a game that managed to elicit such an emotional response from me but going with an overall theme of the game, it made sense. Sometimes we just need someone to be there for us, it can make a whole lot of difference in the long run.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

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May 14, 2018

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Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Versus Evil
Platform: Linux, Mac, Windows
Release Date: 8 May 2018
Price: $49.99 USD – Available Here

Video Review

Overview

After the success of Pillars of Eternity, Obsidian Entertainment returned to crowdfunding to raise money for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Opting to try Fig over returning to Kickstarter, Obsidian Entertainment raised over four million dollars to expand and polish the sequel. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is finally upon us, bringing the next chapter in the Watcher of Caed Nua’s story. Behind the scenes, Obsidian has shortened the load times, created a brand-new region of Deadfire, tweaked the gameplay, and improved the graphics in the sequel.

Story

The Watcher of Caed Nua happily sat in their fortress after the events of Pillars of Eternity, enjoying well deserved rest. Unfortunately, peace was just not meant to be. The god Eothas took the form of a massive adra statue and rose, absorbing all the souls in and around the fortress. The Watcher only survives out of sheer strength, managing to hang onto a small piece of their soul. Eothas now marches into Deadfire, leaving death and destruction in his wake. Calling on the Watcher to return a favour, the god Berath has now tasked the Watcher to determine Eothas’ plan and stop him if necessary.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire delivers an excellent story experience. I am struck by how familiar and foreign Deadfire is at the same time. Obsidian has taken the classic fantasy world and reimagines it as if human colonialism occurred there too. I find Obsidian handles the politically charged subject well, preferring to take a more balanced approach that portrays individuals with a large variety of world views and motivations within a system that brings both misery and benefits to the area and its people. I’m rather fond of Obsidian’s approach as it allows for the subject of colonialism to be explored in a more neutral environment of a fantasy world, then allowing gamers to draw their own links to the real world.

Obsidian’s rather nuanced touch is evident throughout the entire game. Few characters are explicitly good or evil. Even the most benevolent actions can come with a hidden cost. Instead of the traditional good and evil dichotomy, players can handle situations from a variety of approaches, ranging from aggressive behaviour to stoic responses. Factions will track not only the player’s actions that affect the faction, but also the player’s general behaviour. NPCs will throw in an odd line or two to acknowledge the player’s reputation as an honest diplomat or a terrifying psychopath.

I have not had the opportunity to play the original Pillars of Eternity, but Obsidian has done a great job getting new players up to speed. For those without a save file from the first game, players are able to choose one of six archetypes that determine the player’s actions from the previous game and their reputation. A handy Pillars of Eternity icon pops up when the conversation refers to events of the first game. Obsidian’s implementation of a lore encyclopedia is possibly one of the best I have ever seen. Important terms and culturally significant individuals are highlighted and will display a tooltip with a short description. It’s a great system for helping players navigate complex lore, and I hope Obsidian expands it to help players keep track of characters they may encounter in their travels.

Gameplay

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is modeled after old school isometric RPGs like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights. As such, players can expect large, branching quest lines with plenty of side quests, deep character progression, and a good bit of combat. While the core mechanics of Pillars of Eternity has not changed much, Obsidian has opted to tighten the gameplay experience a bit by lowering the party size down to five, introducing spell retargeting, increasing control of AI behaviour, and adding more customization options.

The quests in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire are well designed. There is a lot of content to explore and plenty of ways to approach every situation. Obsidian has paid great care to ensure that most problems can be solved without violence, putting many of the game’s social skills to good use. Between the many factions to align with and the multiple solutions to quests, Obsidian has packed in a good amount of replayability into the game.

The character system in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is solid. The system should be familiar to anyone who has played Dungeons & Dragons in one of its many variants. The classes are varied enough to feel different, with a few unique classes thrown in for good measure. Since party sizes has been dropped down to five, character choices should matter a bit more. In practice, I found it was easy enough to create a balanced party, especially with the assistance of multiclass characters, but it wasn’t a completely mindless endeavour either. Many skill checks outside of combat are party based, forcing players to distribute skills across the party so that all skills are accounted for, but still ensuring that each character specialized in a few skills for the odd individual check.

