Critically Acclaimed Game Studio Shiro Games Announces Viking strategy game Northgard releases today on Steam Early Access
Renowned Evoland studio Shiro Games shows off new Norse fantasy village builder in launch trailer
Bordeaux – 22nd of February – The new Viking strategy game Northgard will be available today on Steam Early Access for $19.99, bringing a unique mix of exploration, village building and combat heavily infused with Norse mythology.
A new launch trailer for Northgard
Being developed by popular indie studio Shiro Games (Evoland 1 & 2), in Northgard players take control of a Viking clan who arrive on unknown and unforgiving shores, where they have to establish a village, gather resources, grow their society and defeat their opponents. In their quest to conquer this new and mysterious world, clans will face off against undead warriors, giants, dragons and other foes while surviving the harshest environments.
The Early Access version of Northgard allows players to:
Build settlements on the newly discovered hostile continent of Northgard while assigning and commanding vikings to various jobs (Merchant, Farmer, Warrior, Sailor, Loremaster…)
Manage resources carefully to survive the harsh winters and vicious enemies
Expand and discover new territory giving unique strategic opportunities
Achieve different victory conditions such as Conquest, Fame, Lore and Trading
“We have always been fans of strategy and simulation games, and with Northgard we have taken what we think are all the best bits, and added a lot of cool Viking themes and fantasy to the mix,” said Nicolas Cannasse, co-founder of Shiro Games. “Launching on Early Access will allow us to get direct feedback from our players which we’ll use in fine-tuning the development of Northgard. Not only that, we’ll also be bringing lots of cool new features to the game in the coming months, like new clans to play around with and a story driven campaign amongst other things.”
Early Access is just the start for Northgard, with Shiro Games continuing to add new content to the game during development. Extra features planned for Northgard include a full dedicated multiplayer mode, a story driven campaign mode, new playable clans and a host of new features such as an improved trading and diplomacy system, and more victory conditions.
Shiro Games is an independent studio created by video games veterans Sebastien Vidal and Nicolas Cannasse in order to bring new innovative games to life. Based in Bordeaux, France, the small studio released their first title Evoland in 2013, with the acclaimed sequel Evoland 2: A Slight Case of Spacetime Continuum Disorder launching in 2015. Shiro Games have been busy developing their new Viking strategy game Northgard, which launched on Steam Early Access in February 2017
Knights! Samurai! Viking! For Honor is likely every medieval combat nerd’s dream. Ubisoft Montreal has brought together three of history’s greatest medieval warriors for an endless battle in a fictional land. The single player campaign lays the foundation for the game, but the story continues as all For Honor players choose their allegiance and fight for territory in the cross platform metagame.
Story
Instead of taking some obscene liberties with history, For Honor opts for a fictional land where the Knights, Samurai, and Viking jostle for power. The Knights’ Blackstone Legion is led by the bloodthirsty warlord Apollyon, who looks to sow the seeds of eternal conflict. The campaign is broken down into three chapters that follow the Blackstone Legion’s crippling of the Viking bands, the rise of the Viking Warborn band, and finally the fall of Apollyon at the hands of the Samurai. The story starts out strong enough considering the rather ridiculous pretense for the game, but soon falls apart. It is clear that the single player campaign is an extended tutorial for multiplayer as the plot is dragged on well past its welcome. The story probably would have been better served by shortening the total length by at least a third. Ubisoft is advertising that the multiplayer metagame is technically part of the game’s overarching plot as the results of each season will have lasting impact on following seasons; however, it is not clear at this time exactly how this will manifest story-wise.
Gameplay
For Honor is a fighting game that breaks out of the traditional one versus one mould. While there are one versus one and two versus two duels available, the bulk of For Honor’s gameplay will have players on battlefields littered with disposable grunts. Like any fighting game, For Honor has a roster of twelve heroes, each a unique move set. The three factions have their own take on the four classes: the Vanguard, a general purpose character that is the easiest to learn; the Heavy, a slow tank capable of dragging out fights and wearing their enemies down; the Assassin, an agile attacker who thrives on catching enemies off guard then overwhelming them; and the Hybrid, a wily mix of two specialties from the other three classes.
For Honor’s combat revolves around a three-direction system that determines the direction of attacks and blocks. From there, players can perform a quick attack that is harder to parry or a slower, more devastating heavy attack. Each class has their own combos that chains their attacks, which allows them to lower the time between strikes. When a player locks onto another hero, the three directions will appear for both players except for Assassins, who need to “refresh” their direction to block at the cost of hiding their attack directions until moments before the strike. Complimenting the system is a variety of parries, dodges, guard breaks, and throws.
