FIRST PERSON SHOOTER HIRED OPS EXPANDS AND ADDS NEW FEATURES
New ‘Evacuation’ Map And Multiple Fixes Arrive In Latest Update
Moscow, Russia – December 2, 2016 – Developer AbsolutSoft has today released update 0.9.451 for its military-themed First Person Shooter,Hired Ops, which is currently available in Steam’s Early Access program. The update includes a new map, named “Evacuation.” Situated in the Ural mountains, Evacuation is available for Deathmatch and Team Elimination modes and sets players up for intense and dynamic firefights in close- and medium-ranges combat in the remnants of an abandoned Emercom base. Evacuation, well known among Contract Wars players, is sure to be popular with those players who favor head-on assault tactics and fierce face-to-face encounters.
As part of this update, AbsolutSoft is making multiple gameplay improvements and introducing a test version of the Competitive matches and Ranking system. Now, when selecting a map, players will decide if they want to participate in a ranked or training match. In training matches, players are free to try new weapon or tactics without risking rank or equipment. In the ranked matches, however, players are risking their overall rankings, which may go up or down based on the player’s performance.
Update 0.9.451 features:
New Map: Evacuation, available in Deathmatch and Team Elimination modes
Fixes to matchmaking
Fixed Hold-to-Aim issues
New Competitive Matches and Ranking System
Training Mode: Updated so that you do not earn/lose anything
Hired Ops is a session-based online shooter dedicated to fierce conflicts between rival mercenary groups battling on a global scale from Russian developer AbsolutSoft. Using the latest weapons and special equipment, players take part in armed encounters, unite into private military companies, carry out contracts, build bases and aggressively compete with each other – all for the sake of domination in the world mercenary market. Players are free to choose from any of the five different fighter classes, each featuring an elaborately crafted skill system and an arsenal rich in weapon variety and weapon modifications. Hired Ops includes a diverse mix of game modes, including the “Enhanced Realism” mode.
Available on Steam Early Access or to learn more about Hired Ops, visit www.hiredops.com. ‘Like’ the game on Facebook and follow the game’s development on Twitter @hiredops for all the latest developer updates and news.
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ABOUT ABSOLUTSOFT
AbsolutSoft is a privately-owned Russian game development studio, established in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2010. The company has previously released the browser-based online FPS Contract Wars, which won the attention of 48 million players worldwide. In 2016, AbsolutSoft moved its headquarters to Moscow and focused on the development of Hired Ops, previously announced in 2015 as Contract Wars Standalone
The fifteenth Elusive Target, The Angel of Death, is now live in Marrakesh across all platforms. A briefing video is available online and in-game to help players determine the approximate location of the target. Players will need to own HITMAN Episode 3: Marrakesh in order to access this content.
*The Elusive Target is available for 168 hours.
Elusive Targets are part of the live content being published for HITMAN in-between episodes and represent a new game mode debuting for players. They are not going to be easy but if you can prove yourself, you’ll earn in-game rewards for completing multiple Elusive Target contracts.
The Elusive Targets are specially crafted, unique targets, which come with particular rules:
· An Elusive Target is a once in a lifetime experience
· They are available for a limited time only in game
· Intel on the target will be limited
· They will not appear in instinct mode, or the mini map and their locations will not be revealed to you – you’ll have to go and find them
· Plan accordingly before you engage your target
· Your target can only die once
· If you die during the mission, that’s it
· When the time runs out, they are gone for good
· If you fail, there are no second chances
Don’t miss out.
Start time: Friday, December 2nd 13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET
End time: Friday, December 9th 13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET
HITMAN is available on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.
During The Game Awards tonight Nintendo felt a bit generous by giving us not one but two videos for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The first one served as a small sampler for things to come as it was shown during the pre-show of the event and gives us a trailer that is part cinematic and part gameplay called “Life in Ruins.”
Later on in the show Bill Trinen and Nate Bihldorff of Nintendo Treehouse had a let’s play session for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild where nearly four minutes of gameplay footage is shown off as we see the “Zonai Ruins” shown off as well as combat against some difficult enemies. You can check out both videos below and keep an eye out for the game itself when it is released sometime in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U.
During The Game Awards tonight Gearbox Software announced that they would be teaming up with People Can Fly to release Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 7, 2017. The title will be updated with “hi-res textures, increased polygon counts, sterling audio, smoother framerates, and running in up to 4K resolution on PC and PS4 Pro.”
