Stunning hand-animated adventure The Little Acre heading to PC and consoles later this year – from Pewter Games and Executive Producer Charles Cecil

Press Releases

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August 11, 2016

Stunning hand-animated adventure The Little Acre heading to PC and consoles later this year – from Pewter Games and Executive Producer Charles Cecil

Curve Digital handling publishing duties as Dublin studio unveils Revolutionary partnership for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 point and click adventure

Thursday, August 11^th 2016: Dublin-based games studio Pewter Games has today unveiled Charles Cecil as the Executive Producer on its forthcoming adventure ‘The Little Acre’. In addition, the company has signed a publishing agreement with Curve Digital, who will be publishing the game on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year.

Merging the charm of classical Don Bluth animation (All Dogs go to Heaven) with the magical wonder of a Myazaki world, The Little Acre is a stunning graphic adventure set in 1950s Ireland, which follows the story of Aidan and his young daughter, Lily. Investigating the sinister disappearance of his father, Aidan finds himself transported to a strange new world populated by bizarre creatures. Things are not helped when young Lily decides that she is going to ‘help’ and encounters her own perils along the way.

Featuring extensive hand-drawn animation and full voice acting, The Little Acre is a memorable, lovingly crafted adventure game.

This may be Pewter Games’ first title – but the team is supplemented by Broken Sword visionary Charles Cecil, who has come on board as Executive Producer. His role has been to help shape the later stages of development, his vast experience within the genre offering a unique perspective. It is the first time he has accepted an Executive Producer role.

“Mine and Chris’s gaming background is strangely disparate,” says Ben Clavin, Pewter Games. “Whilst between us we’ve played all the essentials, there’s only one series that we have both played – and that’s Broken Sword. Charles is one of the biggest names in adventure gaming, so having him agree to join the team is a huge endorsement of the work we’ve been doing.”

“There were already a few nods to Broken Sword within The Little Acre,” adds Chris Conlan, Pewter Games, “so to be working with Charles officially is a dream. His insight so far has been invaluable, and his experience in the genre is second to none. We’re absolutely over the moon he is on board!”

“When I first saw The Little Acre, I was blown away by the game’s beauty and attention to detail,” says Charles Cecil. “I was delighted to discover how much of an influence Broken Sword had had on The Little Acre and was enormously flattered when Chris and Ben asked me to act as Executive Producer. “It’s a game I would have been extremely proud to have written myself and I am very excited to be building a relationship, and friendship, with a very talented young development team.”

The Little Acre will be available later this year for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Features

Traditional hand-drawn animation
Two playable characters
Beautiful original score
Fully voice acted
Unique transitions to an isometric perspective

NEXON Korea Launches ‘Clash of Five Colors’ Event for Mabinogi Duel

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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August 11, 2016

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NEXON Korea Launches ‘Clash of Five Colors’ Event for Mabinogi Duel

Fans of Nexon Korea’s widely-popular strategic mobile trading card game (TCG) Mabinogi Duel, based on acclaimed MMO Mabinogi, can celebrate as Nexon Korea unveils its latest in-game event, ‘Clash of Five Colors’ – starting today. Players now have the opportunity to rise up as champions in Mabinogi Duel through player vs. player (PvP) battles with duelists from all over the world in the ‘Clash of Five Colors’ event arena. They will receive limited edition prizes while the event lasts through Aug. 22.

Players that join us for the ‘Clash of Five Colors’ event will be able to:

Challenge Duelist from around the world in the epic ‘Clash of Five Colors’ event arena: Test your skills against other players in a three-round challenge where players are limited to only using 12 cards of the same color during the battle (Aug. 9 – Aug. 22);
Earn special rewards: Rewards include ‘Medal Event Cards’, ‘Season Mutant Boosters’, ‘Arena Tickets’, and gems;
Play new Achievement Challenges/ Question Missions: Complete the new quest missions during the event period to receive two awesome ‘Hero Skins’, El Brack and Shaley Jaemera, a ‘Medal Event Card’, gold and increased chances to earn ‘Special Cards’ from ‘Super Boosters’;
Additional updated features include: An updated Arena schedule, increased rewards for ‘Newbie Arenas’, enhanced Personal Shop systems, and a modified User Interface and gameplay.

Mabinogi Duel is currently available to download on iTunes and Google Play for free:Download.

