Activision is continuing to think outside of the box to promote the upcoming launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops III in Australia. In fact, Australia is getting a special promo with the Call of Duty: Black Hops III – Midnight Pale Ale craft beer. The company has partnered up with Gold Coast craft brewers Black Hops Brewing to create a very special American-style pale ale.
“The beer is black in colour, but light and refreshing like a traditional pale ale, perfect for the Aussie summer. It’s made with an ingredient new to the market from the U.S. called “midnight wheat” a roasted de-husked wheat grain that provides a rich dark colour without the bitterness you would expect from a dark beer. It messes with your mind, a bit like the Black Ops storyline I guess,” says Head Brewer Michael “Govs” McGovern.
The 12 month old company’s range of beers are usually only found in bars around Queensland, but this partnership with Activision will be Black Hops Brewing’s big debut to the rest of the country. Buyers will be able to order six packs and 24 bottle cartons of Call of Duty: Black Hops III – Midnight Pale Ale at BeerBudBeer Boutique starting on November 2nd, 2015 at 1PM.
Those of us unfortunate enough not to live in Australia can still check out a brand new video starring the Black Hops Brewing crew talking about their partnership with Activision and their upcoming beer or check out their blog to get a behind the scenes look at the world of craft brewing.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III launches for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC on November 6, 2015.
Today Capcom chose to announce a few pieces of news regarding Street Fighter V with the first piece being the all important release date. Fans of the series can expect Street Fighter V to drop on the PlayStation 4 and PC in North America and Europe on February 16th while the second piece of news happens to be the confirmation of Dhalsim’s return to the roster.
Capcom also stated that over the course of 2016 there will be six new characters added to the title, bringing the initial character roster from 16 to 22 by the end of the year. Interestingly enough, rather than release these characters as DLC, players will be able to unlock these new characters, as well as additional costumes, challenges, and gameplay content that comes out over the year, through in-game reward currency called “Fight Money.”
Of course if you choose to simply skip that route players can also use real money to buy such content but all of this content will be released at the same time regardless of whether you wish to simply fight and earn the money or pay your way.
Nintendo Booth at PAX Australia this Weekend to Feature Upcoming Wii U and Nintendo 3DS Games
Super Smash Bros. amiibo Partner Battle Championships, YO-KAI WATCH anime screenings and more!
28th October 2015 – PAX Australia takes place in Melbourne this weekend Friday through Sunday, and the Nintendo Booth will host some of the exciting upcoming and available games for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. In addition, three featured Nintendo PAX Events will take the action from the floor to the Galah Theatre each day from 5pm – 6pm.
On Nintendo 3DS, fans will be able to get their hands on the exciting new RPG and Japanese cultural phenomenon YO-KAI WATCH, which is on its way to Australia and New Zealand on 5th December! Also playable on Nintendo 3DS will be Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing, and the just-released The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, so friends can get together and enjoy the three-player puzzle solving action.
Playable for the first time in Australia and coming 21st November, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash features new modes such as Mega Battles where you can grow to gigantic proportions after grabbing a Mega Mushroom! After enjoying Mario’s latest tennis outing on Wii U, attendees can get their hands on the scary new adventure Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water (31st Oct.), and the epic RPG Xenoblade Chronicles X (5th Dec.), as well as two exciting upcoming indie titles Mighty No. 9 and FAST Racing NEO!
Each day from 5pm – 6pm, the Galah Theatre will play host to a Nintendo Event to keep the fun flowing as the show floor comes to a close. Friday
Super Smash Bros. amiibo Partner Battle Championships
The 80’s training montages are over and it’s time for players to put their amiibo to the test and go head to head with other teams for the chance to win a complete set of current Super Smash Bros. Collection amiibo!
Players can bring along their amiibo and register at the Nintendo Booth before 4:30pm.
Players will tap on their amiibo and team up with their Figure Player (no restrictions) to take on other teams in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – the massive 8-player battles featuring 4 teams of player and amiibo will be sure to excite!
Saturday
Super Mario Maker Make-Off
In celebrating 30 years of Super Mario Bros., watch local video game developers from Nnooo and Tin Man Games take on video game critics from MMGN and Stevivor as they go head to head in a course creation make-off in Super Mario Maker!
