Adrenaline and adventure collide in Crytek’s Oculus Rift Title, “The Climb”
Scale breathtaking cliffs around the globe in Crytek’s all-new VR feast
Frankfurt am Main (Germany) December 15, 2015 – Feel the unrivaled adrenaline rush of free solo rock climbing and encounter the majesty of nature like never before in The Climb – a new virtual reality game from Crytek – coming exclusively to Oculus.
The Climb invites thrill-seekers to experience the ultimate in extreme sports by going beyond the point of no return and scaling deadly cliff faces unaided. The game boasts hyper-realistic climbing locations from around the world, and players will discover the freedom of gaming with the Rift using either an Xbox One controller or Oculus Touch controllers as they soak up their awe-inspiring surroundings.
Oculus Head of Worldwide Studios, Jason Rubin said: “Crytek is renowned for leveraging their CRYENGINE tech to create beautiful, immersive games. Their early VR demos really captured public imagination, and to see their ideas come to life with Rift is incredible and not to be missed. The Climb is a beautiful combination of art and thrill that’s bringing an entirely new level of adventure gaming to Rift.”
Also commenting on the collaboration, Founder, CEO & President of Crytek, Cevat Yerli, said: “Gaming has always given us the opportunity to place ourselves in otherwise impossible scenarios, and VR technology such as the Rift makes us feel present in those scenarios like never before. The Climb invites players to experience the intensity of one of the world’s most dangerous sports, and they’ll truly feel the thrill of being thousands of meters above the ground with nothing but their skill and a few precarious handholds to rely on.”
To find out more about The Climb, visit the official website for the game atwww.theclimbgame.com .
About Crytek
Crytek is an independent videogame developer, publisher and technology provider with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and seven other studios around the world. Established in 1999, Crytek has created multiple award-winning titles, including the original Far Cry, the Crysis series, Ryse: Son of Rome and Warface. All of Crytek’s games are developed using CRYENGINE, the company’s cutting-edge 3D game technology, which is also the first choice of other leading developers and licensees when creating games for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation®4, and Android. Crytek’s ongoing growth in the games-as-a-service market has extended the company’s reach as they continue to deliver top quality interactive experiences to players through self-publishing platforms online.
For more information visit www.crytek.com and www.cryengine.com .
When Dreams was announced back at the Sony E3 presentation earlier this year, it turned a lot of heads with its surreal reveal video and ambitious desire to allow players to recreate their dreams within a game. Well Media Molecule, the team behind Dreams as well as the Little Big Planet franchise and Tearaway, came on down to Sydney to last week to present what they’ve done so far on their game. Below are my impressions…
The gameplay itself is still in a very early stage of development and we didn’t really see too much of it. We were introduced to the concept of “dream surfing” where, by navigating through the environment of a level, we would reach a shining light which would take us to another level. There were some rudimentary puzzle elements where some bits of the environment would need to be moved out of the way or interacted with in order to progress. In another instance, the objective wasn’t highlighted with the shining light and instead was a painting which we needed to jump into (which then became the next environment). It’ll be interesting to see what else, Media Molecule format into this part of their game design, but currently there isn’t too much.
The game is very visually appealing. The models and environments that I’ve seen so far all have a pleasant visual design. The texturing also has an interesting effect wherein a lot of the objects appear to become fuzzy and wispy around their edges, which makes everything appear like they’re made of clouds. Most of the objects and environments look quite cute but there were some on showcase which had a quite different tone including a nightmarish WW1 battlefield. Overall, everything looks pretty and (generally) quite huggable.
The environments and characters on showcase were varied and distinct across a number of levels as well as the tools to create them. Besides the battlefield I mentioned there was a snowy mountainside featuring a log cabin. There was a pleasant wooded area with a small creek which one of the devs was modifying in front of us during the presentation using the game’s tools to add in more trees, more of the creek, and various other bits of terrain to the area. It seemed quite fast and simple to add in all these elements but I’m not under the delusion that anyone on the dev team is not already very fluent with the game controls. The characters within the game are similarly visually appealing and range from an abominable snowman to a dangerous looking mech. The controls for both the characters and the environment modding will be compatible with both a standard controller and motion controls.
