Page 3166 – Capsule Computers

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February 2, 2016

GREY GOO® RELEASES NEW FACTION WITH FREE CAMPAIGN DLC, OUT NOW

Competitive RTS Rereleases on PC as Grey Goo Definitive Edition, Featuring All DLC and Complete Original Soundtrack for New Low Price of $29.99

HOUSTON and LAS VEGAS – Feb. 1, 2016 – Grey Box, Six Foot, and developer Petroglyph have released a new expansion for Grey Goo®, now available as a free update on PC. “Descent of the Shroud” evolves the competitive, sci-fi, real-time strategy (RTS) game with a new, fully designed faction, playable in both multiplayer and offline skirmish mode against the AI. A new single-player campaign mission, taking place after the events of the main story, introduces and sets the stage for war against the Shroud, an enigmatic species that grows its units and structures, one which now threatens all life on Ecosystem 9.

“Descent of the Shroud” also brings new units to the game’s three original races. Betas can now deploy the Squall, a ranged ground unit with a knockback effect. The Goo Siphon drains health from enemies and transfers it to allies. And the Humans’ Valiant AI bot can deploy a shield that redirects damage away from friendly allies toward itself.

In addition, Grey Goo has relaunched as the Grey Goo Definitive Edition. This updated title, on Steam now for the permanently reduced price of $29.99, includes the original game, the previously released DLC campaign – “Emergence,” the “Descent of the Shroud” DLC, and Grey Goo’s expanded, complete soundtrack.

Grey Goo unites the best elements of classic RTS design with modern gameplay and production enhancements. Emphasizing tactical base-building and unit management, the game now features four distinct factions, each with their own units, structures and tech trees, across a sprawling single-player campaign and four-player local (LAN) and online multiplayer. Grey Goo has been actively supported since launch with DLC, free maps, terrain editor upgrades, a spectator mode, replay mode and dedicated multiplayer servers.

Grey Goo Definitive Edition is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB. For additional information, please visit www.greygoo.com, and follow the game on Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.

About Grey Box

Grey Box is a new video game publishing brand. Championing the ideas that video games are an influential art form and players should be treated as sophisticated consumers, Grey Box aims to set a unique standard for quality in interactive entertainment.

About Petroglyph

Petroglyph is an independent game development studio in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. The studio was founded in 2003 by industry veterans whose roots reach as far back as Dune II and the original Command & Conquer series. Petroglyph has a decade of experience developing award-winning strategy games using their proprietary GLYPHX Online engine and technology. For more information about Petroglyph, please visit www.petroglyphgames.com.

About Six Foot

Six Foot develops, produces, and distributes original entertainment properties across multiple lines of business and platforms. We evaluate and execute business opportunities in existing and emerging markets that may go unnoticed by more traditional companies. Grounded by our past, and inspired by the future, Six Foot builds the kind of experiences that provoke others to think and create.

ASSASSIN’S CREED® IDENTITY BRINGS THE LEAP OF FAITH TO THE APP STORE ON FEBRUARY 25

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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February 2, 2016

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ASSASSIN’S CREED^® IDENTITY BRINGS THE LEAP OF FAITH TO THE APP STORE ON FEBRUARY 25

THE FIRST ACTION-RPG OF THE ASSASSIN’S CREED^® FRANCHISE LETS PLAYERS CREATE, EVOLVE AND CUSTOMISE THEIR ASSASSINS ON THE GO

TRAILER: YOUTUBE

London, UK – February 1, 2016 – Today, Ubisoft^® announced that Assassin’s Creed^® Identity, the franchise’s first Action-RPG, will launch on iOS devices on February 25, 2016. The mobile-exclusive game takes place during a fan-favourite time period, the Italian Renaissance.

Assassin’s Creed Identity challenges players to solve The Mystery of The Crows through a combination of thrilling story missions and countless quests. Players will create and customise their own Assassins and take them through numerous adventures in iconic settings from the Italian Renaissance, such as the Santa Croce area in Florence and the Colosseum in Rome. The Assassins will evolve throughout the game and progress from a novice to a master assassin. Characters can be chosen from four individual classes: Berserker, Shadow Blade, Trickster and Thief.

Assassin’s Creed Identity transports the fun, the freedom of movement and parkour to iOS devices using a variety of different controls: tap-to-move, dual virtual stick controls or with a gamepad. Assassin’s Creed Identity uses the Unity game engine to create stunning graphics never before seen on a mobile device, through amazing custom-made HD textures, shaders and models.