The control scheme in For Honor feels like it misses the mark for a fighting game. The three-direction control scheme never really felt well implemented to me for either mouse and keyboard or controller. I found that the mouse never felt nearly as natural or as responsive as a right controller stick when it came to using the three-direction control scheme. I suspect it is related to the unimpeded movement of the mouse. On the other hand, the controller isn’t perfect either. Dodging is the only way to deal with certain attacks and is a fundamental part of the Assassin’s repertoire. Countering guard breaks is also an important part of For Honor. But to pull off either action requires players to pull their thumb off the critical right stick to hit one of the face buttons. Frankly, I would have preferred to have moved at least one of the skills to the left shoulder button that is currently used for team chat. That way I can at least keep both thumbs on the sticks and still dodge or counter a guard break. Having the right trigger do double duty as both heavy attack and parry is also a poor choice. While I can’t speak for Dual Shock 4 users, the physical trigger pull distance changes depending on finger placement on the Xbox One controller. I found the only way I could really time my parries well was to choke up on the trigger to ensure the trigger button registered with the least amount of distance. In this case, the mouse and keyboard was a much better experience as it provided a more predictable parry. The entire problem could have been avoided if parry was bound to light attack, which is set to the more predictable shoulder button, or reversing the attack bindings. The frustrating part is that lot of these controller-related issues could have been avoided if Ubisoft allowed players to rebind the buttons on their controllers! At least PC players have the benefit of configuring controller buttons by tweaking some of the configuration files.
The pacing of For Honor is rather slow and is not for everyone. The stamina system and high damage encourages players to make each attack count. The game has a high skill floor and a higher skill ceiling. Players who take the time to learn the correct counters and strategies are absolutely rewarded, especially since there are a lot of players online who rely on spamming the same cheap move repeatedly.
The level design in For Honor is rather average. While there are a few great levels in the single player campaign, like the one that requires players to lure an elephant into attacking walls while fending off enemies or the D-Day like Viking charge on the Samurai gates, most are pretty straight forward: go from point A to point B and kill everything in your path. The multiplayer levels are a bit better, providing a well balanced, symmetrical map design with plenty of hazards to trip up inattentive players.
While the early promotional material leaned heavily on the whole “Knights vs. Samurai vs. Vikings” concept, the in-match reality is that players can choose any character to join the fray. Factions only matter in the metagame. At the beginning of each season, players choose to support one of the three factions. Every match they participate in awards them resources that they then can spend on a board-game style map to help their faction attack of defend territory. The three contested areas rotate between gameplay modes, ensuring the front lines all see a roughly equal amount of action over the season. For Honor’s metagame is actually one of the game’s more intriguing ideas. While the mechanic has been seen plenty of times in smaller indie titles, it lends itself well to a game like For Honor, and I wish more AAA titles would adopt it. It gives individual matches a little more weight, knowing that success or failure has some small impact in the larger scope of things.
The multiplayer matches themselves break down into three main modes: dominion, duel/brawl, and skirmish/elimination. Dominion are four versus four battles over three control points. Two are side points that only players will battle over, providing plenty of opportunities for uninterrupted duels. The middle point is a MOBA-like push that requires players to eliminate enemy mobs to help their own friendly mobs take control of the sector. Kills of any kind award permanent points while the capture points provide a temporary hundred-point boost to the controlling team. Once a team has a thousand points, the enemy team cannot respawn and will lose the game if their entire team is killed. The losing team can rally and by retaking points and dropping the winning team below 1000 points or pushing the enemy into a similar no respawn situation. I really like dominion as it puts a lot of emphasis on playing the objectives, while still providing losing teams plenty of opportunities to stage an epic come back. The skirmish mode is similar to dominion with the presence of AI and the thousand point goal, but puts much greater emphasis on player versus player duels. Duel, brawl, and elimination are one versus one, two versus two, and four versus four matches respectively that have no AI and no respawns. All modes but duel and brawl allow players to use equipment to fine tune their stats to better suit their playstyle. Equipment is randomly dropped at the end of each match and can be upgraded with the right currency.
