Koei Tecmo has revealed some new information regarding the synthesis mechanics in Atelier Firis: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Journey as well as what type of pre-order bonuses potential buyers an look forward to. In Atelier Firis, players will find that thanks to Firis’ wanderlust, she actually carries a portable Atelier Tent that allows players to synthesize items whenever or wherever they please. The system also allows players to now craft larger items such as bridges to cross rivers or even boats through “Mass Synthesis.”
As for pre-order bonuses, those who pre-order from Amazon, Best Buy, EB Games, or GameStop in North America or at certain retailers in Europe will unlock two bonus costumes for Firis, the “Resort Vacation” costume that increases the chances of finding high quality materials and the “Wonderland” costume that decreases the time it takes to synthesize items and fast travel.
In case you need a little horror to perk you up for hump day, Paramount Pictures has released two new videos for their upcoming film Rings. The first is a clip from the movie set on a plane with Holt and Julia. The famed video tape is taking over the plane’s systems as the plane approaches for landing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6v3tvtMYE
The second Rings trailer makes use of YouTube’s 360 degree videos to present an immersive experience. Viewers are trapped in a room with television screens playing the infamous cursed video with Samara crawling out of the TV. The video has a few good jump scares that is sure to get the adrenaline running for horror junkies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85e3J0hREJc
Rings stars Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, and Aimee Teegarden. The film his cinemas in Australia on February 23rd.
Mass Effect: Andromeda has received a new cinematic trailer and although this one does focus on setting up players with the main plot of the game, focusing on unraveling the secrets of a new galaxy where new alien threats await them. The other part of the cinematic trailer focuses on showing off the various crew members that players will be able to recruit to join their fight for humanity’s future.
You can check out the video below and keep an eye out for the full game when it is released by EA on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 21st in North America and March 23rd in Europe.
A new trailer for Four Goddesses Online: Cyber Dimension Neptune has been released by Compile Heart and this time around the company is focusing on giving us a better look at how the game will be played. The nearly six minute long video, found below, follows Neptune and her friends as they explore a dungeon, take on various enemies, and even face off against a boss. The video features various comments from the CPUs discussing elements of the game such as how to lock onto enemies and use the Awakening system.
Four Goddesses Online: Cyber Dimension Neptune is being developed by Tamsoft and is currently slated to be released in Japan on February 9th for the PlayStation 4 and at the time of this writing the game has not yet been confirmed for release in the West.
Good news for those who missed the For Honor Closed Beta test this past weekend. Ubisoft will be running an Open Beta from February 10-13 on all three platforms. The Open Beta will feature the same nine characters and six maps featured in the Closed Beta. New to the Open Beta is the Elimination mode that pits two teams of four against each other in a no respawn, best of five match.
The War of the Factions event returns in the Open Beta. Players fight for one of the three factions in the game and all their progress will go towards overall faction scores. The winning faction will earn special rewards when For Honorlaunches. Based on the progress in the Closed Beta, the Vikings are winning; however, there is still time for a come back!
For Honor launches on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on February 14.
Another batch of Persona 5 trailers have been released by Atlus USA and this latest set once again focuses on introducing us to the Confidants that players will be able to meet with and build relationships with to unlock special bonuses, services, and more. This time around we have four characters being introduced and you can check out their videos and descriptions below:
Shinya Oda
If you had to practice marksmanship in a country that has a strict firearms ban, where would you go? If you answered with “the arcade,” ding ding ding you’re absolutely correct! Oh, and it just so happens that a certain arcade in Akihabara is home base to one of Japan’s most accomplished shooting game players, Shinya Oda. This pint-sized gaming prodigy is a grandmaster at “Gun About,” so he definitely knows a thing or two about shooting. Spending time with him can help the Phantom Thieves learn some nifty gun skills that can be used in battle, such as the ability to enter a gun-based All-out Attack after a successful ambush with Bullet Hail, scare enemies during negotiation with Warning Shot, and much more!
Ichiko Ohya
When she’s not busy chasing a lead, journalist Ichiko Ohya can be found enjoying a drink (or two or three or four or five) at the Crossroads Bar in Shinjuku. So why would the Phantom Thieves want to work with a pesky reporter? Simply put, they have a special “deal.” The protagonist supplies her with interesting tid-bits about the Thieves, and she’ll write articles about them. The public is going crazy for more news about the mysterious masked group, so why not just let Ichiko give it to them? Besides, having more fame/infamy is great for the team’s street cred. Oh, and she’ll also provide useful abilities like making it harder for the security level to fill during Palace heists.
Chihaya Mifune
It’s ALWAYS smart to see a fortune-teller from time to time, and luckily the Phantom Thieves know a very good one named Chihaya Mifune. Operating out of her modest office (a table) in Shinjuku, the spacey Chihaya will cheerfully use tarot cards to predict the protagonist’s fortune. So how does this help the team? Well by spending time her, she’ll be able to perform special fortune readings that can add useful buffs like increasing the growth rate of a social stat or deepening a bond with a specific confidant.
