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Johnny Gat is Back! Saints Row Beloved Character Returns in Agents of Mayhem

Saints Row Favorite Johnny Gat available through pre-order incentive as the 13th Agent in Agents of Mayhem
SEOUL – June 8, 2017 – He just couldn’t stay away. Saints Row fans love him, Saints Row fans want to be him, and now they can.

The “Have God re-create the Earth and retcon the entire world of Saints Row” ending of Saints Row: Gat out of Hell means that the dead don’t stay dead. Johnny is back where he was born – Seoul. Gat’s been hard on the beat in this universe as a Lieutenant in Seoul’s police department, but the tragic events of Devil’s Night left Johnny in a coma. After awakening almost a year later, Johnny discovers that all of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency have been wiped out and replaced with C.O.P (Civilian Overwatch Patrol) robot units. Johnny hates robots, loves guns, and his reputation for wanton destruction makes him the perfect fit for MAYHEM.

Exclusively available to those pre-ordering Agents of Mayhem at GameStop, Johnny Gat will be the 13th Agent of Mayhem. Featuring an exclusive unlock mission, personal mission, vehicle/character/weapon skins, as well as the unmistakeable voice of Daniel Dae Kim, that’s a whole lot of Johnny.

Agents of Mayhem is a single-player, open-world, third-person action game for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC gaming systems releasing on August 15th. For more information and to get the latest updates on the game, follow us on Twitter at @aomthegame or on Facebook at Facebook.com/aomthegame or visit aomthegame.com.

ABOUT AGENTS OF MAYHEM 

Agents of MAYHEM is a single-player, open-world, third-person action game for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC gaming systems. Fun, funny and full of high-action moments and laugh-out-loud scenarios, in Agents of MAYHEM, you run a no-holds barred operation against the shadowy super-villain organization, LEGION, fighting to take back the world after the horrors of Devil’s Night.

Explore the futuristic city of Seoul with a team of three interchangeable agents, each with their own distinct look, sense of humour, weapons, and skillset, with only one aim: to destroy LEGION, its operatives and their vile plans to take over the world.

ABOUT DEEP SILVER 

Deep Silver develops and distributes interactive games for all platforms. The Deep Silver label means to captivate all gamers who have a passion for thrilling gameplay in exciting game worlds. Deep Silver works with its partners to achieve a maximum of success while maintaining the highest possible quality, always focusing on what the customer desires.

Deep Silver has published more than 200 games since 2003, including its own brands like the open world extravaganza Saints Row, the zombie action franchise Dead Island, and the grim post-apocalyptic future of the Metro series. Upcoming highlights from Deep Silver include Dead Island 2 and Agents of Mayhem. Deep Silver also owns the development studios Deep Silver Dambuster Studios in Nottingham, UK; Deep Silver Fishlabs in Hamburg, Germany, and Deep Silver Volition based in Champaign, IL, USA. For more information please visit www.deepsilver.com

Techland Publishing Reveals Pure Farming 2018 with Fresh Gameplay Trailer

Techland Publishing Reveals Pure Farming 2018 with Fresh Gameplay Trailer

Farming Goes Global with a Brand New IP from Renowned Publisher, Headed to Windows PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One

Wroclaw, Poland – June 8, 2017 – Techland Publishing, publisher of critically acclaimed hits such as the recent Torment: Tides of Numenera, today announced Pure Farming 2018, a new agricultural simulator headed to Windows PC, the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and Xbox One. Developed by Ice Flames and slated for release in early 2018, the newly-named first installment in the Pure Farming franchise aims to bring the genre to greener pastures with a variety of fresh features, official brands, global settings, unique crops, and much more.

A brand new E3 trailer completes today’s announcement with gorgeous in-game footage, and can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/PDtg9X-ClmA

Featuring realistic models of licensed and crop-specialized machines from brands such as McCormick, Zetor, Landini and Mitsubishi, diverse regions within North America, Italy, Japan and Colombia, and unique crops including olives, rice and industrial hemp, the harvest is going global, and Pure Farming 2018 bets the farm on delivering the widest range of activities ever seen by the farming simulation genre.