For those looking to bone up on their skills before wading into multiplayer, For Honor provides a lot of opportunities to learn. Each class is well documented with a list of moves, a list of skills, and videos for basic and advanced techniques. The campaign mode is essentially one long tutorial that introduces players to most of the classes in the game. Players can also participate in co-op matches against bots to practice and there are some single player options as well.
I found For Honor’s matchmaking to be a bit poorly thought out at times. Big differences in skill gaps in matchmaking is understandable in multiplayer games as fluctuations in population sometimes means the only way a game will happen is by grouping all available players together regardless of skill level. On the other hand, For Honor’s implementation is sometimes just silly. While it’s nice that a bot can replace a player that leaves mid-way, it’s a terrible idea to start a match with four players on one side and two players and two bots on the other. It would be a much better idea to wait until team are balanced due to the fact human players are on a whole vastly superior to the bots. On PC, matchmaking still seems to be rather glitchy. I ran into quite a few hiccups where the game tried to connect me to full matches, refused to connect me at all, or just threw up an error.
Visuals
For Honor’s art style is realistic looking. The first thing that stands out for me when playing For Honor is the spectacular animations. I suspect many hours of high quality motion capture work and consultation with martial artists have been spent on the game’s animations. While I won’t profess to be an expert in any martial art, I can see that For Honor uses many familiar techniques that have been showcased in various martial arts documentaries and by popular YouTubers. The models and textures are spot on. It is clear that a lot of research has been done, as the armour looks practical and closer to historical depictions versus the pop culture images of these warriors. And yes, that especially includes female characters.
Audio
For Honor fulfills the expectations of a triple A title. The sound effects are excellent. The voice acting is very good, though there are a few minor characters that miss the mark. What impressed me the most is that enemy Vikings speak Icelandic, enemy Knights speak Latin, and enemy Samurai speak Japanese. It is a detail most players probably won’t think about, but it adds an excellent sense of immersion. Too bad that immersive feeling gets broken when an enemy suddenly speaks English. For Honor’s soundtrack is a perfect fit for the game. Taking inspiration from each culture’s music, the soundtrack manages to still fit the brutal hand-to-hand nature of the game. One thing that drives me insane about For Honor’s audio is how clumsy it handles VOIP volume on PC. Instead of adjusting the volume inside the game, For Honor changes Window’s settings directly.
Overall
While the audio/visual experience is excellent, it can’t compensate for poor gameplay choices. The controls don’t feel well thought out, which hampers the game. The lousy state of matchmaking currently does For Honor no favours, even though the board game-style metagame is an awesome idea. People looking for a single player experience should look elsewhere, as the heart and soul of For Honor is in its multiplayer. For Honor is probably best suited for melee combat and Dark Souls nuts out there who are more willing to look past some poor design choices and rough matchmaking as I suspect the average gamer will be unable to get past both the game’s flaws and its high skill floor.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
NEW PVP MAP CHEMICAL PLANT COMING TO ARMORED WARFARE
Trailer Highlights All-New Map Launching With Update 0.19
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – February 22, 2017 – Developer and global publisher My.com unveils more information about a new PvP map named “Chemical Plant” for Armored Warfare. In the world of Armored Warfare, this is one of the last working chemical plants. It lies deep in the Mojave Desert and must be captured at all costs. This processing facility is priceless to several corporations. Mercenary forces have moved in to slug it out, one last time, and both sides are preparing for the decisive battle that will decide the fate of the region for years to come. The layout is semi-open and it allows for a large scale of tactics suitable for every vehicle class. The map provides players with plenty of opportunity for fast-paced action, daring flanking maneuvers as well as tactical gameplay. The “Chemical Plant” PvP map will be the newest addition to Armored Warfare and launches with update 0.19.
Balance 2.0 is a catch-all for a set of changes and improvements coming to Armored Warfare in Update 0.19 based on community feedback, which solves the problems in high tier gameplay and alleviates the power creep between tiers throughout the game. Another major part of Balance 2.0 is the re-evaluation of every core gameplay mechanic, including: damage mechanics, class abilities, retrofits, upgrades, and crew skills. This fulfills the purpose of ensuring these mechanics are working cohesively to deliver balanced and exciting gameplay as intended. Learn more details about Balance 2.0 on the dedicated page to the upcoming changes HERE: aw.my.com/balance-2.0
Armored Warfare is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online tactical military game that puts the player into the world of modern warfare. In Armored Warfare, players get a chance to try the most powerful tools of destruction invented by mankind – from modern main battle tanks to scouts and wheeled vehicles. Using modern defense systems like anti-missile protection and smoke grenades, along with various types of armor and ammunition, players can jump into fast paced battles both in PvP mode and a vast amount of PvE missions.
