While the digital edition of Gearbox Software‘s Homeworld Remastered Collection has been available since February, Ubisoft is bringing the game to retail stores across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa on May 7, 2015 for Windows PC.
Homeworld Remastered Collection is a high-definition remake of 1999’s Homeworld and 2003’s Homeworld 2 sci-fi real-time strategy games from developer Relic Entertainment. These games were rebuilt from the ground up by Gearbox Software and presented with high-resolution textures and models, new graphical effects, and all in ultra-HD and 4K. The collection also includes the original Homeworld and Homeworld 2 as well as access to the Homeworld Remastered Steam Multiplayer Beta.
This retail edition also includes a flurry of bonus items, including the digital soundtracks from both titles and a digital art book. No word on if this retail edition will reach other territories.
Sentai Filmworks has just announced their acquisition of the home video distribution rights to the film Vampire Hunter D, the first film adapted from the long-running light novel series by Hideyuki Kikuchi.
The film was directed by Toyoo Ashida, known for his work in many series such as Fist of the North Star. The screenplay was written by Yasushi Hirano. The character designs were created by Yoshitaka Amano, known for creating concept art for the Final Fantasy series. The soundtrack was composed by pop-artist Tetsuya Komuro. Animation production was handled by Ashi Productions.
The film will be available on home video soon. It has not been confirmed if it will receive a Blu-ray release or not.
Razer announced that the Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma Mechanical Keyboard is now available for purchase. Although the name is quite long, the keyboard itself isn’t. The keyboard is designed for travelling to tournaments and LAN parties, which means the number pad and the macro keys on the sides of the keyboard have been axed.
The keyboard retains many of the features from its larger brother, the Razer BlackWidow Chroma, such as Razer’s custom mechanical switches, the RGB LEDs capable of display of 16.8 million different colours, and extreme levels of customization with the Razer Synapse software. The custom switches are designed for gamers, requiring only a light touch and a short travel distance to actuate the keys. Each switch is designed to handle up to 60 million key presses before dying.
Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma Mechanical Keyboard is available now in US and Canada online at the Razer Store and exclusively in store at Best Buy for $139.99 USD or $159.99 CAD.
Andrew is away from the keyboard this week, so this week’s Xbox Newsbeat comes from the endless winter known as Canadia true north strong and free. This week brings news about Halo: Spartan Strike, Screencheat, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
“Halo: Spartan Strike” Launches Today on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, iPhone, iPad and Steam
Halo: Spartan Strike launched on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, iPhone, iPad, and Steam today. The game is set at the same time as Halo 2. One of the Spartan supersoldiers is on a mission in New Mombasa, where he will lead UNSC troops into battle. The game is a twin stick shooter that costs $5.99 AUD and features 30 levels. Achievements in the game will unlock emblems, nameplates, and avatars in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Windows 8 devices have access to special weekly challenges and leaderboards.
ID@Xbox Spotlight: Screencheat Turns Cheaters into Champions
Relive the glory days of first person split screen shooters and the constant accusation of cheating by peeking at your buddies screen. In Screencheat, all players are invisible. The only way to figure out where the enemy are is to look at their screen and figure out their location. The maps are colourful and full of unique landmarks that will help players narrow down where their enemies are.
The game is coming to Xbox One later this year, so invite some friends over, bring a few extra Xbox One controllers, and prepare to cheat.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare “Ascendance” DLC Launches on Xbox One
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare “Ascendance” is a timed exclusive for Xbox One. The pack brings four new maps for multiplayer, a new zombies map set in Burgertown, and the new OHM Directed Energy Hybrid weapon that switches between SMG and shotgun modes depending on the situation.
The four new multiplayer maps are:
Perplex is a five-story apartment complex in beautiful Sydney. Construction drones systematically move the modules, creating a changing environment. Tight corridors and lots of windows facilitate a variety of strategies.
Site 244 is a map set at Mount Rushmore, wherein an alien ship has crash landed at the base of the Presidential monument. Getting a scorestreak grants you some alien spore perks and exo boosts.
Climate – a circular bio-dome – offers a lush, perfect environment for wanton destruction. The central island is great for king of the hill situations, and the changing rivers around the map add dangerous obstacles and challenges.
Chop Shop is a particularly cool map in terms of aesthetic and mythos. This black market exoskeleton lab and warehouse is a mazelike corridor setup. Watch out for the turret that appears when someone activates the map’s scorestreak!
Andrew will be back next week with more Xbox news, so stay tuned.
Cyanide Studio and Focus Home Interactive released a brand new gameplay video of Blood Bowl 2. The do-good Human teams were the stars of the last video, Cyanide decided to get a little evil with today’s video.
The Chaos teams are manned by a variety of mutated beast men and focus on their brute strength to literally flatten the enemy while they charge to victory. Their raw power is not what makes the Chaos teams unique. The fact they have access to all 75 skills in the game and are the only ones able to mutate, trading in unwanted stats like agility and dodge for more strength, because after all, who needs agility when you plan on steamrolling the opposition into the dirt.