“We have spent the last few months really stepping up our game – we listened to our fans, to farm sim players, and the farming community, and they gave us sage advice,” said Krzysztof Czulec, Producer of Pure Farming 2018. “We took notes, learned a lot, and managed to get even more great brands involved. We know the exact direction we are taking, and plan on bringing the best ever farming experience simultaneously to PC and consoles.”

Pure Farming 2018 will be showcased at the 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) from June 13 – 15 in Los Angeles.

Visit the official Pure Farming 2018 Facebook and Twitter pages to stay up to date on upcoming announcements.

About Techland

Founded in 1991, Techland is a renowned independent game developer, distributor, and publisher. The Poland based company is best known for the original Dead Island games, the Call of Juarez series, and Dying Light. Thanks to its proprietary game engine technology, Techland develops top-tier entertainment content for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, Mac OS X, Android, and iOS. Comprised of four offices in Warsaw, Wrocław, Ostrów Wielkopolski, and Vancouver, Canada, the company is committed to delivering unforgettable experiences and using the latest technology for innovative entertainment. For more information about the company, visit the official website at: http://techland.pl/

All product titles, publisher names, trademarks, artwork and associated imagery are trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyright material of the respective owners. All rights reserved.

 

KONGREGATE SURPASSES ONE HUNDRED MILLION MOBILE GAME INSTALLS WORLDWIDE

KONGREGATE SURPASSES ONE HUNDRED MILLION MOBILE GAME INSTALLS WORLDWIDE
San Francisco, CA (June 8th, 2017) – Kongregate, a wholly owned subsidiary of GameStop, and a leading publisher of mobile, PC, and web games, celebrates its 100 millionth mobile game download. The accomplishment follows the success of hit titles AdVenture Capitalist and Animation Throwdown: The Quest for Cards, a collectible card game featuring the hit animated shows Family Guy, American Dad, Bob’s Burgers, Futurama, and King of the Hill.

Kongregate expanded into mobile game publishing in 2013 with Tyrant:Unleashed from Synapse Games. Tyrant was a port of a highly popular and successful title from Kongregate’s web gaming portal.  Since Tyrant  Kongregate has launched over 30 titles on iOS & Android devices including four Editor’s Choice games; BattleHand and Peter Molyneux’ The Trail were honored by the App Store while Animation Throwdown and AdVenture Capitalist were recognized on Google Play.

“Our goal is to bring fun, innovative games to players no matter what device they play on,” said Emily Greer president and co-founder of Kongregate. “I’m immensely proud of the strides we’ve made in the mobile game publishing space in just a few short years, as well as the work we’ve done with up and coming indie developers. We plan to continue that momentum in 2017 with five additional games slated to launch this year, including the next game in the AdVenture franchise, AdVenture Communist.”

Since launching the mobile division of Kongregate, they have worked with a diverse group of indie developers, including Peter Molyneux’ 22 Cans, Adventure Capitalist’s Hyper Hippo, and Synapse on five titles: Tyrant, Global Assault, Spellstone, Animation Throwdown, and a yet untitled project coming soon.

“Synapse has been working with Kongregate for more than 7 years now, beginning with web and now on mobile and Steam.” said Alex Reeve, CEO of Synapse Games.  “While Animation Throwdown was a joint partnership with Kongregate and Chinzilla Games, all of our first party titles for the past six years have been published by Kongregate.  We continue to work with the Kongregate team as we’ve come to appreciate their honesty, passion, and dedication to making our titles a success across multiple gaming platforms. It’s truly been a pleasure working with them!”

In addition to reaching more than 100 million mobile installs, Kongregate’s entire portfolio boasts more than 15 million active monthly players around the world.

Developers interested in learning more about Kongregate’s mobile game publishing program should contact them at [email protected].

About Kongregate

Kongregate is a leading mobile game publisher and web gaming portal. Kongregate’s mobile publishing focuses on free to play mid- and hard-core titles. Working closely with mobile game developers Kongregate provides consulting, analytics, marketing, launch support, and game features such as cross promotion, guilds, and chat. Kongregate’s mobile games have been downloaded tens of millions of times and have hundreds of millions of gameplays.  Kongregate’s web portal features over 100,000 free games played by tens of millions of gamers per month.  Kongregate is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GameStop Corporation and is based in San Francisco. The company was founded in 2006 by brother-and-sister team Jim and Emily Greer.

