STANDING STONE GAMES CELEBRATES THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™
BOSTON – April 24, 2017 – Standing Stone Games is celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings Online™ (LOTRO) with a host of in-game items and events. During the Anniversary Festival, currently underway, all players will receive a set of in-game fireworks, as well as bonus exclusive gifts based on their account status. There’s also a number of limited-time in-game quests and events to experience in honor of the occasion.
The development team will host a special 12-hour live stream on Twitch featuring gameplay, developer chats, and giveaways tomorrow, April 25, beginning at 12 pm ET at: www.twitch.tv/lotrostream
The Lord of the Rings Online’s most recent major content patch brought players to the doors of Sauron’s fortress in the long-awaited “Battle of the Black Gate” update. Players can explore new Resource Instances and over 100 quests and deeds in the Region of Dagorlad leading up to the Host of the West’s climactic confrontation with Sauron’s forces.
For more information about everything happening during The Lord of the Rings Online’s 10th anniversary, please visit www.lotro.com/en/10-year-celebrations.
About The Lord of the Rings Online™
Published by Standing Stone Games, The Lord of the Rings Online™ (LOTRO) is the world’s first and only MMOG based on the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Players can experience the most famous fantasy world of all time, exploring and adventuring with their heroes through the vast reaches of Middle-earth in the fight against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron. For more information, visit www.LOTRO.com.
About Standing Stone Games
Standing Stone Games, LLC is a global provider of handcrafted, story-driven massively multiplayer online games. Best-known for its acclaimed franchises The Lord of the Rings Online™ and Dungeons & Dragons Online®, Standing Stone Games designs and builds lore-rich, immersive worlds that allow you to live, play and share with our devoted communities. To learn more, visit www.standingstonegames.com.
In honour of Earth Day, Bethesda and Arkane Studios released a brand new trailer for Preyfeaturing the game’s recycling mechanic. The space ship Talos 1 is unable to gather new materials for production, so all raw materials must be gathered by recycling. Once the player has a fabrication plan, all sorts of items can be crafted from the recycled materials.
To help players along their eco-friendly mission is the Recycler Charge, a prototype device that can break down everything in a room into its raw materials. Of course, its experimental nature means it may have unintended consequences like recycling its user.
Preyis set to launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on May 5th. A demo with the first hour of gameplay will be released on April 27th.
From the Developers of Multi-Million Selling Prison Architect Comes New, Hauntingly Mysterious ‘Scanner Sombre’
Introversion Software’s next title goes deep underground to explore the unknown on April 26th
LONDON – April 24, 2017 – BAFTA-winning Introversion Software officially announced the independent studio’s next title today, Scanner Sombre, launching on PC on Wednesday 26th April at 3pm BST / 7am PDT / 10am EDT. Scanner Sombre introduces a minimalist game environment in intriguing new ways, creating a suspense-laden journey that harnesses the senses from a first person perspective.
Using a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) scanner to aid navigation, players must make their way through a complex network of underground caves in complete darkness in an attempt to make it back to the surface. Your LIDAR scanner produces millions of individual light-points, painting a static, neon 3D image of the environments as you trek through the darkness. But not all is as it seems, and you might not be alone.
Creative Director at Introversion Chris Delay said, “Scanner Sombre is a total departure for us as a studio in terms of visual style and tone; it’s almost a subversive game when you think about what people might expect from Introversion so we’re really looking forward to hearing people’s reactions when they can play it.”
Introversion’s Managing Director, Mark Morris butted in with, “This is a very different experience to Prison Architect. It’s a shorter, but a more involved, claustrophobic game distilling a deep sense of unease into a single play session. It’s probably going to make you feel a bit uncomfortable.”
Scanner Sombre will cost $11.99 and will launch with a 20 percent discount on Steam, GOG and the Humble store.
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About Introversion Software
Introversion Software is one of the UK’s most-respected and successful independent game developers and publishers. Founded in 2001 by three university students, they have gone on to create five critically acclaimed video games including cult classics Uplink, DEFCON, Darwinia and Multiwinia. In Feb 2010 Introversion made its first move into the console space by releasing Darwinia+ (Darwinia & Multiwinia) for Xbox Live Arcade. Introversion have been voted one of the top 50 Best Games Companies in the world and have won numerous awards including a BAFTA, for Prison Architect, a prison management sim which has sold more than 2.5 million copies.
Hello Monday, old friend. Whether you are chomping at the bit to get back to work or the new work week is an absolute drag, Capsule Computers and Indie Gala‘s Monday Motivation bundle is the perfect compliment to your Monday. The bundle contains 11 great indie games for you to enjoy.
