Back in February Viz Media announced that they had acquired the license to release the sci-fi superhero action manga Ultraman in North America sometime later in the year. Well now that time has come as next week on August 18th the first volume of Ultraman will be available for purchase in print and digitally.
Ultraman Volume 1 is being rated ‘T’ for Teens and since it is being printed under Viz’s Signature imprint, the price will be $12.99 and from now on future volumes will be published quarterly since the original manga is still being printed in Japan for the Hero’s magazine.
For those who have somehow missed what Ultraman is despite being an extremely long running symbol in Japan, the story deals with humanity once again having to bring forth a new kind of hero to face off against the dangers that are approaching.
Decades ago, a being known as the Giant of Light joined together with Shin Hayata of the Science Special Search Party to save Earth from an invasion of terrifying monsters called Kaiju. Now, many years later, those dark days are fading into memory, and the world is at peace. But in the shadows a new threat is growing, a danger that can only be faced by a new kind of hero – a new kind of Ultraman… Shinjiro is an ordinary teenager, but his father is the legendary Shin Hayata. When he learns that his father passed on the “Ultraman Factor” to him and that he possesses incredible powers, nothing will ever be the same again.
Telltale Games has announced that fans can expect to see the fourth episode of Tales from the Borderlands, called Tales from the Borderlands: Escape Plan Bravo, to be released next week on August 18th for the PC and PlayStation consoles with the Xbox and mobile platforms getting it a few days later in the week.
To go along with this announcement for Tales from the Borderlands: Escape Plan Bravo, Telltale has released a handful of new screenshots to give fans a glimpse at what they can expect in the next episode, including a giant Butt Stallion statue, as Rhys and Fiona find themselves in an extremely dangerous situation as they are forced to head up to Helios.
Super Mario Maker for Wii U is just under one month away from launch and so developer Nintendo have released an awesome and informative let’s watch video detailing pretty much everything you would want to know about the game. You can watch the full video for yourself below but some of the more noteworthy points are listed to below.
– Shake some objects to change their properties.
– Combine objects such as the Super Mushroom and a Goomba to create new objects.
– Users will unlock objects over time as to not be overwhelmed. It will take 9 days total to unlock every object in the tool palette.
– You can add sound effects to the game once you progress enough. Some sound effects have accompanied visuals like the fireworks.
– If you shake a music note block it will become a musical block. You can place these at specific heights and they will play different notes allowing you to create songs with the right placements.
– Switch between the 4 main game themes (Original Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros.) whenever you like.
– Six world themes to choose from including above ground, under ground, water, castle and 2 unnamed ones.
– Levels must be beaten by you first before you can upload them.
– Levels can be downloaded from users online. You can follow a certain user to see when they upload new levels. You can edit downloaded levels.
– There are 100 and 10 Mario challenges. These pit you against a random selection of online levels with a certain amount of lives.
– Nearly every Amiibo will work with the game (when in the original game theme) allowing you to collect a costume Mushroom which will change Mario’s sprite into that of the Amiibo character you tied to that mushroom, complete with new art and sound effects!
Super Mario Maker is a celebration for the 30th anniversary of Mario and looks to be a very interesting title that could potentially provide infinite fun if you love the little Italian plumber. A number of bundles have been announced for the game released.
The Pokemon Trading Card Games newest expansion, Ancient Origins, is out now for fans to purchase from selected retailers. This latest set contains 100 new cards to collect and is the 65th set to be released. To celebrate, Nintendo have released a tie in Shiny Rayquaza event for the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Pokemon video games which is available now in most countries.
Ancient Origins contains new Special Energy cards, Ancient Traits, more Pokémon-EX, and special Shiny Pokémon! The cards will come in booster packs featuring 4 sets of art and two 60 card theme decks—Stone Heart and Iron Tide. New Ancient Traits arriving in XY—Ancient Origins include Θ Stop, Θ Max, and Θ Double.
This set also marks the first time Hoopa will be turned into a Pokemon card as Hoopa-EX. This Pokémon is a must-have for decks loaded with Pokémon-EX—with its Scoundrel Ring Ability, you can search your deck for three other Pokémon-EX when Hoopa-EX comes into play. Mega Rayquaza-EX, Primal Groudon-EX, and Primal Kyogre-EX return in Ancient Origins as Shiny Legendary Pokémon with brand-new Ancient Traits and new artwork.
