South Park: The Fractured but Whole Review

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October 22, 2017

South Park: The Fractured but Whole

Developer: South Park Digital Studios, Ubisoft San Francisco
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows (Reviewed)
Release Date: 17 October 2017
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here / $89.95 AUD (PC), $99.95 AUD (Consoles) – Available Here

Video Review

Overview

After multiple delays, the latest South Park RPG is finally here. Fantasy battles are out of fashion, and the boys of South Park have their eye on starting their very own superhero franchise to rake in the big bucks. It’s superhero civil between Coon & Friends and the Freedom Pals as the New Kid takes on the role of the farting vigilante that is destined to save South Park.

Story

South Park: The Fractured but Whole is essentially an interactive South Park movie. The script won’t win any new converts to the series, but it is brilliantly written. The dialogue is sharp and pays tributes to all the video game and superhero tropes. In true South Park fashion, the humour is crass with plenty of toilet humour. Yet at the same time, anyone willing to drill deeper into the story will be rewarded with incredibly smart writing. I am impressed with the thought that has gone into creating each superhero alter ego. While I may not know the characters very well from the show, the writers do an excellent job of channeling personal motivations that inspire each super hero alter ego while mixing it with a bit of South Park whimsy. A character like Captain Diabetes who turns his illness into his source of strength is serves as a great counter balance to the game’s crass humour. While many gamers may not experience it, South Park: The Fractured but Whole is likely the first narrative-based game from a major developer that actually offers the opportunity for The New Kid to identify as transgender. I am pleasantly surprised how well the writers handle the matter. They give it just enough screen time to make it relevant to The New Kid’s identity, without having transgender consume The New Kid’s entire identity. South Park: The Fractured but Whole’s social commentary extends well beyond gender, exploring themes like race, religion, addiction, parenting, and policing. There is a thoughtful and well written story tucked neatly under all the layers of pop culture references, cursing, and references to sex and bodily excretions.

Gameplay

South Park: The Fractured but Whole is a turn based RPG with light tactical elements. The game mechanics are designed to be approachable enough that video game newbies who are picking up their first game because they like the show won’t be overwhelmed, but the game has just enough depth to enjoyable to most RPG veterans. Character creation is simple. Players start off by picking one of the three starting classes. Each class has three basic skills and an ultimate skill that can be used when the meter fills up in combat. Each skill is tied to the game’s basic offensive stats of brawn, brains, and spunk. Every level unlocks artifact slots. Each artifact awards a flat boost to the base character stats and one or two secondary stats. Later in the game, DNA mods lets players begin to do some general optimization for their character’s base stats. As the game progresses, players are able to multiclass, allowing them to mix and match their four skills from an ever-growing library of skills.

Combat is turn based in South Park: The Fractured but Whole. Players will need to instigate combat if they want the first strike and possibly inflict a status effect or two in at the beginning of combat. Each player character has three basic abilities that can be used at any time and an ultimate ability powered by the ultimate meter. The meter fills as players deal and take damage. Every ability has its own attack pattern and range. Like many tactical RPGs, success hinges on smart use of status effect and character positioning. South Park: The Fractured but Whole is on the more forgiving side of the spectrum since more advanced features like line of site and flanking are absent from the title. The game features a critical system that adds an extra layer of interaction. Hitting the action button when prompted will let players deal a little extra damage or heal some of the damage taken plus provide a very healthy boost to the ultimate meter. There are three levels of combat difficulty, which is completely separate from the skin colour “difficulty” setting at the beginning of the game. Personally, I find the normal difficulty to provide a decent challenge that requires some strategic thinking. While South Park: The Fractured but Whole is not the most challenging or complex RPG in existence, it is very easy to learn and still fulfilling enough to stay interesting.

Probably the most frustrating part about South Park’s combat system is the lack of variety in enemies in combat. There are different groups of enemies such as the sixth graders and the Chaos Minions. Often times, players will deal with long stretches of the game where they will see the same enemies over and over again. There are no random encounters, which helps limit some, but not all of the repetitiveness. The boss fights, however, are an absolute treat. These multi-phased battles often have some hilarious and challenging mechanics that shake up the game’s combat.

The town of South Park is your playground. As players progress through the story, more parts of the town are unlocked. How the developers have opted to progressively opens the map is one of the game’s great annoyances. There are significant chunks of the game where two adjoining neighbourhoods are available for exploration, but some sort of environmental hazard that can only be cleared later in the game blocks the direct path. Until that clearing skill is acquired, players are stuck taking a roundabout route of fast travel points and old fashioned long walks on the pavement. There is a lot of exploring to do in South Park: The Fractured but Whole. The game is packed with crafting items and collectibles like Tweak and Craig yaoi art and costume pieces to discover. There is a toilet mini-game where players need to input variety of combinations that can get downright devious at times. While the mini-game it completely optional, it is a bit too easy usually and gets repetitive very quickly. There are some solid environmental puzzles that make great use of the game’s buddy skills and fart abilities.