TIME OF VIRTUAL REALITY’S CO-OP ACTION TOWER DEFENSE GAME ANCIENT AMULETOR COMING JUNE 27 TO PLAYSTATION®VR

TIME OF VIRTUAL REALITY’S CO-OP ACTION TOWER DEFENSE GAME ANCIENT AMULETOR COMING JUNE 27 TO PLAYSTATION®VR

New gameplay trailer shows off fast-paced combat in a fantastic, colorful world

BEIJING – June 8, 2017 – Time of Virtual Reality (TVR) has revealed in a new gameplay trailer that its upcoming co-op action tower defense game, Ancient Amuletor, is expected to launch for PlayStation®VR* on June 27, 2017.

TVR recently released a free demo for Ancient Amuletor featuring the archer and mage classes, available now in the PlayStation®Store: http://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/ancient-amuletor-demo/cid=UP1560-CUSA07770_00-ANCIENTAMULETOR0 

Created for VR by developer TiGames using Unreal Engine 4, Ancient Amuletor is a pick-up-and-play action tower defense game that throws players back in time to battle challenging waves of magical creatures, monsters and more across the ancient world. There are four powerful heroes to choose from, including the gunner, puppeteer, archer and mage, each offering its own unique play style. Fight against the forces of legend alone in single-player, or team up with up to two friends in online cooperative play.

For more information, visit http://amuletor.com, and follow TVR on Twitter.

*PlayStation®Move is required to play.

About Time of Virtual Reality

Founded in 2014, Time of Virtual Reality (TVR) is an independent game studio developing content for emerging virtual reality and existing video game platforms. http://time-vr.com

PROJECT CARS 2 BRINGS THE ADRENALINE OF MOTORSPORT TO THE BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INC. BOOTH AT E3

PROJECT CARS 2 BRINGS THE ADRENALINE OF MOTORSPORT TO THE BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INC. BOOTH AT E3

 

Slightly Mad Studios and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. Today Announce that Project CARS 2 is Leaving the Paddock for a Worldwide Release on September 22, 2017

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (June 8, 2017) – Leading interactive entertainment media publisher and developer BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announces that Project CARS 2, one of most anticipated racing games of the year, will launch in the Americas on September 22, 2017 and will be playable at the BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment booth (number 1647) at E3 2017. On display will be the game’s first public demo highlighting three unique driving scenarios – rallycross, road racing, and multi-class racing – and showcase newly optimized vehicle handling as well as revamped controls. To get a sneak peek at what will be on display at E3, the Project CARS 2 E3 trailer is available today.

 

MULTI-CLASS ACTION

 

Passion for motorsport is embodied in the fan-requested multi-class racing that enables drivers to compete in any car and track in a field of multiple car classes which replicates the world’s most famous endurance racing championships, past and present. Whether it’s iconic cars from the golden age of sports cars, modern prototypes, or GT3, all classes of cars can now race together in either single or championship mode as Project CARS 2 scores the driver’s position not just overall, but in-class too.

 

Capturing all the thrills of motorsport means drivers are able to competing in any car, anytime, anywhere, off- and-online, against both in-class competitors and other classes too.

 

Feel the adrenaline rush as you close-in fast on a GT race car in the coldness of night at Le Mans in your Le Mans Prototype; scan your mirrors on a wet day at the Nürburgring as a Porsche 911 GT3 R monster bursts from the fog and cuts past your Renault Clio as if you were standing still. This is motorsport in Project CARS 2.

 

CAREER MODE SHOWCASED BY E3 SIZZLE TRAILER

 

Showcasing the accessibility of the Project CARS franchise, the game’s “sandbox” approach to its career mode gives drivers an open path to achieving their motorsport dreams. Drivers can begin their motorsport career in grassroots series such as karts and race their way to the very top echelons where many of the world’s most prestigious brands and cars await; they can choose to begin in any motorsport discipline; or even go straight into one particular type of motorsport, and spend one or multiple seasons in that championship. With nine motorsport disciplines to choose from, a racing career has never been more rewarding or challenging.

