The battle for Suburbia grows to crazy new heights at the Microsoft Store, Sydney
Zombies and Plants are set to descend on the Microsoft Store, Sydney on Saturday 27thFebruary to celebrate the launch of Plants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare 2 on the Xbox One console, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. The event will include a range of activities, including two live 12-player tournaments of the game, live-streamed on the day via Twitch TV on the 6T4Bites Channel.
Fans are invited to attend the event and battle it out to win a host of prizes including an Xbox One console and copies of the game. Details on how to secure a spot in the public Plants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare 2 tournament can be found by:
Visiting the Microsoft Store, Sydney before Friday 26th February and speaking with a Store Associate
Watching the 6T4 Bites Twitch Live Stream of Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2on Thursday 25th February
It will be a day for the whole family to get involved in, with a wide range of fun and exciting activities for the younger ones throughout the Store and Pitt Street Mall, including: freeplay ofPlants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare 2 on the Xbox One, face painting, giveaways, colouring stations and photo opportunities with the game characters. Fans will also get the chance to catch a live interview about the game with teen heartthrobs In Stereo, Jai Waetfordand NRL favourites Marty Taupau and Josh Reynolds in Pitt Street Mall from 2:15pm.
Plants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare 2 is in development at PopCap Vancouver. The game is rated PG by the Australian Classification Board and is now available in Australia and New Zealand.
Fans who purchase a copy of the game at the Microsoft Store Sydney event on the Xbox One will receive a Grass Effect Z7 Mech & Emoji Pack.*
EVENT INFORMATION:
WHEN:
Saturday 27th February 2016
EVENT TIME:
1:00pm – 4:00pm (Tune into the Twitch Livestream at the same time for those who are unable to attend the event!)
WHERE:
Microsoft Flagship Store
Westfield Sydney, 188 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW 2000
WHAT:
Plants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare 2 launch event
Live Talent Q & A in Pitt St Mall from 2:15pm
Live Consumer Tournament begins 2:30pm
Activity stations & entertainment for kids throughout
PLAYRAVEN UNLEASHES GALACTIC REAL-TIME STRATEGY MAYHEM WITH THE WORLDWIDE iOS RELEASE OF ROBOCIDE™
Former Remedy, Rockstar and Supercell developers launch the first of three fully original mobile games coming in 2016
HELSINKI – Feb. 24, 2016 – PlayRaven has released Robocide™, a galactic adventure and brand-new micro RTS (real-time strategy) game, now available worldwide on iPhone and iPad devices. Created by ex-console and mobile industry veterans, Robocide lets players traverse the galaxy with a legion of robots at their command in order to fight against an imminent robot invasion.
“2016 is going to be a huge year of releases for us, and we’re excited to kick it off with Robocide,” said Lasse Seppänen, co-founder and CEO at PlayRaven. “Our mission is to bring fresh new entertainment to the App Store, and Robocide fits the bill perfectly. We look forward to seeing how our fans and new players dive into the experience.”
In Robocide, humanity is on the brink of collapse from robot attackers, and it’s up to players to fight back. Using intuitive one-finger controls, players command a powerful swarm of robots across a series of battlefields, hostile planets and multiplayer arenas, while also collecting upgradable Titans, highly powerful heroic robots with unique abilities that will tear through the competition. Players will travel far and wide to harvest resources, customize their fleet, destroy evil robots and take back the galaxy.
Robocide marks the first of three all-new releases from PlayRaven launching in 2016. It is also the first PlayRaven title to support Apple Watch, with a companion app available now.
Robocide is out now as a free download via the App Store on iPhone and iPad devices. More information about the game can be found at www.robocidegame.com. For the latest news from PlayRaven, follow the company at www.facebook.com/PlayRavenInc or @PlayRavenInc on Twitter.
About PlayRaven
Based in Helsinki, PlayRaven is an independent game development studio founded in 2013 by five game industry veterans with AAA console, mobile and free-to-play experience. PlayRaven has a best-in-class creative team with years of experience from renowned studios such as Supercell, Remedy and Rockstar. PlayRaven’s first title was Spymaster®, launched worldwide in September 2014. PlayRaven currently has three teams developing three new titles – the objective is not just to create new games, but whole new genres of games. PlayRaven is proud to be backed by venture capital funds Northzone and Creandum, as well as early-stage Supercell investors Jari Ovaskainen and London Venture Partners.