Download Armored Warfare for free today, visit: aw.my.com. To learn more about Armored Warfare, please visit aw.my.com, ‘Like’ it on Facebook, and follow its development on Twitter @ArmoredWar for all the latest developer updates and news.
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VR GOLF ONLINE FOR STEAM AND OCULUS ADDS MULTIPLAYER AND CROSS-PLATFORM PLAY
Kakao Games Releases Major Update for Definitive Virtual Reality Sports Simulation Experience
IRVINE, Calif. — Feb. 22, 2017 — Building on the successful launch of its latest highly competitive, virtual reality (VR) sports simulation game, today Kakao Games, a global multi-platform games publisher, released a major content update for VR Golf Online on Steam and Oculus. In the latest content update for the game, VR Golf Online now offer cross-platform play between Steam and Oculus for golf fanatics worldwide.
In VR Golf Online, players can now compete against family and friends on 36 beautifully designed and expansive courses locally and online in multiplayer modes. In the new multiplayer competition, players can also match with other golfers worldwide in real time to see who is ace of the course and real-time voice chat with the competition. New update features for VR Golf Online include:
Multiplayer and cross-platform gameplay: Play with or against gamers on the fairway locally or online on the HTC Vive via SteamVR and/or the Oculus Rift, in addition to being able to sync gameplay between the two versions;
Real time voice chatting: Chat with the competition in real time for a fully immersive golf experience;
Compatible with the Oculus Touch: Experience the game with the newly enabled Oculus Touch compatibility and support;
First and third-person view: Play and switch between first or third person points of view when using the Oculus Rift’s Touch controller, the HTC Vive controller or the classic Xbox controller on Oculus;
Updated language support for Oculus: French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese languages are now supported.
VR Golf Online also includes:
Integrate real golf physics: Experience a realistic and entertaining golfing experience with real physics applied to sink holes throughout the course;
Five unique character designs: Choose from a cast of five unique characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, to ace the course;
Beautifully designed courses: Experience each of the 36 lush and hazard-filled courses, each with their own unique setting to challenge the most skillful of players.
Optimized for the HTC Vive: First-person character view to interact with surroundings; Gesture control to change clubs and view UI information; HTC VR controller compatibility; and English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages support.
VR Golf Online is now available to download globally for the HTC Vive via Steam and for Oculus for $19.99.
Kakao Games, the interactive entertainment division of Kakao, is a global multi-platform games publisher focused on publishing and servicing innovative multi-platform titles based on original IPs across multiple genres for all audience types from casual to hardcore. As the current publisher behind the successful massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Black Desert Online, Kakao Games’ multi-platform titles have launched on the Steam/PC and virtual reality (VR) platforms, in addition to iOS and Android mobile devices. Headquartered in South Korea, Kakao Games also houses an office in Irvine, Calif. For more information on Kakao Games and its products, please visit http://www.kakaogames.com/.
Welcome to the wonderful world of DRAGON QUEST HEROES II
Steam Version to Launch on 25th April
New Overview Trailer Showcases Colourful World of Accordia and All-New Multiplayer Mode
LONDON (22nd February 2017) – Square Enix Ltd., today welcomes players to the world of DRAGON QUEST HEROES™II, with a brand new overview trailer detailing everything you need to know about the upcoming action-RPG.
The overview trailer gives an insight into the journey players will undertake across DRAGON QUEST HEROES II’s vast lands, introducing the colourful cast of characters and creatures they will befriend and battle along the way. To watch the overview trailer now, visit: https://youtu.be/ljeu-zahhiY
DRAGON QUEST HEROES II will arrive across Europe and PAL territories for the PlayStation®4, on 28th April 2017 and will be available on STEAM® from 25th April. For more information, visit: www.dragonquest-game.com .
The day one “Explorer’s Edition” is also available to pre-order now, featuring 15 exclusive DLC items as well as a reversible cover artwork depicting the in-game Adventure Log. The DLC includes weapons designed from the enemies in the game, including the Slime Knight’s Shield, Great Sabreclaws, Golem Gauntlets and more.
About DRAGON QUEST HEROES II
Set in an all-new world with new heroes and story, DRAGON QUEST HEROES II is an action-RPG that sends players on a grand adventure to restore order to a once peaceful world, with thrilling battles of epic proportions. With the addition of multiplayer functionality, players can form a party of up to four online to conquer swarms of enemies and defeat gigantic monsters.