 

OPTIMIZED HANDLING

 

Project CARS 2 delivers an unparalleled racing experience for players of all skill levels and driving desires. Players can hop in and drive any car, on any track, at any time.  Bleeding-edge visuals, precise car physics, revamped confidence-inspiring gamepad controls combined with advanced and newly refined tire grip and slip physics provide drivers with optimized control and feel in all situations. Recalibrated and highly realistic A.I. make Project CARS 2 the most immersive and technically-advanced racing simulation on the planet.

 

Currently rated RP for Rating Pending by the ESRB, the race begins for Project CARS 2 in the Americas on September 22, 2017 for the Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and PCs via STEAM®. To find out more about Project CARS 2 please visit: https://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/project-cars-2. To learn more about BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.’s other products go to: http://www.bandainamcoent.com/home.html or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS or join the conversation at https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS.

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About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for all major video game consoles, iOS, Android, and online platforms. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including PAC-MAN®, GALAGA®, TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, and ACE COMBAT®. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. is the premier publisher in the Western hemisphere for anime based video games including NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, DRAGON BALL Z®, and ONE PIECE®. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.bandainamcoent.com or www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS.

 

ABOUT SLIGHTLY MAD STUDIOS

Slightly Mad Studios is the team behind the critically acclaimed GTR® series, Need For Speed® Shift™ & Shift 2 Unleashed®.  It has over 10 years of pedigree in racing games, and Project CARS represents the culmination of all that experience and heritage.

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – From the Gallows Review

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – From the Gallows

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PC, iOS, Android
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $4.99 – Available Here

Overview

There has always been something about Telltale’s finales that have, almost without fail, pulled at the audience’s heartstrings. Now while previous seasons had a solid build-up as well as a great cliffhanger that left players expecting a wild ride during the final episode, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier has struggled heavily in this department. That being said, with From the Gallows being the conclusion to this third season has the company managed to turn things around?

Story

Considering this is a review covering the final episode in the season it is highly recommended that readers complete the previous four episodes in an effort to avoid spoilers as various events from these episodes will be discussed from here on out.

Continuing with the theme of the season so far From the Gallows starts with a flashback that touches upon Javi and David’s past as they play a game of dominoes with their father. This short look back at the past gives us another look at the family dynamic between the brothers and another chance for players to establish Javi’s feelings for his family, something that has been another running theme through this season.

After this brief flashback we are thrown back into the present where the explosive effects from the ending of episode four are beginning to take effect as the stronghold that the New Frontier have set themselves up in is invaded by the horde of “muertos” that was once held at bay. Thanks to the events that have taken place over previous episodes and various betrayals of trust, the tensions between the surviving members of Javi’s group are at an all-time high with danger roaming the streets. Unfortunately some of this tension comes from characters once again shifting attitudes at the drop of a hat and reacting in unusual ways to certain events.

Despite these awkward shifts, these confrontations are easily the most engaging you’ll have with these survivors at this point thanks to the fact that the stakes are so high and everyone is inches away from losing it. After figuring out a plan, the episode takes a slower pace as the group continues to move towards surviving and finalize their little arcs until everything once again comes to a head before the episode comes to a close and players are forced to make a heavy decision that may play a large role in future events depending on how things are handled going forward.

When From the Gallows was released, Telltale described it as being the must customized experience that they have had to offer and that is indeed the case as there are a large number of scenes that you may or may not see depending on who has lived up to this point as well as various decisions and interactions you have chosen to make playing as both Javi and Clementine throughout the season. This can lead to some rather surprising outcomes that will lead to very few players experiencing the same exact events and even discussing the episode after led to wildly different results by the time that the final decisions were made, with some characters living and dying even when certain choices were made during these scenes that were the exact same, leaving some results up to earlier choices that weren’t so easy to discern, or at least not easy to figure out until you are given a rundown of your interactions with the key characters by the time the credits roll.

Gameplay

In an effort tomove the story along at a brisk pace and try to close as many plot points as possible From the Gallows features nothing in the form of puzzles and only simple movement/exploration sequences. Even the action scenes are a bit standard in nature outside of the final few confrontations that, once again, vary depending on your choice. It is worth noting that Telltale once again pulls a fast one with players by making a seemingly difficult decision near the end of the last episode meaningless as the outcome leads to an abrupt and out of nowhere conclusion that, while fitting considering death is everywhere in a zombie apocalypse, is disappointing nonetheless.