Key Features of the Pokémon TCG: XY—Ancient Origins expansion include:
– 11 New Pokémon-EX, Including 3 New Mega Evolution Pokémon, and 14 New Full-Art Pokémon-EX Cards—Including Mega Tyranitar-EX, Mega Ampharos-EX, and Mega Sceptile-EX, plus full-art Shiny versions of Primal Kyogre-EX, Primal Groudon-EX, and Mega Rayquaza-EX!
– Half Art Cards— Many Pokémon with Ancient Traits have half art cards, where the art extends into and behind the text box.
– 14 Trainer Cards— Many brand-new Trainer cards, a full-art Trainer card, and two new Special Energy cards add new depth and tactics to the Pokémon TCG.
–Booster Packs—Packs of 10 additional cards selected from the expansion.
–Two New Theme Decks—These 60-card preconstructed decks are designed to introduce players to the Pokémon TCG by enabling them to play right away.
As with all the latest releases in the card game, XY—Ancient Origins theme decks and booster packs include an in-pack code card that unlocks virtual cards from the XY—Ancient Origins expansion for play in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online at www.pokemon.co.uk/tcgo . This online version of the Pokémon TCG is also now available on iPad via the Apple App Store. The rules are the same for both the paper and online versions. Since the debut of the Pokémon TCG in 1996, more than 21.5 billion cards have been shipped to 74 countries around the world.
Activision and Treyarch have finalized their plans for the beta test of Call of Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer. Those who pre-order the game now will be able to get into the August beta.
The beta will consist of three maps. Hunted is a long distance map set in Ethiopia, Combine is a vertical map set in a farming and research facility in the Egyptian Sahara, and Evac is a map set on an overgrown rooftop. The maps will support of the most popular Call of Dutygame modes, like Team Deathmach and Search & Destroy. A variety of specialists, geared for several different playstyles, will be available for testing during the beta. The full list of available content during the beta can be found at the Treyarch community blog post.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III launches on November 6, 2015 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
Pillars of Eternity, the old school RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive, is receiving an expansion by the name of The White March Part 1 (which I had a gander at here). I got the opportunity to sit down with Justin Britch, one of the game’s producers, to chat about how the studio took the response to their game and what new features players can expect to find in the expansion.
So firstly, how has the reaction been to the release of Pillars of Eternity and how has that affected you guys at the studio? How has that affected development of the expansion?
The reception to the game was really high. We were… I don’t want to say “surprised” but you always hope for the best but kind of expect the worst and the reception was really really good for the first game and we were ecstatic about it. We just wanted to make a game that fans of the genre liked and we seemed to deliver on that for most people.
So the expansion for us is us really taking all the feedback from what players liked about the original game and adding in more content that the fans enjoyed.
That’s good to hear! So what is something that you got good feedback on and that you’ve expanded upon in the expansion?
Well something that players really enjoyed in the original game was our scripted interactions. We’ve made a huge effort to include more of those with more reactivity in the expansion. So now, scripted interactions will react to what classes you have going in to them and you cast spells (if you’re a spellcaster)… or they’ll react to what race you are and whether you’re a heavy or a light race.
‘Heavy’ or ‘light’ race?
Well so, we have ‘Aumaua’ which are these largely than human-
Oh! You mean physically!
Yes! So we have a variety of different races, all with different sizes and if you have a very large character trying to do some very nimble task then it is going to be more difficult for them. That’s the kind of reactivity we wanted to showcase in our scripted interactions. We really liked making them and hopefully players will like them as much this time around.
So can you tell us a bit about the White March?
So the White March is a new area to the North East of where the players are located in the main game. It’s a snowy region in the mountains. We took a lot of inspiration from Icewind Dale. We wanted to showcase beautiful exterior snowy environments that Icewind Dale and Icewind Dale 2 had and that was actually one of the first games that Josh Sawyer, our project director, worked on in the video game industry.
