FUNimation Entertainment has just announced that they will be releasing the Steins;Gate film, subtitled Load Region of Déjà Vu, in North America in 2017. No specific details have been announced yet, such as the exact release date and what formats it will be released on, but FUNimation has stated that details of the release will be revealed at the end of this November.
FUNimation has previously released the full TV anime series on home-video in North America. PQube will be releasing Steins;Gate 0, a game set in an alterate timeline to the rest of the series, in English at the end of November. The special edition release of the game will come with an artbook, soundtrack and more.
The upcoming U.S. DVD and Blu-ray release of Amagi Brilliant Park was recently announced by Sentai Filmworks. Now, they have revealed the full details of the contents of the premium box set release. In addition to the extra physical items, all 13 episodes will be included on both DVD and Blu-ray with dual audio and English subtitles.
The contents of the premium edition are all housed in a vibrant chipboard box. The items include: Moffle, Macaron and Tiramie metal mascot pins, a two-sided metal Moffle coin, a park map that doubles as a dice game, a collection of colourful stickers, an exclusive custom artbook, park guide book brochures, a 2.25 inch mirror featuring the characters from the series on one side and a certificate of authenticity.
The premium box set will not receive a second print run, so if you want to own one, be sure to pre-order it as soon as possible. It can currently be pre-ordered from Sentai Filmworks’ online store here for $125.99 USD (United States Dollars). The suggested retail price is $179.98 USD.
After a quick jaunt through space, Firaxis Games is returning to Sid Meier’s Civilization’s roots on Earth. Sid Meier’s Civilization VI represents a modernization of Sid Meier’s classic series with new and updated gameplay mechanics. Launching with 20 great leaders, players will take their civilization from the Stone Age to the Information age while they attempt to seek victory through four different paths.
Story
As a 4X strategy game, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI does not have much of a story but rather a meta-game. There is a little bit of writing in the game when it comes to diplomatic interaction between nations. What little writing is there is decent, though there is not enough to be able to give a fair judgement on excellence. I appreciate that Civilization VI continues the tradition of adding quotes from famous people to the game. The collection chosen range from humorous to thought provoking words that often compliment the situation where they appear.
Gameplay
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI introduces a variety of new gameplay mechanics to the series, making a lot bigger changes to the gameplay than the previous title Civilization: Beyond Earth. At its core though, it is still a 4X strategy title. Players kick off the game by selecting a great leader that commands one of twenty powerful civilizations through history. Each civilization has its own specialty and many are optimized for specific types of victory. Each leader has their own main personality with some randomized influences when controlled by an AI that often reflects that civilization’s strengths.
The game kicks off in the Stone Age, with each player given a city and a warrior. There are four ways to victory. Domination victory is the most straight forward and familiar to gamers: conquer all enemy capitals and win the game. An equally aggressive, albeit more spiritual than physically violent, method of victory is a religious win. This method is new and is essentially a cross between a diplomatic and domination victory where a player must found a religion and spread it to at least 50% of all cities for every civilization. To attain a culture victory, players will need to develop culture and tourism that will attract outstrip all domestic tourism in other nations. Finally, a science victory will require players to run the long game by having them launch several vehicles into space. The four paths to victory are very diverse and provide a lot of different opportunities and scenarios for players. The victories need quite a bit of planning to pull off and while pivoting mid game is possible, it is definitely a huge challenge.
There are two research trees in Civilization VI serving two different purposes. The science tree is most familiar to 4X players, providing leaders access to a variety of technologies like new units and buildings. The civic tree focuses more on a variety of government policies, civilian units, and special buildings. Firaxis Games is introducing an active research system with Civilization VI. Almost every research has a set of conditions that will trigger a boost to research, halving the number of turns needed. The system goes a long way in further rewarding early long term planning with a quick ascent through the research trees. The new organization for research makes a lot more sense now and helps give players a little extra flexibility in their research paths as they are now able to research both simultaneously instead of having the two jammed together in one tree.
Government policy lets players pick several bonuses from policy cards unlocked in the civic tree. There are four tiers of government as a civilization progresses through the civic tree. Each type of government provide a certain number of slots for specific policy types. As new forms of government are unlocked, players are allowed to swap their government type to suit their needs. Government policy can be swapped by researching new policies in the civic tree, which allows players to swap their active cards to adjust their strategy or support their current direction.