It is also worth noting that this episode suffered from quite a large number of glitches. Not only does a character that died in the previous episode, or should be dead at this point anyway, briefly appear during a scene but there are numerous graphical glitches that pop up. This includes a navigational scene that has zombies appear abruptly leading to a death scene after a non-intractable cutscene.

Visuals & Audio

From the Gallows may not feature the most action packed sequences but the amount of gore and detail in these scenes is still handled very well. Another thing that the development team pulled off well this episode are the faction animations for characters as they witness the various outcomes to the events that take place in front of them. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, texture glitches, random jittering character models, and other issues plagued this episode throughout my time with it.

The voice work for the characters, including a familiar face that makes an appearance again, is once again handled incredibly well. This does wonders for the emotional scenes that take place by playing up the fact that these are still decently written characters despite the random emotion swings.

Overall

After the events leading up to the end of A New Frontier things seemed rather questionable as the writing has been a bit all over the place and for a time even an end goal seemed shadowed. Thankfully through some strong focused storytelling and events we see a solid conclusion with From the Gallows. While perhaps not as striking as previous events in the series have been, the events that transpire during the episode should please most fans and considering this is the very first time that the series has actually flat out told players that the story will continue, it will be interesting to see where things go after the build-up of Clementine during A New Frontier.

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Thicker Than Water Review

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Thicker Than Water

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PC, iOS, Android
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $4.99 – Available Here

Overview

With The Walking Dead: A New Frontier focusing on introducing us to an entirely new cast of characters and combining their story with Clementine, this season so far has been managing to do a fairly decent job at raising the stakes throughout the three episodes so far. Now with the fourth episode, Thicker than Water, released do they manage to leave fans excited for the eventual conclusion?

Story

As per usual with these episodic game reviews, those who have yet to play the previous three episodes of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier should do so before continuing on as there will be certain events discussed that may spoil reveals that have occurred in these past episodes that would best be experienced firsthand.

Once again The Walking Dead: A New Frontier begins with a fresh flashback to before the undead began to walk the Earth but this time the focus is placed solely on Javi and David as they spend some time at the batting cages. While many of these flashbacks have given us hints into the family dynamic that was established long before zombies became an issue, this one falls flat primarily due to the fact that we see very little in the way of new information here other than giving the player an option to support David one more time.

After returning to the episode proper we find Javi and David imprisoned by Joan as she continues to drive the New Frontier down her own path. After David is removed from the cell and taken to Joan, Javi is able to escape and reunite with the rest of his group and begin to plan their next move. Unfortunately this next move basically involves going nowhere as this feels like one of the first episodes this season that simply places the player in a holding pattern.

While certain character interactions are interesting to see, such as a certain Clementine scene proving that she is growing up in other ways besides mentally that leads to a humorously awkward scene between her and Javi, many of the other interactions we see here demonstrate very little growth for our cast of characters. This is especially true for core members of the cast who will randomly act one way only to completely change their mannerisms in the next scene, leading to some odd mood swings that are rather out of character.

As a result we for much of this episode players will feel like they are simply going through the motions as the story slowly advances forward towards a final confrontation and a few key choices including one that has been hinted at throughout the series so far, though one of these appears to already be presenting itself as useless by the time the episode comes to a conclusion.

Although building players up for an exciting and uncertain final episode is the main purpose for Thicker than Water, there were likely many more ways that this could have been done but unfortunately the way that was taken here often makes certain characters act out of the norm and certain revelations end up being incredibly simplistic and easy to see coming, especially when the main villain this time is as basic in nature as we have seen from the New Frontier.

Gameplay

Players are presented with a bit more freedom to explore this time around over the previous episode though it is still rather limited. There is a small puzzle to solve as well as a few areas that you can search around but don’t expect much else in this regard. Other than that players will still need to take care of a handful of action sequences as well as make the same choices that they are used to making by this point in the game.

It is worth noting that unlike past episodes Thicker than Water actually ran almost perfectly with no technical issues arising throughout the playthrough.  Considering past experiences with these episodes led to some technical hitches appearing here and there, this is a nice plus that it was avoided this time around.