If you haven’t checked out Mabinogi Duel, please feel free to install the game and we can update your account with a nice supply of in-game currency. In addition, members of Nexon are available for an interview about the title. We’d love for you to share the news and new assets for Mabinogi Duel. We also have new screenshots to commemorate this new event.

For New Assets: http://bit.ly/ClashofFiveColorsAssets
Official Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/mabinogiduel
Official website: http://devcat.nexon.com/duel/us

SPACE STRATEGY GAME, STARS IN SHADOW, SETS EARLY ACCESS LAUNCH FOR SEPTEMBER

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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August 11, 2016

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SPACE STRATEGY GAME, STARS IN SHADOW, SETS EARLY ACCESS LAUNCH FOR SEPTEMBER

Distinctive Comic Style Sci-Fi 4x Strategy PC Title to be Shown at Gamescom 2016 Before Next Month’s Early Access Release

Haarlem, The Netherlands – August 11, 2016 – Iceberg Interactive, the publisher well-known for its love of sci-fi games and 4x strategy titles, today announces that their brand new PC space strategy game, Stars in Shadow (PC) will be launching on September 15, 2016 via Steam Early Access and other digital platforms. The game marks the first title for the Canadian development studio, Ashdar Games, and long-time fans of the popular 4x genre will not be disappointed.

Stars in Shadow is a turn-based 4x strategy game set deep in space featuring seven playable factions, comprised of six different alien races. Offered in a highly distinctive comic-book art style, Stars in Shadow draws players into its galactic universe with an immersive backstory. By competing with alien factions, exploring nearby star systems, developing colonies and empires, and much more, the galaxy can be unified through either diplomacy or by force – the choice will be left entirely up to the player.

Features

Unique hand-drawn comic book art style
Turn based 4X space strategy featuring turn based fleet combat. The tactical system allows starships to do battle using a wide range of different weapons and abilities
Seven playable factions comprising six alien races. Choice of faction will determine tech and research opportunities initially available. Forming alliances, conquering neighboring species, or discovering ancient artifacts may open up additional avenues of research
A vast range of different planet types, each with their own lore. The most prized worlds are those that hold artifacts from civilizations that vanished long ago. Map sizes up to 85 star systems. Each star can have up to 10 planets
Manage a growing empire. Balance the competing priorities of research, growth, and ship building and decide the fate of those alien species that come under your control
Galactic Politics: Of the playable alien species, three are “young races”, reaching out into the galaxy for the first time. The remaining three are “old races”, survivors of a terrible war fought in the distant past, they still hold to their ancient grudges. Races will impact which world will be most suitable as well as alliances and trades offerings
Advanced settings such as Random events and NPC factions, including pirates and marauders

Iceberg Interactive will be conducting hands-on demo appointments for Stars in Shadow during Gamescom in Cologne, Germany next week. Key members of both the Iceberg team and the development team, Ashdar Games, are available for interviews throughout the week as well.

*To schedule an appointment and/or interviews, please contact the Iceberg PR team at [email protected].

For more information on Stars in Shadow, please visit the official website at http://stars-in-shadow.com/ and the official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sis4x/.

About Ashdar Games
Ashdar Games is a small development studio based in British Columbia. Stars in Shadow will be its first title. The project is a collaboration between two avid strategy gamers, Sven Olsen and James (Jim) Francis, both of whom are excited to have a chance to create a game in the genre that they love. Sven’s background is in academic computer graphics, while Jim is best known for his webcomic, Outsider.

About Iceberg Interactive
Iceberg Interactive is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of games industry veterans and is located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Staffed with avid gamers, Iceberg works closely with an international assembly of game developers, both midsize and indie. Garnering attention with acclaimed releases over recent years, including Endless Space, Endless Legend, StarDrive and Starpoint Gemini 2, the company has an exceptional current line-up, including Oriental Empires, Dawn of Andromeda, Lord of Rigel, Killing Floor 2, Starpoint Gemini Warlords and Starship Corporation – with further promising games in the pipeline.

New The Last Guardian Screenshots Focus on Trico

Travis Bruno

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August 11, 2016

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New The Last Guardian Screenshots Focus on Trico

After waiting for years some are probably still surprised that we are now only a couple of months away before Team Ico’s The Last Guardian is finally released to the public. To help remind fans of what they are waiting for Sony has released a handful of new screenshots for The Last Guardian focusing on the winged creature named Trico that will be joining the boy on the adventure he goes through in a strange and mystical land filled with ruins.

