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CHRONICLE: RUNESCAPE LEGENDS IS A NEW ADVENTURE IN STRATEGY CARD GAMING AND THE OPEN BETA BEGINS NOW

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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March 23, 2016

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CHRONICLE: RUNESCAPE LEGENDS IS A NEW ADVENTURE IN STRATEGY CARD GAMING AND THE OPEN BETA BEGINS NOW

Strategy card games just got a taste for adventure – become a Legend and fight your own cards on an epic quest to smash your rival

It’s survival of the smartest as Chronicle launches its open beta phase atwww.rschronicle.com

Wednesday 23^rd March 2016 (2pm GMT), Cambridge, UK – The open beta forChronicle: RuneScape Legends, a new generation of strategy card games that sees players fighting their own cards to determine the fate of a Legend, is now available for PC gamers from www.rschronicle.com , Jagex Games Studio announced today. The open beta trailer is now showing at https://youtu.be/XkwB8ayvRzY.

From the studio best known as the creator of iconic MMO RuneScape, Chronicle is an enthralling new game where every card is an action; there’s no mana, no minions and definitely no random number generation.

Presenting a step-change for the genre, Chronicle twists traditional strategy card game mechanics from battle and board control to create a unique experience, that embraces RPG-style questing and skilling.

In Chronicle, players create their own adventure by strategically selecting Support and Enemy cards from their deck to form a quest for their chosen Legend in a bid for supremacy over their rival. Players can play their cards to trip up their rival or focus on becoming an unstoppable force themselves.

Said Mark Killey, Senior Producer, Chronicle: RuneScape Legends:

“It’s time to shake up the world of competitive card games and Chronicle is doing just that with the launch of its open beta today. Delivering the most skill-orientated card game to date, Chronicle is a game of grand strategy and one where your own cards can not only be your greatest ally but also your deadliest enemy. Chronicle is all about survival of the smartest and it’s the PvP-meets-PvE questing that gives Chronicle a competitive core, making a fun mechanic into a truly compelling evolution of the genre.”

WHAT TO EXPECT IN CHRONICLE: RUNESCAPE LEGENDS OPEN BETA
Chronicle gives players the chance to write the fate of Legends from the world ofRuneScape in a battle of wits, strategy and combat where lives are gambled on the turn of the cards. It’s a game where two rival Legend adventurers are seeking victory and both are equipped with the tools to trip the other up.
As every quest chapter opens, a rich environment is revealed and offers up four slots for card placement, each representing a step forward and action point in the adventure. In the role of a chosen Legend, players select up to four cards from their deck, which can be a mix of Support and Enemy cards each with an action and specific values. These are then placed in the slots on the landscape and locked in sequence.

In Chronicle, the player’s cards are both their greatest weapon and weakness. Like any great role playing game, players slay monsters, bosses and other foes to gain loot. Unlike other card games, players need to battle their own cards, rather than their opponents.

As the sequence of cards turn – one-by-one – the quest unfolds, with each card bringing a new challenge or reward. The rival Legend’s chain of cards plays out in parallel and can help or, more likely, hinder the player. If both players make it to the end of the fifth chapter, the Legends do battle against each other, with the victor being the last person standing.

If the closed beta, which saw almost ¼ million games played, formed Chronicle’s prologue, today’s launch of the open beta marks the beginning chapter one. Headline content to be introduced during the open beta phase includes: New Legends, Dungeoneering, Skilling, Customisation, Leaderboards, and new environments.

· More Legends: Joining the four Legends from the Closed Beta, two new playable Legends will emerge with Vanescula the Vampyre, who enters the fray as Chronicle’s fifth playable character, bringing 30+ new cards and a brand new way to play with her – blood will be spilt! The sixth Legend to be introduced soon is Morvran, the greatest Slayer Master, with his own monstrous style of questing.

· Dungeoneering: A new mode that tasks players with creating a drafted deck and battling their way through ever increasing PvP challenges. Draft your way to victory in a quest for Coins, Gem Shards and Platinum.