For a minimum purchase of $1.00 USD, buyers will receive:
Trianguluv – An old school arcade game where players attempt to navigate a maze with two characters at the same time.
ORCS – An old school action platformer inspired by classic NES titles and infused with a touch of humour.
Unalive – A top down rogue-like shooter featuring a completely randomized dungeon, complete with random boss encounters, skills, and layouts.
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For a minimum purchase price of $2.99 USD during the first 24 hours of the sale, buyers will also receive:
City Siege: Faction Island – A mix of classic platformer gameplay with strategy elements, you will need to raise an army to crush your enemies and bring peace to faction island.
Cards of Chaos – A collection of competitive minigames that supports AI, local multiplayer, and online multiplayer.
RunningDead – Inspired by Puzzle Bobble, RunningDead challenges players to attack those pesky humans by shooting zombies into the crowds.
Vecitas – Explore the galaxy of Vecitas while you engage enemy ships and upgrade your equipment.
Toast Time – A retro-style shoot’em up mixed with a healthy dose of British humour.
Brave Furries – A casual puzzle game that follows the adventure of the Furries who must rescue their fellow villagers from the evil wizard.
Tiles – Players must get from the green to red tile by clearing all of the blue tiles while the ground disappears from beneath their feet.
Z-Exemplar – A side-scrolling shooter inspired by classics in the genre like Gradius, Z-Exemplar is packed with over 16 hours of gameplay across 960 battlegrounds.
The special $2.99 USD price will only run for 24 hours, so pick up your bundle today at Indie Gala.
A little more than three years ago, Xbox took to the stage at Gamescom to unveil a brand-new program for Xbox One. The goal was to make sure Xbox players have access to the best, most diverse collection of games by making sure developers of all shapes and sizes were enabled to self-publish their creations on Xbox One.
Today, thanks to the efforts of independent developers from around the world and the fans who support them, Xbox is proud to reveal that after an amazing month of releases that included console exclusive Beep Games’ Voodoo Vince: Remastered,console launch exclusives Thimbleweed Parkfrom Terrible Toybox and Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Editionfrom Paradox Interactive, and dozens of others, Xbox has surpassed 500 games released through the ID@Xbox program.
Today’s news is a cool milestone not just for Xbox and the independent game developer community; it’s a milestone for everyone who loves great games. In 2016 alone, tens of millions of people played an ID@Xbox title on Xbox One or Windows 10 – what’s more, those players spent more than a billion hours playing ID@Xbox games. There have been some incredibly rad titles recently, from the critically acclaimed Firewatch from Campo Santo, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetimeby Asteroid Base, and of course Inside by Playdead (a big winner from the recent British Academy Game Awards). And let’s not forget other fan favorites like Superhot team’s Superhot, Night School Studio’s Oxenfree,Hi-Rez Studios’Smite, Pit People from The Behemoth, Studio Wildcard’s Ark: Survival Evolved,Wizards of the Coast’s Magic Duels: Origins,Roblox Corporation’s Roblox,The Molasses Flood’s Flame in the Flood,Spotlightor Interactive’s Candleman,ToyLogic’s Happy Wars,Other Ocean’s #IDARB,and so many more cool titles.
Xbox are also incredibly proud that ID@Xbox has helped developers bring games to Xbox and Windows 10 that are as diverse and interesting as the world of players that enjoy them. With games like E-Line Media’s Never Alone, Team17’s Beyond Eyes,Sassybot’s Fragments of Him,Bracket Games’ three fourths home, and many others tackling meaningful – and sometimes previously unattempted – subject matter, these developers are not only broadening the landscape of games players can enjoy, but offering inclusive experiences and perspectives that represent our worldwide community of gamers. With forthcoming titles like Culture Shock Gamers’ We Are Chicago and Arconyx’s I, Hope, this is meaningful, groundbreaking content Xbox can’t wait to see more of.
With more than 2000 studios having dev kits in hand, more than 1000 games currently in development, and Project Scorpio coming later this year, the future is bright for both the gaming community and ID@Xbox program. Xbox have an incredible slate of hotly anticipated ID@Xbox games on the horizon including the hotly-anticipated Xbox One exclusive Cupheadfrom StudioMDHR, and console launch exclusives like Capybara’s Below, AURORA44’s Ashen, and Fullbright’s Tacoma.Xbox can’t wait to share more ID@Xbox goodness with you soon.