About Square Enix Ltd.
Square Enix Ltd. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content in Europe and other PAL territories as part of the Square Enix group of companies. Square Enix Ltd. also has a global network of leading development studios such as IO Interactive™, Crystal Dynamics®, and Eidos Montréal. The Square Enix group of companies boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 130 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 70 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 58 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix Ltd. is a London-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
More information on Square Enix Ltd. can be found at http://eu.square-enix.com/en
*Unit sales now include both package and digital versions
DRAGON QUEST HEROES, FINAL FANTASY, the FINAL FANTASY logo, DRAGON QUEST, SQUARE ENIX, the SQUARE ENIX logo, SPACE INVADERS and TAITO are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Square Enix Group. “PlayStation,” “PlayStation Portable” and “PS4” are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
MYTHICAL ADVENTURE GAME, TROLL AND I, RECEIVES NEW FEATURES TRAILER, CONFIRMED FOR NINTENDO SWITCH™
February 22, 2017 – Walnut Creek, CA – Video game publisher Maximum Games, in partnership with developer Spiral House, has released a brand-new features trailer for its upcoming action adventure game, Troll and I. Today’s video further delves into the world of Troll and I, providing an extensive overview of key gameplay features including the in-game foraging and crafting systems, as well as the split-screen co-op feature. Maximum Games and Spiral House also confirmed today that Troll and I will be releasing on the Nintendo’s upcoming new system, the Nintendo Switch, later this Spring.
In Troll and I, players will be tasked with strategically utilizing Troll and Otto’s unique strengths to overcome the many enemies they will face in the Scandinavian backcountry – whether they be the human hunters pursuing Troll for their own greedy ends or mythical orcs known as ‘Ahky’ unleashed from the depths of the earth. Solo players can seamlessly switch between Otto and Troll in-game, using Troll’s massive size and strength to throw boulders at enemies or Otto’s speed and resourcefulness to stealthily take out a lone hunter without raising an alarm. Troll and I also supports split-screen gameplay for couch co-op, as two heads, and pairs of hands, are always better than one.
Throughout the game, players will encounter various natural resources when playing as Otto, and should make use of Otto’s keen senses and attunement to nature to track down wildlife, which can be hunted and used to heal him during battle. Otto will exploit the materials of the forest to fashion spears and other weapons that will prove crucial to the duo’s survival. Otto’s connection to his surroundings and the environment around him plays a key role in the player successfully navigating treacherous situations.
In addition, Maximum Games is proud to confirm that Troll and I will be releasing on Nintendo’s revolutionary new system, the Nintendo Switch, this Spring! The game will be fully playable at home or on the go using the Joy-Con™ controllers for both solo and split-screen co-op gameplay, allowing players to continue Troll and Otto’s adventure wherever they are. Additional details about the Nintendo Switch release for Troll and I will be available at a later date.
Troll and I is currently in development from Spiral House and will be published by Maximum Games. The game will be available on March 21, 2017 in North America and on March 24, 2017 in Europe for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and digitally on PC, with the Nintendo Switch release slated for Spring 2017. This title has been rated “T for Teen” by the ESRB.
Troll and I is available to pre-order now for $49.99. Please visit http://www.trollandi.com for more pre-order and product information.
For the latest news on Troll and I, please follow the official Facebook and Twitter pages.
Maximum Games ranks as a top 15 global video game publisher of interactive digital entertainment spanning all genres and supporting multi-platforms. The company’s mission is to provide a proven and strong hands-on approach to publishing, marketing, and distribution. Established in 2009, the company is led by female entrepreneur Christina Seelye, a seasoned executive of digital consumer products and channel marketing. Under Seelye’s leadership, the company has been recognized with numerous awards such as “Fastest Growing Tech Company” by American Business Awards, and has made the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies for the past two years. Maximum Games has offices in both the US and UK, and continues to expand its scope of global publishing and distribution via direct reach and strategic partnerships. For more information on Maximum Games, visit the company’s website at http://www.maximumgames.com.