Visuals & Audio

Since players spend most of their time inside of a few areas in this episode we don’t really see a whole lot of new areas but the various scenes we are presented with still look quite impressive thanks to the art style and character designs. It is worth noting that the voice actors still perform an admirable job despite the inconsistent nature of their personalities this episode.

Overall

When you come to the penultimate episode in a season that has been attempting to tell its own story with new characters while also interweaving an old favorite, there is a certain amount of leeway you can take to make sure things progress at a nice pace. Unfortunately the way it is handled in Thicker than Water is not only out of character most of the time but also incredibly dull as players simply go through the motions until the final confrontation leading to a cliffhanger. Whether or not The Walking Dead: A New Frontier can wrap things up in a satisfying manner in the next episode is a question that fans will likely be looking to, but first they must tackle this obstacle in order to see the minimal set-up included in it.

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Above the Law Review

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Above the Law

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PC, iOS, Android
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $4.99 – Available Here

Overview

After starting things off at a brisk pace, with two episodes being released at the same time, Telltale Games slowed things down a bit with The Walking Dead: A New Frontier by taking a bit over three months to release the third episode. After leaving players with one hell of a cliffhanger, is Above the Law able to move the story along in a satisfying manner?

Story

After starting things off with a double episode, those who have yet to play through both parts of Ties that Bind should note that the following review will mention certain events that have taken place over the course of the series so continuing on past this point will likely risk spoiling major events or revelations that should be experienced firsthand.

Similar to the previous episodes Above The Law begins by showing off Javi and his family a few short months after the outbreak began. This serves as a way to expand upon the motivations for Javi and the rest of his surviving group members and why they had to leave and hit the road, potentially sacrificing ever meeting the rest of their family again for the hopes of staying safe, and more importantly supplied, while on the road.

Afterwards players will immediately begin where things left off, with Javi’s brother David shockingly alive and also a member of the New Frontier that have been causing our survivors no end of strife throughout the series so far. As one might expect, despite bringing his wife Kat and son Gabe back to him, things grow quite tense as the rest of your companions are not only treated as potential threats but are also quite angry at the fact that they are now meeting people who have previously caused the fall of Prescott and the deaths of friends and family.

Thanks to these hostilities and the fact that the New Frontier is managed by four leaders who Javi has to prove his worth to in an effort to stay inside the walls, reuniting with your long lost brother is far from a blessing, especially with what has been hinted at about David by his wife, various flashbacks, and Clementine. Thanks to another trip back to the past we learn about why Clementine ended up being expelled from the group and why she is so angry at them while showing off just how much of a survivor she is even if she has to act on her own.

Above The Law focuses heavily on raising the tension and drama between Javi and his companions, the New Frontier members, and his family. This does sort of lead to a number of expected developments that tend to leave the player feel like they have very little choice in the matter as the story advances despite their best efforts to either co-operate or stand up for themselves. In fact, an action that one would usually take as common sense is treated as an unthinkable act by one of these companions.

Regardless of the lack of player choice mattering this time, the clever framing and developments over the hour and a half episode will leave the player questioning just who they should believe as the final section plays out. Although the ending this time around does take a rather predictable turn, it is easy to feel like things could have went an entirely different way if certain alignments were shifted and the fact that the threat was there, albeit not seized, leads into an interesting confrontation that only slightly builds things up for the next episode.

In fact, while there are various signs pointing to where the story will be going in The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, the lack of an actual main goal at the moment does feel a little troubling considering this is already past the half-way point of the series.

Gameplay

While there is plenty of dialogue and a few action sequences that require the player to either take down Walkers in quick fashion or solve a puzzle, there is very little in the way of actual exploration. In fact even the puzzle this time around is limited by the fact that players can only complete it after they have examined every aspect of the puzzle. Without doing this you cannot even take the few actions necessary to complete it and considering this is a timed one, players will feel rather disappointed by how tightly the mechanics are held back this time through.

Visuals & Audio

Above The Law continues to look rather impressive with the slightly upgraded looking engine offering better detailed characters and smooth gameplay that never once saw a hiccup throughout my time with the episode. The zombies this time around are fairly similar looking to what we have come to expect though the new areas explored this time, including the inside of the New Frontier’s compound are a nice treat.