So this expansion is really our ode to those titles and also to provide us with new areas and quests for the players to go through. Obviously players got a lot of hours out of the base game and seemed to enjoy what was there so we’re just adding more of it.
Well that’s certainly good to hear. What has been the crowning glory for you guys in the game? What aspect of your game are you most proud of?
That’s a tough one. I don’t even know where to begin and everyone on the team has their own personal favourite.
What’s your personal favourite?
I love the combat. It’s so deep and rich with so many ways to play. Since the game has come out, I’ve made at least 16 new starts in the game. I go through and I’m like “I want to try an all-ranger party” and create the ‘Homeward Bound’ party where you have six different pets and they’re all doing different things.
Another one is that I created a group of all-chanter types and summon skeletons everywhere or I want to create lots of rogues and have a super sneaky party.
I think there was a story going around about an ‘all-bear’ party created by someone…
Yup! We passed that one around in the studio. We love seeing all the ways in which players interacted with the game and that’s a huge treat for us.
That’s good to hear! Thank you very much for your time, Justin.
The White March Part 1 will be released August 25th of this year.
So among the din of E3 I found myself over at the Bethesda booth to see what I could about Battlecry studio’s Battlecry, which got a bit drowned out in the big announcements of Fallout 4 and Dishonoured 2. I was able to get some time with Lucas Davis, design director, to talk about the game in general and what players can expect from the game when the Beta finally launches here.
Can you tell us about what the concept behind Battlecry was?
So with Battlecry we wanted to go out and make a really fast, frenetic, accessible game that’s all about taking the brawler gameplay that maybe you’ve seen a little bit more in singleplayer games and bringing it into a multiplayer arena.
So we wanted 3rd-person action, highly animation-driven, really about jumping in and getting into battle. Really cool moves with melee, with a lot of really interesting weapons like transforming swords, and bows, and gadgets that a lot of games haven’t really presented before in an Industrial punk setting. It lets us bring out a lot of new technology onto the battlefield. So it’s a little-bit sci-fi with a bit of history to it as it’s got influence from the dawn of the twentieth century.
And finally, for us, we just wanted to make a game which brought all that together in a game. So you’d have these warzones where you could jump into, do these really cool over-the-top abilities with amazing animations and just really enjoy that kind of brawler combat across melee and range.
Cool, there’s definitely not enough steampunk games in my opinion. The game is slated to have three factions for players to choose from and you’ve showcased two factions at E3 so far; the Han Republic and the Imperial Marines. Can you tell us a bit about the third faction?
Of course! They’re the Cossack Empire and they’re strongly influenced by… well, the Cossack people and Eastern Europe. They’re an interesting mix of Russia and other countries and they have the absolute fearlessness and ferocity which those people have. They’ve got a long history of being mercenaries and fighting either with or against everyone across the European theatre. They bring an interesting mythology to the world and they’re still there being mercenaries, in the warzones and attacking with that utter ferocity… they’re always attacking.
Horosho! So after playing the game a bit myself, the game appears to award victory to the team that works together the best. Have you put anything in place in the game to help facilitate player teamwork?
Well, alot of our classes really fit together very well in a team strategy. So the enforcer transforms into a shield and can actually block for their teammates. Rangers can get behind them and fire through their shield at enemies.
Rangers also have hunter vision which they can turn on and spot enemies through walls so they can be calling out where the enemy team is at and where they’re going.
The brawler has a flying punch and it really kinda lets them leap to single targets like that enemy ranger who’s harassing you in the distance and can then take them out. It’s a really good way to get around the map and close in on areas.
The infiltrator is all about getting behind enemy lines and attacking from behind so they’re really good at picking them off one-by-one or disrupting gadgeteers and rangers who stay back away from the main line.
Awesome. In terms of player customization, what options are there for players in terms of both gameplay and cosmetic choices?
So we have a few different types of customization. We have our progression system which, as you’re playing the game and earning experience, you unlock ten ranks which are permanent career ranks that you own. As you upgrade, you’re going to get access to slots that you can slot in skills and completely change how your warrior fights.
These are parts of your loadout and you can have several different loadouts, so you can have an enforcer who’s really defensive or one who plays well on the offense… or an infiltrator who’s all about speed or one which is all about damage. It really changes up a lot of your abilities.
