Chase away the Monday blahs with a brand new Every Monday Bundle from Indie Gala and Capsule Computers. This week’s bundle packs seven great indie games for only $1.49.
Labyronia RPG – An epic RPG inspired by classic SNES JRPs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI.
Labyronia RPG 2 – Set 10 years after the first game, a small band of humans must reverse the elemental weapon that is sucking the life from the planet.
Legend of Mysteria RPG – Set in the Labyronia universe, you have been framed for a murder you did not commit and must now clear your name.
Secret Of Magia – An action RPG inspired by the likes of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana.
Destiny Warriors RPG – Three spirit beasts threaten to break out of their bonds and wreak havoc upon the world again. It is up to you and three friends to stop them!
Help Mike and Captain Dorian Save the Galaxy Today in ZHEROS, Now Available for PC on Steam
Bumbling Braun Meets Beautiful Brain to Kick Some Intergalactic Ass Today
Catania, Italy — February 15, 2016 — Save the galaxy and kick some ass today from the comfort of your PC as Rimlight Studios’ quirky 3D beat ‘em up title, ZHEROS, is now available on Steam. Already available on Xbox One, ZHEROS features high-energy sci-fi action, a quirky sense of humor and a hell of a lot of ass kicking as players fight against Dr. Vendetta’s robotic army as he attempts to turn every living creature into an army of bad-tempered weirdo minions. The PC version of the game features polished 3D graphics, two new soundtracks, lots of punching and, of course, hi-tech weapons for any enemies that are slightly out of arm’s reach. To commence the ass-kicking visit: http://store.steampowered.com/app/423270/ and get a 20% discount for the first week!
“We like fun and light-hearted games that will challenge you but also make you chuckle,” said Fabio Ilacqua, Art Director and Co-Founder of Rimlight Studios. “After launching the game first on Xbox One we incorporated player feedback to give the game more polish and some cool new features while still retaining that quirky sense of humor that makes ZHEROS extra special.”
Play as the members of the ZHEROS squad: strong but slightly bumbling and awkward Mike and agile, smart and ready for anything Captain Dorian, through 18 punishing levels in single player or co-op mode, relying on a rich selection of combo punches and one bad-ass upgradeable weapon. When Mike’s “wit” and Captain Dorian’s able-bodied know-how can’t get you out of tight situations, you can look for the trusty mech armor, which can be found randomly in levels, and will destroy anything standing in the way.
ZHEROS is now available on Xbox One for 19.99€, 19.99$, and 15.99£; the regular price on Steam (after the first week) is 14.99€, 14.99$, 10.99£. ZHEROS comes to Playstation 4 this Spring.
Established in 2014 by industry experts and passionate gamers, Rimlight Studios specializes in designing and developing video games with high-end visuals and entertaining gameplay. Rimlight Studios combines both the technical and creative capabilities to create engaging games that appeal to a wide range of audiences, on all platforms. Based in Catania, in hot Sicily, the team consists of a multicultural talented group of developers, joined together by their shared passion for videogames and their desire to create fun and enjoyable experiences for players and videogames enthusiast around the world.
Squadbreached Steam Early Access in December, looking to bring its balanced mix of realism and accessibility to the tactical shooter world. It is the highly anticipated spiritual successor to the wildly popular Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality. We were lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with Alastair “Chuc” Sew Hoy, the primary animator at Offworld Industries and one of the founders of Squad, to pick his brain about the game and its future.
What sort of work goes into making Squad as realistic as possible?
It’s a multi-pronged approach from all departments really, there’s the art-side where under advice from our military advisers we ensure that our weapon and player models are accurate to the real thing. Our environment artists and mappers reference and study the locations they are trying to replicate to the detail, working from first hand experiences from people living and having been to those regions. Working off professionally recorded sound packs and his own recordings, our sound designer works miracles trying to create the perfect soundscape, of which has been praised by not only critics but also former combat personnel all of who say that this is probably the closest thing combat would sound like. All in all it’s a healthy mix of the right advisers and extremely talented artists.