While domination victory is likely the most straight forward victory method in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, the game features a refinement of the warmonger system. Players have a few options on when and how to declare war, but must also balance the hefty warmonger penalties that now affect their own population. Normally, players need to give a five turn warning before going to war, but they can also opt for a surprise war if they are willing to accept a huge warmonger penalty. The new Casus Belli (just war) system allows players to research certain items on the civic tree to create situations that will allow them to go to war with a lower penalty. While the penalty for going to war is non-existent in the early game, the penalties climb rapidly as a civilization progresses through the ages, forcing players to plan their strikes carefully. The new system goes a long way in balancing out the domination victory with the other three victory paths.
The revamped religion system is an interesting addition to the game. Religion is a two-step process in Civilization VI. Faith is a new resource that allows players to purchase religious units to convert enemy cities and conduct religious warfare. Early in the game, players will be able to found a Pantheon which lets players choose a bonus from a rather large pool. The pool is extremely well rounded and will serve any victory path well. The next step requires players to find a Great Prophet through the Great Person system or building the Stonehenge wonder. The Great Prophet will allow players to form their religion by selecting two bonuses from four different pools. Purchasing Apostles will open two more bonuses. The Apostle and Inquisitor religious units are aggressive units, but not in the traditional sense. Religious units can either spread their religion to cities a set number of time and can only attack each other. By essentially debating each other to death, the new religion system opens a second layer warfare that exists side by side with traditional military combat.
One of the most visible additions to the series is the new city district system. Cities can physically expand across multiple tiles by building specialized districts for things like faith or science. Many districts get bonuses on being positioned on or beside specific tiles, giving well placed cities a sizable advantage. In exchange, the builder system has been modified somewhat. Resource buildings are slightly less important now, so builders are now capped at three constructions before the unit is lost.
The introduction of the Great People system is almost like a bonus auction among all players. Great People grant some potent effects upon purchase or activation at a specific location. A variety of famous figures from history are available for purchase through Great Person points, city projects, and other bonuses. Only one of each Great Person can exist in a game and all players on the map can see the current pool of individuals available for purchase. All players can see the progress for each Great Person, opening some interesting options to disrupt their opponent’s plans. A player can choose to spend Gold or Faith to buy a particularly beneficial Great Person from under the nose of an enemy or attempt to bide their time in hopes of a better person will appear from the pool. I really like this system, as the open nature of each player’s progress adds a unique layer of strategy and diplomacy to the game.
A lot of Civilization IV players were heartbroken to see unit stacking disappear in Civilization V. While unit stacking has not returned entirely, Civilization VI introduces a new combined arms system. It adds a welcomed bit of complexity to unit management and strikes a decent balance between the one unit per tile design and the old unit stacking tactic.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI makes some moves to lower the learning curve a little for players new to the 4X genre. Like every 4X title, an encyclopedia is included with the game that explains practically everything in the game; however, the encyclopedia is often way too hefty for new players to wade through. While it is well written and a search function is helpful, sometimes hands-on learning is the best way. The game provides many difficulty levels, but even the lowest difficulty level will pose a good challenge to new players or those particularly bad at 4X games. The advisor comes in two flavours, one that teaches all the basics of Civilization and one that brings players up to speed to the new changes. The advisor is quite unobtrusive as the game uses commentary from AI leaders to gently remind players about the player’s potential weaknesses. While Firaxis advertises a new tutorial system, it isn’t much different from other tutorial systems in 4X titles where an advisor will have a few words to say along with a suggestion to do some more reading in the encyclopedia. Civilization VI doesn’t conquer the Mount Everest of bringing down the 4X learning curve for new players, but the tutorial system is straight forward and flexible for players of different backgrounds.
Visuals
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI sports a slightly cartoony art style first seen in the series’ mobile titles. While the world map is very much a traditional Civilization art style with up to date graphics, the world leaders use the exaggerated, cartoon features. The style gives the game a more relaxed look than the very buttoned up Civilization V that I find very pleasing. On the technical side, there is plenty of options to tweak and I was pleasantly surprised to see a video benchmark tool.