One example is that as a gadgeteer, I’ve got an ‘aeroscope’ that I can throw into the air and reveal the enemy locations. Through upgrading it with skills however, I can change it so instead of showing me the enemy, it instead feeds the enemy bad information and puts my dots on the enemy radar or completely confuse their ‘aeroscope’ that they have up in the air. So a lot of differences just there.
Another example with the gadgeteer is that they have a secret mine that they can throw which by default explodes but you can turn it into one that goes around as a roving turret that will actually zap and attack enemies. So it will really change up your abilities and how they play.
Additionally you’ll also have a lot of different skill options so an enforcer has a savage lunge that they can burst out and attack people with. One of the skills available is that if you actually land that attack, your next cooldown is greatly reduced but if you miss then you miss out on the bonus. So it’s with this that we encourage skill play that rewards you while still being balanced across the game.
Our matchmaking will match you with people of similar ranks but even as we playtest the game in the studio, we’ll have a rank 1 go against a rank 10 and yes a rank 10 does have a true advantage but skill is still enough to overcome that.
That sounds great. My question would then be about whether you have anything else in place to help keep the game balanced?
Absolutely! So we actually have an amazing business intelligence team that does a lot of telemetry for the game so we get tons of stats and tons of heat maps and we’ve got a whole portal we can go to as developers and see what abilities were used and where they were used, how much damage, which classes were dominating and where they were dominating. It really tells us a big story about how modes are performing and how the characters are performing and so every week we take that data and make small tweaks and changes to it.
It’s one of those things which is always a challenge as we’ve got players which have been playing the game for a year and a half or two years now, so we’ve got a lot of really skilled players coming in and we’ve got to balance that data with a playtest with all new players who just experiencing the game for the first time. Trying to make sure everyone feels balanced even as they’re learning the game.
Coolio. Now a question about monetization; how is Battlecry going to be earning its crust?
So primarily we’ll be earning it through vanity. We have these really well designed characters with really interesting armour pieces with a lot of uniform changes that players can make alongside all new weapons, new animations, new transformations, taunts and kill cards. A lot of elements in the game which you can really make to look and belong to you.
For us, we’ve just put a lot of real effort into making them look awesome and animate great. They’re just exceptionally high quality so for players, we know they’re gonna see those and be like: “Yup, that’s how I want to look”. So for us, with the progression side it’s all something that you earn with xp so you can customise your character to play how you want to play but then you’re gonna want to make them look how you want them to look. That’s the dual combination that we’re going to be playing off of.
That sounds awesome! I look forward to playing more of your game when the beta comes down under. Thank you for your time.
The Battlecry beta comes out in Australia and New Zealand on the 15th of August of this year. If you wish to sign up for it yourself, you can do so here.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe announce publishing agreement with The Farm 51 on GET EVEN
BANDAI NAMCO will publish Get Even from The Farm51 onXbox One, PlayStation®4 and PC
Leading video game publisher and developer BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe today announced a publishing agreement with The Farm 51 on Get Even, coming to Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PC in 2016.
Get Even is the psychological thriller movie genre made video game, blurring lines and blending the frantic tension of the FPS genre with the oppressive intimacy of a complex personal investigation. Eschewing the usual clichés and gung-ho scenarios currently inhabiting the FPS genre, Get Even packs an alternative, mature and intriguing story combined with strong shooter elements.
“We are very proud to be collaborating with The Farm 51 on this promising title” said Herve Hoerdt, Vice President of IP Strategy, Digital, Marketing & PR at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe. ”Get Even will definitely be one of BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment’s key titles in the upcoming year; with its movie-like approach and its mature and intimate story, all players should keep an eye on this game!”
“We’re pleased to be working with BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment to publish Get Even globally. We are convinced that they are deeply committed to help us make this game a unique experience. Not only will BANDAI NAMCO publish Get Even, but they are also helping us on a production level and fully support our vision of the game. We believe Get Even is an innovative landmark in the FPS genre and expertise provided by BANDAI NAMCO will be a very important factor in helping us realize its potential – said Wojciech Pazdur, Development Director at The Farm 51.