With the help of Trico the two must find a way to escape and along the way a friendship will develop between the two. You can check out the screenshots below and currently The Last Guardian is set to be released on the PlayStation 4 on October 25th.

Minecraft: Story Mode – Access Denied Review

Travis Bruno

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August 11, 2016

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Minecraft: Story Mode – Access Denied

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platforms: PC, iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One (Reviewed)
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $4.99 – Available Here

Overview

Over the course of Minecraft: Story Mode we have followed the journey of Jesse and his friends as they’ve faced down an apocalyptic event and uncovered the truth behind their former heroes and have since begun to create their own legends. After the last episode through the gang into a murder mystery, this latest episode, ‘Access Denied’ offers something a bit different from what fans of the game will likely be used to. Is this difference worth your time?

Story

Although Minecraft: Story Mode – Access Denied is an almost entirely self-contained storyline, it still takes place after the events of the major storyline in the series as well as the fifth episode that explains just how Jesse and the group ended up in their current situation. As such it is recommended to avoid reading further if you have yet to complete the most recent episodes.

The story this time around begins with Jesse, Ivor, Petra, and Lucas traveling through numerous portals in a montage sequence that sees the group running from different kinds of danger such as a literal fire world, a world that looks like it was filled with sheep, and other strange oddities. While no timeframe is given, it is clear that the group has been attempting to find their way home for quite some time now and frustration is starting to build.

After a brief argument about what to do next, the team opt to enter a portal surrounded by Redstone blocks thinking that it might symbolize intelligent people on the other side. The problem is not only does the world they get dropped into appear to be a completely desolate wasteland, but the first thing they encounter is an incredibly strong zombie that can survive in broad daylight. Things begin to grow even stranger when more zombies appear but, after a strange sound reminiscent of the old dial-up tone plays, the zombies begin to lead them to a ghost town.

The gang soon learns that a large and power hungry computer named PAMA has managed to enslave all of the residents of the world, including monsters and animals, using redstone chips installed in the back of their heads in an effort to make everyone “useful.” The problem is, the world has reached peak efficiency some time ago and PAMA is looking to extend her skills to other worlds. With a pair of his friends taken hostage and only a mysterious stranger willing to help out, Jesse must take down PAMA in order to prevent the dystopian nightmare from spreading to other lands such as their home world and also save those close to him.

The science fiction setting that is established in Minecraft: Story Mode – Access Denied is a bit by the books as far as they come but that doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting. This is primarily thanks to the interactions with PAMA and how she transitions from simply being curious to menacing at the drop of a hat and is willing to threaten the group in a manner that hasn’t felt as believable sine the Witherstorm. It is worth noting that outside of PAMA, the only other character introduced is one that appears will hang around at least to the end of the series with the next episode as she turns out to be a vital piece to the group returning home as the series comes to its final episode.

With PAMA serving as the best character introduced since the core series came to an end and the writers placing plenty of little references in the dialogue sci-fi fans will definitely enjoy this element of the episode while those who aren’t fans will still appreciate the fresh take on the world and what PAMA is attempting to do, though don’t expect many lingering effects from her as the episode comes to an end.

That being said, the ever persistent nature of the lack of meaningful choices rears its head again in this episode along with the extremely limited run time. Even when examining everything and talking to everyone possible the episode clocks in at only a little over an hour in length and throughout this time even the biggest choices of the episode end up meaning nothing by the time the credits roll. Whether the various choices you make will play a role in how characters like you at the end of everything is yet to be seen but one that could have either been devastating in nature by causing a death or permanent rift in the group is smoothed over like it never happened.

Gameplay

This seventh episode in the series treads the same ground as players are used to traveling in these games as far as gameplay is concerned. There are a few areas where players will explore an area and examine things with one extremely simplistic puzzle being placed in one such location while the rest of the episode involves various dialogue choices and quick time event action sequences.

The action sequences this time around are far more plentiful than they were before and thanks to the use of a certain headset in the game players are treated to a unique situation that is only capable thanks to the more scientific nature of the world the gang is in.