In the real world, the difference in equipment quality of the US Army versus the other three factions featured in Squads is pretty vast. How have you chosen to balance Squad’s game-play while still keeping the factions unique?
We tend to use reality as a starting point, as our factions tend to lend themselves to certain play-styles. Conventional factions like the US Army and Russia favouring defensive positioning and ranged combat with their standard issue optics, while unconventional factions like the Insurgents and Militia leaning towards ambush and close quarter style tactics. At this stage in the game without vehicles, we try to balance things by incorporating a role limitation system. So if we do implement a particular weapon system that can be abused, like a grenade launcher or powerful optics, we simply limit how many are available to players. And this scales depending on how many are on the team, and how many are even in the squad, so naturally the larger your squad the more options and weapon systems are open to you.
Logistics is going to play a major role in the final game, but it’s usually associated with the dreary essential tasks that keeps a work place rolling. How do you plan on incorporating it into the game in an entertaining manner?
Logistics as we have planned involves physically ferrying players and supplies up to the front and FOBs, where they’re needed. For a lot of our player base a support role like that is incredibly rewarding. Getting supplies up to the front does also make you a potential target for ambushing or certain weapon systems, so in the final implementation of the game you potentially could be running gauntlets of machine-gun or anti-aircraft fire just to deliver some ammo or construction material to squads up in the front lines. For some people that’s their jam.
You guys just released the version 4 alpha. Any hints on what the main priorities are for version 5?
Version 5 will be mainly map content focused, as we are still working to overhaul a number of our core systems relating to Animations and vehicles.
Vehicles are on the to-do list, any plans on how you’ll handle rolling out vehicles in the game? Should we expect transportation vehicles first?
Yep, that is the plan. We will be developing weapon systems along with the basic movement of vehicles as well, so expect armed transports and APCs, along side your usual 6-ton trucks when we do roll out vehicles.
The infantry-only alpha has proven to be an incredibly fun experience on its own, any plans for smaller infantry only type maps down the road?
We have the option of downsizing the playable area of any map and creating an infantry-only Skirmish layer on them. We foresee those being a big draw for smaller competitive Clan-style matches, so we will definitely still be acknowledging infantry-only as still being a valid way to experience the game.
Right now the maps are either set in the Middle East or in European forests. Any plans for other locations like the Arctic?
Our next real hurdle with the mapping and environment teams is extremely dense urban environments, very much like what you see in movies like Black Hawk Down. Creating a new environment set takes months, so we really have to control the scope at which we want to achieve over the development period we have set for ourselves. We have not planned anything outside developing our current biome sets and moving into urban, but when the time comes we will definitely make a lot of noise about it!
When Squad launches, the plan is to support mods. Any plans on how extensively we’ll be able to mod the game?
We will be creating a SDK that will allow modders to access our library of assets and visual scripting and create things like custom maps, game modes and weapons. More info on this will be available when we’re ready, as for the moment our priority is to release our version 1.0 to the public, target date end of 2017.
A majority of the developers are former Project Reality team members. How is the transition from modding to working on a full blown retail game?
Originally it was a bit of a bumpy ride trying to get our people used to the idea of this as a full/part time job. In addition there is a much greater emphasis on programming that we never experienced previously while in the modding scene, thus making everyone on the team appreciate so much more the talents and efforts of our programmers to make nearly everything you do in the game possible.
Kickstarter has definitely become a tougher place now that over 100,000 projects have been funded on the platform, including a ton of games. How was the Kickstarter experience for Offworld Industries? Anything you would or wouldn’t do the next time around?
Kickstarter was a great way for us to gauge our market and see who was interested and how much they would be willing to support us by. Definitely this time round with our Kickstarter we were very much under the gun when it came to time, if we had delayed the campaign any further it would have made the lives of a lot of our full-time staff much harder especially when a lot of our efforts up to that point were done completely out-of-pocket. Thankfully the campaign was a resounding success and if we do run another campaign for another project, we would ensure that our base product was a bit more feature rich and demonstrative of what the game is.
Squad is out now for Windows on Steam Early Access.