Xbox wish to extend a sincere thanks to all the developers and fans who have helped ID@Xbox reach this milestone.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III Fragments of War Trailer
With the release of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III in just a few days Relic Entertainment and SEGA Europe are pleased to release the Fragments of War trailer. On April 27, the planet Acheron will emerge from the warp, bringing with it the mysterious Spear of Khaine – the powerful weapon that sets Dawn of War III in motion, drawing three familiar faces ever closer to their intertwined fates.
Through its haunting narration, the trailer surfaces the defining features of the story’s core heroes – Gabriel Angelos of the Space Marines, Farseer Macha of the Eldar, and Gorgutz ‘Ead’unter of the Orks. But as each shard twists, doubt is cast over whether those features will propel them to power, or see them left bloodied in defeat.
Dawn of War III’s story will unfold across 17 single-player missions, challenging players to command epic heroes, assemble huge armies, and wage war across a range of hostile environments. In Multiplayer, the scale of battle will hit its peak as players unleash towering war machines and screen-shaking super abilities to defeat their foes.
Dawn of War III’s Multiplayer Open Beta is live now and runs until 3AM AEST on Tuesday, April 25th. Pit colossal armies of Space Marines, Eldar and Orks against your foes in chaotic, over-the-top fights to the finish. Join now at www.dawnofwar.com/beta.
Following the launch of the second season of My Hero Academia, a real life escape game has been announced for Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
The experience is called “Heroes Deadend Program” and runs for a total of 120 minutes, including a 60 minute introductory video program and 60 minutes for the escape game itself. The scenario is your group of up to four U.A. students are attacked by a group of villains during a training exercise. Your group must survive by solving puzzles until All Might arrives to save the day.
Tickets went on sale on the 22nd of April and sell for 3300 yen in advance, or 3800 yen at the door. A group ticket (4 people) is also available for 12,800 yen.
The franchise has had a great deal of success since Viz Media received American publishing rights for the manga in early 2015 and has grown increasingly in popularity since the anime adaptation calling for the currently airing second season and plans for an OVA.
Space Dandy is a dandy guy… in space. Along with his outdated robot partner QT, he spends his time hunting for unregistered aliens. If they find one and take it to the alien registration office, they get a cash reward. Joining them after an encounter at the ‘breastaurant’ BooBies is Meow, a member of an alien species that looks and acts rather like a cat. Although they remain blissfully unaware of this, Dandy is the primary target of the villainous Gogol Empire. The main trio is constantly winding up in crazy situations and meeting strange new people, and the Gogol Empire’s Dr. Gel and his assistant Bea trail them at their peril.
Story
With so many generic anime adaptations out there, it often seems as if there are no original and unique anime series waiting to be discovered. Space Dandy is one such series, if you have not already heard about it before. It was made out to be a big deal before, during and immediately after its 26-episode run. However, it seems to have largely dropped out of the public consciousness since then. More than two years later, it has been re-released in a box set, and its strong appeal remains exactly the same as it did in 2014. A simple way of describing it would be to call it Japan’s answer to Adventure Time, only bigger and in many ways better.
Shinichiro Watanabe and his team of global talent have done something that seemed very unlikely and difficult to accomplish. They produced an anime series that feels like the crazy anime comedies produced in the ’90s, except with a fresh coat of colourful digital paint. The ’90s saw the production of some of the greatest and most endearing anime shows of all time. Since then, there has been a change in tone and characterisation in the world of anime and manga that seems like more of a regression than an evolution. Characters have become dumber and dumber, regurgitating the same unfunny nonsense that was supposed to pass for comedy at some point. Characters in ’90s anime series often did come across as lacking in intelligence, but there was more to them than that, and there is so much more to the characters of Space Dandy. Dandy mostly just wants to spend time at BooBies and capture rare and unregistered aliens, but he also has a compassionate side and a surprising level of musical talent. Meow is a lazy cat reminiscent of modern teenagers who spend their time on social media in dark rooms, but he also secretly cares about the family he left behind to travel through space. QT ends up demonstrating the capacity to exceed his original programming in a couple of episodes. Furthermore, even Honey, a waitress at BooBies, turns out to be more than just a vehicle for fan-service. She is one of the most intelligent characters in the whole series, and although she initially only drops subtle hints about her level of knowledge, she gets her moment in the spotlight and reveals just how cool of a character she really is. Most anime series these days would just stop at the fan-service and degrade their female characters, but Space Dandy has some dignity. Make no mistake; that dignity is challenged on more than one occasion. However, that the creative team behind this series managed to capture the essence of early ’90s anime comedies, revive it and make it feel fresh demonstrates what anime could become if more production teams and animation studios took risks and let their imaginations run wild.