Visuals & Audio

With Minecraft: Story Mode – Access Denied only introducing a pair of characters and being set in a mostly desert world, it is disappointing to see that outside of one area at the end of the episode most of the environments players will be seeing are incredibly bland for a game that can be customized so heavily such as this one. There is a nice highlight however when it comes to PAMA and the fact that she is displayed using a very basic display with emotes displaying her emotions.

As mentioned, the pair of characters introduced are voiced well enough, with PAMA given a fitting digital filtered voice, while all of the core cast continues to fit their roles well in this series.

Overall

Despite the fact that Minecraft: Story Mode – Access Denied continues to display the fact that the choices made by the player have no real influence on interactions and is once again incredibly short in nature, it also serves as one of the best episodes of the series since the defeat of the Witherstorm. Thanks to witty writing, machinations of PAMA, and the player’s interactions with her this episode turns out to be rather surprising at times and serves as a solid continuation to the next, unless its extended once more, and the final episode.

War Rock brings the Heat with Definitive Clan Tournament

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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August 11, 2016

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War Rock brings the Heat with Definitive Clan Tournament

Top 16 clans compete for a 6,000 € prize pool – Live grand finals on August 19th in Berlin

Berlin, Germany – 11^th August 2016: Thousands of players have teamed up with friends and taken on rival teams in the popular online shooter, War Rock, since it launched its brand new clan system. The dust has now settled and the top 16 teams have qualified for the definite War Rock clan tournament – meaning it’s now time to really bring the heat!

Competition is fierce as the clans will battle it out to become one of two teams advancing to the grand finals in Berlin on August 19^th – where a staggering prize of 4,000 € will be awarded to the winning team and 2,000 € for the runners-up.

The final four clans will face each other in semi-finals on August 13^th and 14^th, with the top two teams advancing to the grand finals in Berlin. There they will go head-to-head to decide who the best War Rock clan in the world is.

Both the semi-finals, taking place on 13^th and 14^th August, and the finals will be live-streamed with live commentary on the War Rock Europe Twitch channel:https://www.twitch.tv/warrockeurope .

Details of the War Rock Clan Tournament can be found in the event forum:https://forum.nexoneu.com/forumdisplay.php?1477-Events.

The most recent update to War Rock implemented a new, streamlined auto-matchmaking system that makes easy for players to team up with their Clan and head into the action guns blazing. The new system also supports Friendly Clan Matches and is the perfect opportunity to get some team training in. An updated Clan ranking system ups the competitive ante but also ensures that the contribution of individual clan members is recognized.

For further details on War Rock and the Clan Update please visit the official site at:http://en.warrock.nexoneu.com/.

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About War Rock
Based on the in-house developed “Jindo Engine”, War Rock is a fast paced, large-scale FPS that offers nothing less than unique battlefields, remarkable game modes, a hardcore class system, and numerous vehicles. The game provides fast and fun action in the Close-Quarter Combat Modes (CQC), and inspires users to survive in the co-operative “AI Mode” with their own driving and piloting skills.

‘Lazer Team’ and ‘Photo Kano’ Are Out Today from Hanabee Entertainment

K. Roberts

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August 11, 2016

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‘Lazer Team’ and ‘Photo Kano’ Are Out Today from Hanabee Entertainment

Hanabee Entertainment is releasing two titles in stores across Australia today, the 11^th of August 2016. They are releasing Rooster Teeth’s first feature film Lazer Team on DVD and Blu-ray and the anime adaptation of Photo Kano on DVD and Blu-ray.

The release of the Director’s Cut of Lazer Team features Director’s Commentary, the VFX Breakdown, the Making the Music of Lazer Team, Concept Art, Bonus Scenes and Outtakes as on-disc extras. The film premiered in theatres earlier this year. The review of this release can be read here.

The release of Photo Kano features all 13 episodes with Japanese audio and English subtitles. The textless opening and ending animation sequences are included as on-disc extras.

