Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Now Available for Android Devices
Today, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories arrives for Android devices. Just like the iOS version released in December, Liberty City Stories for Android includes updated real time lighting and shadows, upgraded textures and art, greater draw distance, performance enhancements for touch-based gaming like analog steering and rebalanced targeting, and cross-platform cloud saves via Social Club. And for a limited time, you can get Liberty City Stories for just $5.99(AUD/NZD) on both mobile platforms (ends 2/24).
Plus, if you download Liberty City Stories and then sign in to Social Club within the app, you’ll unlock the bonus I HEART LC t-shirt for that same account used in Grand Theft Auto Online for PlayStation 4, Xbox One or PC (please allow up to 24 hours for the I HEART LC Shirt to become available in GTA Online).
The superb GTA Series Videos YouTube channel show off their new I Heart LCS t-shirts which you can now unlock by purchasing the iOS & Android versions of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
AUSTRALIAN EVENTS ANNOUNCED FOR CAPCOM PRO TOUR: COUCHWARRIORS’ BATTLE ARENA MELBOURNE 8 AND OZHADOU NATIONALS 14
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 – Overnight, Capcom, ahead of launching Street Fighter™ V, has announced its Capcom Pro Tour event circuit. CouchWarriors’ eighth annual Battle Arena Melbourne, Australia’s largest competitive fighting game event, and the fourteenth OzHadou Nationals (Sydney), Australia’s longest running competitive fighting game event, will both be Ranking events on the international esports series, the Capcom Pro Tour, putting Australia’s best fighting game players in the global spotlight.
By earning ranking points at BAM8, OHN14 and other Capcom Pro Tour Ranking Events, competitors can qualify for a place in the prestigious Capcom Cup Finals this November. In addition, winners of Street Fighter V at each event will be sent to the Capcom Pro Tour Asia Finals in South Korea; the winner of this CPT Premier event will earn a direct qualification to the Capcom Cup Finals.
The Capcom Cup, in its fourth year, has showcased the best of the best in Street Fighter™, with past champions including renowned players Naoto Sako, Yusuke Momochi and “Kazunoko” Ryota Inoue. All three have made appearances in Australia before, so only time will tell what sort of international talent the promise of CPT ranking points might bring to Melbourne and Sydney this year, and which local champions will rise up to challenge the best in the world.
If you’re looking for your own piece of the action, you can register for Battle Arena Melbourne 8, to be held at CQ Functions in Melbourne on May 13-15, and look forward to news regarding OzHadou Nationals 14 in Sydney, closer to its date of August 26-28.
As part of the wider Australian fighting game community, both CouchWarriors and OzHadou strive to make new players welcome, and host a range of events for players to enjoy and level up their game.
About CouchWarriors: CouchWarriors Inc. is a not for profit association created to energise the fighting game community. Starting in 2006 as an informal community group, it created an event series for social play and ranking battles which serves as the heart of the Melbourne scene. The project has blossomed into large events like the major annual, Battle Arena Melbourne (BAM), providing tournament services, support and resources for industry including major events such as PAX Australia, and ongoing support to community companion events.
About OzHadou: OzHadou is a group passionate about bringing together fighting gamers throughout Australia. Since its founding in 2001, OzHadou has been establishing connections between fighting gamers nationwide. As the chief fighting game body in Sydney, the OzHadou team has developed extensive tournament experience which culminates annually in the OzHadou Nationals (OHN), Australia’s first and longest running fighting game major, where the nation’s best gather to compete for the coveted title of “OHN champion”.
About Capcom Pro Tour
The Capcom Pro Tour (CPT) is the premier league destination for competitive fighting games. Featuring the latest flagship title of the legendary Street Fighter series, the CPT brings together players and spectators from all over the world to share their love of gaming. With over a dozen official events, and even more independently run tournaments involved, the CPT showcases the very best that competitive gaming has to offer. More information about the Capcom Pro Tour can be found at www.capcomprotour.com.
Earth Defense Force 4.1 – Mission Pack 2: Extreme Battle on PlayStation®4
Gear Up, Soldiers! The Battle Gets EXTREME with 23 Extra-Hard DLC Missions; Fight Every Bug, Bot, and Battleship in the Ravager Army!