Yuuki Mishima
What do you do when a high-school classmate figures out that you and your friends are actually the infamous “criminals” known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts? Why you make him part of the crew, of course! Yuuki Mishima is a social media savant who discovers the alter ego of the protagonist, so he naturally decides to work for the group and create the Phantom Thieves Aficionado Website (also known as the, wait for it, Phan-Site). Besides building up the phan base (see what I did there?), he’ll also be able to support the thieves with buffs that increase EXP earned from battle, allow backup members to earn EXP, and more! Wow, isn’t that just phan-tastic? Ok, I’ll stop now.
As for the game itself, Persona 5 is currently set to be released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe on April 4th.
Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign Successful after only One Week
AUSTIN, TX – February 1st, 2017 – Stoic, an independent game development company, today announced that after less than 7 days they have reached the initial $200,000 target for the Banner Saga 3 on Kickstarter. The crowdfunding campaign for the third installment of the turn based strategy series, has now unlocked it’s first stretch goal, with the introduction of playable Dredge if the campaign hits $250,000. Further stretch goals will be revealed as the campaign progresses.
“We’re thrilled to have funded the Kickstarter in less than a week. Once again it’s down to the amazing support of the community, and we truly appreciate every backer that has helped us reach our funding goal”, said John Watson, co-founder and Technical Director at Stoic. “This is huge for us and have now revealed the first stretch goal! A big thanks again to all of our supporters for helping us get this far.”
In Banner Saga 3, players will embark on their final journey beyond the wall of Darkness to traverse a world unlike anything encountered in previous sagas. The beautifully hand drawn Viking role-playing adventure will once again test the player’s resolve through epic tactical battles against deadly adversaries where a player’s choice directly affects their personal journey. With the first stretch goal announced, playable Dredge, the Stoic team aims to enhance the game and will continue to release more stretch goals on the Kickstarter page in the coming days which will add even more production value to the final game.
The first in the three-part, turn based strategy game series, Banner Saga was funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2012, which raised $723,886 and launched to critical acclaim in January, 2014. Banner Saga 2 also enjoyed a slew of positive reviews and awards, and now the Stoic team is rounding out the series with the third and final part of this epic, story-driven RPG, with Banner Saga 3.
About Banner Saga
The Banner Saga launched to critical acclaim and has received several awards and nominations, including winner of the 2014 Geekie Awards for “Best Video Game”, winner of 2014 Game Developers Choice: “Best Debut” award, finalist placement for “Excellence in Visual Arts” category at the Independent Game Festival, three BAFTA Award Nominations, and was the winner of Pocket Gamer’s 2015 Best Adventure/RPG Game and Best Android Game of the Year. The sequel, Banner Saga 2 has also received several nominations and award wins, including a Pocketgamer Gold Award, a nomination for Best Strategy Game at the 2016 Video Game Awards, and has been selected as a finalist for the 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards in the Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year category. Banner Saga 2 was also a runner up for Best Strategy Game in RPG Fans best Strategy Game and Hardcore Gamers Best of 2016 Awards and is available now for PC, Xbox One, PS4, Android and iOS.
To learn more about The Banner Saga Trilogy visit its brand new website at: http://bannersaga.com
Ubisoft partnered Chief Productions to create a full length documentary film called Wildlands. Directed by Colin Offland, the documentary goes to Bolivia to investigate drug trafficking and introduce viewers to people whose lives have been touched by the trade. Viewers will meet people like George Jung, known as the man who hooked America on cocaine; former Navy SEAL Adam Newbold, an operator with years of experience in South America; and Tomas McFadden, a reformed drug dealer who survived San Pedro Prison after being caught with 5kg of cocaine at La Paz Airport. Much of the documentary’s content went on to inspire Ubisoft Paris as they developed Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands.
Wildlands is set to be released on March 6th. Ubisoft has not yet announced on which platforms the documentary will be available. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlandswill launch the next day on March 7th on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
Marvelous has released a new set of screenshots and videos for Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash. The brief gameplay videos focus on showing off different water guns that players can use while the screenshots give us a look at some of the game modes, bosses, and a look at the dressing room. When released, Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash will feature a story mode focusing on each of the members of the four factions as they participate in the Peach Beach Splash water gun tournament with the best team being given a special reward so although the true purpose of the tournament is left unknown, the girls jump at the chance to participate in the time-honored tradition.
Players will encounter standard battles as well as boss fights against strange machines, a giant Ryona, and more. You can check out the screenshots and videos below and keep an eye out for the game when it is released in Japan on March 16th for the PlayStation 4.
A new trailer for Gust’s upcoming RPG Blue Reflection: Sword of the Girl Who Dances in Illusions has been released and this time around the focus is on introducing the characters Yuzuki Shijou and Raimu Shijou. As we have learned, this pair of mysterious girls are the ones that gift the protagonist, Hinako Shirai, with powers that allow her to become a Reflector. After that fateful meeting the pair arrive at her school as transfer students. Yuzuki is described to have a cheerful sense of humor while Raimu puts others’ feelings before her own and often thinks of obtaining results before anything else.
You can check out the introduction video below and keep an eye out for the game when it is released in Japan by Koei Tecmo on March 30th for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita.