· Skilling: Core to the wider RuneScape experience is Skilling, and Chronicle will continue that legacy by introducing its own system. Actions performed in Chronicle will grant experience points in one of the game’s skills which will then lead to some juicy customisation unlocks.

· Legend Customisation: Players will finally be able to make their Legend their own with Chronicle’s first collection of skins. These are earned by levelling up a Legend, or unlocking them within the Chronicle Store. With the resulting outfits, players will be able to customise their Legend and face their rival in style.

· Leaderboards: Leaderboards will shine a light on those epic players that make up the best of the Bronze, Silver & Gold leagues. Every victory takes you one step closer to the top.

· New environments – The Wilderness Crater & Barrows: Not one, but two brand new locations will be bursting through the pages of Chronicle in open beta adding some fire and brimstone to your adventures.
To join the open beta for Chronicle: RuneScape Legends, download the game from:https://www.rschronicle.com/

Bravely Second: End Layer Review

Andrew Day

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March 23, 2016

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Bravely Second: End Layer
Developer: Silicon Studio
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: 3DS (Reviewed)
Release Date: Out Now
Price: AU$59.95 – Available Here

Overview

Traditional turn-based JRPGs old school Final Fantasy games have really dipped out of style in the past decade or so, only to be replaced with the western style of RPG like The Witcher or Skyrim. Even the Final Fantasy franchise has deviated away from its squad-based, methodical turn-based system in its newer titles. While the genre might not be for everyone, it is great to see Square Enix still developing Traditional JRPGs like Bravely Second: End Layer. A game that is more akin to something from 20 years ago than today, Bravely Second relies heavily on nostalgia to entertain its audience. Unfortunately, that only gets you so far.

Story

Whenever I pick up a new RPG, whether it is a JRPG, ARPG or heck even a Legend of Zelda game, I am expect the first thing to hit me is a sense of wonder, a feeling that I am about to embark on an epic and most importantly, something new and unique to draw me in. Unfortunately, I got none of that from Bravely Second. Someone is kidnapped, and you have to rally some buddies together in order to save them. It is tired, cliche and didn’t provide the exciting hook that I needed to get into the game. The cliche, overdone story doesn’t seem to get any more interesting as you go on, and as I played I kept waiting for the twister the hook to come, but it never did.

I basically started my run in Bravely Second completely blind. I know basically nothing about the series, had never played the first game and wasn’t really sure what to expect. As I played through, I found some character interactions that some characters had met before, but without the foundation of the first game I was a little bit lost on some of the nuances.

Gameplay

I can’t say for certain why the turn-based genre has all but vanished from mainstream gaming these days, maybe it has to do with players on mass wanting more immediate responses out of their games? Whatever the reason it is sad to see such classic gameplay mechanics be relegated to indie games or Pokemon titles. Bravely Second (and I assume its predecessor) bring back the old school turn based RPG in a big way and shows that these games are certainly not forgotten.

As you progress through the game, you will pick out your party members and assign them jobs (basically skill classes) for them to utilise in combat. There’s a fair variety of these jobs and it was fun to pick and choose between different classes but it, along with the turn based structure of the combat made me feeling as I progressed that the whole game had this air of micromanaging to it that left me feel like I spent more time planning than actually playing.

To me, one of the most frustrating parts of the JRPG experience is always the grinding that starts at about the midway point in the game and lasts until the end credits roll (if not beyond). Having to run around and face horde after horde of enemy becomes a tiring exercise that to me can
always succeed in turning what was shaping up to be an epic adventure and turning it into a slow drag. Bravely Second manages a unique solution to this problem with its “Consecutive Chance” feature. When you beat a wave of enemies in one turn, you are given the option to face a second. If you can beat THEM in a single turn then you can opt for a third and so on. Each wave you get nets you an increased multiplier to your experience but also brings with it the risk of NOT defeating your opponents in one turn and thus losing your multiplier. It provides a unique way to level your characters through the game while also adding a real risk vs reward scenario that is often missing from these types of encounters.