Lazer Team Director’s Cut Review

K. Roberts

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August 11, 2016

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Lazer Team Director’s Cut

Studio: Rooster Teeth
Publisher: Hanabee Entertainment
Platforms: DVD / Blu-ray (reviewed)
Release Date: August 11, 2016
Price: DVD $24.99 AUD – Available Here / Blu-ray (Region Free) $29.99 AUD – Available Here

Overview

Four decades ago, the U.S. government decoded a transmission that revealed the existence of extraterrestrial beings known as Antareans. They learned from the Antarean transmission that an alien race known as the ‘Worg’ will come to destroy Earth in the future. The Antareans promise to send a battle suit to help the ‘Champion of Earth’ protect the planet when the time comes. The U.S. army selects a person to be trained to fulfil the role of Champion of Earth and wear the suit. This person, Adam, trains throughout his whole life in order to protect the Earth from the eventual Worg invasion. In the present day, troublemakers Herman and Woody receive unwanted attention from Officer Hagan after illegally setting off fireworks. Hagan arrives on the scene with arrested delinquent Zach in the back of his car. Instead of listening to Hagan, Herman sets off a rocket that destroys the UFO that was supposed to deliver the battle suit to Adam, causing the pieces of the suit to fall to the ground. Naturally, the three troublemakers decide to try on the pieces of the suit themselves. Officer Hagan accidentally puts on the final piece, causing the individual pieces of the suit to activate and biologically link themselves to their wearers. The four, now known to the rest of the world as the ‘Lazer Team‘, must now save the planet with the help of Adam and the extremely reluctant U.S. government.

Story

The plot of Lazer Team presents an idea found in many Japanese mecha series. A person unwittingly becomes the pilot, or in this case wearer, of a weapon and must find the courage to save the planet in spite of great adversity. It draws inspiration from Greek mythology and from Hollywood-produced science fiction movies, but features little originality. However, although critiquing the film based on this point would be perfectly valid, the main draw of this film is that it is a Rooster Teeth production.

It opens in the same way that any typical Hollywood film about immature teenagers would, presenting an irresponsible delinquent named Zach (Michael Jones) ignoring common sense and social etiquette. Officer Hagan, portrayed by Rooster Teeth co-creator Burnie Burns, is called to a party in order to arrest him following his drunken, violent behaviour. Hagan finds his daughter Mindy (Allie DeBerry) at the party and discovers that Zach is sexually attracted to Mindy. Meanwhile, troublemakers Herman (Colton Dunn) and Woody (Gavin Free) illegally set off fireworks, annoying both the U.S. Army and Officer Hagan. Hagan goes to investigate, only to discover two more drunk men acting stupidly. All three of the troublemakers have no respect for the law, leaving Officer Hagan in an unfortunate position. This may all seem fairly uninteresting on its own, but the fun lies in seeing three of Rooster Teeth’s most prominent personalities acting in major roles in a feature film. Many more of Rooster Teeth’s notable personalities appear throughout the film, including Matt Hullum and Gus Sorola. This is not a groundbreaking film aimed at dedicated sci-fi fans, nor does it hold much merit in any other regard. It is, however, an incredibly fun, hilarious and entertaining film featuring a group of entertainers who constantly do their best to entertain a global audience. People who are not a part of Rooster Teeth’s online community may not find this film entertaining, but fans of Rooster Teeth and its Achievement Hunter division will.

The characterisation is effective at drawing attention to teenage immaturity, drunken behaviour and other social issues, but the characters themselves are otherwise two dimensional. Zach does not goes through any character development. Woody’s development, if it can even be called that, is entirely superficial. Herman does go through actual character development, but even if the characters are not particularly well-rounded, the actors who play them make them fun to watch. The actors are all hilarious and entertaining in real-life, and they bring their high level of energy to this film. Officer Hagan is a bit less energetic than Burnie Burns is in Rooster Teeth’s online videos, but Zach’s character appears to have been written specifically with Michael Jones in mind.

There is a lot of humour featured throughout the film. Many of the jokes are immature, which is not surprising in the slightest, and none of them come across as intellectual. The wittiest part of the film is the song by the Barenaked Ladies that plays during the end credits. Even if the characters are stupid, however, it is easy to become invested in these four unlikely heroes and hope that they succeed in saving the planet. Attempts to evoke emotions during the climax of the film fall flat, but one of the things that the writers succeed at is writing social and political commentary that makes fun of the U.S. military and much more.