Sydney, Australia. – February 25, 2016 – PopCap Vancouver, creator of one of the world’s most beloved video game franchises and a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), today announced that Plants vs. Zombies™Garden Warfare 2 is now available in stores and for digital download throughout Australia and New Zealand on Xbox One®, PlayStation®4, and Origin™ for PC. Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 immerses you into the biggest, baddest, craziest battles where, for the first time in franchise history, zombies have conquered Suburbia and plants are on the attack. Experience new ways to play, including the all-new Backyard Battleground – a massive, interactive environment that connects you to every map and mode in the game. Over 100 playable characters with outrageous powers and abilities, 12 all-new maps bursting with personality and humor, and eight crazy game modes makePlants vs. ZombiesGarden Warfare 2 the most insane over-the-top battle in the universe.
“Back in January, we held our first-ever open beta so fans could get a sneak peek at the Backyard Battleground and some of the new characters, maps and experiences,” said Justin Wiebe, Creative Director, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2. “That was just a glimpse at all of our new ways to play and the response was so positive that we can’t wait for fans to dive into even more features and see the rest of the world we’ve created.”
From the start of the game, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 drops you into Backyard Battleground, a wild personal playground full of dynamic events that brings to life more ways to experience the PvZ universe. Take your time exploring on your own or with friends, discovering and unlocking exciting secrets throughout the world and completing quests as you go. Or jump into the action once you’ve unlocked the King of the Hill-inspired mode, Flag of Power, igniting an all-out war where you’ll fight off wave after wave of enemies in a frantic, escalating battle.
Join the fight with six new character classes and over 100 playable characters, including Rose, Citron, and Kernel Corn on the side of the plants, and Imp, Super Brainz and Captain Deadbeard on the side of the zombies. Dive into even bigger new game modes with 24-player multiplayer battles, including Garden and Graveyards, and the new Herbal Assault featuring plants on the offensive. All of this takes place across brand new maps, including the low gravity Moon Base Z, and the snowy Great White North.
Players of original Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare will have the ability to earn unique in-game rewards based on their rank in the original Garden Warfare. There’s also the option for players to transfer almost every one of their unlocked characters into Plants vs. ZombiesGarden Warfare 2 right from launch, so they can jumpstart their new adventure with their favorite plants and zombies.
Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is developed at PopCap Vancouver. The game is rated PG by the Australian Classification Board. The game is available on Xbox One, the all-in-one gaming system from Microsoft, PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and Origin™ for PC. EA Access* and Origin Access* members also save 10% when they purchase Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 digitally, just like with all EA digital purchases on Xbox Live and Origin respectively. Become a fan of Plants vs. Zombies on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
London,—February 24, 2016— On Tuesday, February 27, 1996, video game fans were asked to choose between Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. This would be the beginning of a global phenomenon that has continued for two decades, through different regions, on multiple platforms, and countless memorable moments. Exactly twenty years later, on Pokémon Day, Saturday, February 27, the adventure continues as Pokémon celebrates its 20th year.
The fun begins with the Pokémon Photo Booth app that is now available for download at no charge from the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/pokemon-photo-booth/id1084024173. Fans can show their Pokémon 20th spirit by customizing their portraits and adding captions in the style of classic Pokémon games. The photos cans then be shared or used to create Pokémon-themed profile photos. The app is also coming soon to Google Play.
A celebration of 20 years of Pokémon would not be complete without some big news. On Friday, February 26 at 3pm GMT, a special Pokémon Direct presentation can be viewed at http://nintendo.co.uk/nintendodirect
More details can be found at www.pokemon.co.uk/20 . Fans visiting the site throughout the year will find information about monthly Mythical Pokémon distributions, retail events, special products, and messages from some of Pokémon’s biggest fans.
Pokémon. Twenty years. Train On.
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About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.co.uk.
About Nintendo
The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.3 billion video games and more than 692 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Wii, and Nintendo 3DS family of systems including New Nintendo 3DS™, New Nintendo 3DS XL™, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL™, Nintendo 2DS™, as well as Nintendo DS™, Nintendo DSi™, Nintendo DSi XL™, Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in Europe.
LONDON, UK – February 24, 2016 – Today, Ubisoft released Collapse, a realistic simulator that shows how quickly a weaponized virus can spread, leading to the collapse of society, as depicted in the upcoming online open-world action RPG Tom Clancy’s The Division.
Collapse is an online interactive experience that uses real data to create an immersive and personalised projection of the end of society. The user is patient zero of this highly infectious virus and has to make several choices that will have consequences on the spread of the pandemic.
Based on Open Street Map, NASA open source data and IATA Flight routes, with input from emergency risk specialists and public service employees, Collapse features more than 3800 cities worldwide, home of 95% of the population. The user can compare different scenarios by choosing another epicenter or by making different choices in the simulator, and find the most vulnerable and the safest cities.