Combat is in real time in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire with the option to pause or slow the action to issue specific commands. The AI is very competent in combat, allowing players to generally leave them to their own devices. Skilled players who are willing to manage their characters positioning and skills will still get a tactical advantage, allowing them to tackle more challenging content sooner. The AI’s one weakness is pathing, as I found the AI could struggle with walls blocking areas or tight spaces.

Sailing is the main mode of long distance travel in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. The game does a decent job of making it more than a mindless endeavour by requiring players to staff their crew and manage supplies as time progresses at sea. Ship to ship combat is handled with a simple board game-style mini-game. The system strikes a nice balance of realism without being intrusive or extremely monotonous.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire’s difficulty scaling works well. The game offers five base difficulty levels and level scaling so players can tailor their experience. I find the early game can be a bit challenging, but the difficulty level eases as the game progresses. The falling difficulty is likely due to characters have access to more skills and players having more characters to assemble a balanced party. The ability to adjust the difficulty level between combat helps mitigate the falling difficulty level.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is polished enough to be playable, but small bugs are still popping up. For example, the voice over system has a habit of playing two voice lines at once when skipping over text. The odd quest may accidentally lock out certain alternative solutions, though quests are still completable in one way or another. The bugs were never bad enough to inhibit gameplay, but still common enough to be noticed. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is struggles a bit on load times and will likely benefit from being installed on an SSD.

The controls in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire are decent. The game can almost entirely be controlled with a mouse, though keyboard shortcuts will make things easier. The default UI is serviceable, and the game offers several variants to fit player tastes. The characters and camera move a bit slow for me, but the options provide enough controls to tweak things to my liking. I found selecting and managing character movement wasn’t as intuitive as I liked, but the quirks are not too difficult to learn either.

Visuals

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire maintains visual the style of old school isometric RPGs with a healthy resolution bump. The artwork looks right at home in you favourite pen and paper RPG rule book. The lighting effects received an upgrade in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, and the artists have clearly put the new effects to work. There are plenty of dark maps lit up with eerie glows, with combat adding more flashes of colour.

Audio

The audio experience in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is solid. The music is an enjoyable accompaniment to gameplay. The sound effects are of high quality. The game’s dialogue is completely voice acted. A few of the important scene descriptions also have voice acting, but most are text only. The voice acting is good on a whole. Main characters all feature high quality voice acting. Most of the minor characters put up decent performances, but a few pale in comparison to the main characters.

Overall

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is a solid old school RPG. The audio/visual experience is top notch. The game is set in a beautiful, nuanced world that explores a very relevant topic in current society. The gameplay is does not stray far from the games Pillar of Eternity II are inspired by and delivers it in a refined way that is accessible to new players. The game does need a bit of polishing, as small bugs and hiccups are still being ironed out. While we may never see another Neverwinter Nights title, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire does a great job of scratching that itch.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

The Shawshank Redemption Review

Mateja Simovic

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May 12, 2018

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The Shawshank Redemption

Studios: Castle Rock Entertainment
Publisher: Columbia Pictures
Platforms: Cinema
Release Date: Out Now

Overview

I was already familiar with Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption after having seen it a number of times broadcast on TV in my youth. This would be the first time I would be able to see the film on the big screen, however, and I looked forward to finally seeing it as it was originally intended. I moseyed on down to the In the House screening at George St cinemas and settled in for the long haul to freedom.

The MCs for the evening were Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis and David ‘Quinny’ Quinn who opened up the proceedings by talking about some of the film’s trivia. A funny little tidbit from Quinny was that the film’s original title “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” led to some interesting conversations by the casting director and various talent agents who put forward their clients as perfect fits for the role of Rita Hayworth in the film… at which point it became abundantly clear that the agents had not read the script or they would not have been trying to land such a two dimensional role.

Story

The story follows the trials and tribulations of disgraced former banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) after he’s convicted of murdering his wife and the lover she was eloping with. While in incarcerated at Shawshank State Penitentiary, he must navigate the perilous waters of prison life and befriends a prison contraband smuggler, Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman). As time moves on, we see how Andy settles into life behind bars and how he attempts to improve his situation and the situation of those around him. Although he has a sharp mind and a strong spirit, will it be enough in the face of the overbearing and arbitrary authority of the corrupt warden who runs Shawshank?