South Park: The Fractured but Whole relies on its crafting system to provide most of the consumables in the game. There are vendors almost everywhere in town, and every building seems to have a plethora of items to loot. It feels like there are hundreds of individual items, but they all fall under a few basic categories. For the exception of the more powerful items, most items simply need a few categories to craft versus specific items. The sheer volume of items to loot kills a bit of the excitement of looting, as it seems like emptying every drawer and cupboard in a house becomes more of a chore than a rewarding treasure hunt.

South Park: The Fractured but Whole was meant to be played on with a controller. The game is perfectly serviceable on a mouse and keyboard, but the mini-games were designed for controllers in mind. The keyboard variations to these mini-games are usually a dull afterthought in comparison.

Visuals

South Park: The Fractured but Whole shines visually. The game looks like it could be used to record a TV episode for the show. The animation and textures are all spot on. I really like the subtle use of the colour to signify interactive items in the environment. On the technical side, the game uses the Snowdrop engine previously used in Tom Clancy’s The Division. While South Park: The Fractured but Whole isn’t the most taxing game in the world, I didn’t encounter any issues with the game during testing.

Audio

The audio experience in South Park: The Fractured but Whole is excellent. The voice acting is perfect as expected. The sound effects are solid. While its easy to forget about the rest of the audio experience with the strong voice acting, the soundtrack is a fitting tribute to the superhero film scores.

Overall

South Park: The Fractured but Whole is a solid tactical RPG meant to cater to the widest audience possible. It is easy to learn with well executed, though slightly basic mechanics. There are a some rough patches where the gameplay feels a bit repetitive, but it is easy to forget about them with the game’s strong writing and solid audio/visual presentation.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

New Star Wars: Battlefront II Single Player Trailer Released

Jamie Laike Tsui

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October 20, 2017

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New Star Wars: Battlefront II Single Player Trailer Released

For those of us who have been feeling the itch since the recent Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer, it’s time to get your Star Wars fix in! EA released a brand new trailer for Star Wars: Battlefront II that reveals new details about the game’s single player campaign. The trailer sets the stage for the First Order to rise from the ashes of the Empire, thirty years after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. As previously revealed, the single player campaign focuses on Iden Versio, the leader of Inferno Squad, a special forces unit of the Galactic Empire. While the trailer doesn’t give away too many plot points, it appears the remnants of the Empire are struggling for power as they engage in a bloody rampage to avenge the Emperor and the second Death Star.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is set to launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on November 17, 2017.

Cuphead Review

Admir Brkic

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October 20, 2017

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Cuphead

Developer: Studio MDHR
Publisher: Studio MDHR
Format: PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 29 Sep 2017
Price: $19.99USD – Available Here

Overview

So here we are. After many sleepless nights, worries about more delays, worries if I’ll be able to get past the tutorial – Cuphead is finally here! At this point, everyone has heard of the game. It grabbed the attention of many with its gorgeous art, colorful boss battles, and promising soundtrack. The only thing that’s left now is to actually play it. Which isn’t so hard at all, but progressing through the game is a different story. But let’s go one step at a time.

Story

Cuphead and his buddy Mugman were enjoying the careless life in Inkwell Isle. One day, they stumbled upon a casino, got carried away with a gambling fever while on a winning streak and that was the cue for the Devil to enter the stage. The Devil is none other than the owner of the said casino so he challenged them to one more game with stakes raised this time. “If you win, you get everything that’s in this casino, but if you lose I take your souls” – the Devil said. Our protagonists, carried away with their streak of luck, took him up on a challenge and what do you know – they lost! However, the Devil offered them a replacement deal. He won’t take their souls if they take the soul of his debtors for him (you guessed it, these will be our boss enemies). And so their new adventure started!

Gameplay

Oh boy, where to start. Well first off, everything that you’ve seen in the promo videos and gameplay demos lives up to the expectations. The levels could be split into two categories. You have the usual run ‘n’ gun parts where the goal is to get to the end of it (duh!) and grab as many coins on your way. There aren’t a whole lot of them, maximum five per level but you need as much as you can if you intend to buy new skills and powers in the shop. What’s interesting about those run ‘n’ gun sections is that they’re all completely optional. The real progress in the game is done through the boss fights. Before starting each, you can choose between simple and regular difficulty. Don’t let the name “simple” fool you, it’s still pretty easy to die there (regardless of the difficulty, you always have 3 hit points available and after that, it’s game over). The only difference is that in regular mode, bosses have one extra stage, usually the most difficult one. Taking down all the bosses in regular mode is kind of mandatory too, since only that way you can get soul contracts and each of them is necessary in order to face the final boss. So in some way, you can view the simple mode as a “practice” for the real thing.