Flying Bowsers? A Goomba riding in a giant high-heel? Expect the unexpected…
Sunday YO-KAI WATCH Exclusive Anime Screening
The Japanese cultural phenomenon and multimillion-selling Nintendo 3DS RPG YO-KAI WATCH is on its way to the west, and PAX attendees can enjoy this special exclusive screening of the anime comedy series before making its TV debut in December.
Stay tuned to the Nintendo Australia Facebook and Twitter pages for more information.
2K and Gearbox Software Unveil First Look at Competitive Multiplayer in Hero-Shooter Battleborn™
Experience the Battleborn Open Beta first on PlayStation 4 in 2016
Sydney, Australia – October 28, 2015 – 2K and Gearbox Software revealed the first look at Battleborn’s three competitive multiplayer modes – Capture, Meltdown, and Incursion – through an all-new trailer during PlayStation’s Paris Games Week press conference today in Paris, France. Additionally, the companies announced that the BattlebornOpen Beta is coming in 2016 on all available platforms and can be experienced first on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system through exclusive early access. The Open Beta will also be available on PC and Xbox One, and more details will be released soon.
Battleborn’s team-based competitive multiplayer action can be experienced by up to 10 players online in 5v5 matches, and includes three distinct multiplayer modes.
Capture: Teams of heroes face off in a fast-paced death match and must capture and hold objectives on the map to win.
Meltdown: Teams of heroes must guide their minions as they march to their death at the center of the map. Points are scored for every minion who throws themselves into the incinerator, and the team with the most points wins.
Incursion: Teams of heroes must defend their base from waves of AI-controlled minions while working together alongside their own minions to destroy their opponent’s base. Tutorial videos for all three modes can be found on the official Battleborn blog.
Additionally, a smaller, closed technical test for the game begins this Friday, October 30th at 4AM AEDT on PS4, Xbox One, and PC and will give players the chance to try out Battleborn’s Meltdown competitive multiplayer mode, as well as experience a new Story Mission called “The Algorithm” with 15 of the game’s 25 playable heroes. Players can register to help test the game at http://rsvp.battleborn.com, and full details about the content that’s available in the closed technical test can be found on the official Battleborn blog.
On the heels of this news, 2K and Gearbox also revealed ISIC, the powerful spirit-mech, as a new playable character that is one the game’s 25 playable heroes. Once the lead manufacturing Magnus of Minion Robotics, ISIC abandoned his post to crash reality itself through the application of unthinkably complex code. Though debugged by Kleese, this Magnus is still regarded as among the most nihilistic and terrifying of the Battleborn. Complete details about ISIC are available on the official Battleborn blog.
Battleborn is not yet rated in Australia and New Zealand and will be available on February 9, 2016 for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC. For more information on Battleborn, follow the gameon Twitter, Twitch, and Instagram, become a fan on Facebook, subscribe on YouTube and visit http://www.battleborn.com.
About Battleborn
Battleborn is the next big new IP from the award-winning creators of the popular Borderlands franchise, which has sold-in 25 million units worldwide to date. Set in a distant future, Battleborn is a first-person-shooter featuring a group of heroes who form an unlikely alliance to save the last star in the universe from a mysterious enemy hell-bent on its destruction. Every hero has their own distinct personality and comes equipped with their own unique weapons and powers. Through Battleborn’s Helix System, players will fully experience each hero’s leveling progression in a single story mission or competitive multiplayer match.
2K is a wholly owned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
Not only did Sony show off some of the first footage of Gravity Rush 2 during their Paris Games Week press conference they also opted to release some of the first screenshots showing off how Gravity Rush Remastered will look when it is released on the PlayStation 4.
The company also stated that the title will include all of the original downloadable content that was released for the PS Vita version of the game and will be released both digitally and at retail for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 10th and Europe on February 10th. Oddly enough the North American version of the game will only be released digitally for $29.99 on February 9th and this choice is already the focus of backlash from fans of the series in that region.
Overview From initial doubts about how a game such as Borderlands would play in Telltale’s format to those same fans anxiously waiting to hear when the second episode would finally drop after a delay from the excellent kick off episode Tales from the Borderlands has been one hell of a ride ever since it was first announced. So now that with that ride coming to an end in the fifth and final episode of Tales from the Borderlands, does Escape Plan Bravo manage to provide a satisfying conclusion to what may be one of the best series that Telltale has produced?