Overall, I think it will definitely appeal to gamers of a more creative bent who would interested in spending hours creating and modifying the various objects within the game. The devs have stated that they’ll continue supporting the game after release with the team developing more levels based around their dreams… but that might be a small drop in the ocean compared to the creative content which a motivated fan base can do. This is certainly within the realm of possibilities considering the popularity of titles like Minecraft and Garry’s Mod. I feel that, if the game can live up to its promise, Dreams might become a new staple amongst the sandbox gaming community.
So this is my second foray into the virtual realities of the Sony VR headset, the Morpheus. The last time, I played The London Heist but this time I would be trying my hand at Battlezone, developed by the folks at Rebellion. The game is a remake of a classic Atari game and proudly wears it pedigree on its sleeve with retro-inspired graphical design. Following a quick tutorial in which I learned the controls quite quickly. After driving through a darkened vehicle depot, I went onto a lift and was raised to the surface.
The enemies I faced largely consisted of slow moving tanks and towers. At the end, I encountered a new flying swarm type of enemy who was susceptible to my machine gun which I was able to switch to with the press of a button. As I sped across the neon landscape, I mistakenly went down the wrong alleyway and got lost. But luckily, using a radar at the bottom of the screen I was able to locate the enemy units and get back to the action. With the headset on, the action felt really intense as I dodged, dipped, dived, ducked, and dodged around the map.
Thankfully the collision detection of my missiles was quite forgiving as many I noticed my shots were off by a metre or two but the game still rewarded me with a hit. This, I was thankful for as it certainly helped reinforce my feeling of being a sci-fi tank ace as I strafed around enemy units. The movement of my vehicle was fast and agile with the controls feeling more like I was operating a hover vehicle than a tank.
Overall the gameplay was quite fun the ten minutes or so I had with the game. It was fast, felt immersive, and was easy to pick up… even for a console novice like me. In terms of setup and practicalities of playing the game, I felt that this title was more manageable than The London Heist which I’ve also played. The reason for this is that since I was using a standard PS4 controller and not standing up waving my arms around, which could be a problem for households which are tight on space. Overall, it was a nice tech demo to play which shows the capabilities of the Morpheus in conjunction with a standard controller.
Telltale Games is keeping up their fast release schedule with Minecraft: Story Mode by announcing that the fourth episode of five total planned episodes will be released just a little bit before Christmas. Episode four, titled A Block and a Hard Place, will be released on PC on December 22nd with other platforms getting the episode in the following few days.
Telltale is stating that this fourth episode will end the story with the Wither Storm, so it will be interesting to see just how they plan on wrapping up that plot line while leaving something open to explore once the fifth and final episode of Minecraft: Story Mode comes out in early 2016.
Overview The Earth Defense Force series has always held a certain place in the hearts of people who enjoy campy sci-fi flicks and movies about giant creatures invading the land that must then be repelled by a much smaller force. This charming nature of the series may have made EDF a hit for fans but for quite some time gamers in North America weren’t able to play some of the first games in the series. Now that the second title, Global Defense Force, has been remade as Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space, now we have a chance at getting into one of the original titles. The question is, does it still offer the same type of campy charm fans have come to expect thanks to later games in the series?
Story For those who have never heard of these games before, you’re in for something of a treat. While Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space doesn’t offer much of a story, it does offer a decent start to the conflict. When aliens appeared and began attacking Earth, the freshly created Earth Defense Force was able to repel the enemy and destroy their mothership. While this seemed like the end of the conflict, the peace was short lived.
Now with giant bugs coming up from nests within the planet and the alien’s various UFOs, walkers, and more attacking locations all around the world it is up to the Earth Defense Force to once again kill every bug and oversized creature they see. This serves as a simple enough plot to place players in the boots of a soldier as they are sent on over seventy eight missions where quite a bit of background dialogue is provided through radio transmissions to help spice things up, though those looking for enemy motivation or any kind of depth will find it lacking here. Not that that is much of a bad thing in this case.
Gameplay
Setting up for a mission in Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space is incredibly easy. Players will be given a list of missions that all fall within the same category, kill everything that shouldn’t be on the planet. These battles all take place in various parts of the world, usually in city landscapes but occasionally in underground areas as well. Before shipping out to the field they are able to select from one of three classes equip various weaponry to fit their play style or occasionally one that is best for taking down a certain type of enemy, and then set out to kill everything ranging from swarms of numerous giant ant species as well as a variety of giant spiders and of course, alien UFOs with a few kaiju battles mixed in here and there.