On February 3^rd, a Q&A video with the Creative Director of the game will be published on the Ubisoft Youtube channel, giving more details about the game and how Assassin’s Creed was re-imagined on mobile.

Developed by Blue Byte^®, a Ubisoft studio, Assassin’s Creed Identity will be available on the App Store for £3.99. The game requires iOS 7 and an iPad 3 or a later model, or an iPhone 5 or a later model.

For more information about Assassin’s Creed please visit the UbiBlog, follow us on our UK Twitter account, like our UK Facebook page and subscribe to our UK Youtube account.

For the latest news on Ubisoft collectible merchandise, please visit and like the page www.facebook.com/ubicollectibles.

Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle #96 Now Available

Jamie Laike Tsui

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February 2, 2016

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Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle #96 Now Available

Start February off with a bang! Grab seven great indie games for only $1.89 during the first 24 hours of the sale with the Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle. This week’s bundle contains:

Stories of Bethem: Full Moon – A 8-bit inspired action RPG starring Khoma, a young man on a journey to break the curse on his father.

Rush for Gold: Alaska – A casual city builder with both a free-play and time limited mode.

Legends of Solitaire: Curse of the Dragons – Break the curse on Solitaire Kingdom by defeating the dragons in mortal combat using the classic card game solitaire.

ANKI – A puzzle platformer with over 50 levels and 3 levels of difficulty.

Silver Knight – An isometric RPG with randomly generated levels and only a limited number of lives.

Fasaria World Online – A pay once, play forever browser based RPG that has been active for many years.

Crazy Belts – Follow the story of your luggage in this casual puzzle game.

The special sale price lasts for only 24 hours, so grab your copy at Indie Gala today.

Tom Clancy’s The Division Preview

Jamie Laike Tsui

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February 2, 2016

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Tom Clancy’s The Division
Developer: Ubisoft Massive
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows (Previewed)
Release Date: 8 March 2016

This weekend saw the first major closed beta for Ubisoft Massive’s third person shooter RPG Tom Clancy’s The Division. The beta opened up a small section of New York City to gamers on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. With a level cap of 8, gamers were able to check out both the PVE and PVP content this past weekend.

Tom Clancy’s The Division is an interesting beast. It feels like Borderlands, Gears of War, Diablo, and Tom Clancy’s modern combat settings got together and had a baby. Players wander around a shrunk down version of New York City in the middle of winter. On Black Friday (the big shopping day after Thanksgiving for us international folks), an unknown virus struck the city and spread quickly. New York City was crippled and the government fell to the chaos that plagues the city. The government has now activated the fictional Strategic Homeland Division to bring order, stability, and good governance to the city. In groups of up to four, players wander around New York City completing a variety of missions and events that pop up.

The core of the game is a third person cover shooter. Agents are particularly squishy and enemies can soak up quite a few bullets before dropping. To survive, players hop from cover to cover and poking their head out to fire whenever possible. I like how the cover mechanic feels right now. A small shadow appears in the world when the crosshair lands on viable cover and a small line shows the route the agent will take to run to that bit of cover. Moving from cover to cover feels very intuitive and the entire world is littered with plenty of places to hide. Shooting from cover feels pretty good, though I wish players were given a little more control on where they want to pop out and shoot from.

The actual gunplay sits somewhere near the middle of the realism spectrum. The recoil is pretty severe, encouraging players to choose their shots and fire in bursts. On the other hand, enemies can soak almost the same amount of damage as players, which drags out firefights. The loot system in randomly generated and will be familiar to RPG fans. There are a variety of guns, equipment, and mods of varying rarity to be found in New York City. Rarer gear will have better bonuses that will affect character or weapon stats, allowing players to build characters that compliments their playstyle.

Complimenting the gunfire is a variety of grenades, med packs, and player skills. The talent tree, perks, and crafting were unavailable during the beta and the player skills made available were quite limited. There are three main trees based on how developed the medical, security, and engineering wing is in the player base. Since players are pretty evenly matched against enemies in terms of health and damage output, the grenades and skills are the real game changers that tilt combat to the player’s favour. Each player can equip up to three skills, two regular skills and one signature. The signature skill was not available during this beta. The regular skills are pretty varied and players should have no problem finding a skill to compliment their style. Some are active weapons, like the sticky bomb, while others are passive buffs.