Story If you couldn’t tell already, since this is the review for the fifth and final episode of the series, those who have yet to play through the game at this point will likely run into a few spoilers that have taken place over the first four episodes and if you haven’t played through the game yet then you really should.
That being said, depending on how Rhys reacted to Handsome Jack’s offer at the end of Escape Plan Bravo creates a different start off to his side of the story though regardless of what you selected, this is Handsome Jack we are talking about and even in digital form he has always had his best interests in mind. As such once he turns on Rhys or continues to force Rhys into his plan depending on your previous choice kicks off a story that has had many questions still to answer and manages to answer practically all of them.
Things such as who the Stranger is that kidnapped Fiona and Rhys, what happened to the pair to put them in their current state, where some of our old friends that have disappeared are, what happened to Gortys, and more are all handled in expert fashion, especially in the case of the Stranger who many will be caught completely by surprise in a good way since not only does it make sense given the story’s perspective but also provides a great continuation to the story that moves beyond Rhys and Fiona recalling past events through flashbacks and moves forward into current events where the two find themselves teaming up with a number of others once more.
In fact, this teaming up aspect, which I don’t want to go into as it will spoil some of the best moments of the game, gives Tales from the Borderlands the best argument for a second playthrough that I’ve seen so far in the series. The title takes into account a large number of choices that players have made over the course of the previous four episodes and, depending on what you selected, will determine who you will be able to invite with you to make up your team.
This means that if you opted to never mention your intentions as a Vault Hunter means Zer0 never paid attention to you or if you managed to play frugally with your cash then maybe you will be able to afford a certain character’s price tag to join up with the duo for the final battle. This creates a climactic finish that will certainly please fans of the Borderlands series and also those who wish to put together a team of some of their favorite surviving characters to see how certain actions and pieces of dialogue change in this sequence.
Speaking of choices, since this is the final episode, we see mostly immediate results to the various decisions made this time around but there is one sequence that is easily one of the highest points of the entire series and it comes with Rhys confronting Handsome Jack. Everyone’s favorite charismatic sociopath has always been a source of dark delight since his reappearance and this unsettling and emotional conclusion to his part in the story does seem to be left open a bit depending on what players choose to do, especially since the story itself leaves plenty of room for either a remarkably changed landscape for Borderlands 3 to step in or for a second season of Tales from the Borderlands.
As mentioned, the writers have done an excellent job answering many of the questions fans still had in a satisfactory way and to top that off they also managed to provide some wonderfully humorous dialogue and banter that fans have come to love from our favorite characters. Thanks in part to the fact that The Vault of the Traveler moves at a brisk pace, players will be laughing one moment, dealing with a serious situation the next, despairing over a certain event, only to laugh afterwards. This does mean that there are very few slow moments but this is certainly high praise for a title that could easily have been wrapped up in a mediocre manner and instead chose to go all out.
Gameplay Unlike past episodes of the game, Tales from the Borderlands: The Vault of the Traveler gives players almost no time to actually explore or look around an environment. Instead everything is presented through action packed scenes full of tension or pieces of dialogue that are placed between these moments.
This may be something of a disappointment for fans who are hoping for a bit of puzzle gameplay mixed into the finale but instead The Vault of the Traveler focuses on providing plenty of quick time event moments that keep players focused on staying alive or partaking in an arcade style fighting sequence where players need to enter fighting move combos in a sequence that is easily one of the best I’ve seen in a Telltale game and refuse to spoil.
Visuals & Audio Since this series is choosing to close out on an action packed conclusion players can expect to see quite a lot of movement in Tales from the Borderlands: The Vault of the Traveler but unfortunately the title does seem to have issues keeping up with the action. Especially during the last half hour of the episode I found the title lagging severely which is problematic considering the scenes that the slowdown occurred during. Thankfully the rest of the episode played itself off well and certain reveals, and a particularly gruesome moment, come off really well thanks to some great facial expressions and character animations used by the developers.
The voice work continues to be quite stellar in the final episode; with the actors nailing certain lines perfectly and making certain emotional scenes pack an extra punch while the comedic timing remains as golden as ever. The soundtrack also features a mix of fresh tracks as well as an extremely fitting opening theme that fits the despairing situation that Rhys and Fiona find themselves during the sequence.