This simulator is based on the storyline of Tom Clancy’s The Division, which takes place in a mid-crisis New York that has been devastated by a deadly fictional virus named Variola Chimera. The Division, a secret unit of self-supported tactical agents, is activated to restore order in the city and take back New York.
Collapse is a powerful reminder of the fragility and complexity of our interdependent systems on which we rely daily – power, transport, communications, banking and hospitals. When one of them collapses, the other ones fail in a matter of days. Collapse shows how fast our world would fall down in case of a pandemic similar to what happens in Tom Clancy’s The Division and help players understanding the context of the game.
Tom Clancy’s The Division will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on March 8. For more information, please visit http://thedivisiongame.com
Tastee Beverage Studios announced their debut racing game today. Bank Limit: Advanced Battle Racing will be a launch title for Oculus Rift, with both game and VR goggles being made available on March 28. The game will send players hurtling down the track at Mach 1 in ships armed to the teeth. The driving is arcade-style with a heavy focus on drifting through turns and using drafts to blast past other racers. Of course, if you can’t win with speed, you can always win with violence. Weapons are aimed with the eyes, forcing players to keep an eye on the track, the vehicle dashboard, and other racers all at once.
“Bank Limit: ABR takes what we love about classic high-octane combat racers and blasts it into a future where you feel the thrilling vertigo of cresting a massivedrop, the kick of acceleration when you Boost and the heat of no-holds-barred battles,” said Harley Benedict, Co-Founder and Lead Programmer of Tastee Beverage Studios. “Designed specifically to take advantage of Oculus Rift hardware and the horsepower of advanced gaming PCs, Bank Limit: ABR will bring players blazing speed, furious combat and hard-hitting competition with a new level of VR intensity.”
New ‘Legacy Opening Cinematic’ + Beta open to Playstation Plus Members on March 4th
Io-Interactive today releases a new trailer, the ‘Legacy Opening Cinematic’ bridges the twenty year gap in the new HITMAN game between the end of the Prologue and the Sanguine Fashion Show in Paris.
To see the video go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01bYEelwwHc&ab_channel=HITMAN
The trailer takes viewers all the way back to the thermal baths of the Hotel Gallard in Budapest as seen in the original Codename: 47 and to the Chilean Delgado vineyard from Blood Money, as it charts a journey through some iconic Hitman moments.
Plus, after a successful beta on PS4, Io-Interactive now invites all PlayStation Plus members to try out the HITMAN beta on March 4th.
“Our initial beta was an extremely helpful moment for our new HITMAN game, as it gave us great insight into how the server game mechanics function under pressure. A lot of those pressure points are currently being strengthened for release,” said Hannes Seifert, Studio Head at Io-Interactive. “Now Sony have given us the opportunity to go even bigger to validate some of the initial things we saw. Therefore we are inviting everyone who is a PlayStation Plus member to try the same beta and you don’t have to pre-order the game. This will allow us to really stress test our server setup, which is a crucial element for us to get just right.”
Labeled “The Prologue”, the Beta takes place twenty years before the Paris Showstopper mission. Set in a secret ICA training facility, the Prologue features a pivotal moment in Agent 47’s life – his introduction to the ICA and very first meeting with his future handler Diana Burnwood. The Prologue features two free-form training hits, which will introduce players to the features and mechanics of the upcoming HITMAN game. The Prologue will also be available as part of the first episode of HITMAN.
HITMAN will launch on March 11th for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.
Overview After playing through many updated versions of Street Fighter IV, fans were delighted to hear that the fighting game would be taking its next step forward with Street Fighter V. With fighting games offering more than ever before and even niche titles being released in the West to certain levels of success, many saw Street Fighter V as the best way to take advantage of the popularity spawned of IV and bring the game to new heights. So now that the title has been released, it is evident that that has turned out true, unfortunately the complete bare bones nature of the game at launch is going to be a detriment for most common players.
Story Currently Street Fighter V offers a story mode that barely qualifies as one, as even the most basic of arcade modes (which this game is currently lacking) offer more information and details about the characters than this does. While a full cinematic experience is planned for release in June, future promises cannot make up for the initial offering that presents players with extremely short (less than five minutes usually) story segments for each of the sixteen characters.
With no difficulty adjustment available in this mode, players will often be placed into three or, for the shorter stories, two one-round matches against incredibly easy opponents that only barely tie together any semblance of a story. Most character stories feature fighters simply running into one another and then fighting it out before a quick unsatisfying epilogue to close out the story and generally leave players with no actual idea on what the core story will offer when the update is released.