About Spiral House
Spiral House is a UK based developer of interactive entertainment, focused on developing for all major home entertainment consoles, mobile devices and PC, for the global market. Established in 1999 by seasoned game developers Bobby Earl and Kevin Oxland, Spiral House traditionally followed the ‘work for hire’ business model developing partner’s IP, including various AAA and handheld titles for Sony (EyePet, MotorStorm, Wipeout Pulse, Vita Pets, and Little Big Planet), Activision (PC Blur) and many others. Now developing their own IP, with the first in a line of exciting titles being ‘Troll and I’, they have built a reputation within the industry for building creative games that focus primarily on game-play, unique features with depth and originality, whilst maintaining tight controls on the development process. For more information on Spiral House, visit the developer website at http://www.spiralhouse.co.uk.
If you yearn for a challenge with an arcade feel, a retro ambiance, where you battle in a fast paced action adventure, with weapons galore and a progression that feels pixel perfect, then look no further than Battle Princess Madelyn.
Mirroring such classics as Ghouls N’ Ghosts and Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon’s Trap, the game style may be pleasantly familiar but Battle Princess Madelyn has it own unique qualities and features including an original story written by a professional children’s author that has hand drawn artwork bringing the game to life.
Ten levels which include five stages, along with some that are cunningly hidden, make the journey you take both exciting and memorable. How you complete the game is totally in the hands of the player, with fully replayable areas, with many to unlock as each surprise heralds new challenges – as well as weapons and enemies. This game mechanics caters for both the novice and the hardcore gamer with in-game self-adjustment.
When Creative Director Christopher Obritsch daughter Madelyn wanted to be in Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, and fight “Green Head”, he said it was someone else’s game – but he could make her one that was like it. “But girls can’t be knights, Daddy. Only boys…” she said, to which he answered “Pshh…What color do you want your armor to be?”. The answer? Pink! And that’s how this game started. Chris’ daughter Madelyn loves the first stage of Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and makes him play it over and over because she wants to see him fight “Green Head”, the Shielder boss at the end of the first stage. It’s not hard for her to twist his rubber arm, as it’s been his favorite game since it came out all those years ago.
As you join Madelyn you will be transported from swamps to castles to the countryside and more accompanied by a soundtrack that will match the visual polish. The audio is sure to delight with Orchestrated audio by John McCarthy of Nintendo Quest fame and a true retro style FM/PCM arcade style soundtrack by the legendary Gryzor87. The music really sets the mood as you venture onwards with Madelyn and Fritz, your ghostly dog sidekick who gains powers as you progress to help you unlock puzzles and otherwise inaccessible areas, on their journey to win the battle.
Features include:
– Old School gameplay and presentation
– a mixture of gameplay styles all merge to become one polished offering
– Utilization of the Unity engine that brings a new edge
– Special weapons for special occasions – including combos
– Plus much much more
A triple whammy of pleasure experiences – Sound, Visuals and Challenges as you master through Battle Princess Madelyn to avoid the Evil Wizard and save her family and kingdom.
About Causal Bit Games
Causal Bit Games is an independent gaming start-up company based in Canada. Owner and Creative Director, Christopher Obritsch is a young, retired professional graphic designer and creative director and long-time hobbyist-turned-indie game dev. His partner in crime, Daven Bigelow, is the coding brains of the operation who also has been known to code satellite dishes and hitch hiking robots in his spare time!
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain — the latest in a growing list of adventure and interactive fiction titles from Tin Man Games — has released for iPhone and iPad! This epic reimagining of the beloved Fighting Fantasy gamebook is a Universal App for iPhone and iPad priced at $4.99 USD (or equivalent in local currency). Pad Air, iPad Mini 2, iPhone 5S, and newer devices are supported.
About the Game
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain game is a digital reimagining of the classic adventure gamebook that pays homage to its tabletop role-playing game roots, complete with a rich interactive 3D map, collectable digital miniatures, an updated combat system, and the ability to explore Firetop Mountain with multiple characters. The game comes pre-loaded with four heroes, each with their own motives for exploring the mountain and challenging the powerful warlock who guards its treasure.
Features:
Tabletop adventure comes to life with figurines and an environment that assembles itself
Fully interactive story with thousands of choices that change for each of the four heroes
Story and choices adapt to your adventuring style with unique hero quests to complete
Over 100 beautifully crafted character and monster figurines to find and interact with
Simultaneous turn-based combat system using hero weapon skills and clashing dice
Outwit your opponents by learning their fighting styles and predicting their moves
More heroes, fighting styles, and quests available to download
History
In 1982 Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, co-founders of Games Workshop and the first distributors for Dungeons and Dragons in Europe, wrote the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. In a time when videogaming and the RPG industry were in their infancy, the adventure gamebook allowed wannabe adventurers to journey to other worlds, engage with evil forces, and decide the fate of the quest they were set upon. With the success of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain came a whole series of Fighting Fantasy adventures, over 50 of them with supporting novels and tabletop role-playing systems. Including The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Tin Man Games has developed and released 8 of the original Fighting Fantasy books as digital gamebook apps.
