Se7en Review

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November 8, 2015

Se7en
Studio: New Line Cinema
Publisher: Roadshow Films
Format: Cinema
Release Date: Out Now

Overview

As part of their Halloween double feature screening, In the House screened David Fincher’s classic serial killer movie; Se7en. You can also read about the second film they screened, Evil Dead 2, here. Released in 1995, it made an immediate impression with critics and audiences as a dark and haunting entry into the genre. I was, of course, excited to see it and promptly made my way down to George St cinemas to have watch the screening.

As all In the House events do, it started with the hosts David ‘Quinny’ Quinn and Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis MCing a costume competition before the movie started. As it was the night before Halloween, not too many people were dressed up but for the ones who did come in some sort of get-up; they got a mysterious box (filled with prizes… hopefully). The subsequent trivia discussion by the two hosts was (as always) interesting to hear as they talked about various aspects of the film.

Story

The film follows two detectives David Mills and William Somerset (played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman respectively) as they walk the beat of the urban sprawl. Mills is a newly transferred to the big city while Somerset is a few days away from retirement. Their first cases together involves an unusual murder in which a morbidly obese man was forced to eat himself to death. The detectives clash with the younger and brash Mills clashing with the older and thoughtful Somerset.

However, as the body count begins to mount, the pair realise they’re on the trail of patient but sadistic serial killer. Each of the murders they investigate appears to have a direct link to the seven cardinal sins, with the victim dying in a manner which relates to that particular sin. As they find more victims and get closer to finding the killer, things come to a head between hunters and hunted in a surprising turn of events (which I will not spoil for you here).

The cast pull out a stellar performance in this film with the protagonist detectives bringing to life the conflicting sensibilities of the two personas. Pitt does a good turn as the headstrong Mills with his outbursts of anger throughout the film lending a believable conclusion to the film’s climax. Morgan provides a good foil as the jaded but empathetic Somerset with a restrained performance but no less powerful screen presence. The performance of the serial killer, John Doe, is also similarly amazing even though we don’t finally meet them until the third act of the film… by that time, however, we’ve seen enough of their handiwork that it feels like we already know them.

The screenplay itself is very well constructed with a narrative that is both deep and rich while leaving very few threads hanging at the end. The pacing is slow and measured with a steady build up in tension to keep the audience guessing. Everything we learn about the characters, including the stuff that seems innocuous, comes together at the end to resolve the climax. I am in awe of how neatly all of these plot points came together to produce a story which is pretty much perfectly self-contained. It might just be that modern cinema works to setup sequels and trilogies a lot of the time, but it’s pleasant to see a work which doesn’t attempt to build up anything beyond its own runtime.

My one caveat with the narrative is the limited character of Mills’ wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the role she plays in the movie. She makes an appearance a couple of times in the film and we don’t really learn too much about her beyond she’s a relatively nice person who is lonely after moving to a new city. She feels a bit underdeveloped and I felt that more could have been done to make her more of character. I feel that if steps had been taken it that direction, it would have given the climax even more of an emotional payoff but I understand that would have run the risk of losing the lean narrative focus of the film.

Visuals

Fincher is a master at using the lens to create interesting and compelling cinema. The grey urban setting in which most of the shots are made draw heavily upon older cinematic traditions like noir. The colour palette is subdued and although it’s not black and white, as with traditional noir, we do get an oppressive desaturation of urban greys through many scenes. The city is almost crafted as its own character with rain and decrepitude reflecting the dreary existence of its inhabitants. The scenes climax takes place away from this oppressive environment but Fincher keeps things just as intense through clever cutting and framing of empty space.

In particular I loved the opening credit sequence. This sequence originally came about as Fincher felt that the first act focused too much on the detectives without showing us anything happening with the antagonist. So with the title sequence we are treated to one of the creepiest montages I have ever had the pleasure to see. If you remember the feeling you got the first time you watched the opening of Dexter, then this will reignite that by a magnitude of ten.

Audio

Of the film’s soundtrack, I particularly enjoyed the opening credit’s industrial soundtrack which included some sampling from Nine Inch Nails’ Closer. The track really turns up the creepiness factor and with Fincher’s awesome use of montage; we get the sense of something truly unsettling unfolding. Beyond that opening sequence, there is little non-diegetic music to be found throughout the film. There are a number of parts throughout the film where music is played diegetically to help keep the audience interested in the somewhat dry experience of research montages. Most of the soundscape simply works to reinforce the urban setting with the sounds of traffic, police chatter, and apartment life filling in for the rest of the city we don’t see.