Streamline Studios brings integrated outsourcing development and art expertise to classic fighting game series
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – February 15, 2016 – Streamline Studios has today announced its role in Capcom’s upcoming fighting behemoth Street Fighter® V. Throughout development, Streamline Studios maintained a close relationship with Capcom’s in-house art and game directors on a large-scale collaboration on design, concept art, creation and integration of content, ranging from fighting stages and characters to fashion design and costumes. In addition to producing readily usable assets, Streamline Studios also helped establish the technical pipelines that led to better optimized lighting, material and backgrounds.
“Streamline’s dedication to technology, people and process sets a new standard for how global game development can be achieved, and the Streamframe platform made it possible for the Street Fighter V team to work from around the world as though we were in the same room,” said Bochan Kim, Sr. Producer of Street Fighter V at Capcom U.S.A., Inc. “Global IP development requires teams that push the boundaries of creative execution and Streamline did just that for us.”
“It is has been fantastic working with Capcom and an honor to work on such an iconic IP as Street Fighter. We’ve enjoyed every second of our collaboration,” said Alexander Fernandez, CEO of Streamline Studios. “A project of this scale requires innovation and seamless collaboration on all levels that doesn’t get in the way of development. Leveraging Streamframe, our technology platform designed for game development, we were able to directly integrate into
Capcom’s development process and significantly reduce turnaround times and costs.”
Streamline Studios worked on Street Fighter V with a large team of developers based out of its Malaysian offices. The studio continues to work with Capcom on Street FighterV as well as another unannounced title. Street Fighter V will be released for PC and Playstation 4 on February 16, 2016.
About Streamline Studios
Streamline Studios is a next-generation content outsourcing studio and game developer under the Streamline Media Group, Inc. umbrella, which also includes the company’s proprietary pipeline management solution software, Streamframe. Based in Malaysia and the United States, Streamline Studios is a rapidly growing team of over 100 highly talented artists, designers and programmers, led by industry veterans and experts that bring clients’ visions into reality. With more than 200 productions completed, including Bioshock Infinite, Gears of War and Avatar, Streamline Studios is the go-to studio for discerning developers that require the best in creative execution. Streamline Studios website can be found at: Streamline-studios.com. For more information about Streamframe, visit: https://www.streamframe.com/. For information about Streamline Media Group, visit: https://www.streamline-mediagroup.com/
About Capcom
Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games including ground-breaking franchises Resident Evil®, Street Fighter®, Monster Hunter™, Ace Attorney®, Mega Man® and Devil May Cry®. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Tokyo, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom and its products can be found at www.capcom.com or www.capcom-unity.com.
Capcom, the Capcom logo, Ace Attorney, Devil May Cry, Mega Man, Monster Hunter and Resident Evil are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd., in the U.S. or other countries. Street Fighter is a registered trademark of Capcom U.S.A., Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
It seems that the Lego franchise games are starting to be churned out quicker than Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty Games, and yet I find myself being excited every time. The brilliant array of properties and the stories that these games are able to tell are always enjoyable and I can never wait to jump into them. That’s why, when Lego Marvel’s Avengers was announced, the comic book geek inside me exploded with joy and couldn’t wait to relive all of my favourite moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe with colourful, cute Lego pieces. However only a few minutes into the game I was struck with something; I had been here before. Lego Marvel Avengers may finally be the game that makes me step away from the Lego franchise for a little while.
Story
Unlike its predecessor, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes which tells its own unique story, LEGO Avengers instead adapts the hugely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe . Starting with the opening battle from last year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, time then jumps back to Loki attacking the S.H.I.E.L.D. Base at the beginning of 2012’s Avengers. From there you will dip into the timelines of the origin movies of our favourite caped heroes.
The jumping back and forth between movies and time periods is a little bit disorienting and I can’t help but wonder how much more cohesive the game would be if it was told in either film release order or if the events were in chronological order.
It also needs to be said that since this game adapts the film universe, there is not really anything new to see an explore. Don’t get me wrong that trademark Lego/TT Games sense of humour is here and they really go crazy with some of the classic Avengers moments, but the story, the characters even the dialogue; it has all been seen before.