A significant strength of the films narrative is that it is able to captivate it’s audience by actually having very little change in the circumstances of it’s characters.The characters spend most of their time behind bars for most of the film’s run time and with only incremental changes in the circumstances. To that end film’s story heavily relies upon the depth relationship between Andy and Red to propel itself forward we see how their friendship grows and evolves from the initial enmity of their introduction to an intimate closeness. Because of this reliance, the film required an onscreen chemistry of Robbins and Freeman which the actors were able to deliver and then some. Robbins plays his character with a quiet intensity which is both unsettling and charming. Freeman’s Red is a far warmer and jovial foil for Robbins to play against as he often plays the worldly and pragmatic cynic to the optimist idealism of Andy.

Freeman’s narration, especially, is performed with nigh perfection and it is easy to see why it’s become such a landmark of cinema. Although much of this narration is simply a method of providing context and observation of Andy, Freeman is able to utilise the material to give us a similar sense of his own character. The gravitas, humour, contempt, and warmth he’s able to inject into his words are (what I would argue) what made him a household name and the touchstone when one thinks about effective use of film narration.

One area of consternation for me lies with the film’s arbitrary view of justice and its application. Throughout the film, we are very clearly shown how the prison system brutalises, degrades and exploits its inmates with prisoners being left at the mercy of each other and as well as the measured sadism of the guard Hadley and warden Norton. The film, of course, offers remediation for the characters by then exacting that same brutality upon the instigator of this violence. One can certainly describe it as poetic justice, but I would suggest that it perhaps does undercut the film’s criticism of contradictions of a punitive prison system if it then suggests that the solution is… well, more punitive measures exacted against offenders. It’s small quibble but honestly, there’s so little else that I can critique with this film that pointing out an intellectual contradiction is pretty much my only critique as this film carries itself so well otherwise.

Visuals

Darabont’s visual direction aims to achieve a more realistic and subtle mise en scene to facilitate audience empathy. Colours are light is muted with characters often in drab and bare surroundings and dimly lit rooms. It creates a sense of atmospheric realism and a lived-in feel for what prison life is like on a day to day level but also creates a powerful contrast for outdoor scenes which occur intermittently. It as much a visual break from the overbearing prison walls for the prisoners as it is for the audience and facilitates a degree of empathy in a very subtle way.

Audio

The film’s soundtrack follows a similar toned down and subtle style in punctuating the film’s narrative beats and avoiding upstaging the action with too grandiose a composition. To that end, the film’s mostly orchestral score features a lot of movements featuring only one or two instruments playing at a time which creates a much more muted and solitary soundscape in comparison to other films. There is, of course, an exception to this rule in the film’s climax where the soundtrack finally crescendos and gives us a much needed auditory catharsis to the carefully built up tension of the story. I don’t know whether I could really say whether I’d be able to recognise the tracks outside of the film’s runtime but gorram was it effective while I was watching.

Overall

Overall, this is a damn near perfect film as far as it is possible to make one. The performances from the leads are par excellence with both Robbins and Freeman putting in a stellar effort. The film plays around with muted and subtle visual directions to give you a visual sense of the monotony of prison life. Similarly, the film’s soundtrack restrains for most of the film until we reach it’s climax where it hits the high mark needed to finally give a satisfying cathartic ending. It was an absolute pleasure to watch this old favourite up on the big screen and I heartily recommend that everyone indulge in the opportunity if it ever becomes available to them.

Kudos to the good folks at In the House for putting on such a great classic!

For other films which In The House is screening, feel free to check out their schedule for the next season here.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Acram Digital Booted from Steam over Fake Reviews

Jamie Laike Tsui

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May 12, 2018

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Acram Digital Booted from Steam over Fake Reviews

Digital board game publisher Acram Digital was dished a massive setback after Valve cuts ties with Acram Digital. As a result, all games and DLC published by Acram Digital has been removed from the Steam store. Those who currently own the removed PC games or DLC on Steam will not lose access to their games; however, any item related to those games that could previously be sold for Steam Wallet funds on Steam Marketplace can no longer be listed. Examples include trading cards and profile backgrounds.