Torrance, Calif.—February 11, 2016—XSEED Games, the independent-minded publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., is excited to announce the launch of Mission Pack 2: Extreme Battle for Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair on the PlayStation®Store. Mission Pack 2 includes 23 of the most challenging missions yet, mixing returning favorites from Earth Defense Force 2025 with brand new, exclusive missions. The Ravager army has lined up every unit at their disposal for their final assault on Earth, and it’s up to the EDF to crush them once and for all!
Numerous players have reported issues with the saving system in Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, and after much work, the developers were able to correct these problems. As a thank you to players for their patience, and an apology for any inconvenience these issues may have caused, Mission Pack 2: Extreme Battle will be free for its first two weeks of availability. After this period has passed, the DLC mission pack will revert to its standard price of $9.99.
EDF fans can also play through Mission Pack 1: Time of the Mutants before diving into the most recent DLC. Mission Pack 1 adds 26 intense missions that all have one thing in common: They’re really, really, REALLY hard. Mission Pack 1 is also available on the PlayStation®Store for $9.99.
About Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair
The wild sci-fi action of the Earth Defense Force series comes to the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system for the first time as Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, a complete reimagining of Earth Defense Force 2025 (known in Japan as Earth Defense Force 4) with the addition of silky-smooth framerates, beefed-up graphics, and tons of new and rearranged content. After selecting from one of four unique playable classes and customizing a loadout from hundreds upon hundreds of weapons, players will lead NPC troops into city-wide battles against hordes of seemingly endless giant bugs, robots, and other colossal enemies.
In Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, players will take on extraterrestrial invaders as the versatile Ranger, the aerial Wing Diver, the vehicle-summoning Air Raider, or the armored Fencer. Call in airstrikes, commandeer tanks, and operate giant robots to obliterate the alien scum that threatens our planet! Two players can enjoy local campaign co-op and head-to-head versus modes, while online co-op features 98 total missions (9 exclusive to online play) with support for up to four players to increase the odds against this gargantuan incursion.
Developed by D3 Publisher and Sandlot and published in North America by XSEED Games, Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair is now available exclusively for the PS4™ system. This title has been rated “M for Mature” by the ESRB. For more information, please visit the game’s official website at http://www.theedfdeploys.com. PQube will be publishing the title in Europe on February 12, 2016.
Hyper Rabbit Power Go! (Hyper RPG!) Twitch Channel Captures the Vibrancy of the Pacific Northwest’s Game Community and Development
Hyper RPG!: 10-hours-a-day, 5-days-a-week live programming from Zac Eubank, former Showrunner of Geek and Sundry, in collaboration with Seattle’s own Harebrained Schemes Hyper Rabbit Power Go! is a new Twitch Channel led by Zac Eubank, former Showrunner of the popular Geek and Sundry Twitch channel. Hyper RPG! will highlight the critical mass of both tabletop and digital game design and development talent in the Northwest, and the vibrant and diverse gaming geek culture that abounds in the area.
Hyper RPG! channel launches at Noon PST on February 26th with a 48-Hour Charity Drive benefiting the HALO Foundation and featuring segments such as:
The first play-through of multiplayer in Harebrained Schemes’ soon-to-be-released and anticipated Steam game Necropolis.
A tabletop BattleTech Grudge Match between Harebrained Schemes and Catalyst Game Labs- six beards enter, three beards leave!
Live music, special guests, giveaways, and much more!
The HALO Foundation, empowers youth in the greatest need to become contributing members of their communities. HALO is a volunteer-driven, grassroots non-profit with 87 percent of donations going directly to programs. Currently, HALO supports 21 orphanages and programs in Uganda, Kenya, Mexico, India, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the United States. This includes providing food, water, shelter, clothing, education, art therapy, caretakers, and vocational training or college for youth in the greatest need. Domestically, HALO supports future-focused programming for at-risk youth, helping them set tangible goals and become contributing members of their communities. HALO serves more than 1,000 youth each year. You’ll be able to donate to the HALO Foundation while we’re live on the air during the CharityStream by using the “Donate” button on our Twitch channel.
Jordan Weisman, co-founder of Hyper Rabbit Power Go! and of Harebrained Schemes said, “With many of the largest video game and tabletop game companies, and literally hundreds of independent developers and creators, the Northwest represents a really dynamic game geek culture providing a great foundation for Hyper RPG!. Our goal is to not only focus on local creators and companies, but to create experiences that really push Twitch forward as an interactive entertainment format of its own.”