Overall

This film is a masterpiece of cinematic art. The story is a masterclass in self-contained narrative creation. The visual composition and direction are some of the best which Fincher has pulled out in his career. The audio is spare but creates a soundscape which compliments the scenes as they unfold. The film deserves its title as a classic and I can find almost no faults with it. It was very enjoyable to see it up on the silver screen and I recommend it to anyone who loves cinema.

For other films which In The House is screening, feel free to check out their schedule here.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Evil Dead 2 Review

Mateja Simovic

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November 7, 2015

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Evil Dead 2
Studio: Rosebud Releasing, Renaissance Pictures
Publisher: Hoyts Distribution
Format: Cinema
Release Date: Out Now

Overview

In the House screened Evil Dead 2 as the second film in their Halloween double feature screening. Directed by Sam Raimi, the Evil Dead series is a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy with a pretty strong cult following (at least among my friends). The film originally came out in 1987, and I unfortunately haven’t had the opportunity (or taken it upon myself) to see it. I was glad to see that it was on the bill for In the House this year.

This film was the follow up to Se7en (which you can read about here) and provided an interesting and fun contrast to the heavy themes and story of the first. Before the film started, MCs David ‘Quinny’ Quinn and Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis held a costume contest with prizes. A number of Ash William cosplayers (some with moving chainsaw hands) came down to the front and were awarded prizes. They followed this up with talking about some of the film’s trivia. An interesting tidbit for me was the fact that all the shots which have actors being whacked in the face with branches were shot with Raimi himself being the one waving those branches about in people’s faces… and that Evil Dead 2 was not an isolated incident of this occurring as he’s apparently gone on in his career to smack other actors in the face with various objects on camera.

Story

The narrative begins with a focus on Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda as they a romantic vocation to an abandoned cabin in the woods. While there, Ash plays a tape recorder from the cabin’s previous inhabitant, an old archaeologist, who recites pages from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (the book of the dead). Reciting words from the book ends up summoning an ancient evil from the darkness of the woods which possesses his girlfriend, forcing him to kill her. The evil spirit then possesses Ash before losing control as the sun rises. He unsuccessfully attempts to escape the woods and becomes trapped in the cabin.

As the evil presence torments him, we see his sanity start to fray. The evil presence torments him by reanimating his recently deceased girlfriend and attacking him once more as a ‘deadite’. Furthermore, his hand becomes possessed and attempts to kill him after being bitten by the severed head of Linda. After a hilarious sequence where Ash fights and loses to his own hand, he is finally successful in subduing his hand and promptly cuts it off. His severed hand continues to attack him throughout the night.

Meanwhile, the daughter of the archaeologist finds more pages to the book and decides to visit the cabin with her partner to see what her father will make of it. After securing the help of a redneck couple, she’s able to make it through the woods on foot to the cabin and are mistakenly attacked by Ash. After subduing him, the group settles in and they soon learn of the ‘deadite’ threat to which lurks in the cabin…

Lets agree straight off the bat that the narrative in the Evil Dead series is not the most intellectually stimulating. A lot of the time’s it is nonsensical and even inconsistent with the rules it has set up in its own fictional universe. In some movies, this can become a sticking point where the audience loses all belief in the plot as the story no longer retains any sort of coherence or sense. This is not the case here, as Evil Dead 2 displays some of the series best over-the-top moments which create enough spectacle to make you to laugh through any (reasonable) concerns you might have.

The performances throughout the film are generally suitably hammed up and over-the-top which is a joy to watch. Campbell as Ash is delightfully B grade with every expression and line delivered with such camp that I couldn’t help but smile. His chiselled chin, dulcet voice, and near perfect ‘crazy eyes’ made him perfect for the role. The dialogue might be clumsy and convoluted but dang if the whole cast make it work with comedic timing to become something charming.

Visuals & Audio

The visuals in Evil Dead 2 are timeless. Raimi doesn’t just throw blood on the actors and set in small patches here and there… but rather takes a more liberal approach to gore. There are buckets upon buckets of blood (probably delivered with a fire hose) that he aims at his actors. Everything is so over-the-top that even I, who does not do well with blood or horror in general, could not help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the movie. Subtlety is not this films strong point, and that is a point in its favour.

One instance which comes to mind is where Ash is tormented by the reanimated corpse of his deceased girlfriend. She doesn’t just come back as a shambling zombie, she comes back and does a dance atop her own grave. She doesn’t just come at him with her bare hands, but steals a bloody (not literally) chainsaw to charge him with. It’s this unrestrained ridiculousness which made the movie easy enough for me to watch without being too unsettling. Kudos!

The soundtrack matches the film’s B grade tone with suitably corny tracks to match the scenes. Suspenseful moments are accompanied by plenty of screeching strings while horns punctuate deep notes of doom. It’s as corny as the rest of the movie and adds to the charm.