Visuals

This is the point where instead of writing anything, I’d just post perhaps 50 screenshots here and let you see for yourself how amazing everything is. Every frame in Cuphead has been hand drawn and what that means exactly? Show it to someone who has never heard or seen the game and they would have serious time recognizing that it is a game, instead of a real cartoon. You can’t even get mad at dying often in Cuphead (and trust me, you will!) since there’s just so much detail in the background, on enemies, on bosses, world map…..nothing but admiration.

Audio

One thing that Studio MDHR pointed out during the development is that the music in Cuphead was “recorded live with the help of 42 musicians including a 13-piece big band orchestra, a 10-member ensemble, and various soloists and ragtime pianists. Major influences of “Cuphead’s” 1930’s jazz sound include music legends such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Gene Krupa”. And oh my, the smoothness and class are oozing from every note, every second as you play. The whole soundtrack is something that worth of your attention outside of the game (with “Die House” aka King Dice theme being my favorite).

Overall

The truth is if you’ve been following Cuphead so far this review won’t push you away or entice you more to purchase it. Your mind has been made up a long time ago and now you’re just enjoying the written praises of some random guy on the internet (hint: that’s me). But just in case: do it. Get it. Now. The amount of love, work, and dedication poured into this game is astounding and the least you could do is to support this fine work by buying it, playing and die a whole lot in the process. Speaking of that last bit, there is something I need to address. Something that’s keeping it away from being the perfect 10. Gatekeeping. Look, the game is hard. We have all heard of that (or experienced it) by now. The question is how determined you are to push through the game. How much of the stress you’re willing to invest to prevail in the end. I know myself, but I don’t know you. Still, I can imagine a small army of people going at one point “you know, this is it for me. This is my stop”. With that said, I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed with the game whether you make it to the end or not. If there is one game you need to reward yourself in 2017, it might very well be this one. As I said above, you owe it to the devs, to support great game such as these, but most importantly – you owe it to yourself.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Wayne’s World Review

Mateja Simovic

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October 19, 2017

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Wayne’s World

Studios: NBC Films
Publisher: Paramount Pictures
Platforms: Cinema
Release Date: Out Now

Overview

I remember first seeing Wayne’s World back in my high school days when a friend of mine wanted to show me his favourite film. I didn’t think much of it then but I have changed a lot since then and so was willing to give it another shot when the folks at In the House put on their screening of it. So I grew out my mullet, put on some stairway and sauntered on down to George St cinemas to give the film another go.

The MCs for the evening for Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis and David ‘Quinny’ Quinn In traditional In the House style a very quick and informal with cosplay competition with the winners, a couple dressed as Wayne and Stacy, walking away with speedboating tickets. The two MCs then settled in for a chat before the screening proper started and shared various bits of trivia with the audience. The most interesting tidbit I heard came from Quinny who discussed the surprisingly true basis of Stacy’s gun rack present to Wayne and how it was actually inspired a by real life incident with Myers and his ex-partner. The kicker for me was when Myers brought that ex-partner to the film premier who then proceeded to get upset about the way she was depicted in the film as “A psycho hose beast”.

Story

The film’s narrative follows the two hosts of a fictional public access cable tv show called Wayne’s World named Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey). They live fairly unremarkable lives, hanging out with their friends, going to music gigs, and dreaming of the day that things finally turn their way. Through pure serendipity, they find themselves the objects of attention of a sleazy tv executive, Benjamin (Rob Lowe), who wishes to exploit their show for his own personal gain. The two hosts, star struck by the financial offer held out to them and agree to the terms of his contract without reading the fine print. Will the lure of financial success and all that comes with it get the two friends to sell out or will they be able to find a way to stop themselves from selling out completely?

To say that this movie is self-aware is an understatement; this film has gone on a journey of self-discovery and expanded it’s apprehension of what it’s place in the world is. Characters repeatedly speak to camera in asides and comment upon the action as they break the fourth wall. The film even goes so far as to use it’s self-awareness to create some of its humour with one gag involving sponsorship and product placement featuring incredibly ironic declarations of artistic integrity. This is might become tiresome in another film, but here the characters use it in such a way that it’s charming as well as absurd.