Highlights from Hyper RPG!’s Regularly Scheduled Programming, beginning February 29th at 1PM PST: After Hyper RPG!’s charity launch weekend, the channel will start with its regular programming of 10-hours-a-day, 5-days-a-week on February 29th at 1PM PST. Highlight weekly programs include:
Rabbit Stew: The Daily Show meets Tech TV with some of our own spices thrown in the pot. Each weekday we bring our audience exclusive news surrounding the games industry and feature previews of some of the world’s most anticipated games hailing from Seattle.
Trivia Hops: Three teams consisting of in-house talent, guest developers and lucky community members face off on head-to-head trivia. Who can hold their own as the ridiculousness intensifies along with the levels of inebriation?|
Shadowrun: Corporate Sins: We teamed up with Discord and Catalyst Game Labs to bring a fresh and innovative take on Shadowrun 5th ed. RPG. Audience members are encouraged to join one of the ten corporations bidding their power for world domination. Corporations are able to communicate with the DM sending our Shadowrunners on missions to bring down those who may oppose them.
WTF Is This?: Two of our in-house comedians play through some of the most universally accepted messed up and crazy games. Upon completion they will record a podcast on air featuring those who may have been close to the project.
Future/Retro: We take the audience on an explorative journey through what will be and what once was. Future: Seattle’s leading innovators stop by to show off advancements in video game technology. Retro: Game Over Games brings by some of their favorite forgotten hardware. Hopefully we won’t have to blow on any cartridges.
Mech Mash: In anticipation of the 2017 release of Harebrained Schemes’ BATTLETECH, we’ve created a whole new way to experience ‘Mech Warrior demolition. This unique RPG will be split into two parts. Part 1: An expansive intergalactic story sending a group of reluctant heroes out to claim powerful tech lost throughout the ages. Part 2: Our team faces rotating special guests and a unique form of tabletop BattleTech– our custom 3D printed ‘Mechs experience real damage and the fear of permadeath. Audience members are able to affect the game Hunger Games style by sending in repair crews and/or weapon attachments.
About Hyper RPG!
Hyper RPG! is an independent Twitch channel led by Zac Eubank, former Showrunner of Geek and Sundry. This Redmond-based studio is centered on capturing all the Pacific Northwest has to offer in gaming: behind-the-scene studio tours, interactive digital and tabletop gaming, interviews with key game industry game makers, and more. Hyper RPG! can be viewed for 10-hours-a-day, Monday – Friday, http://www.twitch.tv/hyperrpg.
Off the bat; I’m going to tell you that XCOM 2 is a bloody great game. From the highs of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Firaxis continues to reach even higher. I was a fan of the original XCOM series back in the day and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m a fan of the reboot instalments. This is something which I’m sure you’ve already heard from any number of other publications in their own reviews about a fortnight ago but it’s no less true. Please keep this mind as, in this review, I’ve tried to provide you with some manner of useful information beyond that which has been covered by other outlets by being more sensitive to that which I believe are weaker elements in this title.
Story
The backstory basically follows on from the story of the previous Enemy Unknown… but not a successfully completed campaign. In this universe, aliens invaded Earth and XCOM lost the war to defend humanity from their predations. Twenty years on and the aliens have occupied the entire planet, established themselves as a totalitarian world government by the name of ‘Advent’. Most people live in sci-fi looking cities and live under the alien regime which has officially been working to help cure humanity of all its ills. Unofficially, they’ve actually been working on all manner of genetic experimentation on humans to some unforeseen end.
The XCOM organisation itself has not been idle in these twenty years however and have set up the start of a resistance with a mobile base in a converted alien carrier. The tutorial starts with a rescue operation of “the commander”… which means you. Yup, the first mission is about rescuing yourself from Advent captivity. From there, the plot thickens as the player leads XCOM troops on various missions to undermine Advent control and to also set back their evil schemes. Most of the story points are delivered through cut-scenes after researching story-relevant tech or in voice over while conducting missions important to the plot.