It is interesting to note that the voice actors for the characters in this series continue to be very impressive with their roles. Clementine continues to shine in her cut-back role and even the various sound effects during combat have been modified a bit and can be quite humorous considering the weapon that Javi brings into battle this time around.

Overall

With plenty of tension halting what should have been an impossible reunion Above The Law keeps the story moving at a fairly solid pace while keeping players on their toes when it comes to dealing with the various members of New Frontier and what actions they should take. Unfortunately these actions are currently given little consequence at the moment and while the predictable route is taken, things do seem to be gaining momentum for whichever route the story will continue down in the episode four.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series: Tangled Up in Blue Review

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series: Tangled Up in Blue

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PC, iOS, Android
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $4.99 Available Here

Overview

After successfully managing to transfer numerous comic properties into successful video game adaptations, Telltale Games tackled one of the DC’s biggest characters last year and now they have begun releasing their first series from Marvel comics. Few may have guessed that Guardians of the Galaxy would be the license they would choose to go after but with a brand new movie out in theaters and the success of the first film, fans are ready to see more of what this quarreling band is up to. So now that the first episode, Tangled Up in Blue, has been released does the series get off to a satisfying start?

Story

Those who may be familiar with the series primarily through the movie counterparts may be a bit put off initially as they try to figure out where exactly Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series: Tangled Up in Blue is set to take place since we already have Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, and Drax gathered together and in the midst of some trouble but it quickly grows apparent that the setting is quite far from what they may be familiar with. In fact, one of the biggest twists that happens in this episode immediately sets the series apart from the “cinematic universe” that Marvel has been building up over the years.

It is a good thing that Telltale Games felt like taking some risks here by moving the Guardians through in a new direction with a hook that is sure to snag into fans and even newcomers with the basest knowledge of the series into continuing along with the series to see just where the journey this time will end up. Considering the story is just starting I won’t discuss these twists much other than that the introduction of flashbacks and the new villain introduced this time around create an interesting plotline that will keep fans eager to see what will happen next.

While these plotlines are obviously the hook, the meat of the story so far comes from the oft arguing members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite being together for quite some time by this part in the story, the group continues to bicker quite often with plenty of quick-witted one-liners mixed in with the standard dialogue that is exchanged between them. The personalities of the crew are as one would expect and their interactions are similarly perfect.

That being said, players will often feel like they are playing something of a balancing act as Star-Lord as they try to keep some of their crew happy while trying to avoid angering other members too much. Obviously it is currently unknown just how much certain choices will affect the player’s relationship with various members of the gang in the future though with one member already preparing to write themselves off and leave the group it is clear that the infighting will only grow worse from here on out.

One thing that is also worth mentioning is that, thanks primarily to Star-Lord’s gadgets of which we’ll touch on more in a bit, Telltale has added in the option to talk with your team members during exploration sequences and this is a nice way to add additional dialogue and get your crews’ thoughts on a situation that would have been missed otherwise.

Gameplay

Those familiar with Telltale’s style will feel quite at home with most of the gameplay found throughout this episode. With action taking place through quick time events and almost all dialogue involving two to four choices that must be selected within a certain time frame the company hasn’t stepped out of familiar territory all that much.

They did however manage to expand on their current mechanics though and as mentioned earlier most of this comes through Star-Lord’s tools. Extra dialogue is unlocked through radio discussions, his tool to see holographic events of previous events add a new layer to some puzzles that still are fairly easy, and using his jet-boots to travel between floors at a quick pace allow for new exploration features that ad a bit of extra spice into the game.

Visuals & Audio

One must say that, outside of a few appearance changes that fans who have only seen the films to this point will need to adjust to, the character models in this episode are fantastic. The Guardians as well as other familiar faces are nicely detailed and even the environments you explore have a nice amount of variety to them. It is also worth noting that throughout my time with this episode I didn’t experience any glitches or hiccups which is a nice touch considering the common nature of these issues in The Walking Dead: New Frontier.