DISGAEA 5: ALLIANCE OF VENGEANCE SERAPHINA AND KILLIA TRAILERS AND LAUNCH EDITION CONFIRMED
NIS America is happy to officially announce that the next entry in the long-lived Disgaea series, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance has two new trailers available to view on YouTube.
NIS America is super excited to share the news that a Launch Day Edition will be available for the upcoming strategy RPG, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance. This special Launch Edition will be available at Australian and New Zealand retailers and will include the full game, reversible cover, 32-page art book, and original soundtrack – all packed neatly into a gorgeous collectible box! The game will be available in Europe on October 16 exclusively on PlayStation®4!
About the game:
The sixth home console entry to the legendary Disgaea series tells a tale of revenge, and of rebellion. As a new and terrible Overlord named Void Dark seeks to enslave the countless Netherworlds, one young demon has stood to end his reign—Killia. In Disgaea 5, lead Killia and his tenacious army of rebels on their dark and dangerous path to vengeance. Filled with more over-the-top action and hilarious writing than ever before, Disgaea 5’s damage numbers are surely headed for the record books.
Features:
Alliance Attacks: New to the Disgaea series, your relationship with your teammates influences a new battle system called Alliance Attack. These special moves are only available to main characters and only when their relationships are appropriately aligned.
Recruitment: A familiar feature for Disgaea faithful, this system lets you choose from over 40 races and jobs, and identify new party members with the exact traits you desire.
Revenge Mode: A game about vengeance wouldn’t be complete without a character stat boosting system based on revenge, would it? The Revenge Mode empowers your characters with bonus stats when they’ve become fed up of their allies being beat on.
Explore the Netherworlds: While previous games in the series have shown a glimpse of the darkness that is the Netherworlds, Disgaea 5 takes you to a myriad of those dark lands.
Definitely over 9,000: In true Disgaea fashion, Disgaea 5 harnesses the power of the PlayStation®4 to deliver battles with a ridiculous number of enemies and outrageous damage.
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is releasing on PlayStation 4 on the 16th of October 2015
Alienware joins forces with Zero Latency to bring virtual reality to life
Alienware partners with Zero Latency to bring virtual reality experience to life
Zero Latency launches in Melbourne providing fully immersive virtual reality gaming experiences
Alienware Alpha custom technology powers Zero Latency gameplay experience
SYDNEY, Australia, August 13, 2015 – Alienware, the leader in high-powered gaming systems, has partnered with Zero Latency, pioneers in free roam virtual reality, to help bring Zero Latency’s fully immersive virtual reality game to life. Utilising the Alienware Alpha system, players will be able to engage in multiplayer virtual reality gaming in 400 square metres of space, while using Zero Latency’s state of the art wireless technology and motion tracking.
“We tried building our own backpack computers in the past but they didn’t give us the compact power and performance the Alienware Alpha platform delivers. Alienware is the final piece in the platform we have developed and now we’re ready to showcase our brand new gaming platform to the world,” said Tim Ruse, director, Zero Latency VR.
Zero Latency is the only multiplayer full freedom wireless virtual reality experience and uses the latest advances in virtual reality to provide players with an unrivalled level of immersion. Players will use custom built gun controllers along with a backpack that houses the lightweight Alienware Alpha – all connected to a VR Headset.
“When we were approached by Zero Latency in February 2015, we knew it would be a perfect fit. We always aim to push the boundaries and provide gamers with the best experience possible and partnering with Zero Latency gives them the opportunity to experience the next era of gaming,” said Jeff Morris, general manager end user computing Dell Australia and New Zealand.
Featuring Co-op gameplay, players will be tasked with dragging the world back from the brink of destruction as they pit themselves against hordes of the undead or rebel raiders, racing to restore order.
Zero Latency will officially open on Saturday, 15th, August at 22-32 Steel Street, North Melbourne. Tickets start at $88 and can be purchased in advance on the Zero Latency website: www.zerolatencyvr.com
About Dell:
Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. For more information, visit www.dell.com.
Back in February Viz Media announced that they had acquired the license to release the sci-fi superhero action manga Ultraman in North America sometime later in the year. Well now that time has come as next week on August 18th the first volume of Ultraman will be available for purchase in print and digitally.