Overall

I loved this movie far more than I thought I would as I’m not a fan of horror films to begin with… but this movie is a rare exception. The absurd story and performances sold the film to me for the hilarious horror comedy that it was. The visuals are surreal and hilarious in equal measure in just how over-the-top things can get while the soundtrack is suitably corny to boot. It was a ridiculous amount of fun to watch and I enjoyed myself much more than I thought I would. I can recommend it unreservedly for horror fans for those who aren’t. Kudos to Raimi and Campbell for making such a fun film and kudos to In the House for screening it in a cinema!

For other films which In The House is screening, feel free to check out their schedule here.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Overwatch Now Available for Pre-order for PC, PS4, and Xbox One

Jamie Laike Tsui

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November 7, 2015

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Overwatch Now Available for Pre-order for PC, PS4, and Xbox One

Blizzard announced at Blizzcon that they are now accepting pre-orders for their upcoming team based FPS Overwatch. The game will cost $89.95 AUD / $104.99 NZD on PC and $99.95 AUD / $114.99 NZD on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Pre-order copies will come with hero skins for Reaper, Soldier: 76, Bastion, Pharah, and Tracer, plus Overwatch themed items for Blizzard’s other games. A digital version is available for PC gamers for $69.95 AUD and contains only the base game. All pre-ordered copies will also come with a Noire skin for Widowmaker. A retail Collector’s Edition will launch for $189.95 AUD / $214.99 NZD on PC and $199.95 AUD / $229.99 NZD for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The edition will come with an artbook, the soundtrack, and a statue of Soldier: 76. Pre-orders are available at local retailers and at buyoverwatch.com

Blizzard also released the first look at the new map Hollywood and the three remaining characters in the 21 person roster. Genji is a cybernetic ninja armed with a deadly sword, D. Va is a former pro-gamer who now pilots a mech, and Mei is a scientist who wields the power of ice.

Overwatch is currently in closed beta and is slated for launch in Fall 2016.

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Review

Jamie Laike Tsui

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November 7, 2015

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Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
Developer: ArenaNet
Publisher: NCSoft
Platform: Windows
Release Date: 23 October, 2015
Price: $49.99 USD – Available Here

Video Review

Overview

It has been three years since the launch of Guild Wars 2. ArenaNet has spent those three years hard at work providing two full season’s worth of content for the MMORPG, creating new stories for Tyria that were distributed for free to a player base that pays no monthly fees. Earlier this year, ArenaNet announced that they would finally launch a paid expansion pack for the game, and almost eleven months later, Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is finally upon us.

Story

At the end of the The Living World Season 2, the player’s personal story has been focused intently on Glint’s Egg, the last remaining part of the Elder Dragon that assisted Destiny’s Edge years before. All the while, the multiracial army called Tyria’s Pact led by Tyria’s most famous heroes sailed into Meguuma to destroy Mordremoth. The Elder Dragon Mordremoth cast out his thorns and obliterates the fleet, sending the army into disarray. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns picks up just after the crash. The player is trying to balance the hunt for the egg, while attempting to rally the broken army. To complicate matters further, Tyria’s Pact is not only physically broken.The Elder Dragon isn’t just raising the dead to serve him, Mordremoth is causing weak willed Sylvari to serve him which is leaving Tyria’s Pact demoralized and distrustful of their own Sylvari members.

The story Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns spins is entertaining and epic enough to expansion pack material. The racial tensions that erupt create a tense atmosphere in the camps, especially for Sylvari players. It was hard not to feel uncomfortable as I strode through the camp, listening to the non-Sylvari soldiers talk and argue among themselves about things like wanting to get rid of all the Sylvari or if they should be trusted at all. ArenaNet is continuing with Guild Wars 2’s personal story that tailors the game based on the player’s race and the answer to a small survey during character creation. Too bad the options don’t have much of an impact on the story.

Gameplay

ArenaNet made a pretty interesting choice with Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. It could have been incredibly easy to do what most big MMORPGs do when expansions are released and just increase the level cap, slap in a new story, and call it an expansion pack. Instead, ArenaNet has opted to expand the end game content at level 80, with a deep focus on group based content, and add new content for the base game.

Guild halls have been added to provide guilds with a physical meeting place. It has been designed to cater to guilds of all sizes, requiring only five friends to get the ball rolling. Tucked inside the Guild Hall is the expansion’s new crafting discipline, scribe. This one is a little different compared to the others, as its focus is on outputting items to support groups and provide decorations for the guild hall. The guild halls in itself is a group endeavour, starting off with a quest and needing quite a bit of resources to add using buildings to the hall. It’s a nice way to help build some unity in a guild by giving people a common purpose, even if it is a bit of a resource sink. The halls are an even greater addition for Guild Wars 2’s role playing community, providing a private space for players to hold events.