Audio
The audio experience in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is top notch. The sound effects and voice acting is solid. I like the fact that many of the leaders speak in their native language. The soundtrack is the star of the show. It strikes the perfect balance of being energetic and uplifting enough to keep players going for another turn, yet calm and relaxing enough to not be distracting. While composer Geoff Knorr did an excellent job scoring the game, the return of Christopher Tin for the game’s main theme blew me away.
Overall
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is another big shake up to the long running series. It maintains enough core mechanics to still be a Civilization title while introducing some new ones to add new layers of complexity and some modernization to the game. The four paths to victory create an intriguing dynamic between civilizations, especially with the addition of the religious victory. While it is still a bit of a steep learning curve for new players, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI will likely be the gold standard in 4X titles for years to come.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Hanabee Entertainment made their January 2017 releases available for pre-order yesterday. The following titles are all due out on January 12, 2016.
Chaika the Coffin Princess: Avenging Battle (Season 2) will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. All 11 episodes will be featured with dual audio and English subtitles. On-disc extras will include the textless opening and ending animation. The sets have a suggested retail price of $59.99
Owarimonogatari will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in a combo pack. This is the sequel to Tsukimonogatari. All 7 episodes will be featured with Japanese audio and English subtitles. The textless opening and ending animation sequences will be included as on-disc extras. The release has a suggested price of $49.99.
Re-Kan! will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray. All 13 episodes will be featured with Japanese audio and English subtitles. On-disc extras will include the the textless opening and ending animation. The suggested retail price for both editions is $59.99.
Back to 2016, Hanabee has stated that their November 2016 releases, including a RWBY SteelBook containing the first three seasons on Blu-ray and the latest season of Red vs Blue, will begin shipping next week.
All prices listed are in AUD (Australian Dollars).
Huge news on multiple games in the Kingdom Hearts franchise was released at a recent special event, where we got an entirely new game (well remastered collection of a collection) announcement, the entire opening cinematic for the upcoming game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep 0.2 and even a couple of screenshots of the elusive Kingdom Hearts III.
Let’s start with the big news, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 HD ReMIX has been announced exclusively for the PlayStation 4. This is a big deal as with this announcement, every important game in the series is finally available on one platform, even if that means a couple of the less important titles are only represented through (lengthy) cutscene stories. Even better though, each game will run at a full 60 FPS, a first for all of the games in this collection. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX will be available March 9th in Japan, March 28th in North America, and March 31st 2017 in Europe. All these games will be included on a single disc.
The opening cinematic is always an important part of the game and although Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep is a smaller experience, even it gets it’s own unique CGI intro video. These videos are often pretty cryptic so you won’t get much idea of the plot but it is very cool to watch and the new remix of Simple and Clean is just as impressive as the original. Be sure to check it out for yourself below. Kingdom Hearts 2.8, which contains 0.2 Birth by Sleep as one of it’s playable titles releases on January 24th.
Lastly, Kingdom Hearts III got some new screenshots from the Hercules level which reveal a little more about the combat system. Drive forms from Kingdom Hearts II are returning and there are two all new ones, Guard Form and Power Form! The picture above shows Guard Form and the shield Sora is holding is actually a transformed state of the Mount Olympus keyblade. The amount of combat options this game is going to have is going to be crazy.
This other screenshot above shows Sora in Power Form. This shot has actually been edited as Sora was holding a keyblade from an as of yet unrevealed world, hence that big white light. Kingdom Hearts III still has no set release date, but with these other games filling the void the wait will at least be a little less painful.
ARK: SURVIVAL EVOLVED EXPANDS WITH THREE NEW CREATURES IN XBOX ONE UPDATE
Survivors Can Now Piece Together Story With Explorer Notes Left Behind By Ancient Warriors
Seattle, WA – October 28, 2016 – Studio Wildcard updated its popular survival-adventure game ARK: Survival Evolved on Xbox One today with an arsenal of highly anticipated dinos, mechanics and features. Three new creatures, the prey-grabbing Kaprosuchus, the boulder-tossing Chalicotherium, and the oxygen-giving Diplocaulus join the fray, while the ARK “Explorer Note” System finds its way into both the main Island and ARK: Scorched Earth. Survivors also can now wield their weapons when mount-riding smaller dinos.
