Sega and Amplitude Studios is releasing a new series of videos for their upcoming game Endless Space 2. The series focuses on the four X types of gameplay in the 4X strategy subgenre: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate. The first video of the series was released today to introduce viewers to exploration in Endless Space 2.
Players will guide their civilization through the newly harnessed star lanes to explore new planets. Outside the safety of their solar system are new civilizations, alien ruins, powerful artifacts, and more. With time, civilizations will be able to use warp drive technology to explore worlds beyond the star lanes. While the knowledge and alliances to be found in the great beyond could propel a civilization to greatness, there is an equal amount of danger to encounter.
Endless Space 2 is currently in Early Access on Steam for Windows. The game launches on May 19.
London, UK—Friday, 5 May 2017—The second expansion in the latest Pokémon Trading Card Game series, Sun & Moon—Guardians Rising, is available in stores now.
Visit Alola for Pokémon fun, from the beaches to the mountain peaks, and discover new traditions and new challenges in the Sun & Moon—Guardians Rising expansion. Meet the island guardians, and sharpen your skills with Kahuna Hala and Captain Mallow! Be amazed by the secret powers of Kommo-o-GX, Lycanroc-GX, Sylveon-GX, and many more Pokémon.
Features of the Sun & Moon—Guardians Rising expansion include:
New Alolan Pokémon: Regional variants of many classic Pokémon who have a new look in the Alola region will make their debut appearance in the Pokémon Trading Card Game!
More brand-new Pokémon: Many of the exotic and tropical Pokémon that Trainers have come to love in the Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon video games join the Pokémon TCG!
Introducing the island guardians: Tapu Koko-GX and Tapu Lele-GX join the battle and show off their strength.
Over 140 cards:Sun & Moon—Guardians Rising includes more than 140 cards, including 12 new Pokémon-GX and 3 full-art Supporter cards!
Two new theme decks: These 60-card preconstructed decks, featuring the Legendary Pokémon Solgaleo and Lunala, are designed to introduce players to the Pokémon TCG by enabling them to play right away!
Booster packs: Each pack contains 10 additional cards selected from the expansion and a code card for the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game: Sun & Moon—Guardians Rising expansion is now available in retailers across the UK.
For additional information about the new expansion, please visit: www.pokemon.uk
Wargaming Reveals Further Details on Grand Finals 2017
Don’t miss out on the next unforgettable Wargaming.net League community and eSports event promising two days full of World of Tanks competitive fun
May 5, 2017 — Wargaming is excited to unveil further details about the upcoming and action-packed Grand Finals 2017. With a $300,000 prize pool on the line, 12 of the globe’s finest World of Tanks pro-teams are set to put on a truly impressive show, complete with a variety of community activities, contests, and more.
Taking part in Grand Finals 2017 are some familiar faces and newcomers ready to shake things up: Oops – The Tough Giraffes (EU), DiNG (EU), eClipse (NA), Team Efficiency (APAC), Natus Vincere G2A (CIS), Kazna Kru (EU), EL Gaming (APAC), YaTo Gaming (China), Not So Serious (CIS), TORNADO ENERGY (CIS), Brain Storm (CIS), Elevate (NA).
The 2016–2017 season will culminate in a massive four-day event, divided into two parts. The action kicks off May 23–24 with the group stage, and you can be part of it all by tuning in online. Furious play-off clashes, held in partnership with Facebook and Rostelecom, will take place May 27–28 at the VTB Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia, transforming the venue into a World of Tanks battlefield.
The VTB Ice Palace’s doors open at 9 AM MSK May 27, inviting spectators to get their taste of tank action with the quarterfinals. On Sunday, May 28, the battle resumes from 2 PM MSK, featuring the semifinals, and ends in the show-stopping finale.
To create a true festival atmosphere, Wargaming will be offering fans the opportunity to not only watch the matches, but also hang out with fellow tankers. Viewers at home can jump into social media contests and streams, snagging themselves lots of cool prizes and gifts from Wargaming and its partners.