Blood Bowl 2 has no official release date yet, but will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
“We worked so damn hard over the past three years to bring you this game,” said Adam Badowski, Head of Studio, CD PROJEKT RED. “From the corrupt nobles in Novigrad to ancient monsters lurking in deep forests, to the bustling cities, colorful ports and breathtaking vistas; all the people, all the places — we literally spent tens of thousands of hours to turn all that into an adventure that will kick your ass and make you want to come for more,” adds Badowski. “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has gone GOLD and will soon be yours!” he concludes.
As in the previous game, you play as Geralt of Rivia, the wandering witcher and bounty hunter. Unlike its predecessors, The Witcher 3 is set in an open-world and is said to clock in at 200+ hours of gameplay (once you factor in all the side missions).
So, after an understandable delay, The Witcher 3 is finally complete and we are now certain to see it on May 19, 2015.
In case you have not played the first two titles, check out buy.thewitcher.com on where you can play more from The Witcher series as well as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Or, you can watch CD PROJEKT RED’s recap video below:
Hopefully this is the final time I am writing a release date article for Project CARS. Slightly Mad Studios has said that May 6th is the final, finito, done and dusted, confirmed release date for Project CARS. The release date varies slightly depending on your gaming platform of choice and region though. The full list of release dates is below.
UK – PS4, Xbox One, PC Steam – May 8th
Rest of Europe – PS4, Xbox One, PC Steam – May 7th
U.S. – PC Steam – May 6th, PS4 & Xbox One – May 12th
Australia – No official word. Our best guess is May 7th or 8th for all platforms which is a Thursday and Friday respectably, typical game launch days.
Specs have been released for how the game will perform and look on consoles and what system requirements are recommended for PC. The Xbox One version will run at the now common 900p setting while the PS4 will see full HD with 1080p. Both console are said to run at a silky smooth 60fps. All platforms will allow players to race against up to 45 AI opponents or 15 opponents online. PC the specs are below.
Minimum specifications: 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 or 3GHz AMD Phenom II X4 940, 4GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 260/ATI Radeon HD 5770, 25GB hard disk space
Recommended specifications: 3.5GHz Intel Core i7 3700 or 4GHz AMD FX-8350, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 600-series/AMD Radeon HD7000-series, 25GB hard disk space
A Wii U version is still reportedly in the works but no specific release information has been detailed. A new trailer has also been released that you can embedded at the end of this article. Project CARS promises to be one of the most refined racing experiences we have ever seen and it damn well better be after multiple delays as the game became closer to launch.
The Force is strong today, for Disney/LucasFilm has shared the second teaser for the upcoming JJ Abrams-helmed Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Here it is, in all its glory:
This new teaser was shown live today at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California. For those of us who cannot make it, you can watch the livestream of the convention here until the show ends on Sunday, April 19.
Unlike the first teaser, this new one shares new looks at John Boyega and Daisy Ridley — who play new characters in the Star Wars universe, Finn and Rey — as well as voice-over with Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker and a closing moment with two favorite smugglers.
As a fan of the Saga, I close this post with the same words that close this teaser: We’re home.
Square Enix has just announced their latest title. No, not Star Ocean 5. This new one is a free-to-play mobile game for iOS and Android, Masters of the Masks.
What is Masters of the Masks, you ask? It is a fantasy RPG with a hand-drawn art style and pick-up-and-play turn-based combat. Here are some features that Square Enix lists in the press release:
Drag and Drop Turn-Based RPG Battles: The game features a new interface that utilizes the native landscape of mobile devices to create the most natural and easiest put-down/pick-up battle system in mobile RPGs. Players can also coordinate their warriors strategically to unleash powerful skills on their enemy.
Build Your Legend: Through victories in battle, players earn the materials necessary to upgrade their equipment (masks, weapons, shields) and make their units more powerful.
Popular Fantasy World: Players will be able to explore realms with classic fantasy races (Human, Elf, Dwarf) and collect powerful masks to discover new warriors in order to rid the land of evil that rose in the east.
Exciting updates to come: Players will be able to challenge each other to tests of strength in PvP battles to sharpen their skills.
The game also features a soundtrack composed by Hidenori Iwasaki, composer of the soundtrack from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.
Masters of the Masks is available now on iOS and Android for free with in-app purchases.
Check out some screenshots and a trailer for Masters of the Masks below:
Bandai Namco have announced that J-Stars Victory VS+ will be released on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita in North America on June 30th and Europe on June 26th. Those who pre-order the game in North America at a GameStop or in Europe will be given a special pre-order edition of the game that includes a compendium with 52 pieces of character art as well as downloadable themes for each platform.
To go along with this announcement the company has also released a new trailer for J-Stars Victory VS+ that can be found below. As for the game itself, it will still feature the same roster as it had in Japan though the title will only feature the Japanese voice track with English subtitles.