Found within 130 treasure chests and available now, the Explorer Notes contain the stories of actual inhabitants who have previously lived on the isle, as well as provide a temporary XP buff to those Survivors who collect them. These 3D Explorer and Story Notes are punctuated with powerful personalities from a Roman Centurion to an Ancient Chinese Warrior to an Egyptian Priestess, each one chronicling their experiences on ARK and unveiling kernels of the story secrets they have uncovered. What will they reveal about the mysteries that surround the ARK?
The full ARK: Survival Evolved Update features a broad spectrum of additions, including:
New Dinos: Kaprosuchus Paludentium, Diplodocus Insulaprincep, and Chalicotherium Obsideoquus
New Mechanics:
You can now directly wield your weapons when mount-riding smaller Dinos!
Explorer Notes
Tree Platforms now have +70% HP and +50% resistance to explosive damage
Neuter/Spay option for Tamed Dinos (irreversible!)
Kaprosuchus Paludentium: A smaller relative of the Sarcosuchus, “Kapro” is a water-based carnivore primarily found among swamps and capable of high speed running on land or in water. Kapro is a solitary hunter that picks off small -to-medium creatures, especially those isolated from their packs. Survivors are generally split about the usefulness of this dino. Some love its versatile speed, while others do not like its physical frailty and do not think its high speed and damaging attacks make up for this shortcoming.
Diplocaulus Natatorinutrix: At home mainly on the island’s swamps, Diplocaulus Natatorinutrix is a small amphibian residing at the middle-bottom of the ecosystem. The few uses for tamed Diplocaulus include the (rather disgusting) practice of employing it as an oxygen bag. Because Diplocaulus stores air in the bladders of its head, divers can suck from these bladders to take deep breaths while submerged, supporting long-term underwater exploration without the use of external gear. Diplocaulus’ unique capability to retain vast quantities of oxygen allows to effectively remain submerged for hours at a time, usually outlasting even other amphibious creatures that might otherwise prey upon it.
Chalicotherium Obsideoquus: Found in small numbers in colder regions, Chalicotherium Obsideoquus is a primitive creature with simple behaviors. While normally a peaceful herbivore that prefers to spend its days lazing about or playing with its family, it is very territorial, and the entire family, young and old, will turn against an encroaching creature at just the slightest provocation. It’s believed that Chalicotherium is best used as a trained mobile artillery, as its unique playtime habit delivers a devastating long-range assault tactic when it is given boulders to throw, rather than snowballs!
Feel like riding a dinosaur? Join the ARK community forums HERE:
ARK: Survival Evolved is in development for Xbox One via the ID@Xbox program, PlayStation®4 with VR support, and Steam PC. The game is currently playable in Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One and Steam’s Early Access program, which includes Oculus Rift VR support and an integration of Steam community features such as Steam Economy and Steam Workshop for custom maps and mods. Players can host private/LAN servers and have access to a custom-built version of the Unreal Engine 4 Editor for creating mods. The world of ARK is designed to be modder-friendly and ever-expanding!
To join our growing band of survivors, journey to Steam or Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One to download the game. For the latest updates follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube, visit the Website at playark.com and watch us tame and train leviathan dinosaurs on Twitch.TV.
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ABOUT STUDIO WILDCARD
Studio Wildcard was co-founded in 2014 by industry veteran Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, former Technical Art Director at Microsoft Game Studios, with the mission of bringing AAA quality to ambitious indie productions that are designed for core gamers. With combined 25 years of industry experience across multiple independent and studio-backed titles, Jeremy and Jesse have teamed up with other veteran developers for Seattle, WA-based and Gainesville, FL-based development studios that also include distributed team members across multiple continents. Wherever talented, driven developers may reside, Studio Wildcard intends to seek out and work with them!
ABOUT INSTINCT GAMES
Instinct Games is Egypt’s leading game development studio. Started in 2011 by former Timeline Interactive co-founders, the Instinct Games team develops and produces video games on all major platforms utilizing its competent technical team. Its mission is to collaborate with world class partners to foster Egypt’s video game development ecosystem and set a precedent of high quality, low cost, entertaining indie games with worldwide appeal.
Microsoft unveiled their latest hardware projects yesterday. Aimed directly at creative professionals, the company announced the new Surface Studio all in one computer, the Surface Dial accessory, the Surface Book with Performance Base, and the Windows 10 Creators update.