The three classes that players will be able to take into battle come in the form of the simple Infantry soldier, futuristic Pale Wing, and the new support oriented Air Raider. The Infantry class uses modern weaponry, is able to absorb quite a bit of punishment, and is able to use the various military vehicles that appear in most stages. The Pale Wing, my preferred class, is a fast female unit that utilizes a jet pack allowing her to fly into the sky and use her heightened mobility to avoid enemies and deal damage from afar.
This class utilizes an energy pool that constantly is refilling but using the jet pack to move around or utilizing certain futuristic weaponry drains that pool and if it runs out, will temporarily leave a Pale Wing unit grounded and unable to fire an energy needed weapon or reload a standard weapon, a dangerous situation thanks to the Pale Wing having the lowest health of all classes. Finally we have the Air Raider, a class that appears best suited for support in the game’s online mode since the class primarily makes use of traps and various techniques to damage enemies rather than simply bringing the fight to them like the other classes.
With each class having its own set of unique weapons players will find that there is a lot of replay value to be had in Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space, especially since there are multiple difficulty levels to experience for those who wish to challenge themselves and obtain even better equipment since higher difficulties result in higher chances of good weapons dropping from defeated opponents. Alongside weapon drops the enemies will also drop armor upgrades, adding one to the current class’ total health per pick up after a mission is completed, and health kits to heal up in battle.
Outside of the enjoyable, albeit slightly repetitive, single player mode Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space also offers a couple of multiplayer options. Players will be able to take part in highly enjoyable co-op missions with up to four players at once and also fight against one another if you feel like testing your skills against other members of the EDF.
Visuals & Audio Being released on the PlayStation Vita a number of the enemy models appear to have been given a revamp over the original release, creating smoother and far better looking enemy models to face off against. This, plus the fact that the various mission stages have a decent amount of variety, help keep things feeling fresh, especially since various objects in the environment, such as buildings and foliage, often will get destroyed while fighting against enemies.
That being said, there are some issues when it comes to how Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space looks. It is still fairly evident that this game originated as a PlayStation 2 title as many textures are rather rough looking and, especially while playing as the more agile Pale Wing, the draw distance and pop-in rates suffer greatly.
The soundtrack found in the title is fitting for the series’ nature and it is worth noting that XSEED Games has provided a complete English dub for the title, which works wonders for describing the flow of battle since the cries of civilians and other soldiers reporting in or discussing your feats on previous battlefields help keep battles from becoming entirely monotonous, though if you happen to die while there is some dialogue playing, it won’t allow you to restart until the characters are done talking.
Overall Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space offers all of the campy fun that the series has become known for in a trimmed package that allows players to drop into bite-size missions while on the go and take down numerous enemies with the title’s easy to learn combat system. Offering plenty of replay value to unlock equipment and try out the classes as well as some online modes to stretch things out, this remake on the Vita is a great fit despite its flaws. Fans will find that this title still contains everything they love while even newcomers may want to take a chance at this smaller release. Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Swedish developers Coldwood Interactive (The Fight: Lights Out) and EA announced their upcoming puzzle platformer Unravel will launch on February 9, 2015 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is set in a world inspired by northern Sweden and is a physics puzzler. Unravel stars Yarny, a little creature made from a single thread of red yarn that slowly unravels as the game progresses. Players will use yarn from Yarny’s body to swing, rappel, and traverse obstacles big and small.
“Yarny’s quest is to mend broken bonds and the yarn represents the love and connection between people. Along the way, we’ll test your cleverness with environment-based puzzles inspired by our home in Northern Sweden,” says Martin Sahlin, Creative Director at Coldwood.
The game has earned high praise from a wide variety of game shows this year. Unravel will cost 19.99 USD or $29.99 AUD. EA Access members can get a head start on the game plus a 10% discount on Xbox One.
SYDNEY, Australia.—Dec. 15, 2015 – Make way for Yarny! Coldwood Interactive and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced Unravel™ will be available worldwide on Feb. 9, 2016 via digital download on Origin™ for PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One. TheUnraveltrailer released today features new gameplay of Yarny—the tiny, new character made from a single thread of yarn—embarking on an adventure to reconnect the bonds of love.
“Gaming is a powerful platform, able to inspire players and touch their hearts. With Unravel, we’re hoping to do just that,” says Martin Sahlin, Creative Director at Coldwood. “Yarny’s quest is to mend broken bonds and the yarn represents the love and connection between people. Along the way, we’ll test your cleverness with environment-based puzzles inspired by our home in Northern Sweden.”