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns introduces the new Revenant character profession. The heavily armoured Revenant brings the profession count to a total of nine, with light, medium, and heavy armour wearers having three professions each. The Revenant is a unique profession. As per Guild Wars 2 mechanics, the weapon equipped decides the first five skills. Unlike other classes, the Revenant equips a legendary figure from Guild Wars lore as their partner, which determines the remaining skills. I found the Revenant has a lot more personality than its other two heavily armoured professions, which has a greater focus on the very bland “offensive” and “defensive” archetype.

Instead of tacking on ten more levels and an extra skill or two, ArenaNet has opted to create an Elite Specialization for each class. Designed to go hand in hand with the Mastery System as Heart of Thorn’s progression system, Elite Specializations unlock a new weapon and specialization skills. It is a much more interesting way to handle new character content in an MMORPG expansion pack. Traditionally, each class may get a new ability or two plus a few talents that might get jammed somewhere in the rotation. Since Guild Wars 2’s skill system revolves so heavily on weapons, a new weapon type gives players an entirely new play style to try out. But because the new specialization is technically optional, players are more than welcome to stick to builds that completely forgo the new content if they like. It is a great opportunity for players to revisit old characters they were maybe on the fence about or to just get a little variation in their favourite profession. The actual progression system is in a bit of a flux. The original 400-point requirement has been dialed down to a slightly more reasonable 250 points. Still, it is a pretty high number that will require some serious effort to complete.

The Mastery System is the second progression tree in Heart of Thorns that provides account wide progression. ArenaNet is looking to replicate the experience of becoming an veteran fighter with Mastery. Once a character hits 80, all experience goes towards toward an active mastery skill. Once a Mastery level is completed, players spend Mastery points collected from the course of the game to pick up a new ability. The old content and Heart of Thorns have two separate sets of Mastery skills to unlock. The base game’s Mastery skills focus on more practical things like crafting, Fractal dungeons, and group play. In contrast, Heart of Thorns’ Mastery seeks to create a feeling of growth from an outsider struggling to survive to a veteran jungle fighter. ArenaNet has done a good job in creating that feeling, as manoeuvring around the multi-level jungle maps becomes significantly less dangerous thanks to a variety of movement options and the jungle becomes much more generous as the player progresses. On the other hand, I think the Mastery skill that lets players challenge a champion each day for a daily prize feels a bit too much like filler.

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with the Meguuma maps. They lack the multitude of quests in each zone, leaving them feeling a bit empty. On the other hand, it feels like ArenaNet has decided to focus on what makes Guild Wars 2 different from competing MMORPGs as each map is packed with several events that drives the meta-plot forward. The events range from humble supply runs to truly epic world bosses requiring the coordination of multiple large raid groups to complete. Even as a veteran MMORPG player, the final meta-map event in Auric Basin still ranks as one of the most epic MMO experiences I’ve encountered. Unfortunately for the lone wolves, the maps are balanced towards groups of players working together, which makes exploring solo a bit of a pain.

The slightly more organized group events have seen a bit of an update in Heart of Thorns. Fractal dungeons have been revamped to be a little more accessible and a new area has been added for Guild Wars 2’s famed World vs World vs World PVP zones. A MOBA inspired Stronghold map has also been added for those preferring smaller PVP instances. Interestingly enough, ArenaNet has opted to not release the much vaunted raids on the release of Heart of Thorns. Instead, it will launch in the coming months in the first content update. While it is hard to say how good the ten person raids will be without participating, I can applaud a decision to hold back content until its polished until pushing it out the door in a messy state. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thrones reflects a good overall polish, with hotfixes getting pushed out at an impressive rate. However, in my playtesting, I did encounter a few bugs, including one that broke a personal story quest because I moved too far from an NPC.

I must address is the game’s pricing structure. When it was originally announced that Heart of Thorns was going to include the base game for the price, there was some confusion and some understandably angry gamers. Let’s make this clear, Guild Wars 2 has gone free to play, with some restrictions for new free account, with these restrictions removed back for original Guild Wars 2 owners. Those who own the base game but skip out on Heart of Thorns get the same experience they purchased. Moving forward, all new Guild Wars 2 buyers simply need to buy Heart of Thorns to get the full Guild Wars 2 experience. It’s not the greatest situation for those who have owned the base game, but considering the steady stream of free content updates the base game received and the fact the game has no monthly fee, I’m not too upset by this. Although ArenaNet may have flubbed the initial delivery a bit, they are on the right track when it comes to new buyers. It is a much better system to have one purchase price for everything than having to figure out what expansion packs or DLCs you also need to own to get the full game experience.