The game will also include all of the previously released DLC for the original title as well as brand new content such as an Overkill Campaign mode that allows players to play with an unrestricted arsenal of weapons, five new levels for Echo Mode, and more. Those who pre-order the game will also be given the ability to play as Duke Nukem who is voiced by Jon St. John. You can check out the announcement trailer for Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition as well as some screenshots below.
During this year’s “The Game Awards” Bethesda released a brand new eight minute long trailer for Prey. The focus of this video is to show off elements of the game’s combat systems as well as a bit of environmental exploration and puzzle solving all while being narrated by Creative Director, Raphael Colantonio and Lead Designer, Ricardo Bare.
The purpose of the video is to show that while players might all start off at the same point in the game they will all be able to play as they want and be able to customize themselves with various abilities. Currently Arkane Studios’ Prey is set to be released sometime in 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
As the company previously promised, Telltale Games revealed an extended first look video for their upcoming third season of The Walking Dead. In a unique fashion, it was also announced that since The Walking Dead: A New Frontier would be “a little to big to fit in one episode” for a season premiere, that they are going to be releasing the first two episodes of the series at the same time on December 20th.
In the extended clip for The Walking Dead: A New Frontier we are introduced to the newcomer Javier and are given a brief look at how the beginning of the zombie plague affected him and his family before we move forward in time to years later when he encounters a young girl turned hardened survivor, Clementine.
You may remember that over a year and a half ago Telltale had announced that they would be working on producing a new episodic series for Marvel. At the time, no one really knew what to expect considering the massive number of properties the company could be working with, but at the VGAs today the company finally revealed what the series will be based on.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series was officially announced with a little teaser video, found below, and it is said to be coming soon sometime in 2017 for PC, consoles, and various mobile devices. Few details are known about what to expect from the series but it has been said that it will be told in five parts like many of Telltale Games‘ titles.
Koei Tecmo has revealed a new feature for Berserk and the Band of the Hawk which is set to be released early next year. Like many “Warriors” titles, players can choose to step away from the story mode of the game and enter into what is titled this time around as Endless Eclipse Mode. In this mode players will be fighting against enemies in an endless battle in the Eclipse dimension with hordes coming after them, each one stronger than the last one. Completing various missions while facing off against these demonic creatures rewards the player in various ways and these rewards can be carried over to the main game.
The company also described that outside of the main weapons each character will have, various sub-weapons will also be available but thanks to their special abilities they have a cooldown after use meaning players will need to be careful of when they decide to pull them out. For example, outside of his Dragonslayer sword, Guts also wields a crossbow and an artificial arm cannon allowing for quick-fire or explosive long-range attacks which clear all enemies in sight.
In the world of Remnant, people known as Hunters and Huntresses protect the world from the creatures of Grimm. These creatures are attracted to fear and negativity, so they are not a threat as long as peace exists. Ruby Rose is a fifteen-year-old girl studying to become a Huntress, and perhaps due to being in the right place at the right time, gets accepted into Beacon Academy. Beacon is a school that trains young people to become the protectors of the peace. She soon meets her teammates: her older sister Yang Xiao Long, the quiet Blake Belladonna and the heiress Weiss Schnee. Despite her positive and friendly attitude, Blake and Weiss do not immediately come to like Ruby. However, when they all end up being a part of Team RWBY, they must work together as a team in order to succeed at school and to save the kingdom of Vale from the Grimm and the revolutionist group White Fang.
Story
RWBY is dramatically different from the type of content Rooster Teeth was previously known for. First of all, it is the first Rooster Teeth production to feature girls as the main characters. The creator of the series, the late Monty Oum, came up with the idea to base four characters on the colours red, white, black and yellow. It is simple and exactly the sort of thing a typical modern Japanese manga author would do to create a cast of characters. However, while different hair colours would likely be the only character trait in an average modern manga series, ‘trait’ only being in the hereditary sense, Oum’s characters all feel real. They are significantly more realistic than the characters in Red vs Blue.
Ruby Rose, an almost perpetually happy teenager who wants to become a hero, is a sweet and caring friend who wants all to be right in the world. She soon finds out that fairy tales can be misleading in that they do not portray the world as it is, and she also finds out that being the leader of a team is a significant responsibility. Growing up is not always easy, a point that this series effectively drives home. Her older sister Yang Xiao Long is a fun-loving girl who just wants some adventure in her life, but she too comes across as realistic. There are, after all, people in the real world who live for the moment like Yang does. Likewise, Blake Belladonna is a familiar character; she is quiet and prefers to read books. She does not see the point in going to parties, but she also has a strong sense of responsibility. Weiss Schnee feels real too, despite heiresses to world-famous companies not being common in everyday life. She wants to believe that she is perfect, but she is able to admit to herself that she is not. That is not an easy thing to do, and despite having trepidations about Ruby leading her team at first, she is able to work together with others and become friends with her teammates.