Acram Digital developer Grzegorz Kubas was caught posting fake reviews for Steam: Rails to Riches and Eight-Minute Empire to boost their review scores. Kubas took to reddit to take responsibility for the fake reviews, stating that the reviews in question were six reviews created by him alone in a moment of frustration and bad judgement. The post noted Acram Digital did not purchase positive reviews on Steam at any time. He also announced Acram Digital has reached out to Steam in hopes of an appeal.

Bullet Witch Review

Jack Domenici

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May 12, 2018

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Bullet Witch

Developer: Marvelous Inc.
Publisher: XSEED Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 25 April 2018
Price: $14.99 USD/£12.99/€14.99 – Available Here

Overview

Bullet Witch is a game that was originally released on the XBOX 360 way back in the youthful years of 2006. Much like Frankenstein’s Monster it has been stitched back together and forcefully brought back to life, to the ire of many unimpressed locals. It’s a game that is definitely a product of its time, but also even back in 2006 was seen as boring and already done before. I understand somewhat, it’s hard to compete with games such as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Battlefield 2142, Lego Star Wars II, etc. but it’s not as hard to create a game that does not look like it was created in 2004.

Porting this to PC was an okay idea for fans of it, but for the broader demographic of people who play this game it was not the best idea. It especially doesn’t help your game when you bring it over to PC, bugs and all, with only a tiny touch up. One of the most glaring bugs was something that myself and many others have experienced: every 3 seconds the game will freeze for half a second. I was running this game on my very high end gaming rig and middle of the road laptop and it ran the same on both, regardless of “graphics settings”

Story

Editor’s Note: Warning, spoilers!

The story of Bullet Witch is quite mundane compared, which I understand is a very confusing statement to make about a game involving zombies, a broom that is also a gun, and several demons. It revolves around the titular Bullet Witch Alicia Claus being guided by a mysterious force called “Darkness” to a war torn American city.

Let’s just back up a bit and explain why the city is war torn.

In 2007, a large wake of natural disasters preceded a large demonic invasion. This lead to the slow extinction of humanity up until the games setting in 2013, where the world is only now on the brink of collapse. This is where we join up with Alicia.

I’m going to spoil the rest of the story as there is very little that actually happens other than just running to the end and fighting the final boss.

As you play through the game you meet up with other characters who join you on your journey to defeat “OMEGA”, a demon that is extremely powerful and immune to both magic and gunfire. Throughout this journey Maxwell, one of the characters that journeys with you, gives you a journal fragment that reveals back in 2007 some archaeologist lost his daughter in a plane crash and tried using some black magic to revive her. Through this, he ended up opening portals into hell itself, allowing the demons to enter.

You enter into one of these portals near the end of the game to discover that (shocker) the archaeologist is alive. He then gives you the remaining journal fragments and you find out that (shocker 2: Electric Boogaloo) YOU are his daughter. You’re only alive and able to wield magic because of the ritual he performed.

After this heartfelt moment, you have to kill your father to close this portal. After doing so you are thrown into a battle with OMEGA where you and Maxwell team up, and using your combined strength, take down the demon that moments ago you were told was immune to your attacks. Maxwell tries to crush on Alicia, but she’s having none of it as “The war of us fighting back is just beginning”.

Gameplay

There’s not much to say on the gameplay. It’s a boring corridor shooter with some spectacle and magical powers. The large spectacle fights are quite enjoyable, if only the camera would let me control it for 2 seconds. It’s a very clunky thing to control, almost on par with Mario 64 camera controls.

The shooting is very bland and does very little to keep it interesting. I hope you like seeing half decomposed zombies in combat armour, because that’s 90% of what you’ll be shouting Pew Pew at. You have infinite ammo, you just need to do a reload animation every now and then. You have 3 modes that you can unlock for your Gun Staff: Automatic Rifle, Sniper Rifle, and Minigun. The automatic rifle is just your standard gun. The sniper rifle is clunky to aim down it’s scope and not useful unless you see an enemy in the very poor draw distance look at you funny. The minigun is basically just an upgrade to your auto rifle. It serves no real purpose than when you see a large clump of enemies and are just tired.