Visuals

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns looks good. It doesn’t feel like the graphical engine has seen much of an upgrade from the base game, but it hasn’t aged too poorly either. The game’s cutscenes are definitely the weakest part of the game, as they are rather blurry. It’s especially noticeable with the graphics maxed out, as the cutscenes are significantly worse than the actual in-game quality.

Audio

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns continues to provide a strong audio experience. The voice acting is excellent, the sound effects are solid, and the music is enjoyable. There is plenty of voice acting NPCs around the world, which really help build a great atmosphere for the game.

Overall

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns is the expansion pack the game deserves. ArenaNet made a bold move to expand the existing end game content instead of tacking on some extra levels. Heart of Thorns isn’t perfect, but it’s an incredible experience. If you haven’t played Guild Wars 2 yet or you haven’t picked up the game lately, there is no better time to play.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

The Invasion Begins Winter 2016 – World of Warcraft: Legion Now Available for Pre-Purchase

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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November 7, 2015

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Prepare for the Burning Legion’s return with early access to the expansion’s Demon Hunter hero class Instantly boost one character to level 100 TODAY^†

The Burning Legion’s assault on Azeroth begins next winter^†—but for heroes around the world, hunting preparations start now. Today at BlizzCon^® 2015, Blizzard Entertainment announced that World of Warcraft^®: Legion™, the sixth expansion to its acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is now available for pre-purchase at www.wowlegion.com.

Players who pre-purchase World of Warcraft: Legion digitally can immediately boost one character of their choosing to level 100. In addition, those who pre-purchase will get early access to the brand-new hero class coming with Legion, the Demon Hunter, prior to the expansion’s release.^†

During today’s BlizzCon opening ceremony, Blizzard also unveiled the intro cinematic for the expansion, setting the stage for the demonic Burning Legion’s devastating return. As the Horde and the Alliance battle against hopeless odds, heroes of both factions must seek salvation among the Broken Isles—ancient centre of a doomed night elf civilisation. There, they’ll take up mighty Artifact weapons and make a forbidden pact with the dread Demon Hunters of the Illidari—a final, desperate bid to save their world from falling under the Great Burning Shadow.

“World of Warcraft: Legion is one of the most intense chapters in the Warcraft saga yet, filled with features and content that will push new and veteran heroes to their limits,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Whether players want to boost a new character or get a head start on mastering a Demon Hunter, they’ll be primed and ready to battle the Burning Legion when the expansion launches next winter.”

Prepare for Battle

World of Warcraft: Legion will be available in a Standard Edition (physical and digital versions available; 69.95 AUD), which players can pre-purchase digitally now at www.wowlegion.com. Players also have the option to upgrade their pre-purchase to the Digital Deluxe Edition (94.95 AUD), which contains the following in-game bonuses for World of Warcraft and other Blizzard games (available upon or before the expansion’s launch):

World of Warcraft – Illidari Felstalker Mount and Nibbles Pet—Stalk the invading demonic forces atop one of the Burning Legion’s own twisted hounds of war, and summon a delightfully demented companion to keep you warm by the fel fire—both available immediately upon pre-purchase.
Heroes of the Storm^™ – Felstalker Mount—Charge down the lanes of the Nexus and wreak havoc on the opposing team astride this fierce fanged terror.
StarCraft^® II – Fel Protoss Portraits—Take back Aiur in infernal style with psionic-infused StarCraft II portraits of Illidan and Gul’dan.
Diablo^® III – Wings of the Betrayer—Equip your hero with Illidan’s wings and strike terror into the hearts of Sanctuary’s demons.

Players who pre-purchase either the digital Standard Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition of Legion through www.wowlegion.com will be able to immediately^† boost one character to level 100, allowing them to experience the latest World of Warcraft content alongside their friends^††. Players who wish to prepare multiple characters for battle against the Burning Legion also now have the option to purchase additional level-100 character boosts directly through the game at 66 AUD each. Further details on character boosts, including information on the gear, skills, and Garrison upgrades boosted level-100 characters will receive, can be found at www.worldofwarcraft.com.