Visuals & Audio

For all its shortcomings as a video game, I cannot at all refute how beautiful this game looks. The anime style used for the game’s cut scenes is incredibly detailed and well executed. Everything looks crisp, clean and without any muddiness or blue that you would expect from a game running on the 3DS.

While the game employs a different art style in-game than it does for its cut scenes, the character models here none the less looks amazing. The short, cute almost childlike character models all look awesome and have a surprising amount of detail, including their unique expressive faces.The art style in-game to me was pretty reminiscent of the Final Fantasy Tactics games and could be seen as a bit of a throwback to those titles as a further bit of nostalgia for those who grew up with the genre.

Unfortunately, as great as the game looks, I had some issues with how it sounds. The voice acting was incredibly flat, irritating and at moments downright grating. I ended up turning the sound off on my console in points because I was just absolutely over the sounds of the game.

Overall

Like I said in the introduction, JRPGs have fallen out of favour with modern gaming crowds, and Bravely Second seems to epitomise exactly why this is. Don’t get me wrong, this game and the genre in general will definitely find its fans out there, and if you are one of those people who are huge JRPG fans then This should probably be on your radar as you’ll be able to overlook its flaws. However, if you are more of a casual fan or one that prefers a faster-pace of game, then probably give this one a miss. All the nostalgia and pretty visuals in the world cannot help the fact that the plot is boring and tired, or the fact that the gameplay is slow, clunky and filled with more micromanaging than a soccer coach on game day.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Resident Evil’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Kicks Off Today

Travis Bruno

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March 23, 2016

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It may be a bit hard to believe that twenty years ago today the Resident Evil series debuted with an infamous mansion filled with countless zombies and many other monstrosities filling the dark ominous hallways.

Ever since Capcom brought the Resident Evil series out on March 22, 1996 the series has become a very iconic and one of the most successful gaming franchises of all time with 66 million copies sold worldwide and expanded into feature films, novels, and various types of merchandise.

With this year being the 20th anniversary of the series Capcom will be releasing a series of developer interviews featuring commentary from some of the team members who have played a vital role in developing the brand into what it is today and they have kicked things off with an interview with producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi that you can check out below.

Nights of Azure Interview with Development Team

Travis Bruno

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March 23, 2016

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Gust and Koei Tecmo have been working together for quite a few years now after being purchased back in 2011 and while the company is fairly well known for working on their Atelier and Ar tonelico series, they have started to branch out a bit recently and Nights of Azure is a clear sign of the developer trying new things. Now, with Nights of Azure set to be released next week in both North America and Europe we had the chance to ask a few questions about the title.

Nights of Azure is something of a departure from the Atelier and Ar Tonelico titles that fans are familiar with. Where did the idea for this type of game come from?

Director Nakai had previously worked on the 4^th Atelier title, “Atelier Judie: The Alchemist of Gramnad” and had reflected the effect of blending various items in battle. The system of items that has been incorporated into Gust titles since Atelier Judie lead to Arnice’s equipment specification system. This equipment system can be reinforced based on a combination of completed items made of the characteristics of blending each item together.

In ‘Nights of Azure’ the characteristics of Arnice can be changed by her equipment and the formation of Servans. Furthermore, Director Nakai was in charge of creating the characters and the world. Nakai’s experience with Atelier Ayesha and Atelier Jude has influenced the development process of ‘Nights of Azure’.

When first revealed many fans were a bit caught off guard by the darker looking nature of Nights of Azure. What led to creating a title with a darker theme?

We had an idea for the battle system in our first draft. Arnice would play a centre role in fighting alongside demons known as Servans. Based on this idea, we created the settings that would fit a dark and fantasy world.

The bond between Arnice and Lilysse has been promoted quite a bit. What type of relationship can we expect to see between these two?

Arnice and Lilysse are close friends and they cherish each other. Due to this relationship it sometimes can become too much, they sometimes collide, drift apart and somethings just don’t go too well. Even though this does happen we encourage players to enjoy their story too.

The fighting style Arnice appears to favour while fighting against the demons is fast-paced. What should fans expect from the game’s combat system?