The Surface Studio is without a doubt the crown jewel of the announcement. It is an all in one desktop PC featuring one of the thinnest LCDs on the market. The 28-inch PixelSense Display has touchscreen support and is compatible with the included Surface Pen. The Surface Studio can be pushed down to Studio Mode where the screen sits at the same angle as a drafting board. The Surface Studio starts with a Skylake Intel Core i5, a 2GB Nvidia GPU, and 8GB of RAM for $2,399 USD. Pre-orders are being accepted in the US with shipments starting during the holiday season then stretching into early 2017.
The Surface Dial is a new accessory designed especially for the Surface Studio. When placed on the screen, the Surface Dial serves as a radial controller that compliments the Surface Pen, allowing the user do things like zoom in for detail work then zoom out without needing to move the pen. The Surface Dial is available for pre-order for $99 USD and will launch on November 10th.
Rumours have flown around the past few weeks about a Surface Pro and a Surface Book refresh. Instead of a full blown refresh of the Surface Book, Microsoft has opted to make a new Surface Book model available with beefier specs. Dubbed the Surface Book with Performance Base, the Skylake i5 CPU has been upgraded to an Intel i7 CPU. The Surface Book with Performance Base will start at $2,399 USD for an i7 with 256GB SSD, 8GB of RAM, and a Nvidia dedicated GPU. Pre-orders are available now and will launch in North America and Oceania on December 8th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itc5ihHDAnY
Some news everyone should be excited about is the Windows 10 Creators Update coming in early 2017. Microsoft is introducing a new variation of the venerable Paint software, Paint 3D. The new software will allow anyone with Windows 10 to create their own 3D creations and then share them on their new Remix3Dcommunity. The software is capable of not only creating 3D objects from scratch, but also scan real-world objects to create 3D images. To encourage everyone to start dabbling in 3D, Remix3D allows the easy import of Minecraft creations. Paint 3D is not yet available to the general public as Office integration is still being developed. Interested testers can participate in the Windows Insider Program to get the first look at the new software.
While on the surface the update seems targeted only to content creators, it actually brings some good news for gamers. Microsoft’s push on the 3D front includes a consumer friendly version of Microsoft’s HoloLens. Microsoft will be relying on manufacturers like HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, and Asus to sell budget friendly variants of the Holo Lens. Prices will start at an incredibly competitive $299 USD and will have much lower system requirements than the HTC Vive or the Oculus Rift. The new headsets will ship in 2017
Microsoft is also releasing some major improvements to Xbox Live on Xbox One and Windows 10. The new Beam system will allow for interactive broadcasting, allowing streamers to better interact with their audience. Additionally, user made tournaments called the Arena are coming to both platforms.
Finally, the Windows 10 Creator Update greatly improves the operating system’s social functions. The new Windows MyPeople feature allows contacts to be pinned on the taskbar and provide an overall view of all interaction with the contact. Documents, photos, and videos can be sent directly to the contact by simply dragging and dropping on their icon. Windows MyPeople will be available on all Universal Windows Platform Apps.
This week’s announcement is likely one of the most intriguing one Microsoft has put out in the last several years. It’s clear the company has learned some painful lessons after the Zune. Now that the company has a successful foothold with the mobile Surface line, Microsoft appears to be taking another aggressive bite at Apple’s traditional market share of creative professionals with the announcement of the Surface Studio and the Surface Dial. The new products are a mix of Microsoft’s lesser known history of innovative engineering and the company’s more recent push towards beautifully designed products.
For gamers, the announcement of an affordable VR headset with low system specs is exciting. The high starting cost of the first generation VR headsets has been a huge barrier to entry. Partnering with existing manufacturers that build Windows 10 ready laptops is a smart move on Microsoft’s part that may see VR prices drop with competition.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (October 28, 2016) – Leading interactive entertainment company BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. and Slightly Mad Studios, in collaboration with Pagani Automobili, today announced the release of Project CARS™ – Pagani Edition in the Americas. The game is available exclusively as a free digital download for PCs via STEAM® starting October 28, 2016.
This free, PC-only game has been built around the market-leading Project CARS game, and is the result of a unique collaboration with legendary Italian car-maker Pagani Automobili. Designed to showcase both the very best examples of Pagani’s eponymous supercars along with the world-class technology that underpins the best-selling Project CARS game, Project CARS – Pagani Edition is an invitation to encounter the digital integration of high-octane hypercars with cutting-edge racing-game technology.