The voice work for the characters is also fairly well done with many of the characters fitting along nicely with what fans may be familiar with as the new voice cast steps into these roles. It is interesting to note that Telltale has not skimped on the classic rock music that Guardians of the Galaxy is known for using and have included a couple of great tracks in this episode alongside standard tunes used for background music.

Overall

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series: Tangled Up in Blue had some difficult ground to break but thankfully Telltale’s writing has managed to successfully set up an interesting storyline while still holding together most of the familiar personalities of these characters. With these flawed characters continuing together towards a new journey, it will be an interesting ride for sure and this just so happens to be a solid start for fans and even newcomers looking for a fresh story.

NINTENDO ADDS POKKÉN TOURNAMENT DX TO THE E3 LINE-UP

NINTENDO ADDS POKKÉN TOURNAMENT DX TO THE E3 LINE-UP

Pokkén Tournament DX joins ARMS and Splatoon 2 with its own invitational tournament at E3 2017

8th June, 2017 – Joining the already announced ARMS and Splatoon 2 tournaments, Pokkén Tournament DX for Nintendo Switch will complete the triad of social, competitive games in action at Nintendo’s booth next week at the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles. Fans around the world can watch all the tournament action in English at Nintendo’s E3 2017 website*, as well as on Nintendo’s Twitch channels with a chatroom available.

Here’s a schedule of events for the week:

Tournaments

Name: 2017 Splatoon 2 World Inkling Invitational

Date: Wednesday 14th June

Time: 7:30am AEST**

Details: For the first time ever, competitors from four different global regions will compete for world dominance in Splatoon 2. The four four-person teams – from the United States, Japan, Europe, and from Australia/New Zealand – defeated their local rivals and gained the chance to take on competitors at E3.

Format: Teams will battle in a round-robin Turf War tournament that will decide seeding for the next round. All teams will play one another and get a chance to scope out their opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. In the next round, teams will battle in the game’s Ranked Battle modes. The semifinal stage will be a best-of-five battle, while the championship will be best-of-seven.

Prize: The winning team will win global bragging rights and a special Splatoon 2 trophy engraved with their names.

Casters: Jordan Kent, Ashley Esqueda, and Nintendo of America’s Eric Smith

 

Name: Pokkén Tournament DX Invitational

Date: Thursday 15th June

Time: 3:30am AEST**

Competitors: Eight YouTube and Twitch stars

Format: Crew battle with four teams and two players per team. Random draft order. The first person in each crew must choose one of the new characters, the other person can choose one of the original characters.

Prize: Both winners will each receive a Pokkén Tournament DX art piece signed by Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, and members of the development team.

Casters: D1 and VikkiKitty

 

Name: 2017 ARMS Open Invitational

Date: Thursday 15th June

Time: 8:30am AEST**

Competitors: Four professional competitive fighting game players (Alex Valle, Kelsy “SuperGirlKels” Medeiros, Daniel “Tafokints” Lee, and Marie-Laure “Kayane” Norindr) will take on four E3 attendees who rise to the top by competing in Nintendo’s booth.

Format: Single elimination

Prize: The coveted 2017 ARMS Open Invitational Belt

Casters: D1 and VikkiKitty

 

Nintendo Treehouse: Live at E3

What: Members of Nintendo’s Treehouse will once again delve into the details of the Nintendo Switch console and games for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, including Super Mario Odyssey and Pokkén Tournament DX. Viewers will get an in-depth look at gameplay and hear behind-the-scenes details about Nintendo’s line-up for E3.

When: On Wednesday 14th June, the show starts right after the Nintendo Spotlight: E3 2017 presentation at approximately 2:30am AEST. On Thursday 15th and Friday 16th June, the show starts about 3:00am AEST.**

Who: Treehouse members, as well as developers and other game experts, including Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company. Mr Ishihara and various developers will talk about the upcoming Pokkén Tournament DX game for Nintendo Switch.

 

* This content is presented by Nintendo of America. Please check www.nintendo.com.au for information specific to Australia and New Zealand.

**Times subject to change
Additional Links:

Nintendo Australia website: http://www.nintendo.com.au
Nintendo Australia Twitter: https://twitter.com/NintendoAUNZ
Nintendo Australia Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NintendoAUNZ
Nintendo AU on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/nintendoau