CHAOS CHRONICLE WELCOMES NEW CHARACTERS AND EVENTS IN LATEST CONTENT UPDATE
Seoul – Feb. 22, 2017 – Battle-ready players in the lands of Chaos Chronicle are tested as NEXON Korea Corporation, subsidiary of NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO), a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games, launches the latest content update for fans of the wildly popular 2D mobile role-playing game (RPG). Fan-favorite game developed by WING Studio, Chaos Chronicle’s new “March Luc’KEY” content update is now available for new and returning players on mobile devices around the world via Google Play and the App Store.
The latest update for Chaos Chronicle builds on its epic battles and immersive storyline with new events, characters and free rewards. Fans returning to the world of Chaos Chronicle will clash against enemies with two new heroes, Seira and Rogers, joining the cast of unique heroes while defending the glory of their House. In addition, players will participate in the limited time “Aeris and Zached’s March Luc’KEY” event.
The latest update also includes:
New Heroes to Recruit: Seira, a defender-type heroine born to a knight and a mage parents whose expertise lies in manipulating gravity fields to move and paralyze enemies, as well as provoking all enemies and reducing their accuracy; and Rogers, a supporter-type hero who was advised by Elfina to walk the path of the priest. His skills lie in healing all allies and striking down enemies with a paralyzing thunderbolt, which also reduces enemy attack speed;
Limited Time Event (Feb. 23-March 22, GMT+9):
Aeris and Zached’s March Luc’KEY’ Event: Players can collect special Aeris and Zached keys and exchange them for valuable rewards. Aeris keys are earned by playing in the Normal/Hard Stage, Daily Dungeon, Manatech Tower, and Normal/Chaos Raid, while Zached keys are obtained by playing in the Arena, Coliseum, Guild War, and Proof of Gorde Jyle;
Exchange Keys for Rewards: Trade in Aeris and Zached keys for hero-related items, including a 6-Star Hero Contract and a 4-Star Hero Selection Contract; and equipment, including a Grade 5~6 Elite Equipment Box, 2 Elite Equipment Rank-up Stones and a Grade 5 Accessory Box;
Aeris and Zached’s Daily Rewards: Aeris and Zached will also be distributing rewards each day, for up to five days. Aeris will reward players with 4-6 Star Hero Contracts, rubies, gold and stamina, while Zached give players high-grade equipment/accessory boxes, elite equipment rank-up stones, and a 6-Star Hero Contract.
About NEXON Co. Ltd.
NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) (3659.TO) is a worldwide leader in free-to-play online and mobile games. Founded in Korea in 1994, Nexon developed one of the world’s first graphics-based massively multiplayer online games. Nexon also pioneered the concept of microtransactions and the free-to-play business model, setting a new standard in which play is free, and users have the option to purchase in-game items to enhance their experience. Nexon currently services nearly 100 titles in more than 190 countries. The Company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and its shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
About WING Studio
Wing Studio (CEO Heo Inho) is a mobile games development company founded in December 2013 integrated by developers with wide experience in creating games for different platforms. The relationship with Nexon started in December 2013 after they joined Nexon’s startup program: Nexon & Partners Center, NPC. Afterwards, in August 2014 they signed a global publishing and investment contract with Nexon for Chaos Chronicle and now they are based in the Nexon Collaboration Center, NCC.
Focus Home Interactive released a brand new video for Styx: Shards of Darkness that lets viewers go behind the scenes at Cyanide Studio to learn about Styx, the titular master assassin. The goblin is tinier than the elves and humans that guard the tower, so he must rely on stealth to ambush his enemies or avoid combat all together. With a penchant for breaking the fourth wall and witty comments, Styx walks around with a swagger that makes him lovable, even if his face is the type that only a mother could love.
Styx: Shards of Darkness is an old school stealth game. Thanks to the success of Styx: Master of Shadows, the new game is even bigger, featuring larger levels, new gadgets, and more abilities. Styx: Shards of Darknessis scheduled to launch in early 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