This series has a large cast of supporting characters and recurring antagonists, something that helps make it more engaging. Pyrrha Nikos has always gotten what she wanted, but is not sure exactly what she wants to do with her life. Others make her out to be perfect, but no-one truly understands her until Jaune Arc comes along and tries to become her friend. He wants to follow in his family’s footsteps but has no real fighting ability. Despite this, Pyrrha sees potential in him where no-one else has and helps him grow as a Hunter-in-training. The two of them have strong feelings and emotions, and by far are the easiest supporting characters to identify with. There are many more characters that make this show fantastic, although the members of Team CRDL are better when they are given as little screen time as possible.
Unlike the bullies, the antagonists are no pushover in this series and are extremely dangerous. Magical girl anime series would feature the protagonists saving the world, but things are not sugarcoated here. The bad guys are extremely bad, and it almost seems as if there is no way that they could possibly be defeated. Writers Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross have stated on multiple occasions that these three volumes only cover the first act of the series, and this sounds right. Supporting characters come and go, but the antagonists have only just begun to wreak havoc on the world. The Beacon Collection covers much of Team RWBY’s first year at Beacon Academy and the Vytal Festival, but there is a long way to go, and a lot more of the characters and the world to learn about.
Visuals
American companies have tried and failed to recreate the style of anime in the past. RWBY, however, succeeds in looking like a 3D anime series. The 3D style makes it seem a little more like a cel-shaded movie, perhaps somewhere between The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and the more common 2D anime style, but it works. The movements of the characters are fluid, the hair and clothes constantly move with the wind and the action sequences are incredible. There are no animation shortcuts used here; while there do appear to be some very infrequent drops in the frame rate and even rarer drops in quality, every aspect of the visuals is marvelous to look at. The backgrounds are great, the scenery is excellent and the character designs are unique and incredibly well-detailed. It is easy to see why so much fan art exists for this series.
Audio
Jeff Williams composes the majority of the music for this series, and his music gives it a wonderfully orchestral feel. It is right up there with the best of the music composed for modern television anime, and Williams continually demonstrates that he is capable of composing music in a variety of different styles to suit a variety of different scenes. A case in point is the music created for the Team FNKI battle in the Vytal Festival; it contrasts with the rest of the music but still sounds awesome and funky. There is so much to like about the music, and it is all available for purchase on CD from Rooster Teeth.
The voice acting is top notch. Before seeing the credits to the first volume, it was not obvious that Ruby is voiced by Achievement Hunter’s Lindsay Jones. Although her trick to portraying her almost seems easy when she demonstrates it in one of the extras, Lindsay is so convincing as Ruby that it seemed as if Ruby was voiced by a professional who had been working as an anime voice actor for years. Barbara Dunkelman can be picked straight away as the voice of Yang, but although Yang’s voice is not particularly different from Barbara’s normal voice, she does an excellent job of voicing the fun-loving girl. Arryn Zech is also great as Blake, so it is a shame that Blake continues to be one of the quieter characters. Kara Eberle similarly does an excellent job of portraying Weiss as a strong but imperfect girl. The recurring roles are all excellent as well; long-time Rooster Teeth fans will likely enjoy hearing Michael Jones as Sun, Ryan Haywood as the bombastic Professor Port and Joel Heyman as the hyper-energetic Professor Oobleck. Gray Haddock is convincing as major antagonist Roman Torchwick, and the list could go on. Suffice it to say that every aspect of the audio, as with every other element of the series, is outstanding.
Extras
There are over three hours of video extras included in this release. There are numerous behind-the-scenes videos detailing the production process, footage from an RTX panel, short episodes explaining more about the world of Remnant, fan art and more. If you want to learn more about the production of the series, these extras provide an excellent reason to pick up this release. Another reason is the SteelBook packaging. The artwork on the shiny front cover is fantastic. The artwork of Beacon Academy on the inside is a nice touch as well. This is sturdy packaging, so if you have friends or family members insisting that you check out RWBY because of the recent online premiere of volume 4, picking up this release is the best way to go.