The performances by the two leads is what carries you through the narrative of this entire film which is honestly a bit threadbare. There are a lot of scenes which don’t really lead anywhere or add anything to the main plot which may grating for some people but I’d hazard that most are willing to forgive these tangential digressions because the characters are just so damn charming. Myers’s Wayne is the more assertive of the two but has a wonderful eccentric passion for life which he almost never ceases to share with the audience. Carvey’s Garth, on the other hand, walks a careful line with his character socially awkward almost always being more cute than cringeworthy; it’s no small feat, believe you me. Together, they form a beautiful onscreen chemistry that is warm and compelling to watch. It makes me envious that I don’t have more friendships like the one that Garth and Wayne share. It’s their unbridled enthusiasm for their passions which carry the movie and have earned them a place in the hearts of so many.

A problem I do have with the film’s writing is the romantic subplots with our characters expressing love (generally lust) to the camera. The adolescent way the film approaches this topic can be quite funny such as the pearl of wisdom between the characters that true love is when your partner is unfazed by your vomiting; an idiom which I find hilarious. Where the film falls short is where our protagonists make declarations of attraction to the camera and their intention for said object of attraction (namely Cassandra played by Tia Carrere) to “be mine”. The film plays this for laughs in the same vein as much of it’s metafictive humour but it does not change the fact that it’s there and it’s creepy. This is not the worst instance I’ve seen of this I’ve seen in a film by any stretch but I feel it may be pertinent for some of you to know ahead of time.

Visuals & Audio

The film’s direction follows in the story’s metafictive style and approach but is otherwise not particularly remarkable. The film uses it’s nature as a film to form a large parts of its jokes which it highlights without fail at almost every turn. If a special effect or scene transition is used, it’s generally commented upon and used for comedic effect. It all fits in with the film’s self-aware charm but doesn’t really do much to change the fact that it’s camera work and cinematography is largely quite pedestrian otherwise.

For a film which ostensibly has two metalheads as its’ protagonists, the film is surprisingly sparse when it comes to the actual presence of music itself. Except for one notorious scene of the characters headbanging to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, there aren’t really any particularly noteworthy musical moments which had stuck with me. That being said, there’s no real shortcoming here either; it’s just unremarkable overall.

Overall

Overall, I enjoyed this film and was happy to see it up on the big screen. Our protagonists and their relationship is what makes this film such a cult classic but they still have their problems. The film extensive use of self-aware humour is joke it is able to use even with it’s visual direction without wearing the joke thin. Unfortunately, the film’s soundtrack does not maintain the unique success of it’s writing and is ultimately dull and uninteresting (with one notable headbanging exception). It’s a fun little film which was enjoyable while it lasted but I don’t see myself returning for repeat viewings any time soon.

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.

EA to Shut Down Visceral Games

Travis Bruno

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October 19, 2017

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If you happened to be a fan of the Dead Space series, Dante’s Inferno, and the many other games that Visceral Games has worked on in the past, including the previously announced Star Wars title, then we have some bad news for you. Electronic Arts has announced that it will be closing the Visceral Games studio and will be sending “as many of the team as possible” to other projects being worked on by the company.

EA went on to say that they will be shifting the focus of the Star Wars game from being a “story-based, linear adventure” to one that will likely displease many as it will now be a “broader experience.” Thanks to this shift in developer the title, which was originally going to be released sometime in 2019, will now be released at an unannounced time that EA will detail in the future.

Blue Reflection Review

Travis Bruno

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October 18, 2017

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Blue Reflection

Developer: Gust
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4 (Reviewed)
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $59.99 USD – Available Here

Overview

Entering high school is generally a difficult time for a teenager. Not only is the pressure to think about your future at an all-time high but certain people already expect you to act like an adult and leave childhood behind. Combine this with psychological changes that many go through as they mature and you can have numerous problems, which is why so high school is one of the most commonly used settings in Japanese media. Blue Reflection happens to be the latest game to try its hand at tackling a high school life but this time it does so a bit differently. Does that make this JRPG worth your time?

Story

Hinako Shirai has always dreamed of being a world class ballet dancer and thanks to her constant practice, she was well on her way to achieving her dream. At least she would have if not for an accident damaged her knee enough that she could no longer dance, though apparently navigating a school with multiple stories is still quite easy for her. Devastated that her life goal has crumbled away, Hinako was left with little hope for the future to the point that she ended up attending a brand new all-girls high school called Hoshinomiya.

It doesn’t take long though for Hinako to end up seeing someone who recognizes her from middle-school but that is when things get strange. As she speaks with this cheerful girl a strange aura appears around her, forcing Hinako into an alternate reality where not only the world around them is different but her leg injury is non-existant. All isn’t great though as a strange creature begins to attack her, but with the help of two mysterious voices Hinako transforms into a magical girl and slays the creature only to be transported back to the normal world as if nothing had happened.