Pre-purchasing Legion will also grant early access to the Demon Hunter prior to the expansion’s release.^† This dexterous and deadly new hero class turns the twisted power of the Burning Legion against them; drawing on fel forces to fuel their attacks, Demon Hunters pursue their prey with uncanny agility, unleash pent-up fury in the form of devastating attacks, and metamorphose into terrifying demonic forms. As a hero class, Demon Hunters begin their journey at a higher level than other World of Warcraft classes. During the pre-launch early-access period, players will be able to complete the Demon Hunter’s unique starting experience and achieve level 100—leaving them fully prepared to join their allies on the Broken Isles the moment the expansion launches. Further details on the Demon Hunter upcoming early-access period, including the timing and duration, will be announced at a later date.

World of Warcraft: Legion will also be available in a retail-only Collector’s Edition (RRP 129.95 AUD), which includes the digital bonuses from the Digital Deluxe Edition along with a full-colour hardcover art book, a behind-the-scenes two-disc Blu-ray/DVD set, a CD soundtrack, and a Legion mouse pad. Supplies are limited; players should check with their local retailer for pre-order details and availability.

World of Warcraft: Legion Features

World of Warcraft: Legion is filled with features and content that will transform Azeroth’s heroes into Legion-slaying avatars of vengeance, including:

New Hero Class: Demon Hunter—Unleash the demon within as an all-new melee hero class gifted with preternatural mobility—and the ability to metamorphose into hellish new forms.
New Feature: Artifact Weapons—Smite the Legion with class-specific weapons of lore. Unlock awesome abilities and traits, and customise your weapon to suit your needs.
New Continent: The Broken Isles—Discover the fate of a lost night elf civilisation, confront twisted fragments of the Emerald Nightmare, and hunt agents of the Legion in all-new zones.
Boost to Level 100—Come fully prepared to battle the Legion with a level-100 character boost, and fight alongside your friends in this epic new chapter of World of Warcraft—available immediately upon pre-purchase^†.
New Feature: Order Hall—Unite fellow NPC members of your class’s order to carry out missions at your command.
New PvP Honour System—Fight for fame, glory, and a range of new PvP-specific powers as you face the opposing faction in Arenas and Battlegrounds.

For more information about World of Warcraft: Legion or to sign up for the upcoming beta test, visit www.wowlegion.com. For screenshots, videos, and other media, visit the Blizzard Entertainment press site at http://blizzard.gamespress.com/world-of-warcraft.

JOIN THE EXPEDITION! THE LEAGUE OF EXPLORERS™ COMING TO HEARTHSTONE® NOVEMBER 13

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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November 7, 2015

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JOIN THE EXPEDITION! THE LEAGUE OF EXPLORERS^™ COMING TO HEARTHSTONE^® NOVEMBER 13

Mystery and wonder await in new Adventure, featuring 45 all-new cards

SYDNEY, Australia—November 7, 2015—Grab your hat and torch; it’s time to go exploring! Today at BlizzCon®, Blizzard Entertainment revealed The League of Explorers™—a brand-new Adventure that sends brave duellists far and wide on harrowing expeditions to recover a mysterious lost relic. The newest addition to Hearthstone’s Adventure Mode, The League of Explorers will pit adventurers against dastardly villains in fierce encounters that will require unique strategies to conquer. And yes, there might be serpents.

“League of Explorers is a fun mix of memorable locations from Warcraft and exciting new locations to battle through,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Players who join the expedition are in for a good time and will walk away with some great new cards for their collections.”

The League of Explorers introduces four intrepid adventurers—Elise Starseeker, Reno Jackson, Sir Finley Mrrgglton, and Brann Bronzebeard—and invites players to join their journey through a series of exotic destinations, some familiar and some new, to recover an artifact of immense power. These brave explorers will face many perils as they navigate through the Temple of Orsis, Uldaman, the Ruined City, and the Hall of Explorers in hopes of discovering lost artifacts that will lead them closer to the relic. Escaping giant boulders and emerging from all of the locations in one piece will reward adventurers with a combined total of 45 treasured new cards, bringing a slew of new tactics to the game.

Available for exploration starting November 13 on Windows® and Mac® PCs; Windows, iOS, and Android^™ tablets; and iOS and Android mobile phones, the four League of Explorers locations will open on a weekly basis (one per week) over the course of a month, with a one-week break in the middle during the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. The League of Explorers can be purchased in full for $24.99 AUD, one location at a time for 700 gold or $8.99 AUD each, or in discounted bundles based on the number of individual locations already purchased.

Prepare for the perilous journey ahead and learn more about Hearthstone at www.playhearthstone.com.

OVERWATCH™ READY FOR ACTION AUTUMN 2016 — PRE-PURCHASE NOW FOR CONSOLE AND PC!

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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November 7, 2015

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OVERWATCH™ READY FOR ACTION AUTUMN 2016 — PRE-PURCHASE NOW FOR CONSOLE AND PC!