Right off the bat the game creates a story that’s actually quite meta in its points. The player, as “the commander”, is actually a greater physical presence within the game itself with characters looking directly into the camera and speaking directly to you. This isn’t on the same level as say Fallout or other first-person games, but it certainly adds a layer meta-textuality to the game’s narrative. This works to set up some pretty sci-fi concepts into the game as well in the game’s third act. The game’s resolution is pretty darn satisfying but also sets up narrative threads for more instalments in the XCOM series.
In terms of the non-player characters, we don’t really get much in the way of characterisation. Richard Tygan, An-Yi Shen, and Central Officer Bradford reveal parts of their backstory and experiences in their voice overs while you examine the cross-cut of your base. They each have their own experiences of living through the 20 years of alien occupation which are interesting and help to build the world bit more… but don’t come through in their characterisation. This certainly isn’t the focus of the game but I feel they could have done something similar to Xenonauts, for instance, who had a very strong character for their lead scientist (which came across in the research reports the player would read). That being said, there is one cutscene where Shen does have some of personality shine through and it was cute to see it.
The main storyline is fairly engaging and has an air of mystery to keep you guessing as you unlock each plot point. This story however, will pale in comparison to the emergent narratives you yourself will create with the soldiers under your command in each mission.
Gameplay
As a strategy game, XCOM 2 par excellence. The team have Firaxis have reworked not just their already great design from the last game, they have restructured significant parts of the entire XCOM design. As I’ve mentioned previously, they’ve completely revamped the geoscape gameplay with the player attempting to spread the resistance across the globe rather than defending multiple funding nations with limited resources. There is a markedly different feeling of building up the organisation and its reach on the world map as opposed to slowly seeing that influence recede as was the case with the old design. It’s certainly a welcome change and one which changes the mentality of the game from defence to one of offence.
Another welcome aspect is that you are given multiple objects to complete simultaneously in the first two acts of story. This allows you to feel a greater sense of progress as you follow leads, research specific tech, and break into facilities the aliens really don’t want you to investigate. Every mission in the first half of the game is given a sense of urgency and relevance to the main plot as pretty much every foray into enemy territory has the possibility of progressing some objective or other. This also helps to avoid choke points in the story as you’re pretty much always learning something about the invaders through one discovery or another.
The tactical gameplay similarly supports a more aggressive approach to bringing down the aliens. Concealment as a mechanic allows soldiers to come much closer to the enemy without triggering combat which allows you to set up ambushes (which can be quite effective). Most missions also have a timer attached to the completion of their objective which forces the player to move across the map at reasonable fast pace. Other small tweaks like the increased health of your soldiers also works to facilitate a more risky play style that wasn’t present in the original game. This creates a faster pace in the gameplay as you go from being the overly cautious approach of Enemy Unknown to the riskier plays of this installment.
Visuals
The visual design of the game is gorgeous. The graphics don’t appear as too much of an upgrade from Enemy Unknown but with small changes here and there. For example, during night time combat, the guns of your troops will sport flashlights. The biggest change I could notice was in the visual design of the maps themselves. There is now a striking dichotomy between rural and urban environments. The rural zones more often than not generally have some manner of overgrown ruin of a modern building or such which were drawn directly from Enemy Unknown. The urban centers have a very strong cyberpunk influence to them with futuristic slums and city blocks showing varying degrees of neon and futuristic architecture.
The alien designs are also changed to a significant extent with the designs of old alien units being blended to create a more human look. The Sectoid, I would argue, comes out through this process looking quite awesome and creepy with their more humanoid appearance making them quite uncanny. The rest of the enemy and alien designs are great as well and you will s%&* bricks whenever you encounter a new variant in combat… but I don’t feel that they come as close to the creep factor which the sectoid design evoked.
The game is largely stable but does occasionally glitch out when it comes to working through a number of actions. For example, a ranger soldier of mine got pulled out of cover and enveloped by a Viper alien unit. One of his abilities triggered however causing him to eviscerate the viper in response. The animation didn’t appear to take this turn of events well however as his model became stuck in the ‘Viper captive pose’ (seen below). Luckily, saving and reloading solved the problem. Loading times were also a bit long on the highest graphical setting after a mission. Overall, however, the game did run smoothly for me on a fairly high-end rig.