Featuring the Pagani Huayra, Huayra BC, Zonda Cinque, Zonda R, and Zonda Revolucion, Project CARS – Pagani Edition has been specifically designed to run on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive and offers both car and motorsport aficionados the last word in state-of-the-art simulation.
“Collaborating with world-class auto-makers such as Pagani is a real thrill for any racing simulation developer.” said Stephen Viljoen, Game Director for Project CARS. “Key to our thinking in creating the Project CARS – Pagani Edition game was how to showcase both the best of what is undoubtedly one of the world’s most iconic car-makers, and the leading-edge technology that underpins our Project CARS franchise. We’re confident that this will be a wonderful experience for those who haven’t yet tried our game, especially in VR, where we are market-leaders.”
“I’ve always been thrilled by videogames, and Project CARS sums all the things that I love about cars: the passion and the experience.” said Horacio Pagani, Founder and Chief Designer, Pagani Automobili “I’m proud and honored to see the Project CARS – Pagani Edition, and I hope all our fans all over the world enjoy the possibility to drive our creations, especially the new Pagani Huayra BC.”
Project CARS – Pagani Edition offers three intricately modeled tracks—the Nürburgring and Nordschleife combo, Monza GP, and Azure Coast—along with two game modes, full VR support on both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well as support for 4K screens and traditional displays.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for all major videogame consoles, iOS, Android, and online platforms. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top videogame 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 videogames 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™, and 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.
With a central studio near Tower Bridge, London and over 120 veteran staff working worldwide via a unique distributed development system, Slightly Mad Studios is currently hard at work on a number of pioneering and innovative titles.
About Pagani Automobili
Pagani Automobili S.p.A. is an Italian Supercar manufacturer. e company was founded in 1993 by Horacio Pagani, and is based in San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena, Italy.
The philosophy driving the company embraces a concept borrowed from the Renaissance. It is embodied by the great Leonardo da Vinci over 500 years ago, when he stated: “Art and Science were disciplines that must walk together hand in hand.” For more information please visit: www.pagani.com
About Project CARS
Project CARS, created by gamers and tested by real-world racing drivers, features world-class graphics and handling, a ground-breaking, dynamic time of day and weather system, deep tuning capability, and pit stop functionality. Project CARS was a launch title for the Oculus Rift, and has become the defining racing game on PlayStation 4, XBOX One, and PC, with over 2 million units sold, as well as the outright frontrunner in the burgeoning arena of Virtual Reality both on the Oculus and HTC Vive.
ARK: SURVIVAL EVOLVED TO SPOOK SURVIVORS WITH ARK ‘FEAR EVOLVED 2’ THIS HALLOWEEN
Studio Wildcard Darkens the Jurassic Landscape With Stomping Dino Skeletons, Dark Quests, a DodoWyvern, and… Clowns!
Seattle, WA – October 28, 2016 – “Beware all ye who wander in the swamps of the Jurassic, for the dead have returned for the marrow in your bones!” said the ancient DodoWyvern. Yes, it’s All Saints Day, the Day of the Dead, Halloween! And before you know it, Studio Wildcard’s ARK: Survival Evolved will transform from a humid, leafy jungle into a dark, eerie landscape teeming with dino skeletons, overgrown pumpkin patches, and Halloween festivities. Prepare for the ultimate Dino-Ween event, Fear Evolved 2!
For those uninitiated with ARK: Survival Evolved, the popular survival-adventure game is on sale right now on Steam for $14.98, 50% off the retail price (normally $29.99). ARK: Scorched Earth, the expansion, is 30% off the retail price for $13.99 (normally $19.99). Both games will be on sale starting today, 10:00 am PDT, Friday, October 28, through 10 am PDT, Tuesday, November 1.
In the world of ARK, Dodo’s are far from extinct. They rule the living and the undead!