Gameplay
Lego Marvel Avengers at its core is an action game that has the player (or players, because this is still one of those few titles that encourages couch co-op) taking control of a member of the Avengers team and mow your way through waves of enemies, as well as using the individual (or team) skills of the colourful heroes to solve puzzles, find hidden rewards and make your way through the stages. Combat is relatively simple, usually relying on just one or two button presses to destroy the colourful plastic enemies in your way, but this is a kid’s game and it works well for the title. There are also new finishing moves that have your Avenger destroying their opponent with a slick attack combo that area joy to watch.
There is also a surprising amount of content in a game aimed at kids. Not only are there the game’s levels, each with different requirements like Stan Lee’s to be saved, studs to collect. Minifigs to find and secret areas to uncover. You will be heading into each level at least twice to discover everything, and that isn’t even mentioning the open world Manhattan. I don’t think I’ve even found everything that Manhattan has to offer after more than 15 hours with the game.
The gameplay for Lego Avengers is actually really solid. Sure the finishing moves can get a little time consuming and repetitive, but for a game aimed at kids it is really responsive, fluid and easy to master. However for as solid as it is, there is one huge problem and it is the beginning of a trend that runs through the entire game; nothing here is new.
Since the very first Lego Star Wars game, the Lego series has utilised a very, very similar gameplay style for all of its games. Even outliers like Lego Dimensions or Lego City: Undercover play exactly the same. Now this has a benefit of anybody being able to pick up any Lego game and having a great understanding of how it works, but on the flip side it means that there is nothing aside from a few minor gimmicks the games play exactly the same. A few button mashes will take out most enemies and the way that you have to go hunting through levels to grind for unlock able characters and art has remained the same. In many instances this leaves the games feeling like pallet-swaps of the ones that have come before and Lego Avengers is probably the worst offender of this.
I think part of the issue has come from the short release schedule of these games, with one to two titles dropping each year there is no real time for the developers to step back and further improve on what they have. While the adage of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” is true, eventually the refusal to work on things leaves them worn down and broken.
Visuals & Audio
While voice acting has become a standard part of the Lego video game experience, it still falls into two separate categories; recorded dialogue, and audio that has been ripped from the films. Funnily enough, Lego Avengers has a quite nice balance between the two with the main Avengers characters retaining their audio from the films, and side-characters getting completely re-recorded dialogue. This is a bit of a double edged sword because as awesome as hearing Robert Downey Jr. And Chris Evans in a video game is, there is a real disconnect in audio quality between the recorded and the ripped. The audio from movies sounds a little more echoed and a little quieter, not to mention the fact that each character only really has a handful of lines that are sprouted on repeat in every enemy encounter.
Visually, this is a Lego game. Like the gameplay before it, the look and style of Lego Avengers is remarkably similar to games like Lego the Hobbit or Even Lego Dimensions. As always, I cannot fault how much the features of the world really do look like they have been built out of the world’s most popular toy bricks. Not only that but the characters all retain their signature looks from the films, including the slight variations in costumes that happened as the franchise progressed.
While everything looks great, it is still very same-y. The same pre rendered maps with interactive set pieces being made of Lego is a longtime feature of the series and at this point is just not as exciting or engaging as it once was.
Overall
I am not going to lie, there is nothing offensively wrong with Lego Marvel Avengers and it in fact is a fine game. The issues that plague it however come from the fact that Warner Bros. and TT Games have created this homogeneity to the Lego franchise that just makes you feel like you are playing the same game over and over again. Same simplistic combat, same map design, same visual look and same collectible grind to unlock all of the content just had me feeling like I had seen all of this before.
Honestly the way that the game adapts the film universe creates a fun and bite-sized way to enjoy the Avengers universe, but the way that it so religiously adapts the films does not help with the feeling of repetition, homogeneity and sameness that I felt while playing.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Earn Your Ticket to the Call of Duty Championship – Compete in the Challenge Division
Whether it’s at home with your friends, online with players around the world, or centre stage at the Call of Duty Championship—competition is part of Call of Duty’s DNA. This year with the start of the Call of Duty World League, we set out to take Call of Duty eSports to the next level with year-round competition, world-class online broadcasts, and a massive $3 million prize pool. But from the beginning, we knew that the Call of Duty World League needed to be about more than just the pros—it needed to give fans and amateur players around the world a chance to compete at the highest level. With that spirit, we’re excited announce the first series of events in the Call of Duty World League Challenge Division.