Audio
The soundtrack and sound design is of a sufficient polish to complement the game. The different pieces which play during tactical gameplay suit the action quite well regardless of whether you’re in a firefight, sneaking around the map, or hunting for that last elusive alien unit. With synthy tones and orchestral accompaniment, it’s a suitably high production score to punctuate the action and gameplay. The sound effects for the various weapons are also of a high quality. I would like to give special mention to the track which plays while you kit out your squad for deployment… it was extremely effective in amping me up before going out on missions.
One thing I was disappointed by in character customisation was the limited range of voices I could give to individual soldiers. There are only two options for Australian soldiers to be appropriately voiced and they both kind of sound like they have the accent of the ‘Sniper’ from Team Fortress 2. It is nice that the chosen voice of the soldier changes to represent the personality they’ve been given with a twitchy soldier sounding quite different compared to one which is happy-go-lucky (even with the same voice actor).
Overall
XCOM 2 is a star which shines oh-so-brightly. Even with a mind to being overly critical and nitpicky, I could not help but love it. The narrative is strong and pulls you along from mission to mission even if the non-player characters could have been done better. The visuals are great, although there are a few bugs and glitches which mar the otherwise seamless performance. The audio design was also quite strong in its presentation although I was disappointed by the limited selection of voices and accents for my soldiers. This is a great game that will fit nicely into the collection of all fans of turn-based strategy or the original XCOM. Believe the hype, go play it.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
ODDWORLD RETURNS TO NINTENDO AS NEW ‘N’ TASTY LAUNCHES ON WII U
San Francisco, February 11th 2016 – Today’s the day that hapless hero Abe returns to Nintendo, as Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty launches on the Wii U, available exclusively from the eShop as a digital download.
Marking the first outing for everyone’s favourite Mudokon on a Nintendo platform since the Game Boy Advance, Oddworld Inhabitants is delighted to have Abe’s latest adventure on Wii U.
“We’ve always thought Abe has a great home on Nintendo,” said series creator Lorne Lanning, “and while it took us forever we promised we’d have him and all his buddies from New ‘n’ Tasty on the console. We’ve always believed Abe would resonate with the Nintendo audience and we hope to see that proven true.”
Starting development back in 2012, Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty is a comprehensive complete ground-up remake of the original 1997 PlayStation classic “Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee”, with all new gameplay, graphics, movies and audio, along with a whole host of secrets, new areas, tweaks and improvements.
Ranked as the #10th best game on PC in 2015 on Metacritic*, Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty tells the story of a race of Mudokons held captive and about to be turned into a novelty meat snack. As Abe, you must free your friends and escape, before finding out your mysterious, true fate as saviour of an entire species.
On Wii U New ‘n’ Tasty offers off-screen GamePad play to complement the big screen action, and launches at a special discount of 25% off the regular price of $19.99, €19.99 and £14.99.
The game is also available digitally on PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux.
EPIC OPEN-WORLD FANTASY RPG CORNERSTONE: THE SONG OF TYRIM™ SHIPS APRIL 26TH – PRE-ORDER + DEMO AVAILABLE NOW
Phoenix Online Publishing and Overflow Bring Crafting, Combat, Sailing, Physics-Based Puzzles and More to PC, Mac, and Linux
Boston, MA – February 11th, 2016 – Phoenix Online Publishing and Overflow Games today announced the upcoming April 26th release of epic action RPG Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim for PC, Mac, and Linux – a sweeping fantasy tale in which combat, crafting, and physics-based puzzle-solving collide. In the game, players will join young Viking Tyrim as he takes on a range of wondrous quests, battles unforgettable adversaries, and experiences the adventure of a lifetime in Nygard, a legendary world of wonder bursting with colorful characters, playable vehicles, and open-world adventures waiting to be explored.
Featuring a complete crafting system that lets you build your own weapons and gear, playable vehicles ranging from ships to windsurfers, and dozens of quirky characters to interact with as you explore eight exotic islands filled with tricks, traps, and treasures, Cornerstone is now avialable for pre-order from the Phoenix Online Store (store.postudios.com), GOG.com, the Humble Store, and other major online retailers.
The Viking men of the village of Borja haven’t been seen in years, and Tyrim is determined to set forth and find them: An objective that will send him sneaking deep into the heart of enemy fortresses, combing dank dungeons on a hunt for lost artifacts, and actively taking the fight to the forces of evil as he pursues an increasingly inventive range of quests at the behest of numerous characters. Wielding the young warrior’s crafting and combat skills, you’ll set sail on trusty galleon the Mad Goat across the seas to uncover the world of Nygard’s mysteries, collecting fabulous relics, uncovering forbidden secrets and magic, and ultimately challenging a powerful ancient evil as you quest to bring the Vikings home along the way.