Running from Friday October 28 through Sunday November 6 on Steam, Fear Evolved 2 will have ARK survivors witness a reddening of the moon, a darkening of the landscape, shorter days and longer nights, with massive living Skelesaurs walking the fields, petrifying Dodo-Rexes stomping the lands, and Zombie Dodos scampering through the haunted forest! Environmental changes such as pumpkin patches, graves, and scarecrows will pop up everywhere, with loot drops, witch hats, Clown Masks, and Dodo-Rex helmets available to collect. Watch for transformations amongst beasts and keep a close watch on the Gigantosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus, Jerboa, Wyvern, and more. And for ARK: Scorched Earth owners, beware the legendary DodoWyvern and the VampireEyes!
Feel like riding a dinosaur? Join the ARK community forums HERE:
ARK: Survival Evolved is in development for Xbox One via the ID@Xbox program, PlayStation®4 with VR support, and Steam PC. The game is currently playable in Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One and Steam’s Early Access program, which includes Oculus Rift VR support and an integration of Steam community features such as Steam Economy and Steam Workshop for custom maps and mods. Players can host private/LAN servers and have access to a custom-built version of the Unreal Engine 4 Editor for creating mods. The world of ARK is designed to be modder-friendly and ever-expanding!
To join our growing band of survivors, journey to Steam or Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One to download the game. For the latest updates follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube, visit the Website at playark.com and watch us tame and train leviathan dinosaurs on Twitch.TV.
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ABOUT STUDIO WILDCARD
Studio Wildcard was co-founded in 2014 by industry veteran Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, former Technical Art Director at Microsoft Game Studios, with the mission of bringing AAA quality to ambitious indie productions that are designed for core gamers. With combined 25 years of industry experience across multiple independent and studio-backed titles, Jeremy and Jesse have teamed up with other veteran developers for Seattle, WA-based and Gainesville, FL-based development studios that also include distributed team members across multiple continents. Wherever talented, driven developers may reside, Studio Wildcard intends to seek out and work with them!
ABOUT INSTINCT GAMES
Instinct Games is Egypt’s leading game development studio. Started in 2011 by former Timeline Interactive co-founders, the Instinct Games team develops and produces video games on all major platforms utilizing its competent technical team. Its mission is to collaborate with world class partners to foster Egypt’s video game development ecosystem and set a precedent of high quality, low cost, entertaining indie games with worldwide appeal.
The Little Acre lands November 22nd – and will come complete with free digital art book celebrating the creation of this wonderful point and click adventure
Pewter Games and executive producer Charles Cecil to launch this charming graphic adventure next month
Friday 28th October 2016: Developer Pewter Games, executive producer Charles Cecil and publisher Curve Digital have today announced that the enchanting hand-drawn adventure ‘The Little Acre’ will release on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on November 22nd, priced £9.99 / $12.99 / €12.99 (though pre-order and launch discounts will be available).
The game is available to pre-order from today across various digital stores on PC and from next week on Xbox One (worldwide) and PlayStation 4 (Europe) – with every player receiving a fantastic free digital art book on release, chronicling the conception and creation of this soon-to-be classic adventure.
The Little Acre is a charming, story-led adventure which merges the wonder of classical Don Bluth animation (All Dogs Go To Heaven) with the magical wonder of a Miyazaki world. The game is set in 1950s Ireland and follows the story of Aidan and his young daughter, Lily. Investigating the sudden disappearance of his father, Aidan finds himself transported to a strange new world populated by bizarre creatures. Things are made slightly more difficult when young Lily decides that she is going to ‘help’ and encounters her own perils along the way.
“The game has been a real labour of love for us here,” says Chris Conlan, Pewter Games. “The original vision was to create something which felt classic yet modern – something I think we’ve achieved.”
“There’s a whole generation of gamers out there who won’t have played a point and click adventure before,” adds Ben Clavin, Pewter Games, “Of course, those well versed in adventures will feel at home with The Little Acre, but we’re equally excited to introduce the genre to a brand new audience.”
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the Pewter Games team,” says Charles Cecil, creator of the Broken Sword series of games. “They are full of passion and creativity, and watching that translate into a game they can be very proud of has been a real joy. I’m enormously excited to see how modern players respond to the point and click genre – if it goes well, I can see a real resurgence. I’d certainly be interested in revisiting some of our titles, too.”
The Little Acre will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 22nd. Pre-order from today and receive a free digital artbook on release.
See @CurveDigital for specific pre-order links. Please note: the digital art book will be available at launch as part of the Steam bundle. Console players will access the art book via alternate download, details of which will be given nearer the time.