The map is run as a series of instances. The uncontaminated zones of New York City seem to be only populated by NPCs and party members. These zones are where most of the missions will occur. The intensity gets ratcheted up in the PVP-enabled Dark Zones as players will bump into other agents in the Dark Zones. Ubisoft Massive has struck a pretty good balance in the Dark Zones. Agents are considered non-hostile for the most part, but friendly-fire is enabled on all agents not in the party. Damaging another player will flag the shooter with a red skull, allowing other agents to open fire on them without any consequence. Depending on the amount of damage done, the red skull will flag the player for a set amount of time. The loot that drops in the Dark Zone cannot be carried out; it must be extracted by helicopter for decontamination and dying in the Dark Zone will result in the player dropping their loot. Players can only carry six contaminated items at a time, forcing them to call in extractions often. Helicopters can be called in with a flare gun, alerting the entire area that an extraction is coming. Since each helicopter can only extract four bundles of gear at a time, they become a natural hot zone for PVP combat. A coordinated group of four can ambush unsuspecting agents, loot the corpses, extract their ill-gotten gains, and flee in only a few minutes. With the addition of proximity based voice chat, Dark Zone becomes a tense adrenaline pumping affair that inevitably leads to memorable stories that players will recount for days to come.

It was quite obvious that the main focus of the closed beta was the Dark Zone PVP areas. Ubisoft Massive did include on dungeon and a small handful of missions. Players were able to see the first story mission that sent players into the Madison Square Gardens to rescue a doctor that will set up a medical win in the player’s base. The arena is a dungeon instance, complete with an end boss. Like an MMO dungeon, enemy spawns are predetermined; however, they are an excellent test of team coordination, especially at higher difficulties.

On the audio/visual side, Tom Clancy’s The Division is living up to expectations as a AAA title. The sound effects, voice acting, and sound track are all solid. The graphics are absolutely stunning. New York City in the middle of a winter hell has been captured so well. The lighting and snow effects are a sight to behold. Of course, the game wouldn’t be an RPG without extensive character customization options. Although players were limited to a set of predetermined faces for the beta, there were plenty of clothing and weapon paint options to keep people happy.

Tom Clancy’s The Division is shaping up to be a spectacular game. Ubisoft Massive has combined the right set of mechanics from several different game genres to create a tense and wonderful experience that is complimented by a stunning audio/visual presentation. As this small taste test winds down, I just couldn’t help but think that Ubisoft might have a hit on their hands.

Corrin and Bayonetta Drop into Smash this Thursday

Nathan Farrugia

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February 1, 2016

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Time goes so fast, anyone remember the original Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS trailer where Villager received a letter to join the fight and then we found out Mega Man was in the game? Well now we are finally receiving our final piece of DLC ever for Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS and it drops on Thursday February 4th in Australia (and corresponding times around the world).

The main draw of the new DLC includes two new characters as well as the final wave of costumes for the Mii characters. Corrin from the upcoming game in the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem Fates and Bayonetta from Bayonetta 1 and 2. Bayonetta was said to be the winner of the Smash Ballot that allowed fans from all over the world to vote for who they wanted to appear in the game, however wording made it seem as if she was the winner based on what characters could ultimately be in the game (sorry Master Chief fans).

Corrin costs $8.50 on either Wii U or 3DS, or $10.20 for both, while Bayonetta, who comes with the new stage Umbra Clock Tower, costs $10.20 for one platform or $11.90 for both. To tide us over until Thursday Nintendo also released a gameplay video of both new characters fighting on the Omega version of the Fire Emblem Awakening stage with a very close finish. You can check out the gameplay video and let us know which character you’re more excited for between the two.

Need for Speed Showcase Update Drops Feb 3rd

Nathan Farrugia

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February 1, 2016

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Ghost Games promised a constant flow of sizable free updates for a year after the Need for Speed reboot dropped last year and they continue to deliver, with their first update of 2016 landing on February 3rd. This update is called Showcase and provides some much requested features fans have been clamoring for including a photo mode, vinyl sharing, tighter multiplayer and more.

The new photo mode is being dubbed Snapshot Pro and can be accessed at any time from the games main phone menu. Players will be able to move the camera around the car, change settings such as depth of field, brightness, contrast, vignette, saturation and more and also apply filters. The photo above is an example of what you can do with it.