Unravel is a game all about overcoming obstacles, both big and small. Using Yarny’s small thread and big heart, players will traverse through the breath-taking, lush environments of Northern Scandinavia in this unique physics-based puzzle platformer. Some challenges are simple, like using Yarny’s thread to swing across a gap, or rappel down a tree. But others are more complex, and players will need to use Yarny’s thread in clever and creative ways to find the path forward. Whatever the case, no feat is too big for Yarny. Along the way, unlock a heartfelt story about love and longing, and the ties that bind, with Yarny as the red thread that runs through it all.
Unravel is developed in Umeå, Sweden by Coldwood Interactive and will be available for $29.99 in Australia and New Zealand. EA Access members can play Unravel before the Feb. 9 release, and get a 10% discount on the full game, only on Xbox One.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 300 million registered players around the world.
In fiscal year 2015, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.5 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Dragon Age™ and Plants vs. Zombies™. More information about EA is available at www.ea.com/news .
EA SPORTS, The Sims, Dragon Age, Plants vs. Zombies and Battlefield are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. and its subsidiaries. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.
Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Kick off your Monday with a bang! This week’s Indie GalaEvery Monday Bundle features six great indie games for only $1.89 during the first 24 hours of the sale.
Bitardia – A rather wacky FPS inspired by Russian imageboard culture and old budget shooters.
Dracula’s Legacy – A hidden object game starring Isabella, a girl on a quest to rescue her fiance from vampires in an old ghost town.
Russian Horror Story – Ivan Naumov has returned home to Moscow, but his nostalgic return is cut short when a woman’s hand is cut off.
Appointment With FEAR – A visual novel inspired by classic comic books, Appointment With Fear is set in the 1980s in the midst of a battle against the Titanium Cyborg and you!
The bundle is only $1.89 for the first 24 hours of the sale, so grab your copy before the price goes up at Indie Gala!
The final Pokemon of the most recent Pokemon generation has finally been officially unveiled by Nintendo despite being known about years earlier thanks to some sneaky data miners. Pokedex number 721, Volcanion is the first Fire/Water Pokemon and like many Pokemon has it’s own signature move in Steam Eruption, a 95% accuracy, 110 base power special attack that has a 30% chance to burn. It features the Water Absorb ability, giving it a handy immunity to water type moves.
Unfortunately it’s stats are rather low for a legendary but it’s great typing and move set looks to make up for this. No information on it’s distribution was announced outside that it will be available for all Generation 6 games, but it is known to be the ‘star’ of next years Pokemon Movie that will no doubt be released in Japan first alongside Volcanion. Check back with Capsule later as we will announce the international release when that information becomes available.
Looking Glass Founder Paul Neurath Unites System Shock Series Talent for Authentic, Innovative Sequel
Concord, MASS – December 14, 2015 – OtherSide Entertainment, the development studio behind the upcoming fantasy RPG Underworld Ascendant, is excited to officially announce development on System Shock 3, the sequel to the landmark System Shock series.
Last week, OtherSide posted a teaser website (www.othersidetease.com) with cryptic lettering hinting at a new game. Internet hackers quickly cracked the site, prematurely revealing the game’s title. As part of the fun, series’ AI antagonist SHODAN appeared to mock the hackers with new taunts each day.
On the updated teaser site today, fans can hear popular voice actress Terri Brosius (System Shock 1 & 2,Dishonored) reprise her role as the voice of SHODAN and see an early peek at the evolving ‘next generation’ look of the character by artist Robb Waters.
Key members of the original System Shock and System Shock 2teamswill be part of the sequel. This includes Paul Neurath, who oversaw the original series’ development; Nate Wells, a senior artist on System Shock 2; and Waters, the lead concept artist of both original games.
The path to bring the System Shock franchise forward was long and winding. Several years back, OtherSide secured the exclusive IP rights to all future versions of the franchise. Only recently, through partnership with Night Dive Studios, whoowns the System Shock trademark, did OtherSide get the rights to use the System Shock name for the sequel.
System Shock 3 is currently in the early concept stages of development. Fans can register on the teaser site (www.othersidetease.com) to receive updates as they become available. For more information on OtherSide Entertainment, please see these links:
OtherSide Entertainment is a Boston, MA-based game development studio focused on providing players with innovative gameplay, immersive worlds, and engaging narrative. The company is also developing the modern follow-up to the classic Ultima™ Underworld franchise, Underworld Ascendant™ — which completed a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year.