For the first time ever, the Wargaming.net League has called on a supernatural crustacean to predict the winning teams in Grand Finals 2017 by choosing between two possible outcomes. Viewers can tune in to the livestream to see Tomato the lobster decide the fate of this year’s Grand Finals.
Also available will be 2 types of Grand Packs, and a Fan Pack in our Premium Shop. All of them include unique pack of Grand Finals-dedicated emblems and labels. Grand Packs are Grand Passes that reserve a dedicated premium seat in front of the action.
Catch all the group stage action online. The stream begins 11 AM MSK on May 23 and returns at exactly the same time May 24.
As always, keep it locked to thegrandfinals.com for the full scoop and all updates on the event.
The Wargaming.net League is Wargaming’s professional eSports league established in 2013. It showcases the company’s products in an eSports capacity; runs all-year-round world-class events giving professional and aspiring gamers a platform to compete and excel, and provides its ever-growing, global audience with instant access to premier competitive gaming content.
The League promotes eSports through large scale events and premium content fostering its popularity among gamers and spectators. Massive prize pools and world-class competitive gaming tournaments with live broadcasts to millions of viewers along with the League’s accessibility attract new teams and contribute to the growth of the audience with the ultimate goal of turning it into a professional sport.
Having grown from a player-encouraged initiative into a global organization, the League puts its community first and evolves based on needs of pro-gamers and viewers. Format and rule sets for matches are continually improved in close cooperation with professional players.
About Wargaming
Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped over 15 titles. Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that includes the armored World of Tanks, the flight combat World of Warplanes, and the naval World of Warships. The three intertwined titles form a common gaming universe integrated within the portal www.wargaming.net.
As part of its multiplatform line-up, the company has introduced World of Tanks on Xbox and World of Tanks Blitz on mobile platforms, Windows 10 PCs and Mac OS X. Launched in 2014 and 2015, World of Tanks on Xbox introduced epic tank-on-tank battles to console gamers and offers the first cross-platform gaming experience between Xbox 360 and Xbox One. In 2016, Wargaming released World of Tanks for PlayStation®4, continuing its console campaign.
Focus Home Interactive and Deck13 has released a new trailer for their upcoming action RPG The Surgethat takes viewers behind the scenes. The first half of the video has Deck13 Managing Director Jan Klose and Head of Game Design Adam Hetenyi talking about the game’s gritty sci-fi setting. They introduce viewers to CREO and the main character Warren. Head of Art Timm Schwank also speaks on the three themes of industrial, corporate, and futuristic that inspired the game’s art direction.
Klose, Hetenyi, and Head of Engineering Thorsten Lange discuss The Surge’s combat system that pits players in one vs. one battles. The system dispenses with the traditional light/heavy attacks in favour of horizontal/vertical strikes designed to cut pieces off enemies for later salvaging. Players must constantly decide whether they should risk their lives to gain more parts to salvage or end the battle quickly.
The Surge will launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 16th.
Hunted Cow Releases Massive Update for Operation: New Earth, Beginning a Year of Content Expansion
Partners with Tilting Point’s Game Alliance fund to further build the player base and improve live ops
ELGIN, Scotland – May 4, 2017 – Hunted Cow Studios Ltd today announced Operation: New Earth, an intense sci-fi strategy MMO, will be rolling out a year’s worth of new features beginning with the 1.6 version, released today. The same content is available now for the iOS, Android and PC versions of the game. With the help of Tilting Point’s new Game Alliance fund, the Hunted Cow team will continue expanding their unique and original IP, continuing their innovative approach to simulation and role-playing games.
“After six months of speaking to players, we have gathered valuable feedback about how players want to see the game evolve. We are very excited for them to experience the expansion of content and gameplay refinements, and with the additional resources from the Game Alliance fund, we look forward to serving them even better,” said Hunted Cow Studio Manager John Stewart.
“Hunted Cow clearly understands what their players love and is laser-focused on delivering their players feature after feature,” said Samir El Agili, Chief Product Officer at Tilting Point. “Tilting Point is proud to partner with an outstanding independent developer like Hunted Cow, so that we can scale their Operation: New Earth while they remain agile.”