Blizzard Entertainment’s futuristic team-based shooter coming to PC, PS4^™, and Xbox One

Pre-purchase now at www.buyoverwatch.com and receive the Noire Widowmaker skin

SYDNEY, Australia—November 7, 2015—The world needs heroes . . . and Overwatch™ is recruiting starting today! Blizzard Entertainment’s team-based first-person shooter is coming to Windows^® PC, the PlayStation^®4 computer entertainment system, and Xbox One in autumn 2016^†. Players around the world can prepare for battle by pre-purchasing Overwatch for all three platforms at www.buyoverwatch.com. As a bonus, players who pre-purchase will receive the special Noire skin for Widowmaker, Overwatch’s ice-cold assassin, at launch.

Overwatch is a 6v6 shooter that takes place on Earth in the near future, where teams of soldiers, scientists, adventurers, and oddities clash for control of iconic locations around the world. The game features a diverse cast of 21 heroes—each with their own unique arsenal of weapons and abilities—who bend time and defy physics as they work together to complete objectives with their allies. Teamwork is critical as players swap heroes on the fly and combine their powers to game-changing effect—the action is intense, with a focus on immediacy and fun.

“We’re building Overwatch to be the first-person shooter we’ve always wanted to play, with a vibrant world, awesome heroes, and an emphasis on tightly focused cooperative gameplay,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re excited to welcome console and PC gamers to the fight for the future, and we can’t wait to see all the incredible things teams are able to accomplish on the battlefield this upcoming spring.”

At BlizzCon^® today, Blizzard Entertainment also unveiled an all-new map—Hollywood, which takes players on a dazzling and dangerous movie studio tour—along with the final three heroes in Overwatch’s 21-character roster. Genji, a cybernetic ninja, is an expert assassin capable of extraordinary feats of agility, including reflecting enemy attacks with his blade. D.Va is a former pro-gaming superstar who pilots an experimental military mech in defense of her home country. Mei travels the globe applying her scientific expertise to protect the natural world; in battle, her arsenal of climate-manipulating technology has the power to put the opposition on ice. To learn more about these and other Overwatch heroes and maps, visit www.playoverwatch.com.

Pre-purchase Details

Windows PC, PS4^™ system, and Xbox One gamers will be able to join the battle by purchasing Overwatch: Origins Edition (RRP: 89.95 AUD / 104.99 NZD on Windows PC; 99.95 AUD / 114.99 NZD on PS4^™ system/Xbox One)—players can visit www.buyoverwatch.com to pre-purchase today. Overwatch: Origins Edition comes with hero skins for five characters based on their storied pasts—Blackwatch Reyes (Reaper), Strike-Commander Morrison (Soldier: 76), Overgrown Bastion, Security Chief Pharah, and Slipstream Tracer—as well as a cache of Overwatch-themed content for several Blizzard Entertainment games^††, including a Baby Winston pet for World of Warcraft^® and Tracer hero for Heroes of the Storm^™.

Overwatch will also be available as a retail exclusive Collector’s Edition (RRP 189.95 AUD / 214.99 NZD on Windows PC, RRP 199.95 AUD / 229.99 NZD, PS4^™ system/Xbox One), which contains all of the content listed above along with a full-colour art book, the Overwatch soundtrack, and a high-quality collectible statue of Soldier: 76—the vigilante alter ego of former Overwatch commander Jack Morrison. Quantities are limited; players should check with their local retailer for pre-purchase details and availability.

Windows PC gamers also have the option to download a digital PC edition (69.95 AUD, digital only), which includes all 21 heroes and provides players with the core Overwatch experience. Players who pre-purchase this or any other edition of Overwatch will also receive the bonus Noire skin for Widowmaker upon the game’s launch.

In addition to the English version, Overwatch will be available localised into Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, European Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and traditional and simplified Chinese. Overwatch has not yet been rated by the Australian Classification Board.

For more information about Overwatch or to sign up for the beta test now in progress, visit www.playoverwatch.com. For screenshots, videos, and other media, visit the Blizzard Entertainment press site at http://blizzard.gamespress.com/overwatch.

Xbox Newsbeat: November 6, 2015

Jamie Laike Tsui

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November 7, 2015

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There’s a really high chance you are busy playing Call of Duty: Black Ops III right now. If you manage to peel yourself away from the latest Call of Duty game, check out this week’s Xbox news with Microsoft’s Xbox Newsbeat.