All becomes a bit clearer as she meets with fellow class mates Yuzu and Lime who nickname her Hina and explain to her that they, as well as Hina now, are known as Reflectors. These people are capable of entering into a different layer of reality called the Common which is formed by the collective minds of humanity. Here the Reflectors battle against various creatures and against powerful foes known as Sephirot that can bring destruction to the normal world if left unchecked. They can also help quell the emotions of those around them when they begin to run wild and lead them towards death by gathering fragments of their emotions and help understand the owner better, allowing them to grow closer together as friends and allies. As an added benefit for Hina, Yuzu and Lime state that if she manages to put a stop to the Sephirot completely then her greatest wish may just be granted.

The way that the story is designed happens to be one of the greatest strengths of Blue Reflection. Players will interact with their fellow classmates during their free time to help develop Hina’s relationships with the rest of the girls. Thanks to the wide array of girls you will meet and the issues that they are dealing with there are quite a few developments here that may strike a chord with players who struggled with certain issues as they grew up and thankfully these issues are, for the most part, handled well as Hina tries to help others and grows as a person.

That being said, don’t expect too many major twists to be thrown your way as you make your way through the game. Certain developments are a bit unexpected but for the most part there are plenty of standard magical girl clichés worked into the game and in a few ways this even works into the gameplay elements as well as certain abilities and powering up requires friendship, not fighting, to grow as a person.

Gameplay

In many ways Blue Reflection draws upon certain other titles that feature a clear split between worlds where the characters will battle in one and interact with characters in another. In the normal world Hina can travel around the school and talk with her fellow classmates and teachers, purchase items from the school store, go out with friends to see a movie or eat out, and of course just take it easy if she feels like. There are even little apps such as FreeSpace that allows for extra communication with the characters and a fun little pet-raising mini-game app to sink time into as well. This allows for the school side of things to be the main driving force for at least character development since new events are revealed as your friendship meter is raised with each girl.

On the other side of things we have the Common, where Hina, Lime, and Yuzu will enter into their magical girl forms and do battle against the creatures that exist there. It is worth noting that players will only ever play with these three as the main fighters though other girls do become available as assists that will provide various boosts as you make your way through the game. In the Common enemies roam around the open field and can be attacked ahead of time for advantage and once combat is entered you will take part in a turn based combat system that relies on character stats and delaying skills to push back your opponents’ turn on the timeline.

The combat is handled fairly typically with the girls all having unique support skills, special attacks, and if your “Reflect” gauge happens to be full then you can perform two actions in the same move. These are the basics of combat as it is fairly easy to learn and manage, to the point that playing on normal difficulty left almost every battle being a complete breeze. It is worth noting that even exploring the Common will leave you with very little to see as most of the areas tend to be rather small. That being said, the items you can find from fights and exploring the Common can be used to enhance one of the few ways to strengthen the girls.

What does allow for a unique experience comes in the form of how the Reflectors power up. One element comes from the “Fragments” of emotions that the girls obtain in the Common when clearing up the troubles of their classmates. These can be equipped to the girls to enhance skills and provide various passive effects in combat. The other happens to be the way the girls actually get stronger. Rather than earning experience points from fighting the girls will instead be given ability points when they complete certain tasks. This can be applied to attributes such as Attack, Defense, Support, and Technique and players are even shown ahead of time what skills girls will learn when their points are distributed in certain ways.

Visuals & Audio

One of the best elements in Blue Reflection is just how gorgeous this game looks due in part to the art style the developers have implemented into the game. The art is unmistakably like some of Gust’s classic works with the characters being highly detailed when they enter combat in their magical girl uniforms and the simple character designs that straddle the anime line that is used for school segments. This works well considering the high amount of cutscenes that are worked into the game as they are all handled with a cinematic style that allows for players to feel like they are watching a character drama and this is handled perfectly. In fact, even the user interface for combat and enhancing your characters in the real world is wonderfully designed.

It is worth noting that thanks to Blue Reflection only featuring Japanese voice work that the game is subtitled only and unfortunately the translation work is a bit rough. The meaning of the work is conveyed just fine but it definitely needed to be combed over a bit more as numerous sentences just end up sounding completely wrong and even a few misspellings appear here and there. At one point Lime’s name is even translated as Raimu rather than the localization that the company had went for up to that point.

The voice acting is kept as Japanese only but this is for the best as the heavily Japanese aesthetic would seem a bit odd when paired with English voice actors and thankfully the Japanese cast handles their roles well. The soundtrack is another element that is exceptionally well done as there never seemed to be a song that was out of place whether it was taking part in a boss battle, exploring the school, or relaxing with Hina’s friends.