Overall There were many doubts coming into the announcement of Tales from the Borderlands but now with the release of the final episode of the series, The Vault of the Traveler, I can say that, by sticking with the series’ dark comedy while also placing players on a roller coaster of events that never seem to slow down during this final episode that wraps up most of the loose ends and leaves hints for more to come in the future, that Telltale has managed to produce one of their best series yet.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Street Fighter V Release Date, New Challenger and Post-Launch Details!
Revealed today during the Sony press conference at Paris Games Week, a host of brand new information for Street Fighter V was shared. Yoshinori Ono took to the stage to confirm that the title will be launching across Australia and New Zealand on February 16th, 2016! Additionally, everyone’s favourite yoga-inspired fighter, Dhalsim, has stretched his way into the Street Fighter V roster. Attendees at Paris Games Week will have the opportunity to play the first ever demo build featuring Dhalsim, as well all of the previously confirmed characters: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Cammy, Vega, M. Bison, Birdie, Charlie Nash, Necalli, R. Mika, Rashid, Karin, Zangief and Laura.
Also during the conference today, new details were shared regarding post launch support plans for Street Fighter V. Over the course of 2016, six new characters will be added to the title, bringing the total roster up from 16 at launch to 22 by the end of next year. Additionally, gameplay content, costumes, new challenges and balance system updates will be continually made available throughout 2016 and beyond.
All gameplay related updates, including the new characters, will be available for players to purchase for free by earning the in-game reward currency called Fight Money. Fight Money can be earned by players through in-game activities such as undertaking daily goals and leveling up individual characters. For those who just can’t wait to unlock each piece of new content, content can also be purchased instantly using real in-game money, named Zenny. All gameplay updates and balance changes will be made available to all players at the same time for free. This new release strategy means that for the first time ever, the initial purchase of Street Fighter V is all that players will need to make in order to stay current with the game and enjoy all future content.
About Dhalsim
Debuting in Street Fighter II, Dhalsim’s yoga fighting style means that using his long range limbs and slow projectiles will frustrate even the most aggressive of his World Warrior opponents. Although he’s a pacifist, Dhalsim is always saving others whether it’s helping to raise money for the poor or destroying dams that are keeping water from reaching his village. In Street Fighter V, Dhalsim joins the fray again with some new training under his rope belt and new yoga skills to unleash, including his V-Skill (Yoga Float) and V-Trigger (Yoga Burner).
About Street Fighter V
The legendary fighting franchise returns with Street Fighter V on February 16th, 2016! Stunning visuals depict the next generation of World Warriors in unprecedented detail, while exciting and accessible battle mechanics deliver endless fighting fun that both beginners and veterans can enjoy. Challenge friends online, or compete for fame and glory on the Capcom Pro Tour.
Through a strategic partnership between Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Capcom, the next generation Street Fighter experience will offer cross-platform play that will unite PlayStation 4 and PC fans into a centralized player base for the first time ever. The path to greatness begins here: RISE UP!
NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR SUPER MARIO MAKER ON Wii U WILL BRING MID-LEVEL CHECKPOINTS AND NEW COURSES
Super Mario Maker Cover Plates for New Nintendo 3DS systems coming in November
28th October, 2015 – On November 5th, a free software update for Super Mario Maker will bring new content to the hit title for the Wii U console, including the ability to add mid-level checkpoints to courses, and additional Course World categories highlighting new levels from Nintendo and partner creators outside Nintendo. More than 3.3 million courses are now available to play globally, and these new features add even more ways to play and create in the game than ever before.
With the addition of mid-level checkpoints, users now have the option to add up to two flags to their courses, allowing players to resume from the last checkpoint passed if they lose a life – rather than having to start over at the beginning of the course. Players can choose to edit and re-upload their own courses, or create new courses from scratch using this feature.
Following the update, players can also insert power-ups that are dependent on Mario’s status. For example, by attaching a Super Mushroom to a Fire Flower and placing it inside a block, Mario will receive the Super Mushroom when he is small, and the Fire Flower when he is large.
The software update also introduces Event Courses in the game’s Course World online hub. Event Courses will feature levels from partner creators outside Nintendo. One of the first Event Courses will be “Ship Love,” the winning level from the “hackathon” event that was held at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park earlier this year in co-operation with Nintendo of America*.