The Challenge Division will offer amateur players outside of the Pro Division a path to the Call of Duty Championship. At the end of the season, based on performance through the year, 80 teams worldwide will be invited to the Championship Qualifiers. In addition to the Call of Duty Championship Qualifiers, top performing teams in Challenge Division events in February and March can make it to the Stage 1 Relegation tournament where they can take on Pro Division teams and earn their place in the CWL Pro Division and maybe their own guaranteed spot in the Call of Duty Championships.
With so much at stake, we’re pleased to announce the first wave of Challenge Division events! To participate in a Challenge Division event in your region, click on the links below for sign up instructions.
ANZ Events
In the Australia/New Zealand region, there will be three online events for Stage 1:
Starting last weekend, February 12th – 14th, North America saw its first LAN event at UMG South Carolina, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Players were competing for their share of $100k and all of the action was available to view live from the Call of Duty Twitch channel.
In North America there will be four online tournaments, each featuring a $25,000 prize pool. Both Pro Division and amateur teams can compete in these open events. In addition to the prize money, amateur teams can earn World League points toward the Pro Division Relegation tournament and Call of Duty Championship qualification. Here are the dates for the events:
Europe will also have a LAN event in EGL 15, taking place March 5th – 6th at the Truman Brewery in London. $25,000 in prize money and World League points will both be on the line. Teams can also sign up for the Oxent LAN taking place in Paris on May 6-8 with $50,000 of prize money and World League points for a chance to gain entry to the Call of Duty Championship Qualifier.
In Europe, there will also be three online events in Stage 1, each with $5,000 prize pools. Again, all teams are welcome to compete, with players competing for World League points and their shot at the Call of Duty Championship:
Hard science fiction is something of a niche genre when it comes to cinema viewing. For whatever reason, filmmakers and studios don’t appear to be interested or comfortable with working in the realm of scientific possibility without resorting to some manner of fantastical elements. Last year two new entries into this niche came out, much to my delight. One of these entries was The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott, which came out and blew audiences away as a resounding critical and popular success. Unfortunately, I missed the theatrical release of the film proper but have gotten a chance to review its DVD release.
Does it hold up on the transition to the small screen? Probably, but you should read on to check.
Story
The story opens with up on Mars with a focus on the astronaut team of Ares III. Part way through their mission to conduct experiments on the Martian surface, mission control reports that a strong storm is headed their way. The commander makes the decision to evacuate the team and scrub the mission. On the way to the rocket which would take them back to their spaceship in orbit, one of the astronauts gets impaled by debris and blown away in the storm. Assuming that their comrade is dead, the rest of the team escape and mourn over their loss.
Unbeknownst to them; the forsaken astronaut, Mark Watney, turns out to be very much alive and stranded on the red planet. After tending to his wounds and getting his bearings, it dawns on him that unless drastic action is taken, he will not survive to be rescued. He immediately goes about (in his words) “science-ing the shit out of this” to overcome his limited supplies, shelter, and energy.
Back at mission control, NASA soon find out about Watney’s miraculous survival and his dire situation. After Watney is able to jerry-rig a method of communication with ground control, it is up to him and his colleagues back on Earth to try and work out a way to rescue him. Along with Scott’s direction, this sets up a story which is equal parts hilarious comedy, tense drama, and nail-biting action as man attempts to overcome elements not of Earth. The story is awesome and thanks to the pedantry of the original author and various scientific advisors; is largely scientifically accurate in its depictions of space exploration.
Although the directors themselves argue over what the best approach to rescuing him is, the central antagonist in the film is not a person but rather the harsh and inhospitable environments of Mars and space. It’s refreshing that the film doesn’t feel the need to personify or elevate the complications faced by the protagonists by giving the audience a villain to hate. Instead, the conflict which does arise between the directors is reasonable and logical in how they all approach the problem of getting Watney home and how they’re willing to gamble in each of their attempts. Jeff Daniels as NASA administrator, Teddy Sanders, was a particularly good casting and he brings the necessary gravitas and caution to the character.