The next biggest feature is wrap sharing, allowing anyone to share their custom wrap with the world. Players can browse and download wraps created by other players and also mark their own wraps as shareable, choosing if you want other people to be able to edit it or not as well.

Now this next feature still has a bit of air of mystery to it. Need for Speed 2015 was criticised for its lack of true multiplayer, with the only way to race others being to find them in the street and use a quick pop up menu to initiate a race. Now a Competitive option has been added to the menu which will see you placed in a game with other players also looking to race competitively. By the sounds of it this isn’t a true lobby experience, it will just be more likely people in your game world will want to race. You can select Alldrive to experience the game as it is now.

Another criticism was lack of customization items for some cars. 11 cars are getting new parts with this update including

Ford Focus RS
Chevrolet Camaro Z28
BMW M3 E92
Ford Mustang Boss 302
Ford Mustang Foxbody
Ford Mustang GT
Mazda MX5 (2015)
NISSAN 180sx Type X
NISSAN Silvia Spec-R
SUBARU BRZ Premium
SUBARU Impreza WRX

Some smaller additions include license plates based on past cities from Need For Speed games, allowing players to drive through Gas Stations to automatically repair their ride and three new trophies/achievements.

Filter Addict – Take a Snapshot with a Filter in Snapshot Pro Mode
Wrap Artist – Share a Wrap with the Need for Speed Community
Climbing the Ranks – Reach Monthly Rank 10 by completing Daily Challenges

The full patch notes also note various improvements to the whole game and stability fixes. You can get more information about this update from the official Under the Hood blog. The Showcase update follows on from the Legends update, which brought us a massive nostalgia blow with 15 new races centered around Eddie, the protagonist from the first Need for Speed Underground game.

The game was already pretty solid but with these updates it is quickly becoming one of my picks for the best racing game of the new console generation. Need for Speed 2015 is available now for PS4 and Xbox One and is coming sometime in the U.S. Spring for PC.

Crusader King II: Conclave Comes Out Very Soon

Mateja Simovic

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January 30, 2016

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Crusader Kings II, the grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio (creators of the Europa Universalis series), is having new DLC released in the next couple of days. The new expansion titled Conclave focuses upon improving the internal politics of realm management as well as introducing new mechanics to ‘rubber band’ players who are too successful in ruling a large domain.

The content in this update focuses upon adding more of a challenge to the mid and late game which (generally) has more experienced players steamrolling across the map due to their rule over large kingdoms and their accompanying huge armies. By making the internal political system of the realm more complex and unstable with the introduction of a new ‘council’ mechanic; vassal NPCs will now clamour to get a position sitting on said council so they can influence the direction the realm is going in. The council will vote on various courses of action to take which can align with your own player goals but more often than not there could be some disagreement between your choices and the wishes of the council. Although you can fill these seats up with lackeys and die-hard loyalists, you may wish to assign vassals these same seats to rebellious and powerful vassals to put them under your thumb (keep your enemies closer… as the saying goes). The personalities of the characters assigned to these seats will dynamically determine which way the council will vote on various issues. If, however, your vassals feel like you’re not giving them a say in how the realm is going or you routinely go against the desires of your council; the likelihood of your kingdom or empire collapsing due to civil war increases.

In addition to this feature, the expansion will also bring in new features like greater control over a child’s education, a coalition system for rulers to band together against a common enemy, changes to how alliances are formed, and various AI improvements.

The expansion will be released on February 2nd, 2016 and if the new internal intrigues interest you then it can be pre-ordered here.

FINAL FANTASY LEGENDS YOSHITAKA AMANO AND NOBUO UEMATSU CONTRIBUTING TO TURBO’S DEBUT GAME, SUPER SENSO

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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January 30, 2016

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FINAL FANTASY LEGENDS YOSHITAKA AMANO AND NOBUO UEMATSU CONTRIBUTING TO TURBO’S DEBUT GAME, SUPER SENSO

PvP turn-based tactical title will be released globally later this winter for iOS and Android

NEW YORK – Jan. 29, 2016 – Independent, NYC-based studio TURBO has announced its collaboration with two artistic icons of the gaming world for its esports-driven mobile title, Super Senso: designer Yoshitaka Amano and composer Nobuo Uematsu.