The magic in this game is very limited. You have 3 powers: Ancient wall, Willpower, and Lightning. I barely used the magic in this game. Ancient wall just creates a wall infront of you. Not chest high like other competent shooters, but full body just so it can get in your way. Willpower is just a force push and is only useful during parts of the game where debris is blocking your path. Lighting takes so long to cast that it is near useless unless you like seeing the same 20 second animation play out each encounter. It is limited in it’s use, however. There is a mana bar that depletes and slowly recharges, but is is mainly just something for you to look at in the bland environments. Speaking of which…

Visuals

Even for 2006 this games visuals were bland. There doesn’t appear to have been anything other than an up-res for the PC release. Even in the PC release, there are still very obvious hold overs that reveal how much of a rushed port this was. The magic wheel, whether playing with a controller plugged in or on the mouse and keyboard, still shows the old XBOX controller buttons.

The city environment reuses assets like it’s Game Jam after a Unity Store sale. There’s very flat textures used all around. I think I saw the same house at least 4 times during the first corridor. You can easily see the darkness at the end of the world right at the start. The levels are overly large and enemies are recycled over and over. They are placed in small clumps so far apart that there is barely any challenge or anything good to look at.

The spectacle of large fights was diminished somewhat by the fact that it puts the bosses into such boring environments it’s an eyesore to stare at what is just a demon with a minigun built into it.

The “graphics” options you get at the start of the game are so limited you’d think you’re playing a PC game from 2001. You have a frame rate limiter, shadows, resolution, and anti-aliasing. You also can’t change these in game, you need to quit the game if you want to edit any of these settings.

Audio

The music in this game is probably the best thing about it. The rock music can be a little much during the really boring fights, but it fits the theme and tone the game is going for. There are sombre, orchestral pieces as well as the hard rock.

The enemies sound like zombies, demons like demons. I do with the gun sounds were a little punchier; the minigun felt like just the auto rifle played faster.

The voice acting can be a little stilted, but the cast did the best with what they were given.

Overall

Overall, this game isn’t great. The story is weak and the twists were not twists at all if you have been paying even the tiniest bit of attention, in between the short naps you take trudging through the environments. The visuals are severely lacking and reuse of assess, even for a game in 2006, is rampant. The gameplay is so bad that I powered through the game just so I could go see Infinity War and play the new God of War, both way better uses of your money and time.

If you think you have any interest in this game at all, wait for it to go on sale on Steam.

Grant is The Third Overkill’s The Walking Dead Playable Character

Jamie Laike Tsui

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May 11, 2018

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Grant is The Third Overkill’s The Walking Dead Playable Character

Starbreeze, Skybound Entertainment, and 505 Games revealed the third of Overkill’s The Walking Dead playable character via a brand new trailer. Grant joins the previously announced characters Aidan and Maya. The fourth and final playable character is expected to be revealed soon.

Grant is described as a steely outdoorsman who has spent years in the countryside. He’s a crack shot with a scoped rifle and has the skills to survive the harshest environments. He’s now returned to Washington D.C. to find his lost family.

Overkill’s The Walking Dead is a co-op FPS from the developers of the PayDay franchise. The game is set to launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in Fall 2018 (Spring 2018 in the Southern Hemisphere).

https://youtu.be/yNcD025QR20

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate comes to Nintendo Switch!

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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May 11, 2018

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Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate comes to Nintendo Switch!

11^th May 2018 – The highly anticipated Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, the follow up to Monster Hunter Generations, marks the series debut on Nintendo Switch as an exclusive when it launches on August 28^th, 2018 for digital and physical retail purchase. For the first time, gamers have the flexibility to play both local wireless and online multiplayer with up to three other hunters whether playing at home on the big screen or on the go in handheld or table top mode. A brand new trailer for the title is available now from the press site here.

Hunters can face off against the series largest roster of unique monsters in this nostalgic look back at the series beginnings and evolutions. Take on the role of a brave hunter on an adrenaline fuelled adventure challenging larger than life beasts. Completing quests will yield valuable resources for crafting countless distinct weapons and equipment fashioned after players’ defeated foes. Along their journey, hunters must defend each of the game’s four villages from major threats known as the Fated Four, plus an even more dangerous new Elder Dragon.