Overall

Blue Reflection can be said to be one of Gust’s best looking games in some time thanks to the soft color palette and chosen art style, pair that with an easy to understand combat system that is, unfortunately, a bit too easy to breeze past and you have a game with a fairly predictable storyline that happens to be filled with great character moments. Though it still is a bit rough in certain areas, JRPG fans looking for something a bit different will find Blue Reflection to be a fairly simple and enjoyable experience

New Fall Update for Xbox One Available for Everyone Today

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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October 18, 2017

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New Fall Update for Xbox One Available for Everyone Today

It’s been a busy and exciting summer for everyone at Team Xbox. Back in August we gave you a first look at the fall update for Xbox One, and we showed off the new Home, Guide and Community tabs. Since then, we’ve been working with Xbox Insiders to gather feedback, test and refine new features that we’re releasing worldwide starting today. As gamers, we like to play and watch content the way we want, with the people we want. With this update, our fans asked for more personalization options and we’ve put more control in their hands. Here’s a rundown of the new features.

You can personalise your “Home” more than ever before: You can…

Make Home uniquely yours. Add your favourite games, friends, Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and more directly to your Home screen with a new concept that we call blocks. Once you’ve added blocks, you can remove or change the order of the blocks as you see fit.
Have up to 40 pins! All these pins will appear in the Pin block on Home, as well as the Pins flyout in the new Guide!
Easily discover new things, such as friend activities, leaderboards, LFG posts, tips, quick links to Game Hubs, across both your console and Xbox Live at the top of Home.
Choose dark, light, or high-contrast theme option in Settings.

You’ll experience a fast, powerful and convenient Guide:

It’s now faster and easier to move left and right through horizontal tabs with the left thumb stick or bumpers.
When you bring up Guide while in an active party or broadcast, Guide will automatically open the party or broadcast section by default for faster access to controls.
New “Friends in games” flyout informs you of friends playing the same game.
Game invites will show up in the Multiplayer tab of the Guide.
The new Tournaments section in the Multiplayer tab of the Guide provides a quick portal into the official and community tournaments that you’ve joined. Enjoy more Xbox Arena tournament options with the addition of new titles.

Don’t worry about missing any actions when you step away from your console:

With the enhanced notification system, when your Xbox One is idle, time-sensitive activities and status are visible from far away.
The screen-dimming functionality has also been updated to better prevent screen ghosting, both when the screen is dimmed and when it’s showing notification snapshots of what’s happening on Xbox Live.
The newly redesigned Game Hub Welcome tab now features a summary of all the great content around the game on one page.
Profiles now enable faster access to recent activity. You can now easily manage who sees your activity feed content through the “Others can see your activity feed” privacy setting.
See more content at a glance with new Community feed, and view screenshots and game clips in an immersive, full-screen view.

Get a head start on Xbox One X (Launch Day Nov 7): Your console setup experience will be quicker for both new users and upgraders. There are new options to help save time when moving from one Xbox One to another (including Xbox One X), so you can get back to playing faster.

Transfer your games to an external drive so you can connect it to your new console and play immediately. Just unplug the drive from your current console, plug it in to your new one, and you’re ready to go.
Existing Xbox One owners can back up their games and console settings to an external drive so that they’re ready to be applied to the new console during setup.
Copy your games and apps over your home network from one console to another via network transfer.
Bulk transfer will allow you to select and transfer as many games as you want all at once.
You’ll be able to download 4K content for some games ahead of time to your Xbox One or Xbox One S, so that you’re ready to transfer Xbox One X Enhanced games to your new console on day one.
You can easily discover Xbox One X Enhancedtitles in the Store, and developers can optimize game delivery by making sure that 4K assets are installed only for Xbox One X.
You’ll be able to sort and filter your Installed and Ready to Install games library to find Xbox One X Enhanced titles.

Discover and Create Engaging Content:

The Mixer tab on the dashboard will now display broadcast previews so you can see what’s going on in popular streams before you join them.
If your bandwidth supports a 1080p broadcast, we will upgrade it automatically for your Xbox One family of devices.
The Broadcast & Capture tab in Guide is also now more deeply integrated with Mixer. Once you start a Broadcast, a new flyout will appear that includes your profile stats.
You can also use a USB webcam to broadcast yourself alongside your gameplay on Mixer, or to have a 1:1 or group video chat with friends using Skype.
GameDVR will now be able to capture up to 4K/HDR screenshots and game clips on Xbox One X, and you’ll be able to capture content directly to an external hard drive.