The entire supporting cast work together to pull out some amazing performances. Chiwetel Ejiofor does an especially good turn as Vincent Kapoor, one of the NASA directors, alongside Sean Bean’s performance as Mitch Henderson. These two work well opposite Daniels’ Teddy Sanders and help us to see the points of conflict between the various NASA decision-makers without villainising anyone.
The stand out performance in this film, however, is no doubt Matt Damon as Mark Watney. Watney’s character is conveyed to the audience largely through the video logs he makes and serves as a narrator to frame the action we see. Damon brings out a plethora of emotional states throughout the film as his character goes from highs and lows with each success and failure. With all of this, he gives the character a warmth and wit that is difficult to find in many other performances. It is almost impossible to not like a character who is so warm, vulnerable, nerdy, and funny.
Visuals
Scott’s rendition of the Martian landscape is absolutely breathtaking. The cinematography depicts an arid and desolate expanse of lifeless desert. The shots filmed on Mars are suitably saturated with a red tint to give us the sense of an alien landscape.
The shots in zero-gravity are similarly breathtaking but with an added sense of tension for most of them as the astronauts work to conduct zero-G docking manoeuvres. The effects in these scenes are top notch and beautiful as objects and debris float around in weightlessness. The design of the Ares spacecraft is also pleasant and I feel draws upon elements from sci-fi predecessors like 2001: Space Odyssey.
Audio
The film’s soundtrack works on so many levels. There are your standard orchestral scores working to match the film’s beats as they unfold and it does a good job. Where sound design shines is with the use of diegetic pop songs. As a running joke throughout the film, Watney is stranded on Mars with nothing but 80s and disco music to keep him company. So through several instances, and largely as an ironic joke, we have songs like Starman and Waterloo playing to accompany our main protagonist on his quest for survival.
Extras
To be honest, I feel like the extras on the DVD aren’t really all that impressive. Besides a blooper reel, most of the extra content included was limited to some of the marketing devices created for the film before its release. It’s pretty cool that all of these are in-universe advertisements or documentary footage concerning and starring the protagonists, but I feel that it would have been cool if they had been able to get some audio commentary from the writer or an astronaut. I feel that this is a small gripe considering the quality of the film is well worth the DVD price, but it’s a missed opportunity in my opinion.
Overall
This film is pretty bloody awesome. The story is both tense and inspiring with great performances from Damon and the supporting cast. The visuals are of a similarly high quality with a beautiful Martian landscape and zero-G shots. The audio design is its star by all rights and more than deserves its own kudos. The DVD extras were a little underwhelming but didn’t undo my immense enjoyment of the film proper. This is hard sci-fi at its best and is definitely worth a place in your collection as the classic it will no doubt be. Use it to indoctrinate your kids, parents, or other/s with a healthy love for science.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Remember the Kickstarter that was being held for Dharker Studio’s Army Galsvisual novel and how it was doing so well that they decided to add an additional visual novel into the mix? Well it seems that the continued successful funding of the project has prompted the studio to add yet another original English visual novel to the project.
With seven days left to earn funding the new visual novel appears to be similar to the original concept as it is called Battle Girls 2140 and the campaign has already reached the point where additional funds are being put into this title which will eventually be released on PC, Mac, and Linux. Those who wish to update their pledge to opt in for Battle Girls 2140 or simply want to learn more about the project can check out the official Kickstarter page.
Battle Girls 2140 takes place in a futuristic setting where the player is the country’s chosen mech pilot, but these mechs require co-pilots. This gives the player three potential partners to work with in the upcoming mech tournament and each of the three girls, Shien, Maika, and Akiko, have their own strengths and weaknesses in combat and it will be up to the player to determine how to best utilize their abilities and potentially unlock some romantic possibilities.
Even though it may be the weekend that hasn’t slowed down the character introduction trailers for Street Fighter V. Capcom has released another set of videos and this time around they are focusing on showing off a couple of new characters in the form of Rashid and F.A.N.G. as well as the long time villain of the series M. Bison.