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate features a blend of classic gameplay and unique new twists, brand new explorable areas and monsters, plus returning fan-favourites like the lightning fast Zinogre and the stealthy long-tailed Nargacuga. This release introduces a new quest level called “G” rank that features even more formidable versions of familiar foes, truly testing experienced hunters’ battle tactics now with different moves and abilities never before seen in the wild!

For newcomers to the series, the gameplay features ton of powerful super moves called Hunter Arts that can be executed with a quick tap on the touch screen. Players can experiment and choose from six different Hunting Styles including two new ones called Brave Style, which rewards players with new moves for landing successive attacks, and Alchemy Style, a support style that grants the ability to creating useful items on the fly during combat. Hunters are encouraged to explore and customise the experience between quests to find the most personalised playstyle.

Players of the original Monster Hunter Generations can transfer save data from the previous title to continue their journey in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate.

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About Capcom

Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games including ground-breaking franchises Resident Evil®, Street Fighter®, Monster Hunter™, Ace Attorney®, Mega Man® and Devil May Cry®. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Tokyo, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom and its products can be found at www.capcom.com or www.capcom-unity.com.

Immortal Redneck Lives Again Today on Nintendo Switch™

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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May 11, 2018

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Immortal Redneck Lives Again Today on Nintendo Switch™

MADRID, SPAIN – May 11, 2018 – Immortal Redneck, the Egyptian-themed first-person shooter with roguelike elements from developer Crema, is available now on Nintendo Switch with new gyro aiming controls.

After dying in a dune buggy wreck in the sands of Egypt, a Redneck resurrects as a mummy hellbent on finding out who wrapped him up. His quest for revenge and answers leads him to three constantly shifting pyramids full of monsters once thought of as legends. With a wild mix of weaponry, blessings from ancient gods, and good-’ol-fashioned FPS skills, the Redneck may just be able to find what he seeks.

These procedurally-generated pyramids serve as proving grounds that test players’ proficiency at old-school FPS techniques like circle-strafing and bunny-hopping. The Redneck is better at dodging bullets than taking them, so fast, evasive play is as important as a quick trigger finger. Zip around vibrant hand-crafted rooms with a graphical style inspired by classic Nintendo games while gunning down malicious monsters who want a tasty, country-fried Redneck for a snack.

More than 50 weapons of the conventional, futuristic, and mystical varieties means there’s always something fun in the Redneck’s future. 100 game-changing scrolls significantly alter playthroughs, but watch out when picking them up. Scrolls range from helpful (more weapon damage!) to harmful (lose current weapon) to just plain bizarre (lower gravity, anyone?).

Dying isn’t the end in Immortal Redneck. Though the pyramids’ layouts change, money gained while inside buys permanent stat upgrades, level modifiers, and new player classes called favors of the gods. These favors each have their own active and passive abilities so everyone can earn something that suits them.

“We’ve been dying (and resurrecting again and again…) to bring Immortal Redneck to the Switch,” said Guillermo Andrades, Co-Founder, Crema. “We know players want more shooters on the system, and we think ours will make them very happy.”

Immortal Redneck is now available on Nintendo Switch in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Polish, and Korean for $19.99 USD / €19.99 / £17.99. Crema’s first-person shooter is also available on Steam, the PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live.

For more information, please explore Immortal Redneck‘s official site, Twitter, and Facebook.

About Crema

Crema is a Madrid-based Spanish indie developer. After Guillermo Andrades’s original soundboard app Instant Buttons found success in the form of 20 million downloads, the team left their jobs and began making games full-time. Crema wants to keep surviving, pulling in young talent in Spain, and to continue making the games they want to make.

To learn more about Crema please visit their official website

ONE PIECE PIRATE WARRIORS 3 DELUXE EDITION NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE NINTENDO SWITCH FROM BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INC.

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Philip Federico

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May 11, 2018

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ONE PIECE PIRATE WARRIORS 3 DELUXE EDITION NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE NINTENDO SWITCH FROM BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INC.

Find Adventure On-the-Go with Luffy and Friends!