Other big features include…

You can get personalized tips & help, smart notifications, community tips, & troubleshooting through the new Xbox Assist App.
You can also change your console language to select right-to-left languages – Arabic & Hebrew– in the Xbox Settings menu.
You will also see a new Microsoft Store logo and name in the Xbox dashboard, providing you with a simpler experience when you download and buy the latest products and content from Microsoft and its partners, including hardware, games, entertainment, apps and more.

It’s been an incredible journey for the entire team at Xbox as we worked to bring you this update. Thanks as always to our fans and Xbox Insiders for the valuable feedback. Be sure to keep letting us know what you think at Xbox feedback. We’ll have even more great features coming very soon! See you on Xbox Live.

ELEX Review

Admir Brkic

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October 18, 2017

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ELEX

Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Format: PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 17 Oct 2017
Price: $49.99USD – Available Here

Overview

ELEX starts off with an interesting setting, mixing the old and new. Medieval and technological. Magic and raw steel. Already a ticket to success if that would be all that it takes for a decent RPG game. So let’s delve deeper to see if the setting lives up to my imagination as well as the other elements.

Story

Enter the world of Magelan, a peaceful realm up until the point when one giant meteor crashed and killed all the dinosa-….wait, that’s not it. No dinosaurs to exterminate in Magelan, but it did create some significant damage to everyone and anything in it. It also brought something with it. ELEX (omg that’s the name of the game!). ELEX is a material that, depending on who uses it, can power machines, give the gift of magic or do some nasty things to you if you use it too much. Everything comes with a price. Speaking of who uses it, there are three main factions you’ll encounter (and sometimes fight against) in Magelan. Berserkers, Outlaws and Clerics. Then there’s also the big baddies known as Albs. Being devoted too much to this space crack known as ELEX, it left Albs emotionless and always in search to find and consume more of it. They manage to exercise some self-control since constant abuse of it would lead you to slowly turning into a blueish brain-dead zombie. You play as Jax, one of the members of Albs, who is left stranded in the wild by them after failing his last mission. While you’re lying down unconscious, someone managed to steal all your belongings (including that fancy Albs armor) but on the positive note, during that sleepy time you’re way less dependant on ELEX now. So after waking up, it’s time to find some basic equipment, get yourself familiar with everyone and everything in Magalan, gather some companions and bring more havoc into the already ravaged world.

Gameplay

Combat in ELEX is a classic example of something starting nice but leaving much to be desired. Basic fighting mechanics consists of parrying your opponents, rolling out of their reach and combining basic & heavy combo attacks for good damage. That all sounds good if it weren’t for the clankiest combat in an RPG that I’ve played lately. Enemies will sometimes hit you even when it seems you’re out of reach so the best approach is to just circle around them till they use up their stamina (aka Dark Souls tactic) and counter with your combos. Regardless what kind of skills you choose to invest in, the combat always feel like it could be a bit faster. Or maybe everyone in the game is going through major ELEX withdrawals so they don’t feel fighting anymore, not to mention living. At least there is an unusual addition to your character having a jetpack so you can always just fly away from those sluggish fights (and trust me, pretty soon you will want to). Jetpack is a neat little gadget that helps you ignore the fall damage if you activate it just before the fall and cut down going down the mountain(s) significantly. Also, there is no danger in engaging with too many enemies for that sweet exp, since most of the big chunks of experience will come to you via solving quests.

Visuals

One of the things that devs of ELEX said is that the game has” completely seamless open world experience without borders and loading zones for the ultimate exploration experience”. And I have to say, it does feel great standing on top of the mountain and looking at some tiny dot in the distance (which is also a mountain), knowing that you can always walk/sprint/jetpack over it if you feel like it. The world itself feels incredibly alive, with all sorts of characters talking with each other as you pass by, walking around and doing their everyday tasks. Area design, as well the contrast between the territories of Berserkers, Clerics and Outlaws is really impressive. Character models, including Jax, are mostly well done. I say mostly since some of the male characters you meet early in the game, especially Duras, looks like they have been injected with an unhealthy amount of botox in their faces (but then again, is there even such thing as a healthy amount of botox?).

Audio

Voice acting in ELEX is exceptional, especially once you realize how many talking characters you can converse with and every voice feels unique. Never a moment of “hm, this NPC #31314 sounds awfully familiar like that NPC #88682 from 20 minutes ago”. The soundtrack is also top notch and it really compliments the incredibly rich world of Magalan. There are short moments where it gets a bit loud while you’re talking with someone which is not so bad if you pretend that the current conversation is happening during the nearby music festival.