This means that while players may get the smallest glimpse at what the future update may hold and provides a few hints about the brand new characters, once you finish the entire story mode in about an hour and a half then you’ll be left wanting more. While many fighting game fans simply breeze past a story mode, the amount of effort that other titles in the genre have begun putting into this mode makes Street Fighter V’s initial offering something of a shock.
Gameplay Generally the bulk of a fighting game’s modes come in the form of single player content with the multiplayer component being there for those who wish to test their skills against others around the world. Street Fighter V is the exact opposite of that. Not only does it not offer the aforementioned arcade mode, it also lacks a versus mode against computer opponents, and even a proper tutorial system.
There will be a challenge mode that is currently grayed out and will be updated in March, as well as the most basic of practice modes, and finally a survival mode that allows players to take on the same set of opponents in a row depending on difficulty with various supplements that can be taken between one round battles to provide your fighter with more health or boost their meters for the next fight.
This means that those looking for some single player fun will find Street Fighter V incredibly lacking at the moment, meaning most of the fun comes from playing online at the moment but even this mode is lacking in a few ways. Currently players can only create a “Battle Lounge” that will allow one other opponent to fight in a room at a moment with the rooms being expanded to eight players in the coming months. Plus while seeking battles outside of Battle Lounge players will automatically have their character chosen for them from their pre-selected favorite fighter, meaning that the ability to choose a fighter that may be better against your opponent’s selection is null here.
Outside of this standard battle lounge, which at the moment cannot even be used to spectate fights, there are your predictable Ranked and Casual Matches that players can either select and wait around to be paired up with an opponent or set to seek fighters in the background while practicing or taking part in survival mode, with fights against online opponents being entered when available and keeping players from simply waiting around. Every fight that I entered into, even with opponents that were shown as being from overseas, was presented with no apparent lag which is perfect for a game that can be as technical as Street Fighter. This allows online combat to be as fluid as offline fights against your friend sitting on the couch as the title is not plagued by any kind of input lag even on some of the tougher combos.
Taking part in the limited single player content and winning fights against opponents online provides the player with “Fight Money” that will eventually can be used to purchase new costumes as well as upcoming DLC characters through the currently grayed out Shop. This is a nice touch that serves as a nice incentive to keep players active and playing the game, especially since 100,000 Fight Money can be used for a DLC character and the single player content providing nearly FM to purchase two fighters if you don’t bother with story costumes. That being said, with “Premium” costumes requiring players to use the paid currency of Zenny and any attempts at earning Fight Money while offline being impossible, it will be interesting to see just how well received this method will be once DLC begins to roll out.
Now while I have been railing about Street Fighter V’s dearth of available modes at launch, I cannot say that this is in any means a bad game because the actual combat and gameplay revisions to the fighting system in Street Fighter V present an incredibly enjoyable fighting game that is quite an overhaul from the previous title as well as a title that, despite the only real way to train being against a heavily modified practice dummy or grinding away at online fights, is far more forgiving for newcomers.
The ability to pull off combos as well as special moves has been increased by making timing on these moves less rigid than before and the removal of Chip damage, which is the small amount of health lost while blocking, can no longer end a round if your health is low except for being hit with a Critical Art (new name for Ex) attack. The other new system comes in the form of the V-System that introduces a V-Meter and three new moves for each fighter.
A V-Skill that can be used at any time with a simple press of medium punch and medium kick at the same time, a V-Reversal which is activated when blocking and pressing all punch buttons at a time at the cost of one portion of the V-Meter, and a special V-Trigger that requires a full meter to pull off but offers either a boost to your fighter’s strength, added special elements to their attacks, or simply unleashes an attack. Each of the characters in the game has a unique set of special V abilities that players will either need to test out and learn themselves or turn to an online source to learn more.
As for the actual fighters, Street Fighter V is offering a fairly respectable sixteen fighters available at launch with the aforementioned planned DLC characters on the way. In games as technical as Street Fighter can be, creating a solid character and balanced character base is essential to delivering a remarkable and long lasting experience and just like the tightened up combat systems, the fighters in Street Fighter V are the best they’ve ever been though some fan favorites may be missing.
The depth and diversity of the available roster is stronger than ever before with new characters Necalli and F.A.N.G. fitting in perfectly as fresh faces designed for close-up aggressive battling and for zoning attacks that are a bit trickier. Every character in the game is different from one another in at least a few ways with most of the new cast and returning fights offering a little something for everyone with even Ryu and Ken being a bit different this time around thanks to the V system. This means that players will want to spend plenty of time practicing either by running through survival or simply messing around in training mode in order to learn what character is best for their playstyle and how to handle their various special moves.