Operation: New Earth is not Hunted Cow’s first deep SLG/RPG with completely original story narrative and lore. The company officially opened in 2004 and in 2006 launched the browser-based fantasy game, Fallen Sword, which has over 3,000 levels, 4 million signups, and to this day is still regularly updated. The Hunted Cow team believes that the innovative systems, original story and superior technology will give the game longevity and depth for mid-core fans looking for total immersion.
Operation: New Earth is now available on Android, iOS, Amazon and Steam to download for free. Players will find a mix of empire building, resource management, strategic warfare and, above all, original science-fiction fantasy. A full set of new features for 1.6 can be found on the game’s forums. In addition to the Non-Aggression Pacts, Bunker Structure and improvements to the Rally system, players will find they can now construct a larger base and join in with challenging new events.
If there’s one good thing to be said about Steam Greenlight, it’s that it only reinforced my gaming mantra of “no expectations – no disappointments”. Many moons ago, I’d find myself having pretentious opinions about a game based on cover art or a title alone. All I can say these days is “well whatever it is, it can’t be that bad, I’m sure I played far worse before”. So thanks, Greenlight!
Somehow that weird opening is supposed to tie into my Mini Ghost review. But it does, seeing how I’m giving a bit of a backstory why it’s silly to be harsh on games such as these. Games who follow a simple principle of what you see is what you get. In this case, we have a great little time killer that keeps you entertained for more than you can imagine. Eventually, you find yourself not playing it for the sole purpose of beating it, but because it’s actually….dare I say it, f-fun?
Story
The game gives you a short story in a form of a comic slideshow. Your boss Viktor wants to make some money so his first rational thought is to orchestrate a cyber attack on a Dallas space station (we are so far into the future that even the state of Texas has a space program). Next thing we know, the chief of the space station calls Viktor to complain. All is well though since Viktor has a best man for the job. I’m talking about none other than you – the player! The job in question is simply to find the main computer and destroy it. Really amazing how I managed to squeeze out so much story out of 10 sliding images. But let’s dive into the actual game now.
Gameplay
Ok, so what do we have here? The initial screen you’re thrown at shows you a simple tutorial for keyboard controls and the first look at HP & XP bar. Experience bar is slowly filled as you kill enemies and every time you fill it another bonus HP unit is added to the health bar. Besides getting XP from enemies, another incentive for going on a murderous rampage is that they also drop cubes (aka coins) upon death. Cubes can also be found in random blue crates. It is important to wreck every single one you find since they not only hold cubes but important key items as well. By accumulating enough cubes, you can exchange them in a shop for plenty of useful items.
The game is divided into zones. Every zone has a map that you can either reveal slowly by moving from room to room or cough up some hard earned cubes for a map. I think the former approach is a better one, albeit slower. Don’t let the cutesy pixel art fool you, the game does not hold back. There’s one HP bar, one life and that’s it. You die and it’s game over all the way back to that first tutorial screen (hence the slower approach with memorizing room layouts and enemies) As you progress from zone to zone, the enemies change from cube farming resources to something of a challenge. Now you have them shooting missiles at you and moving faster. And to think I’m doing all of this so Viktor could profit in the end and not me…
Visuals
Being a simple Metroidvania game, there’s no need to expect any sort of stellar graphics. As long as you can tell what you’re looking at, things are fine. Yet after a while I got a feeling visuals could really use a tiny bit of polish. Especially our Ghost who is kind of missing some details as seen in the opening comic. Fortunately, one kind soul on Workshop uploaded a Samus Aran skin to replace our default Ghost model. That being said, it wouldn’t be fair of me to dig out any more flaws in graphics, especially how dev made quite a feat packing all of this into an impressive size of only 20 MB.
Audio
Not much to say here. There is one chiptune loop that goes on and on but it does a good job of not being annoying. Come to think of it, it actually grows on you and gets enjoyable after a while. In most of the other Metroidvania games, I usually end up completely muting the audio before it drives me insane. One thing I have to criticize here is that the default audio is unusually low. Obviously, your first instinct will be to turn it up quite a bit. Just don’t make the same mistake as I did and forget about it later once you stop playing. Regardless of the next sound that comes out of your PC, it will almost definitely feel like a jump scare.