Previous Gust titles were command-choice type of games with not many action elements. We aimed to develop a RPG that players can enjoy with a refreshing feeling in battle which is reflected by Arnice’s growth and a choice of Servans.

Arnice is capable of using a number of different Demon Forms in combat. What type of balance was the team looking for with these different forms?

The function of transformation is like using a bomb in shooting games. This may be used as coup de grace, or in a clutch. It sometimes shows a breathtaking power with a combination of certain weapons equipped by Arnice. Players can also enjoy finding what combinations increase the power of transformation.

Collecting and commanding demon like creatures to fight alongside the main character is something that fans of RPGs are growing quite familiar with. What helps set Nights of Azure apart with the Servans?

The dependence of Arnice’s growth with accessories is set up to a large degree. Players can enjoy collecting her accessories with excellent bonuses after defeating enemies and whilst exploring the map.

From what has been shown of Nights of Azure’s gameplay footage, it appears that battles take place in a more limited area than other RPGs. Does this mean that the title centres more on hub-based missions or can players expect an open world to explore?

Yes, each battle is set on an individual state, as the game progresses new stages will be unlocked to play.

With Nights of Azure being released on the PlayStation 4 as well as the PlayStation Vita, are there any major differences between the two versions?

In terms of the gameplay there is no difference between the two platform releases.

Gust-chan is being offered as a bonus for Nights of Azure and is a nice bonus for longtime fans of Gust and other cross-over titles but is there any thought of including guest characters from other series such as Atelier?

This is the very first time for Gust-chan to be included in any game titles. I am sure that Servans including Gust-chan have a lot of possibilities to make collaborations in the future. We currently don’t have any information regarding that at this moment, with that in mind we will continue to explore various possibilities.

Nights of Azure is set to be released for the PlayStation 4 on March 31st in North America and in Europe on April 1st.

HOYTS TEAMS UP WITH RIOT GAMES FOR VIEWING PARTIES

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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March 23, 2016

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HOYTS TEAMS UP WITH RIOT GAMES FOR VIEWING PARTIES
HOYTS have become an official sponsor of the Oceanic Pro League (OPL), the League of Legends professional esports league in Oceania, and also come on board as the the official Oceania viewing party partner for all major League of Legends esports events during 2016.

Damian Keogh, HOYTS Group CEO said, “HOYTS are excited to partner with League of Legends esports gaming to give our audiences a diversity of content, so they can experience more with their friends and family. The esports genre continues to grow within the Australian market, consumer demand is high and we want our guests to experience these events the best way possible, on the big screen.”

Mark Cox, Riot Games Oceania Marketing Director added, “We look forward to working with HOYTS and extending our esports viewing experience to the big screen for our players. Throughout the year, players will now be able to attend community cinema events across Australia and New Zealand to watch local and global esports broadcasts live amongst friends in an electric cinematic atmosphere that they wouldn’t necessarily experience at home.”

In October last year, 36 million unique viewers, plus over 1,500 HOYTS cinema goers across Oceania, watched the League of Legends World Championships final between SKT and Koo Tigers, held at Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena – a record-breaking high viewership for any esports event.

In Oceania, esports is growing fast, with over 10,000 attendees at the OPL Grand Final at Sydney’s Luna Park in August last year and 1,500 people watching the livestream at HOYTS.

This year, HOYTS will exclusively screen 9 key events on the League of Legends calendar live in HD via satellite feed. Confirmed events to date are as below, stay tuned for more info and confirmation on events to come:

OPL Split 1 Final – April 5, tickets on sale Tuesday 29 March.
International Wild Card Invitational (IWCI) – Date TBC
Mid Seasonal Invitational (MSI) – Date TBC
OPL Grand Final – August 13
International Wild Card Qualifiers (IWCQ) – Date TBC
World Championship Finals – Date TBC

Participating HOYTS cinema locations in Australia and New Zealand include; Broadway (NSW), Highpoint (VIC), Carousel (WA), Norwood (SA), Stafford (QLD), Sylvia Park (Auckland) and Riccarton (Christchurch).
Visit http://promo.oce.leagueoflegends.com/en/hoyts-viewing-parties/ for more information. Stay tuned.