Visuals & Audio Not only has the fighting in Street Fighter V undergone a renovation the graphics of the title are quite different from what fans of the series are familiar with. The characters are detailed to an impressive level and the special maneuvers they pull off have never looked better. Even the stages that players battle on, despite being rather low in number, are outstanding looking with plenty of action and guest appearances occurring while the players fight in the forefront. It is worth noting that some long time fighters have undergone something of a style change which may be a bit upsetting for a few fans and at the moment the only costume changes come in the form of different color palettes, though costumes will be available when the shop launches.
As for the soundtrack, Street Fighter V features an impressive track list giving players plenty of intense music to fit the action packed fights. The voice work, which can be individually customized between English and Japanese for each character, is quite impressive though you won’t be hearing too much unique dialogue here at the moment.
Overall Street Fighter V is something of a strange title in the way that, despite the barebones single player content and continuing server issues affecting online, still proves that Capcom has taken a real step forward with this game by offering an outstanding fighting game that has refined its combat mechanics in a manner that makes it a bit easier for newcomers to learn while providing plenty of complexity for veterans. Unfortunately thanks to the lack of pretty much any mode that fans of fighting games have expected for the past decade, Street Fighter V’s potential greatness is hidden away and likely won’t arrive for a few more months. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Good Robot Rescues PyroCorp’s Reputation (And Humanity), this April on Steam
Pyrodactyl Announces New Fast-Paced Roguelike Shoot ‘em Up Coming to Steam in April
Jaipur, India – February 24, 2016 – Pyrodactyl, the studio behind Unrest, the award-winning RPG set in ancient India, today announced its latest project. Good Robot blends bullet hell shoot ‘em up action with roguelike mechanics, challenging players to annihilate thousands of lesser robots across vivid procedurally generated sci-fi labyrinths.
The year is 2031, and robots perform all the boring and repetitive tasks, which leaves humans with all the exciting jobs – like desperately fighting malfunctioning kill-crazed robots. The Good Robot was built to reverse the stereotype that robots are violent disasters, chiefly by seeking out and systematically destroying every wayward robot in the colony. It might take a while and you might want to invest in a warranty – as soon as you’ve fought enough robots to afford one.
“Sense of humor is definitely the key to survive in Good Robot”, said Arvind Raja Yadav, Programmer and Game Designer of Pyrodactyl. “We also went ahead and threw in a bunch of bouncing plasma discs, laser shotguns and flak cannons for good measure. Otherwise it might be a little tough fighting all the other robots armed with homing missiles and ion blasters”.
Good Robot is coming to Steam this April for PC, Mac and Linux. For more information, please visit http://pyrodactyl.com/
Good Robot is an action packed roguelike shoot ‘em up based in a post-apocalyptic world sprinkled with dystopian black humor. The protagonist is a floating robot savior pitted against an endless array of plasma-packing battle-armored “programming errors”, fighting for peace, justice, and no lawsuits.
About Pyrodactyl
Pyrodactyl is an indie game studio that creates unconventional role-playing games for PC, Mac and Linux. Their games are notable for their interesting storylines, conversation mechanics and unique brand of humor, such as Unrest, Will Fight for Food and A.Typical RPG
FUNimation Entertainment has announced its plans for the Anime Matsuri convention in Houston, Texas this weekend. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the convention. The panels will include:
FUNimation Favourites on Friday, February 26 from 7-8pm in Panel Room 5 (370A-F). In this panel, FUNimation looks at their favourite current and past anime titles.
FUNimation Peep Show (18+) on Friday, February 26 from 12-1am in Panel Room 3 (Grand Ballroom C). Hosts Herbie Housely and Cookie Stratford will be showing NSFW clips from series that FUNimation has licensed. Prizes will be given out during this panel. Attendees must bring their IDs in order to be able to get into the room.
FUNimation Industry Panel on Saturday, February 27 from 10-11am in Panel Room 1 (Grand Ballroom A). FUNimation will discuss the latest details and announcements. Prizes can be won be using the hashtag #FunimationPanel.
The Dealer’s Booth will be open from 11:30am-7pm on Friday, 9:30am-7pm on Saturday and 9:30am-4pm on Sunday. Every purchase made here will come with a collectible shopping bag and a FUNimation lanyard. FUNimation’s Lucky Pin Draw will be available at the booth, meaning that spending a certain amount of money will allow you to choose a pin. Spending $75 will get you 1 pin, $125 will get you 2 pins, $150 will get you 3 pins and $200 will get you 4 pins.
There will be a streaming theater adjacent to the FUNimation Booth showing FUNimation content throughout the weekend. Attendees should check their schedules for show times. Additionally, the English dub premiere for Rage of Bahamut: Genesis will take place at this convention.