Overall

ELEX is one of those games that did so many things right and one not so right. I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem much if it wasn’t an element that means a lot to me. The gameplay. The world, the soundtrack, the exploration….everything is there up to standards except the clunky combat. If you play your cards right, most of that can be bypassed just by focusing on getting experience from quests so at least the fighting won’t be as slow if you reach the point where everyone can die in 2-3 hits from you. The question is, will you have the patience to get there? Despite that shortcoming, I’m still in love with the game. It feels nice playing and seeing how you’re always left to your own devices, with the freedom to go anywhere as you please. It’s been a lot since I played in a world that felt so alive and vibrant as Magalan. I’m hoping that some future patches can polish the combat aspect a bit or make it enjoyable in some other way, cause it’s anything but that right now.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

JACKBOX GAMES LAUNCHES THE JACKBOX PARTY PACK 4

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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October 18, 2017

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JACKBOX GAMES LAUNCHES THE JACKBOX PARTY PACK 4

Jackbox’s newest collection of five and a half hilarious party games debuts today on PlayStation®4 and later this week on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch™, Windows PC, Mac, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Nvidia Shield

CHICAGO – Oct. 17, 2017 – Jackbox Games has released The Jackbox Party Pack 4, a totally new collection of five and a half side-splitting party games available today on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system via the PlayStation®Store for $24.99. It will launch for the same price on Oct. 18 on Apple TV (4th Generation only); Oct. 19 on Nintendo Switch™ via the Nintendo eShop, Windows PC and Mac via Steam, the Humble Store and Bundle Stars, as well as the Mac App Store, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Nvidia Shield; and Oct. 20 on Xbox One through the Xbox Games Store.

The Jackbox Party Pack 4 makes any get-together a blast with five and a half patently absurd games:

Fibbage 3 – The outrageous bluffing game is back with all new question types! (2-8 players), including a new extra game mode – Fibbage: Enough About You –where players guess weird facts about each other! (3-8 players)
Survive the Internet – Twist your friends’ “online” comments in ridiculous ways in this web-based frame game. (3-8 players)
Monster Seeking Monster – Message and date your fellow monsters with special powers in a spooky date-a-thon! (3-7 players)
Bracketeering – Place smart bets on dumb arguments in this deranged debate match. (3-16 players)
Civic Doodle – Spruce up the town’s murals to one-up your friends in this irreverent art game. (3-8 players)

Games in The Jackbox Party Pack series support phones, tablets and computers as controllers; simply enter the room code at Jackbox.tv using your device to play. What’s more, up to 10,000 additional audience members can join the fun to affect the outcome of specific games. Other optional features like extended timers and manual censoring make it easy for streamers to play with their communities, as well as a family-friendly option for more wholesome gatherings.

The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB. For more information, visit www.jackboxgames.com, and follow Jackbox Games on Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.

Follow the Jackbox Games Twitch stream (twitch.tv/jackboxgames) to watch the live debut of The Jackbox Party Pack 4 at TwitchCon 2017 in Long Beach, Calif. TwitchCon attendees can stop by Booth 738 to watch popular streamers play all of the games from the Jackbox Games catalog, live and onstage.

About Jackbox Games

Jackbox Games, formerly Jellyvision Games, is a developer and publisher of party games on major gaming platforms and home entertainment devices. The studio is best known for comedic party games like YOU DON’T KNOW JACK, Fibbage, Quiplash and Drawful. Jackbox Games “makes the world’s best party games” according to Business Insider. YOU DON’T KNOW JACK has been called “the greatest quiz-show game ever made” by The Onion’s A.V. Club. All current-generation Jackbox games feature the innovative use of mobile devices as controllers, allowing anyone with an internet-connected phone, tablet or laptop to join a game without the need for extra game controllers. Players connect to games on their devices by visiting http://jackbox.tv and entering the custom game code displayed via the system hosting the game. This unique concept also allows for games that involve secret player input. The digital release of The Jackbox Party Pack, a massive collection of five party games, was named “Best Local Multiplayer Game of the Year” by Giant Bomb. The company is located in Chicago, Illinois.

Stoic Reveals New Artwork For Banner Saga 3

Admir Brkic

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October 18, 2017

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Stoic Reveals New Artwork For Banner Saga 3

As they say, all good things must come to an end and that might be especially true in this case. Stoic has released the first artwork for Banner Saga 3, along with some new information about the final entry in the trilogy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt9DhMWdQt8

The acclaimed series will put you one more time in the gorgeous hand-drawn Viking realm. You’ll test your strength (and strategic wits) against many adversaries, with each choice having a strong impact on the story. Just like before, all of your battles and journey will be accompanied by the mesmerizing soundtrack, courtesy of Austin Wintory.

To keep up with the news regarding the final entry in the series, make sure to keep an eye on bannersaga.com and we’ll keep you posted here as well as soon as something new pops up.