Overall
If anything, Mini Ghost is another case of “more than meets the eye”. It’s deceptive in all the good ways. You first notice a small price tag and an achievement or two implying how the game can be blazed through in less than an hour. All of that could give you an assumption of a rather short and not so challenging game. Well, you would be wrong on both of those accounts. Mini Ghost also comes bundled with a level, character and a tileset editor. So you’ve beaten the game and found everything there is? Perfect time to make your own map now, along with a new character and share it on Steam Workshop. For me, it will take a while until I reach that point seeing how I’m 4 hours in and just barely got the layout of Zone 2. All things considered, with the amount of content you get for the current price, might as well grab it now.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Ubisoft is throwing open the doors to their open world third person shooter Tom Clancy’s The Divisionthis weekend on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Unlike the game’s normal trial restrictions, players will be able to enjoy the entire game for the weekend. The start times as as follows:
Xbox One: 04/05 at 5PM AEST (7PM NZST) to 08/05 at 5PM AEST (7PM NZST).
PlayStation 4: 04/05 at 5PM AEST (7PM NZST) to 08/05 at 5PM AEST (7PM NZST).
Uplay PC: 05/05 at 3AM AEST (5AM NZST) to 08/05 at 6AM AEST (8AM NZST).
All progress made during the free weekend will carry over if players decide to buy the game. Both the standard and gold editions of Tom Clancy’s The Division are on sale at all digital stores, no matter the platform. More information can be found on the official blog.
Historically Inspired Psychological Thriller, The Town of Light, Receives Release Date for Console Debut
New Live Action Trailer Highlights the Game’s Solemn yet Striking Story of Mental Illness, Headed to PlayStation®4, Xbox One and Windows PC on June 6 in Physical and Digital Formats
Watford, U.K. — May 4, 2017 — In partnership with developer LKA.it, independent games publisher Wired Productions is pleased to confirm today that the chilling, first-person psychological adventure game The Town of Light will release on June 6, 2017 in physical and digital formats. Featuring numerous improvements and new supporting content for its console debut, The Town of Light is headed to the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC. Distribution of the physical edition will be delivered in partnership with THQNordic.
A live action trailer, featuring the heart-rending track ‘I Will Find You’ from Icelandic singer-songwriter Sóley, has been released alongside today’s announcement to highlight the story-driven game’s reality-grounded premise, lending further insight into the fictional story of Renée. Set in the Volterra Psychiatric Asylum – a former mental treatment facility based in Tuscany, Italy – The Town of Light is based on extensive research and inspired by first-hand accounts of the asylum’s patients. Prospective players can view the live action trailer
An enhanced edition of the original, this new release of The Town of Light will offer a host of new puzzles, new story-supporting content, reworked voiceover dialogue, additional interactive elements and a huge graphical and UI overhaul that aims to deliver a more polished and immersive experience for its console debut and enhanced Windows PC release. Played through the fictional eyes of Renée, a 16-year-old girl who suffers from the symptoms of mental illness, players must search for answers to the many questions from her past while exploring and uncovering the place where she spent most of her youth. What happens next is a dark and emotional journey where the lines of interactive entertainment, storytelling and reality frequently tend to blur.
Winner of the indieDB Editor’s Choice 2015 award for “Best Visuals” and Game Connection Paris 2014 award for “Best Narrative,” The Town of Light is a first-person, story-driven adventure game set in the Volterra Psychiatric Asylum. The asylum was shut down in the late 1970s due to an Italian law that instructed all asylums to close completely and give back patients their civil rights.
Developed by LKA.it and co-published with Wired Productions, The Town of Light is headed to PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and Windows PC in physical and digital formats on June 6, 2017 for SRP $19.99/€19.99/£15.99. Existing owners of the digital Windows PC version will receive an update and acquire this enhanced release free of charge. The Town of Light has been rated “M for Mature” by the ESRB.