A Closer Look at Xbox One Backward Compatibility with Major Nelson and Smosh Games’ FLitz

Major Nelson and FLitz from Smosh Games’ FLitz sit down to talk about Xbox One Backward Compatibility in a new video. The video covers all the frequently asked questions about the upcoming feature. Xbox One Backward Compatibility is arriving with the New Xbox One Experience launching on November 12.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Frontwoman Karen O Writes and Records “I Shall Rise” for Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider’s soundtrack will have a very big name attached to it. Indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ front woman Karen O has written and performed the song “I Shall Rise” for the game. The band is best known for songs like “Heads will Roll”and “Maps.” The song can be heard on the game’s launch trailer.

“They wanted an emotional song that captures the intensity of the moment Lara Croft transforms into the Tomb Raider, the theme of a young woman becoming an icon,” said Karen O. “I was very intrigued by the challenge, and I guess I was amidst a significant transformation of my own being pregnant at the time I wrote it. Now that I have a brought a life into the world, I have no trouble relating to a character like Lara’s – who pushes past her own limits to prevail under extreme circumstances. I love me some melodrama!”

The song is available for download and streaming on digital outlets iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon.

Here’s a Closer Look at the New Xbox One Experience’s Game Hubs

Seems like Major Nelson has been very busy with the Microsoft film crews. He has released another video, this time with Partner Group Program Manager for Xbox One, Richard Irving, about the upcoming New Xbox One Experience’s Game Hubs. These hubs connects players to the latest news, online friends, and social features of their favourite titles.

Fallout 4 Owners Get Fallout 3 via Xbox One Backward Compatibility Next Week

Fallout 4 owners on Xbox One will have a great bonus waiting for them when the New Xbox One Experience launches next week. Players will get a free digital copy of Fallout 3, considered to be among the best RPGs ever made. If you can’t wait for the release of the New Xbox One Experience, Fallout 3 will be immediately playable on your Xbox 360. All editions of Fallout 4 is eligible for this offer, but it is a limited time offer.

Forza Motorsport 6 Gets Pair of Halo 5: Guardians Inspired Mustangs, eBay Motors Car Pack and Two Special Edition Fallout 4 Cars

Microsoft is celebrating the launch of two of the biggest releases this year with a variety of new cars for Forza Motorsport 6. All gamers will be able to snag themselves a Halo 5: Guardians inspired Spartan Locke 2015 Mustang GT and a Fallout 4 inspired 1956 Ford F100, while Forza Motorsport 6 VIPs will also snag a Master Chief 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R and a Fallout 4 F100. Owners of Fallout 4 will also get a Chryslus Rocket 69 coupe.

Additionally, a new car pack has launched. The eBay Motors Car Pack launched on November 3rd and contains the McLaren MP4/4, the #31 Lancia, the #35 MC Trofeo, the Holden Torana A9X, the Plymouth Prowler, and the Datsun 2000 Roadster. The pack and cars are available separately or as part of the Forza Motorsport 6 Car Pass.

Halo 5: Guardians Smashes Record with Biggest Halo Launch in History

Microsoft has racked in a couple of records with the launch of Halo 5: Guardians. The game broke an internal record for the fastest selling Xbox One exclusive, bringing in over $400 million in a week. The game is now the most played Xbox One game and Xbox Live game at 21 million hours of gameplay. Halo 5: Guardians also raked in a Guiness World Record title for the Halo 5: Live event for most watched video game launch broadcast. More 330,000 people tuned into the live stream and 5.5 million viewers in total watched videos from the broadcast.

Monster Musume Four Panel Anthology Manga Licensed by Seven Seas

Travis Bruno

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November 7, 2015

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If you’ve been paying attention to the sales charts it should come as no surprise when I say that Okayado’s Monster Musume manga has been a major hit both in Japan, where it has been given an anime adaptation, and North America.

As such it only made sense that with a number of four-panel comic strips created by other manga authors as tribute to Monster Musume being compiled into a two volume collection that Seven Seas would pick up the license and thankfully they announced earlier today that they have done so.

They plan on releasing these two volumes under the name Monster Musume: I ♥ Monster Girls and each volume will include three bonus monster girl postcards, likely one for each of the main girls in the series. The first volume will be released on May 17, 2016 for $13.99 while the second volume is scheduled for July 12, 2016.

Yakuza 5 Combat and Dance Off Screenshots Released

Travis Bruno

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November 7, 2015

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Sega has shown of what the main characters of Yakuza 5 can do when they feel like having some old fashioned fun and now the company is focusing on showing off the crew when they are serious. This of course means that, for at least four of the characters, brutally beating down their opponents in the streets using their unique fighting styles.

As for Haruka, she participates in Dance Battles that are designed like a rhythm game where she dances better depending on player accuracy. You can check out a number of these screenshots below and be sure to keep an eye out for Yakuza 5 when it is released in the West sometime this year.