Minecraft: Story Mode’s Fifth Episode Coming on March 29th, Three More Announced

Travis Bruno

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March 23, 2016

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Minecraft: Story Mode’s Fifth Episode Coming on March 29th, Three More Announced

In more than a few ways it felt like Minecraft: Story Mode‘s fourth episode served as a proper ending to the season and in a way it might actually be the case. Not only did it see the end of the core story arc, it also was the end of the rapid release schedule that Telltale was taking with the series. Now three months after the fourth episode was released, Telltale Games has announced that the fifth episode will be arriving on March 29th.

Although Minecraft: Story Mode was originally slated for five episodes, it seems that Episode 5: ‘Order Up’ will be serving as the jumping point for three more episodes that will be released in 2016 as this fifth episode will serve as a way to bridge the gap between the Wither Storm arc and one that will follow the New Order of the Stone through brand new adventures.

Yakuza 0 Arriving in North America and Europe in Early 2017

Travis Bruno

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March 23, 2016

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Back in December Sega announced that they would be bringing Yakuza 0 to the West and today the company has narrowed down something of a release window. The company has announced that they will be bringing Yakuza 0 to North America and Europe in early 2017 and it will be available both physically and digitally as a PlayStation 4 exclusive as the PlayStation 3 version is not being localized.

In an interesting fashion, Sega has specifically stated that they are the only company working on bringing Yakuza 0 to the West rather than involving PlayStation. With Yakuza 0, players get to step into the sartorially immaculate shoes of Kiryu and Majima *before* they became the Dragon and the Mad Dog respectively. As such, players will find out just how bad things can become for a foot soldier in the Yakuza.

Danganronpa 3 Anime to Feature Twelve New Characters, Four Familiar Faces Return

Travis Bruno

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March 23, 2016

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Last week we learned that the next trailer for the upcoming Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak Academy anime would be debuting on March 26th and thanks to this early issue of Weekly Famitsu we also have some new details about what to expect as far as the characters go.

The two small images reveal that twelve new characters, all belonging to Future Foundation, will be debuting in the anime series while the other image shows that Makoto Naekgi, Kyoko Kirigiri, Aoi Asahina, and Yasuhiro Hagakure will also be returning as their slightly older selves.

The issue asks the question of how these twelve new characters are related to Naegi and the rest of the group and we will likely learn more when the new trailer for Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak Academy debuts in four days.

Squad Alpha v5.0 Expands Maps, Tweaks Balance and Performance

Jamie Laike Tsui

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March 23, 2016

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Offworld Industries released the latest build for their realistic FPS Squad today. The update focuses on quality of life improvements and balancing issues.

The optics have been tweaked a little to provide more realistic magnification and give some variety to different kits by tweaking the time to target acquisition compared to iron sights. The effect of jumping on stamina has also been tweaked. The cost of the first jump has been lowered substantially, but the penalty has risen on successive jumps to discourage bunny hopping.

Offworld Industries expanded two maps today and will be releasing an expansion to a third map later in the week. The final two maps will see an expansion in the v6.0 alpha. Two more maps are in the pipeline and the developers hope to provide an update in the near future. Additionally, the map UI has also seen some updates to improve performance and the artwork for maps. Offworld Industries plans on releasing a full blown UI and art upgrade in the near future.

Finally, an official server licensing scheme has been implemented. These servers are expected to have an active administration team, strong server hardware, run vanilla Squad game rules, and foster a positive teamwork oriented community.

Tales of Zestiria the X Anime to Debut this Summer

Travis Bruno

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March 23, 2016

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Thanks to a large banner hanging above the hall during Anime Japan Expo 2016 it has been revealed that Tales of Zestiria the X, the upcoming 20th anniversary Tales anime project, will be debuting this summer in Japan. Produced by Ufotable, Tales of Zestiria the X will likely cover most, if not all, of the story presented in the JRPG that was released last year in the West for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.

This marks the second full anime series for the Tales franchise and although little is known about how the series will be presented but we have been given the tagline: “The journey of the Shepherd transcends Zestiria.”