“This is a game that started as a mere dream and expanded to so much more than we could have ever imagined,” says Jonathan Prytz, Lead Game Designer and Artist. “Now that we’re here, the game is done and we couldn’t be prouder of the title! We can’t wait to see and hear what people think about it.”
“A refreshingly original and unique take on epic, open-world action role-playing, Cornerstone: The Song of Tyrim aims to transport RPG fans to a world of unforgettable fantasy adventures,” says Scott Steinberg, General Manager of Phoenix Online Publishing. “The game’s one-of-a-kind blend of combat, crafting, and physics-based puzzle solving mechanics, and broad range of playable vehicles and quests, invites players to come along on an incredible journey, the likes of which they’ve never seen before.”
Key Features
Epic, open-world blend of action RPG, physics-based puzzle-solving, and combat
Complete crafting system – build your own weapons, armor, and gear
Explore 8 exotic islands filled with unique enemies, treasures, and adventures
Playable vehicles include ships, windsurfers, and more
Dozens of quirky characters to interact and engage with
Sweeping score includes live musicians and sound effects
Fluid and realistic physics bring the action to life
INTENSE JAPANESE ACTION-RPG SADAME SET TO CONQUER AMERICA ON NINTENDO 3DS
Developer Mebius’ Action-Packed Adventure Explodes Westward with Rising Star Japan, Hitting Nintendo Eshop on February 25, 2016
TOKYO – February 11, 2016 – Rising Star Japan, a worldwide publisher and distributor of video game content, today announced that it will bring the exciting action-RPG Sadame to the U.S. February 25, exclusively on Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS family systems.
“Sadame” translates simply as “fate”, and four warriors are destined to battle with a whirl of swords, spells, and mysterious arcane abilities in this fast-paced hack-‘n-slash adventure. Cut a swath through waves of demons as you battle against the vivid backdrop of a reimagined Warring States (Sengoku) period of Japan. Players guide their chosen hero through dozens of stages, face an onslaught of over twenty enormous bosses, collect loot, enhance their equipment, and level up with new abilities to punish and slay the evil Nobunaga’s hordes.
Choose from the sword-wielding Samurai; the ranged and stealthy Ninja; the spell-slinging Monk; or the enchanting witchery of the Rogue. Each of the four playable heroes has a distinct story and gameplay style with their own abilities and skills to explore and enhance. However, as loot is shared between multiple save files and previously created heroes can be set to assist new ones in battle – not to mention the branching paths offered by the story – Sadame offers a huge amount of replay value.
Game Features:
Four distinct types of hero – Samurai, Ninja, Monk or Rogue – allow players to experiment with a variety of gameplay styles.
Action mixes with deep RPG elements: new abilities, levelling up, equipment upgrades via enemy loot drops, and a massive skill tree to unlock.
Dozens of levels and over twenty bosses to test your heroes’ capabilities.
Customize your experience via weapons, upgrades and levelling, with certain events and encounters available only to certain heroes.
New difficulty levels unlock with successive playthroughs, while weapons and armor can be shared across multiple character files.
Collect heroes via StreetPass and then utilize them as a support NPC. Locally saved heroes can also be selected to support!
Rising Star Japan is involved in the planning and development of game related contents in Japan and Asia. The company publishes, distributes and markets products across multiple platforms worldwide in co-operation with strategic business partners. For more information, please visit: www.risingstarjapan.co.jp
Rockstar would like to know, will you be their Valentine? Maybe some new clothing items, a new car model, a new Adversary Mode, and last year’s Valentine’s Day update will make you say yes?
The new update for Grand Theft Auto Online is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Players will be able to cruise around in the new Albany Roosevelt and Albany Roosevelt Valor from Legendary Motorsport. Be sure to take the car to Los Santos Customs for some sweet mods for your ride.
Of course, a Grand Theft Auto Onlineupdate wouldn’t be complete with a new Adversary Mode, more clothes, and a new gun. The Gusenberg Sweeper Machine Gun is available at Ammu-Nation and is perfect for spraying your enemies with a hail of .45 caliber bullets. Additionally, players can partner up in the new Till Death Do Us Part Adversary mode. The mode is the only part of the update that isn’t out yet, as it will launch this Friday.