New Event Courses will be globally available and will be added to the listing on an ongoing basis, some of which may even feature new Mystery Mushroom transformations. Additionally, a new Official Makers section in Course World will be added after downloading the update, featuring specially selected courses, including some created by Nintendo.
Last but not least, owners of a New Nintendo 3DS system will be able to display their love for Super Mario Maker with a brand new set of Cover Plates for their handheld system, coming to shops on November 28th.
The free software update for Super Mario Maker on Wii U is planned to go live on November 5th. For more information about Super Mario Maker, visit:
*Facebook is the first outside partner in the US to design a course for Super Mario Maker. Employees had the opportunity to design and present their creations to a panel of judges before the winning course was selected.
During Sony‘s Paris Games Week press conference Sony delighted those in attendance by showing off some of the first gameplay footage for Gravity Rush 2. The footage includes not only a look at how the game will appear now that it will be released as a PlayStation 4 exclusive in 2016 but also a look at Kat using different kinds of gravity techniques in combat.
Kat will be able to use the normal style from the original game, a Lunar style that will make her lighter and faster, and finally a Jupiter Style that will make Kat heavier and more powerful in combat. You can check out some new gameplay footage as well as new screenshots below:
Available exclusively in Australia from the 2nd November, ahead of the launch of
Call of Duty: Black Ops III on the 6th November
Sydney, Australia – 28th October, 2015: To celebrate the upcoming release of the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops III on the 6th November, three young Aussie craft brewers from the Gold Coast have created a world first, limited edition Call of Duty: Black Hops III – Midnight Pale Ale. The beer will be available to purchase in limited quantities, exclusively in Australia through www.beerbud.com.au/BlackHopsIII from the 2nd November.
Gold Coast trio, Michael McGovern, Eddie Oldfield and Dan Norris started Black Hops Brewing on the 2nd November, 2014. In just 12 months they have gone from home brewing in their garage and selling their beer in local pubs, to partnering with Activision to create Call of Duty: Black Hops III Midnight Pale Ale.
“This is a dream partnership. We love Call of Duty, so when the idea of creating Black Hops III to celebrate the launch of the new game came up, everyone was excited, the rest is history.” Said Michael ‘Govs’ McGovern, Head Brewer and Co-Founder of Black Hops Brewing.
Black Hops Brewing has been making waves in the Australian craft beer industry, sharing every step of their ambitious startup business online via their blog and social media channels. “Black Hops Brewing is an ironic name because we’re intentionally the least covert operation; we even put our business plan online to help others learn how to get started. We love the craft brewery scene and hopefully we can help grow it by making it easier for others to get involved. We’re massive Call of Duty fans too, so our name is also a subtle nod to the Black Ops franchise.” Said Black Hops Brewing Co-Founder, Eddie Oldfield.
Govs, Eddie and Dan wanted to create a unique beer that reflected both the creativity of the brewery and Call of Duty: Black Ops III, so they set about using a combination of special ingredients sourced from around the world and their knowledge of unique craft brewing techniques to take a classic American-style pale ale and paint it black.
“The beer is black in colour, but light and refreshing like a traditional pale ale, perfect for the Aussie summer. It’s made with an ingredient new to the market from the U.S. called “midnight wheat” a roasted de-husked wheat grain that provides a rich dark colour without the bitterness you would expect from a dark beer. It messes with your mind, a bit like the Black Ops storyline I guess.” Said Govs.
With a rapidly expanding business, Black Hops Brewing are excited to release Call of Duty:Black Hops III – Midnight Pale Ale on the 2nd November. “We’re not used to being covert but we kept this project a secret for the past 6 months, so we’re stoked to get it out there. Hopefully this will bring the up and coming Gold Coast craft beer scene some well-deserved attention too”. Said Black Hops Brewing Co-Founder, Dan Norris.
Call of Duty: Black Hops IIIMidnight Pale Ale will be available in limited quantities, exclusively via www.beerbud.com.au/BlackHopsIII in both six packs and 24 bottle cartons from 1:00pm on 2nd November, 2015.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III is in development at Treyarch for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC.
To learn more about Black Hops III watch this video: Link
The Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops III – Launch Gameplay Trailer can be viewed here: Link