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (May 10, 2018) – Leading anime video game developer and publisher BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today launched ONE PIECE Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch™. Nintendo Switch players will be able to experience the swashbuckling ONE PIECE storyline from the series’ beginning through the Paramount War arc, at home or on-the-go, through the unique capabilities of the Nintendo Switch. ONE PIECE Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition includes over 40 pieces of DLC, including challenging missions and zany costumes. The game will also feature a local two-player co-op mode, perfect for taking a friend on the ultimate high seas adventure!

ONE PIECE Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition brings together all the sights and sounds of the ONE PIECE franchise and mixes it unmistakable kinetic battles against innumerable odds. More than 30 playable characters means the biggest problem for fans is figuring out who to choose! ONE PIECE Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition implements the Kizuna Rush feature, which summons another character into battle to perform a combo attack. Up to four characters can be summoned into the player’s Crew and create more powerful attacks.

ONE PIECE Pirate Warriors 3 Deluxe Edition is rated “T” for Teen and has a MSRP of $39.99. For information on additional titles from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., please visit: https://www.bandainamcoent.com, or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS, or join the conversation on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS.

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About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for all major video game consoles, iOS, Android, and online platforms. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including PAC-MAN^®, GALAGA^®, TEKKEN^®, SOULCALIBUR^®, and ACE COMBAT^®. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. is the premier publisher in the Western hemisphere for anime based video games including NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, DRAGON BALL Z^®, and ONE PIECE^®. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.bandainamcoent.com or www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS.

ADULT SWIM GAMES REVEALS AUG. 14 RELEASE DATE FOR WHITE RABBIT’S ACTION RPG DEATH’S GAMBIT WITH NEW GAMEPLAY TRAILER

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Philip Federico

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May 11, 2018

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ADULT SWIM GAMES REVEALS AUG. 14 RELEASE DATE FOR WHITE RABBIT’S ACTION RPG DEATH’S GAMBIT WITH NEW GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Battle Immortals as an Agent of Death This Summer on PlayStation®4 and Windows PC

ATLANTA – May 10, 2018 – Adult Swim Games has announced with a new cinematic gameplay trailer that it will launch independent developer White Rabbit’s brutal, side-scrolling, monster-slaying action RPG Death’s Gambit on Aug. 14, 2018, for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Death’s Gambit raises you from the dead to serve as an agent of Death in a highly stylized, gothic world of beasts, knights, horrors, undying guardians and more. Defeat gruesome enemies and legendary bosses with an arsenal of uniquely powerful weapons and abilities in wickedly challenging battles that demand creative thinking, strategy and precise skills. Scale towering buildings and giant beasts alike with a trusty grappling hook to reach the farthest limits of the realm, and get ready to die – a lot.

Explore Siradon, a vast, unforgiving land of dark forests, medieval ruins, frozen wastes and more, each filled with treasures, secrets and twisted characters that may help or hinder your journey. Death’s Gambit delivers a non-linear adventure; discover multiples routes between areas, gaining access to new surprises with every challenge overcome.

Players can preorder Death’s Gambit now for PC via Steam for $19.99 to get the “Chosen of Death Pack” DLC, which includes an exclusive shield and scythe plus a special skin for your steed.

For more information, visit www.DeathsGambit.com.

About Adult Swim Games

Adult Swim Games oversees the production, publishing and marketing of original games created by independent developers from around the world. With more than 200 games across PC, mobile, web, console and VR, Adult Swim Games’ unique offerings have received numerous industry accolades — including five #1 rankings in the App Store and a finalist for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at IGF. Popular titles include Robot Unicorn Attack, Pocket Mortys, and Duck Game.

About White Rabbit

White Rabbit is an independent game studio based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Jean Canellas and Alex Kubodera after graduating from USC’s Interactive Media program. Their vision for Death’s Gambit was made possible thanks to a partnership with Adult Swim. Death’s Gambit is their first commercial debut and promises to capture the hearts of fans across the world!

Connect With Adult Swim

Website: www.adultswim.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adultswim
Twitter: http://twitter.com/adultswim
Adult Swim app available for iOS and Android platforms.
Steam Preorders: https://store.steampowered.com/app/356650/Deaths_Gambit