Let’s be real, military sims aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. The amount of buttons can be pretty overwhelming for the average gamer and sometimes accurate realism doesn’t equal fun. Things changed when the Project Reality mod landed for Battlefield 2. The mod was lauded for striking the right balance between accessibility and realism. Then in May 2015, a Kickstarter appeared to bring to life a spiritual successor to Project Reality. Developed by many former Project Reality team members, Squad serves to bring back that perfect balance back to the realistic modern shooters on the Unreal 4 engine.
Squad entered Steam Early Access program a few months ago and Offworld Industries has been pumping out a steady stream of updates since. With the release of Alpha Version 4, we got a chance to get some hands on time with the game. Currently, Squad is an infantry-only affair while the game is in early alpha stages. The plan is to increase the potential map size and add vehicles as development carries on. Even without the terror of a few tanks rolling past, Squad is an intense experience.
Currently the game features the US Army, Insurgents, the Russian Ground Forces, and the Irregular Militia. Currently there are three game modes available. Advance and Secure (AAS) which will have the two teams capturing flags in a specific order, driving the combat into clear hotspots. Insurgency mode will send a team into the map in hopes of gathering enough intelligence to locate and destroy five weapon caches while Insurgents attempt to deplete their enemies’ tickets. The last mode is Territory Control, with one team attempting to capture all of the defending team’s flags within a time limit. Without a doubt, AAS is the most popular game mode, with almost all the populated servers running AAS games. While Squad supports up to a hundred players, humbler numbers of around 50-72 is currently a common sight.
How do you best sum up the Squad experience? Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork, and more teamwork. Players will join squads of nine and take on roles like squad leader, medic, automatic gunner, and so forth. Each role has a specific task that can turn the tides of battle if used correctly. Because of its realistic nature, single controlled shots are almost always better than letting it rip with automatic fire. On the flip side, taking direct or close gunfire will actually suppress players by causing their screen to go blurry. Considering a well placed bullet is more than enough to knock players to the ground, the crackling of nearby gunfire and the blurred screen is a really effective method of instilling sheer terror and chaos in the ranks, allowing a well placed light machine gun pin down the enemy while the rest of the squad flanks.
Medics have the all important role of keeping their team alive. Once enough non-lethal damage occurs, the player begins to bleed out. Soldiers can use their own field dressing to staunch the bleeding but will need a medic to top up their health. Once enough damage is taken, players are incapacitated and only a medic can revive them. A revive will save an all precious ticket. Communication is absolutely vital in a game with camouflaged soldiers, plenty of cover, and large maps. I was lucky enough to experience an incredibly friendly and helpful community that is very happy to use the game’s voice chat to relay enemy positions, coordinate defenses, and call in help.
Since the heart and soul of Squad is infantry combat, how the guns and soldiers handle is incredibly important. I’m quite pleased to report that Squad has very crisp infantry controls that are simple enough that anybody who has played an FPS in the last decade would recognize. Guns handle well, though recoil is understandably heavy. One minor complaint is the in-game map. Currently, only the squad leader is clearly marked on the map. The eight other members are generic circles that only reveal player names when moused over. People will call out for help and it is a real pain to have to open the map, mouse over a bunch of green dots until you find the right one. This is especially annoying for team medics. It would be really nice if squad members are labelled A, B, C, etc so they can be identified quickly.
The audio/visuals are a work in progress, but they are very solid right now. The map designs are inspired by real life locations. Models and textures look pretty good, though some more realistic models will be coming down the pipeline soon based on Offworld Industries’ constant news updates. The audio experience is fantastic. The sound effects for the guns are punchy and sound absolutely deadly. Hearing bullets wiz by your head is incredibly terrifying, which just sucks you into the moment and doesn’t let go.
Squad is definitely an early alpha game still, with lots of features needing to be implemented. If Offworld Industries is able to keep up their current pace, they may pull off a title worthy of being called Project Reality’s spiritual successor. The currently available infantry-only gameplay is well executed. It is relatively accessible for the genre and is an intense experience. I suspect Squad might become a must have for realistic shooter fans.