This series is largely made up of episodic plots. Often, especially in the earlier episodes, characters find themselves in situations that they simply cannot escape from. When the end of each episode comes around, a ‘to be continued’ card will appear instead of any kind of explanation about how things might return to normal in the following episode. This lack of continuity does not in any way negatively impact on the series, however. What makes each episode special is the level of creativity poured into every one of them. One episode might have plants evolving into highly intelligent beings, while another might have the characters performing a musical. The ways in which the characters seemingly go past the point of no return is ridiculous yet hilarious. The creative team runs with the sci-fi setting and takes it to distant places, often destroying the universe or coming close to doing so in the process. Some of the plots may be reminiscent of those seen in North American sci-fi series, but it is hard to be disappointed about that when these episodes are just so fun to watch. In the second season, the plots seem to become more focused and more awesome. The underlying narrative of the Gogol Empire chasing Space Dandy eventually turns out to be a major plot point, and when the series finally abandons episodic stories in favour of a significant plot, it turns into one major spectacle that concludes the show in a most fitting way.
Visuals
The animation is outstanding. This show was produced by Bones, and involved talent from around the world. Fortunately, the people involved seem to have been given a high level of creative freedom, and the end result is a series of colourful and crazy adventures that remain more memorable than almost every other anime series from 2014 and the years since then. The action is fluid and engaging, and the unique designs of the aliens and the settings allows each episode to feel new and exciting. Fan-service is present, mostly in the form of objectifying shots set in BooBies, but is not taken to the extreme that many anime and manga series feature these days.
Audio
Considering the fact that the English dub was produced in time for it to be broadcast on North American television at around the same time as it was shown on Japanese television, it turned out remarkably well. Every voice actor is perfectly cast. Ian Sinclair captures Dandy’s spirit brilliantly, and only good things can be said about each of the other voice actors. If there is one case where watching an anime series with FUNimation’s English dub is a recommended option, it is this one.
With so many anime series out there featuring generic opening and ending songs, many of which are existing pop songs, it is refreshing to hear some outstanding pop songs during the opening and ending credits sequences in Space Dandy. The opening song “Viva Namida” and the ending song “Welcome to the X Dimension” are about as catchy and memorable as anime songs can get these days. The background music is surprisingly memorable as well, thanks to a variety of composers being brought in to produce music for this series. A few different musical styles are present, including techno music and surprisingly atmospheric pieces that enhance the scenes they accompany. Everything about the audio comes together perfectly, making the soundtrack CDs look appealing.
Extras
This release includes a digital gallery, teaser trailers, DVD and Blu-ray trailers, English episode commentary for episodes 19 and 26 and the textless opening and ending songs as on-disc extras. The back of the box claims that an extra titled “Dandy Guy in Space: Part 02” is present, but unless this was intended to be one of the extras that are apparently exclusive to the Japanese home video releases, it seems to actually be referring to the second season itself. The textless animation sequences, which include the special textless ending animation sequences from season two, are far more colourful and interesting than the generic and dull sequences usually seen in modern anime. They are also subtitled, but oddly, the subtitles for all songs were removed from the episodes they come from.
Overall
Space Dandy is a rare anime series in which almost everything goes right. The fan-service is unnecessary seeing as this show is already engaging when it is focused on other things; fortunately, there are many unique visuals and crazy stories that make this as entertaining as it is. If you love watching cool anime and fondly remember some hilarious anime comedies from the 1990s, this is a show for you. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
If you have not been following the development of Sniper Ghost Warrior 3closely, then CI Games is helping you catch up with the latest trailer. The Polish developers released a brand new trailer summing up the ten most important points about the game. The trailer also has plenty of new gameplay footage showing off the game’s movement system and weapons.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is the first AAA quality title in the stealth FPS series. The game follows the story of Jon North, a USMC special ops sniper inserted into the Republic of Georgia in hopes of stopping simmering tensions from exploding into an all out bloodshed. Off the books, North is looking for his brother who went missing in the area after a mission goes wrong. Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on April 25.
The follow up to one of the most terrifying indie games is almost upon us. Outlast 2 tells the tale of a journalist and his wife who investigate a strange murder. Their investigation sends them to the Arizona desert where unspeakable horrors are being committed in the name of faith. Players will be taken on a journey that will have them questioning faith, sanity, and human nature.
https://youtu.be/GFxFxizerqY
A special physical release containing all three Outlastgames will be launched alongside Outlast 2. Entitled Outlast Trinity, the package contains Outlast, Outlast, and Outlast 2 for one price. Outlast 2 will be available at digital distributors on April 25. Outlast Trinity will be available on the same day at physical retailers like EB Games and Amazon.