LKA.it is an independent game development studio based in Florence, Italy. LKA.it was founded in 2014 by the veteran artist Luca Dalcò, with a clear objective, to create strong story driven gaming experiences. The Town of Light was first launched on PC in early 2016 and was critically acclaimed and loved by a dedicated community of gamers, and fills the gap between gaming and reality, creating a compelling narrative experience based on real facts and events.
Wired Productions is an established independent computer games publisher based in Watford, Hertfordshire, UK. Founded in 2008, Wired have produced over 40 titles for many global publishers and are part of the team responsible for the 1.5 million unit selling We Sing franchise. In 2013, Wired moved into console publishing on all major platforms. Notable launches to date include Let’s Fish! Hooked On, Tiny Troopers Joint Ops, Last Inua and Super Dungeon Bros. Victor Vran and The Town of Light are the latest titles to be signed for 2017.
Wired Productions are also a founding member of We Sing Productions, which is a collaboration between THQ Nordic, Wired Productions and Le Cortex, with the sole mission to establish a new range of We Sing products for all formats.
Founded in 2011, THQ Nordic is a global video game publisher and developer. Based in Vienna, Austria and Karlstad, Sweden with subsidiaries in Germany and the USA, THQ Nordic brands include Darksiders, MX vs. ATV, Red Faction, Titan Quest and many more. THQ Nordic is meant to represent a core approach of doing much more than “owning” a highly competitive portfolio of IPs. It revolves around cherishing them, and aligning them with the very best development resources to expand upon them with the level of experience that communities and established fan bases expect and deserve. The company’s internal development studios are Grimlore Games based in Munich, Germany and Rainbow Studios based in Phoenix, Arizona.
STAR WARS™: FORCE ARENA CELEBRATES 40TH FRANCHISE ANNIVERSARY WITH MAY THE FOURTH UPDATE
SEOUL, Korea – May 4, 2017 – Netmarble Games Corp., the fastest-growing mobile game company in Asia, today announced that Star Wars™: Force Arena is introducing its “May the Fourth,” update celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise.
With the update, two new character cards including 40th Anniversary Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were added into the game. Both 40th Anniversary characters are unique cards and includes a mission which will reward players with top tier legendary card packs.
Today’s update comes with various events and giveaways as 25% percent will be added to crystal purchases within the store. Various check-in events are available including a ‘first time log in event’ that gives away the 40th Anniversary Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader character cards, and a seven day long check-in event that gives away diamonds, credits and card packs. A “hot time event” which doubles the gold while playing during a designated time period will be available two times a day. A 40th Anniversary event will give out a legendary Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader when completing the given mission within the given time frame.
“To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Star Wars franchise, we introduced two very special card packs and a new system called wild cards,” said Seungwon Lee, Chief Global Officer of Netmarble Games. “Players can now join the game and take advantage of the various events and leverage the wild card feature to swap cards out for the one they really want in Star Wars™: Force Arena.”
Star Wars™: Force Arena boasts more than 80 playable in-game cards, including new faces from the recent movie release, Rogue One™: A Star Wars™ Story. Star Wars™: Force Arena is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play. For more information on the game, visit the official website at www.StarWarsForceArena.com.
Netmarble Games Corp. strives to entertain audiences of all ages, and around the world, by providing great mobile gaming experiences. Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble is the fastest-growing mobile game company in Asia and consistently ranks as a top mobile developer and publisher worldwide. With more than 3,500 employees, Netmarble has been developing and servicing some of the most successful mobile games, including Lineage2 Revolution, MARVEL Future Fight, STAR WARS™: Force Arena, Everybody’s Marble, and Seven Knights. The largest shareholder to Jam City, a leading casual game developer, and parent company to Kabam, a top global game developer in massively multiplayer free-to-play games, Netmarble has strategic partnerships with CJ E&M Corporation, Asia’s largest entertainment company, Tencent Holdings, Asia’s largest internet company, and NCsoft, a prominent MMO company. More information can be found at www.netmarble.com.
About Lucasfilm Ltd.