Visuals

This film features some great special effects. It has been described as low budget by some, but even if this film does have a relatively low budget in comparison to some Hollywood films, the only disappointing element of the visuals is the 1980s CG-style rendering of the Antareans. Teenagers and other young people are depicted throughout the film as being obsessed with taking selfies, filming anything and everything and putting too much importance on Facebook and Twitter. These depictions are well-written comments on and simultaneously a celebration of this generation’s addiction to modern technology. Said references, unfortunately, may become a negative element in the future. If the online platforms Facebook and Twitter ever go away, however unlikely that seems now, this film will cease being relevant and will fail to age well. For people wanting to purchase the Blu-ray edition of Lazer Team, it should be mentioned that a few shots appear to be slightly lower in quality than the majority of the film.

Audio

The background music, composed by Jeff Williams, occasionally sounds much like the music featured in a typical Hollywood movie. There are some fitting pieces, but the vocal songs are all worth listening to. They help give this movie a Hollywood feel, which in this case is a good thing. Rooster Teeth fans will be familiar with Burnie Burns’ voice and Michael Jones’ voice, but Gavin Free spends the opening parts of the film speaking with what sounds like a Southern accent. It is an interesting change from his real accent, which we hear later on with the explanation that British accents apparently sound smarter to ‘stupid’ people. Of course, in this case, Woody’s helmet is the real cause for the increase in intelligence.

Extras

Included in this release are deleted scenes, bloopers, a “VFX breakdown”, “Making the Music of Lazer Team”, a video featuring concept art and a commentary track. It is easy to see why the deleted scenes are not present in the Director’s Cut; they are more inappropriate and less effective than the scenes present in the final film. Possibly the best part of the blooper reel is the brief appearance of the whole, original Funhaus crew. Many of these extras are worth watching even if only to see the time and effort that so many people put into the production of this film.

Overall

Unoriginal story or not, this is a film featuring familiar Rooster Teeth personalities in a feature film. It is likely to end up as a niche title enjoyed only by members of Rooster Teeth’s ever-growing online community, but that does not matter. What does matter is that Lazer Team is available for fans to enjoy. The conclusion of this film understandably disappointed some; setting up a potential sequel is not always a good idea. Fortunately, viewing this film mere days after the announcement that Lazer Team 2 is in pre-production prevents this from being a problem. If you like watching Burnie Burns, Michael Jones and Gavin Free in Rooster Teeth’s videos, you will almost definitely like Lazer Team. These people have been performing in front of cameras and microphones for years, and they demonstrate their talents throughout the film.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Author’s Note: The score for this review was entered incorrectly and has been updated by the author in order to present it with an accurate score.

Project Highrise Preview

Jamie Laike Tsui

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August 11, 2016

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Project Highrise

Developer: SomaSim
Publisher: Kasedo Games
Platform: Mac, Windows
Release Date: 8 September, 2016
Price: $19.99 USD – Available Here

Project Highrise is a tower building and management sim from SomaSim, the team behind gold rush era city manager 1894. Project Highrise is the spiritual successor to the classic 1994 game SimTower. In Project Highrise, players will build the tower of their dreams, attract new tenants, and become the envy of the city.

The preview build of Project Highrise gives players a short set of tutorials to get them started, access to the sandbox mode, and a few scenarios to play. Each tutorial is short, focusing on one important aspect of the game. The tutorials are written in character as one of the player’s employees, which gives the game a touch of immersion. The tutorials are well organized, straight forward, and to the point. Upon leaving the final tutorial, I definitely felt equipped to tackle Project Highrise.

Project Highrise focuses on two major gameplay mechanics, building and management. Building is incredibly easy and intuitive. Players can lay down slim rectangular cells down that connect to their neighbour like LEGO bricks. Gameplay practicality aside, the game does not pay much attention to physics. Players are allowed to freely make whatever design they choose, no matter how ridiculous or impossible it may seem. The entire lot is can be used, so players are not limited to a single tower either. The game allows a wide variety of designs like one large tower with a few supporting mini-towers or upside down pyramids, then encourages players to share their creations with a function to upload tower screenshots to the popular image sharing site Imgur.

Once the shape of the building is constructed, the cells can be filled with tenants, services, utilities, or aesthetic objects. Utilities serve as the nervous system of each building. The most basic tenants will only require electricity in their units, with higher paying tenants requiring more specialized utilities like a gas line or cable TV. Of course, offering such services comes with an initial installation fee and followed by a perpetual maintenance cost. Providing tenants utilities is quite simple. A utility room is built in the basement, with larger rooms providing more capacity. Each floor needs a utility closet to run a line vertically, then the entire floor can be wired horizontally from each utility closet.