“Both as a developer and fan, it’s been a true honor working with Amano-san and Uematsu-san on Super Senso,” said Yohei Ishii, CEO of TURBO. “Everyone here owes so much inspiration to the monumental influence these two visionaries have had on games, and we all collectively geeked out a little watching their creations come to life.”

Amano is best known for his work on the 1960s anime adaptation of Speed Racer, as well as a character and graphic designer for the Final Fantasy series. Uematsu has been composing games music for over 30 years, including the soundtracks for most major Final Fantasy titles and the main theme for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Amano’s evocative character illustrations formed the basis for many of Super Senso’s larger-than-life mechs and units, and Uematsu created the game’s vibrant, symphonic theme song.

“Super Senso’s graphic style and visuals had a big impact on me,” said Uematsu. “I felt that synthesizer sounds were appropriate for a game like this, rather than orchestral instruments. If I were to describe the feeling I wanted to evoke based on a movie, I’d liken it to something like Terminator.”

Super Senso will launch this winter as a free-to-download title on iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Inspired by the classic Advance Wars, the game delivers a competitive, strategic experience with customizable armies of massive, upgradable mechs, zombie soldiers, tanks, ninjas, weaponized dinosaurs, UFOs and more. Outwit and outlast opponents in fast-paced, synchronous, turn-based battles across lively, 3D arenas for rare rewards, exclusive content and globally ranked dominance. Super Senso targets mobile’s rapidly evolving, hardcore gaming scene, and TURBO is working with prominent esports players to grow its post-launch tournament plans.

Public beta sign-ups for Super Senso are currently open at www.supersenso.com. For additional information, please follow the game on Twitter (@SuperSensoGame), Facebook (www.facebook.com/SuperSenso) and Instagram (@SuperSenso).

About TURBO Studios
Founded in 2013, TURBO is an independent game development studio formed by a dream team of industry veterans who believe in building a business around killer games. When we’re not making games, we’re playing them, and therein lies the difference. For the latest from TURBO, follow along on Facebook (www.facebook.com/TURBOStudios), Twitter (www.twitter.com/TURBOStudios), Instagram (www.instagram.com/TURBOstudios) and www.turbo.nyc.

Project CARS gets Stanceworks Expansion Pack

Nathan Farrugia

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January 30, 2016

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Project CARS keeps bringing the fresh content with the release of the Stanceworks Track Expansion for the PC, PS4, Xbox One featuring two new modified vehicles and a new track. The two new cars are based on renowned car culture enthusiasts cars, Kiwi Mad Mike Whiddett’s insane MX-5 RadBul Formula Drift car and the KTM X-Bow R.

The new track is a road course set in the highlands of Scotland. Over 4.5 miles long, you might not see Nessy but this new road course situated in the highlands of Scotland takes drivers through the village of Bannochbrae and alongside its infamous ‘misty loch’ for a stunningly beautiful driving experience replete with spectacular views and sweeping curves.

With the expansion comes to new career invitationals – the Lakeshore Vintage Cup for vehicles from the 50s-70s and the V8 Bathurst Trophy specifically for the January Free Car – the Ford Falcon FG. The car was Ford’s weapon of choice for competition during the 2014 season of Australia’s ultra-popular V8 Supercar touring car series and is able to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds, reaching top end speeds of up to 300 km/h.

You can check out the new expansions trailer below. The most recent expansion pack to release before this one was the Classic Lotus DLC which featured many vintage cars.

Ubisoft, Xbox, and ESL Partnering for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Pro League

Jamie Laike Tsui

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January 30, 2016

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The first Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Pro League will kick off on the first week of March 2016 for Xbox One and Windows thanks to a partnership between Ubisoft, Xbox, and ESL. Season One will host teams playing on both platforms from North America and Europe with a total prize pool is $100,000. The Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice, Poland will be hosting the first matches on March 4th, 2016.

“Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege was built from the ground up with competition in mind,” said Xavier Marquis, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege creative director, Ubisoft Montreal. “We’re excited to partner with ESL, one of the biggest names in eSports, to deliver a league for Rainbow Six Siege fans to compete and enjoy the game they love.”

To participate, players can either join various local competitions that will serve as qualifiers for the Pro League or compete in the Go4R6 online tournaments held weekly. The top teams from the February monthly leaderboards in Europe and North America will gain entry to the Pro League.