Lucasfilm Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is a global leader in film, television and digital entertainment production. In addition to its motion-picture and television production, the company’s activities include visual effects and audio post-production, cutting-edge digital animation, interactive entertainment software, and the management of the global merchandising activities for its entertainment properties including the legendary STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES franchises. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in northern California. Discover more online at www.lucasfilm.com.
INTERGALACTIC 4X STRATEGY GAME, DAWN OF ANDROMEDA, AVAILABLE NOW ON STEAM
Haarlem, The Netherlands – May 4, 2017 – Developer GreyWolf Entertainment and publisher Iceberg Interactive are delighted to announce that real-time space 4X title, Dawn of Andromeda, has now left Early Access and is available on Steam and all major digital game sites, at the SRP of $29.99. Having spent several months successfully in Early Access, the team has implemented much of the community feedback and guidance provided by dedicated fans.
Erik Schreuder, CEO of Iceberg Interactive, says “Today marks a major release for us, and our team is happy to report that we have arrived in space! We have worked tirelessly to provide fans with the best version of the game possible and we hope they will enjoy it with today’s full launch.”
Dawn of Andromeda is a real-time 4X strategy game, allowing players to ascend into the galaxy and take the reins of one of many civilizations and guide them through the myriad of dangers hiding within the galaxy. They will be able to expand their empire, colonize new planets, interact with other factions and characters, research new technologies and build fleets so powerful their enemies will tremble at the mere sight.
Explore a galaxy filled with not only diverse factions, outlaws, merchants, pirate clans and mercenaries but also anomalies, black holes, ancient artefacts, ruins and much more. Arriving in a new system may provide new opportunities, or open a whole new can of space worms.
KEY FEATURES
Eras; unique scenarios, each with a pre-designed galaxy and background story. You can play as one of the existing factions, each with their own victory conditions, traits, challenges and ongoing conflicts and relationships
Explore, expand, exploit and exterminate in this real-time space strategy game, featuring real-time combat in a dynamic and ever-evolving galaxy
Pre-designed, customizable and randomly generated races, each with their own unique background and traits
New factions and characters can join the fray mid-game; artefacts, ruins, anomalies and a huge variety of fascinating elements are scattered throughout the galaxy and can yield new research opportunities. Various characters such as outlaws, merchants, travellers and others roam the galaxy
Asymmetric gameplay. Not all races discover space travel at the same time, some have yet to discover it, some have already built a mighty empire, and some races are naturally stronger than others. However if you prefer a traditional 4X experience and like start an entirely symmetric game this is also possible – it’s up to you
Accessible gameplay, featuring a highly intuitive User Interface
Reduce micromanagement by appointing governors to your colonies and council members to your empire, all of whom can be levelled up. Each come with their own unique traits, happiness rating and experience
Multiple, customizable victory conditions, which can even be set to vary for each faction, changing how each faction operates and making for unpredictable friends and foes
Research incredible technology, from weapons so powerful they can destroy an entire planet, to Dyson Spheres
Explore ruins, anomalies and much more. You may even find artefacts you can study, projects you can start and come across interesting events and quests you can take on
In-depth diplomacy system. Make allies and enemies, but beware. Each action you take can change how the rest of the galaxy views you. Destroying an entire planet, or just praising or denouncing another race, can have a deep impact on the balance of the entire galaxy
GreyWolf Entertainment is a small studio based in Leiria, Portugal. It’s made up of ambitious and dedicated individuals who share a strong passion for videogames, and an equally strong passion for creating great videogames. GreyWolf’s first title is Dawn of Andromeda, an ambitious space 4X strategy game due to be released in Q2 2017.
ABOUT ICEBERG INTERACTIVE
Iceberg Interactive is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of games industry veterans and is located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Staffed with avid gamers, Iceberg works closely with an international assembly of game developers, both midsize and indie. Garnering attention with acclaimed releases over recent years, including Killing Floor 2,Endless Space, Endless Legend, StarDrive 2 and Starpoint Gemini 2, the company has an exceptional line-up, including Oriental Empires, Starpoint Gemini Warlords, Empathy, Conarium and Rising Storm 2: Vietnam – with further promising games in the pipeline.