The meat and potatoes of each building comes from its tenants who pay rent every night. There are four basic types of tenants: residential, office, retail, and restaurant. Each tenant type has several tiers, with the most basic often only requiring electricity in exchange for the cheapest rent possible. As buildings gain prestige from a multitude of happy tenants, players can begin to build higher end units that are often physically larger and make greater demands for services and utilities.

Of course, without the right services, there is no way to attract the high end tenants who are willing to fork over high amounts of rent. Services break down into three main focuses: building/maintenance, transportation, and tenant. Players start out with a basic construction office that will provide two employees to carry out construction on the building. From there, players can begin adding extra services that will help maintain the building, such as trash collection and maintenance crews that will keep tenant units in a state of good repair. Transportation can bring more visitors to the building in the form of public transportation stops or getting workers to their offices quickly with elevator banks. Considering the traffic flow of the building is an important part of min/maxing, as certain tenants require high traffic areas to do business in. Finally, tenant services are required by certain types of tenants before they are willing to move in and do business. This can range from a copy room for the tax offices to janitors for residential units.

While players build their dream tower, they are also constantly in a management balancing act to keep existing tenants happy and bring in more tenants to fill in newly constructed floors. Apartments will want space between them and restaurants, restaurants and retail spaces will want high traffic areas, tenants will want certain needs met, and the list of responsibilities continues to grow along with the tower. I like that management in Project Highrise is not a case of obsessive micromanagement, but prefers bigger tweaks like adding an extra copy room to cope with demand. One of the biggest struggles with keeping tenants happy is the player’s budget. Contracts with small goals can always be picked up to bring in some extra cash to help make ends meet.

Project Highrise has two main modes: sandbox and scenario. Sandbox mode gives players plenty of flexibility when it comes to deciding difficulty, starting resources, and lot size. On the other hand, scenario mode provides a more focused gameplay experience. Players are provided with a variety of scenarios like an old decrepit tower needing a face lift and are tasked with solving the puzzle. Each scenario has three specific victory conditions that need to be completed.

Project Highrise is delivering a strong audio/visual presentation. The game has lovely retro style. I absolutely love the dot-matrix printer that provides all the important stats about the building. The colour, the fashion, and the interior design give the game a wonderful look that is sure to inspire a little nostalgia. Additionally, the UI is simple and straight forward, which makes controlling the game a snap. The sound effects are good and the music is relaxing.

Project Highrise launches in less than a month and the game is already looking incredibly polished. The game is an easy to learn, with plenty of ways to scale up the difficulty. The mix of building and management is enjoyable. Project Highrise is well on its way of being the true spiritual successor of SimTower.

Gears of War 4 Adds Zombie Dom and More as Pre-Order Bonuses

Travis Bruno

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August 11, 2016

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Gears of War 4 Adds Zombie Dom and More as Pre-Order Bonuses

Microsoft and The Coalition have revealed a few pre-order bonuses for Gears of War 4 and these will likely catch the eyes of some hardcore fans, especially since one brings back a certain dead ally in rotted form. The Brothers to the End Elite Gear Pack, which will be included in all editions of Gears of War 4, will add in three unique characters to play online as well as gold versions of the Lancer and Gnasher weapons for day one players. These characters include “Tomorrow Anya,” “Old Man Marcus,” and “Zombie Dom.”

Each character has been given a description that you can check out below:

“Tomorrow Anya” is named after her famous words following the end of the Locust War (“Tomorrow Marcus. We finally have a tomorrow.”) Her appearance is based on her look in the Gears of War 4 television commercial, “Tomorrow,” where she was introduced as the mother of JD Fenix.
“Old Man Marcus” features an older Marcus Fenix as unveiled in the E3 2016 media briefing demo. Twenty-five years after the Locust War, Marcus and the COG have long since parted ways. His facial hair has grown long and his COG regulation kit has been replaced with by civilian clothes.
“Zombie Dom” proves there’s no keeping a good solider down, at least in the form of this character skin created as tribute to Marcus’ dearly departed best friend Dominic Santiago.

Gears of War 4 is currently set to be released on the Xbox One on October 11th.