Overall
RWBY perfectly lives up to the hype surrounding it. One can easily see why so many fans immediately fell in love with it; the characters are realistic and easy to identify with. They go through struggles just like many teenagers do, even if the struggles are significantly more confronting and disturbing than is normal in the real world. RWBY has strong emotional engagement, making it easy to become attached to the main and supporting characters. With this outstanding series and more, Rooster Teeth is quickly becoming a leader in content creation in the western world.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
MASTER THE ART OF DESTRUCTION IN BULLETSTORM: FULL CLIP EDITION
Cult-Classic Shooter Returns with Visual Overhaul and New Content in the Ultimate Package
Frisco, Texas – December 1, 2016 – People Can Fly and Gearbox Publishing are pleased to announce Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition as the critically-acclaimed shooter comes to PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and PC on April 7, 2017 in stunning ultra-high resolutions. Updated with hi-res textures, increased polygon counts, sterling audio, smoother framerates, and running in up to 4K resolution on PC and PS4 Pro, this upgraded version of the game comes with all of the previously-released DLC along with all-new content. Also for the first time ever, players who pre-order the game will get the chance to play as the iconic Duke Nukem in Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition. Featuring full voice over from the voice of Duke, this feature will replace main character Grayson Hunt with Duke Nukem and provide a never-before-seen experience to fans.
“We are thrilled to be working with People Can Fly to bring Bulletstorm to new audiences and platforms,” said Steve Gibson, Head of Gearbox Publishing. “Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition takes a critically-acclaimed game and adds so much to it with some killer new content, including all the separate add-on packs, and kicking up the presentation to a level that wasn’t possible with technology before. We hope fans of the franchise, both new and old, are going to love this.”
Step into the boots of Grayson Hunt after a crash landing on an abandoned resort planet forces him to make a hard choice: survival or revenge. An exiled member of the elite assassin group Dead Echo, Grayson’s blind desire for vengeance finds his crew stranded on Stygia where he can finally confront the commander behind his betrayal—or get his team off the planet alive. Battle your way through throngs of Stygia’s mutated inhabitants, performing masterful kills throughout the single-player campaign—or one of 30 competitive score-challenge or 12 co-operative multiplayer maps—using Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition’s unique “Skillshot” system that rewards you for executing the most creative and deadly kills imaginable.
Set to launch on PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and Windows PC on April 7,2017, Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is the definitive Bulletstorm experience, including:
The Total Package – All previously-released content including all maps, modes, and more on your favorite modern platform
New Overkill Campaign Mode – Blast your way through the campaign by starting with an unrestricted arsenal of weapons and Skillshots
New Echo Maps – Showcase your skills on six brand-new levels for the score-based Echo Mode
Killer Visuals – Presented with updated models, environments, and animations all running at a smoother framerate than ever before
The Art of Destruction – Orchestrate masterful kills by mixing fast-paced gunplay with unique kick, slide, and leash combos
Visceral Audio – Bask your ears in Skillshot glory with newly remastered audio effects
Duke Nukem’s Bulletstorm Tour – Pre-order the game and get the option to play through the entire Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition campaign as Duke Nukem, featuring a fully rerecorded script and brand-new lines from the original voice of Duke
“Everyone at our studio is excited to be delivering what we feel is the very best Bulletstorm experience to fans around the world,” said Sebastian Wojciechowski, president of People Can Fly. “The team has worked tirelessly to ensure that Bulletstorm’s debut for a whole new generation will be great, and we hope that gamers everywhere are ready to step into Grayson’s boots again and show the world how creative they can get with their Skillshots.”
For more information on Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, please visit www.bulletstorm.com
ESRB: Rating Pending. Visit www.esrb.org for more information.
About Gearbox Software
Since its inception and first release, Half-Life: Opposing Force, the talented developers at Gearbox Software have had the pleasure of creating video games for some of the most exciting and revered brands on the planet. The Gearbox Software team has also created, owned and managed original brands including the award-winning, best-selling Brothers in Arms series and the record-setting, genre breaking Borderlands franchise. In addition, Gearbox Software has acquired other major video game properties including the Duke Nukem and Homeworld brands. With all of its owned franchises, Gearbox Software enjoys driving and managing a deep portfolio of licensed and internally-produced ancillary products including video games, comic books, action figures, apparel, art prints, fictional novels, non-fiction reference books, and linear media content for film and television.
About People Can Fly
Established in 2002, People Can Fly is known for recent titles such as Gears of War: Judgment (published in 2013) and Bulletstorm – an original, Unreal Engine 3-powered onslaught of ‘kill with skill’ gameplay and blockbuster moments published in 2011. The studio made its mark on the shooter genre with its award-winning Painkiller series of games for PC and Xbox prior to shipping Epic’s Gears of War for PC. People Can Fly is currently working on another exciting AAA shooter.