You can check out the three introduction videos below and as for the game itself, Street Fighter V will be available in a few days on February 16th for the PlayStation 4 and PC and will feature sixteen playable fighters at launch with six more planned for 2016.
ARK: SURVIVAL EVOLVED DELIVERS XBOX ONE UPDATE FEATURING SPLIT-SCREEN MULTIPLAYER, NEW DINOS AND…MMMMM BEER!
Seattle, WA – February 12, 2015 – Studio Wildcard, the team that never sleeps, delivers today its second jam-packed Xbox One update for the definitive online dinosaur experience, ARK: Survival Evolved. Headlined by three new creatures and peppered with fun items like Beer Barrels and Electric Prods, ARK offers gamers the highly anticipated, exclusive Xbox One split-screen multiplayer functionality. Now Survivors can sit side-by-side on a couch or jump online with their fellow survivor, craft a few in-game beers, and then rampage into the fields to fight the scaley hordes!
Exclusive to the Xbox for extended period of time, the split-screen multiplayer functionality is available for both local offline play and Non-Dedicated online play as well.
New dinosaurs and creature featured in this update:
Gallimimus (with Three-Seater Passenger Saddle): While the Gallimimus in real life might have been a large, chicken-like omnivore belonging to the clade Ornithomimosauria (similar to today’s ostrich family and closely related to raptors and modern birds), in ARK: Survival Evolved it’s an herbivore with no natural means to defend itself except for running away. Luckily for the Gallimimus, it may very well be the fastest dinosaur on ARK, and is capable of ferrying up to three Survivors in a specially-designed Saddle!
Dimetrodon: Known as everyone’s favorite adaptable carnivore, the Dimetrodon offers players shade during excessive heat and shelter from extreme cold by way of its massive insulating sail running down its back. It is reasonably friendly to Survivors and its favorite place to roam is the swamplands plentiful with small prey.
Dung Beetle: The Dung Beetle is a wondrous organic biofactory that eats excrement and other useless waste and then metabolizes it to produce burnable oil that can power generators and fertilize crops. It is the perfect pet for cleaning up around the tribe’s dirty living quarters!
Today’s Xbox One version update also includes a battery of items and optimizations that bring content parity with the PC version through v234, including:
New Armor: SWAT-style Assault Armor tier
New Weapon: Electric Prod stunner weapon capable of rendering even the strongest survivor unconscious
New Structures: Greenhouse/Glass structure tileset to aid survivors in growing plants
Deep-Sea Loot Crates: Just what it sounds like. Cool stuff underwater.
Beer Barrel: These craftable Beer kegs can make tasty brews, with various status enhancing effects, however the subsequent ‘hangover’ effects are not so pleasant!
Non-dedicated servers now support up to Eight survivors and 33% larger tether distance
The world of ARK is constantly evolving and thousands of players are already providing feedback, suggestions and bug reports to the development team. Players are invited to join the ARK discussion now by visiting the Xbox One forums on survivetheark.com/forums/.
ARK: Survival Evolved is available now for download on Xbox Game Preview for $34.99. Xbox One players will receive exclusive content including a bionic “Tek” T-Rex, Safari Hat, and Survivor’s Trophy, free access to Xbox-specific ARK official servers (up to 70 can play on a server simultaneously), and a steady delivery of exclusive Xbox One content prior to full game launch.
ARK: Survival Evolved will launch in summer 2016 on Xbox One via the ID@Xbox program, PlayStation®4 with Project Morpheus support, and full release on Steam PC. The game is currently playable in Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One and Steam’s Early Access program, which includes Oculus Rift VR support and an integration of Steam community features such as Steam Economy and Steam Workshop for custom maps and mods. Players can host private/LAN servers and have access to a custom-built version of the Unreal Engine 4 Editor for creating mods. The world of ARK is designed to be modder-friendly and ever-expanding!
To join our growing band of survivors, journey to Steam or Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One to download the game. For the latest updates follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube, visit the Website at http://www.playark.com and watch us tame and train leviathan dinosaurs on Twitch.TV.
