Creative Assembly and Sega have announced that Total War: ATTILA will be receiving new factions for it’s post-Roman epic strategy title. In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, the announcement states that ATTILA will be receiving a DLC pack for a number of Celtic factions.
The DLC includes a variety of different playable tribes hailing from the various parts of Britannia. Notably for today are the Ebdanians who hail from modern day Ireland. Also included are the Picts and the Caledonians, both of which hail from different parts of modern day Scotland.
The Celts Culture Pack factions will be playable in Total War:ATTILA‘s Single player and Multiplayer campaigns. In addition they will be playable in Custom and Multiplayer battles. No price or release date has been announced, but previous Culture Packs cost $7.99 (USD). You can check out a teaser trailer below.
A couple of months back Compile Heart held a popularity poll asking fans to vote for their favorite Hyperdimension Neptunia characters and Blanc ended up coming out on top. At the time fans guessed that this might mean a Blanc spin-off would be announced and it turns out that is exactly what is happening. Over the weekend during Dengeki Bunko Spring Festival the company revealed a new PS Vita game that is currently being called Geki Jigen Tag Blanc + Neptunia VS Zombie Gundan, or Extreme Dimension Tag Blanc + Neptune VS Zombie Army.
Barely any details about the game are known at the moment but the game will feature Blanc as the main character and feature multiplayer in some form. You can check out an off-screen taping of the reveal below.
A new five minute trailer for Senran Kagura: Estival Versus came out of Marvelous recently and in it we are treated to a number of features that have been revealed over the past couple of months. While the footage primarily shows the pre-existing characters battling against swathes of enemies, with each girl getting a few seconds to show off new skills and transformation sequences, the new characters, clothing destruction, and Purupuru Finish moves are also highlighted briefly.
You can check out the trailer below while the game itself is currently set to be released in Japan on March 26th for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.
Do you feel like doing some big game hunting but can’t really afford to fly all the way to Africa to do so? Well Activision has got you covered with their recently re-released Cabela’s African Adventures for Xbox One and PS4.
The game has been slightly re-imagined for a new generation of consoles and features slightly updated graphics, better performance, a and a new shooting gallery mode that can be played on your own or with three other buddies locally.
Check out the game’s launch trailer below, which shows off some of the impressive quarry that you can slay in all of their next-gen glory, and then let us know in the comments below whether or not you will be loading up your rifle this time around.
Arrowhead Studios, most famous for their hugely popular action-adventure game; Magicka are back with a brand new title, Helldivers. Leaving the mysterious forests and sorcerers behind them, now we are fighting for the freedom of Super Earth (not even joking, that’s the name of the planet) from three warring intergalactic factions. While on the surface it looks like your run of the mill, time-killing twin stick shooter, Helldivers is a very skill-intensive game with a series of deep mechanics and a rich multiplayer concept that had me struggling to put it down.
Story
Set in the middle of an intergalactic war between three competing factions, the insectoid-Bug, the gun-toting Cyborgs and the technologically advanced Illuminates. In this crazy universe, you play as a member of an elite squadron of space marines who are tasked at defending Super Earth (what the Earth has been renamed after all of the countries formed a unified government in order to stave off the alien attacks) from these three invading forces.
Fans of Starship Troopers will feel immediately at home with Helldivers, which wears its inspiration on its sleeve and features the same style of humor, and storytelling (even a trophy or two named after direct quotes from the feel).
Gameplay
Helldivers is a top-down, tactical shooter that at its face looks like a twin-stick shooter, but when you really delve into the game you see it is so much more in-depth and frankly, intense than you would have imagined.
This is a game of preparations and strategy, if you just launch yourself into the middle of a map with no supplies and no set goals in mind then you are likely to be wiped out. Each of the game’s levels are littered with goals and objectives (ok maybe littered is a bit of a stretch, but some stages have quite a few different objectives), but the closer you come to these objectives, the more enemies you are likely to encounter and because of this it is integral to plan your paths ahead.
Not only do you plan where to go and what you will be doing, but how you will be doing it, and the how is almost the most important part. Before battle you will equip yourself with a variety of arms like a long-range sniper, or a close combat shotgun. Not only that, but special perks and call-downs called “Strategems” can be equipped to make your job just that little bit easier.
There is a lot of flexibility and choice in Helldivers. The tools are all there but the burden is very much on the player to figure out how to most effectively use them. Following on from that, it is fair to say that this game is challenging and until you are very, very familiar with the mechanics, you will die… a LOT. Just about everything can kill you in this game; enemies, friendly fire from teammates, walking into the line of fire of your own drones, or even your own strategem drops can land on you and wipe you out. Death is a very real part of the game and it might deter some players away before that can experience the full scope of what this game has to offer.
Helldivers is a very multiplayer-focused game that almost requires you to play co-op (which is done either locally or via wifi). I’m not usually big on games that require an internet connection to function properly, but Helldivers does something a little different with the concept that helps ease my anxiety about connectivity issues. The world of Super Earth and its surrounding galaxy is alive and constantly changing. In addition to typical leaderboards, players can see enemy kills, human deaths and worlds conquered all in real time. It is a neat addition that helps the world and community feel a lot more connected. When all is said and done though, you can take Helldivers solo if you wish, but you lose a lot in the process.
Visuals & Audio
As I mentioned earlier, this is the kind of game that wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and this is as true for the visuals as it is for the story. When I first started playing, I thought that Helldivers had a very “StarCraft” vibe to it all. Similar locations, similar art style and the Bugs could easily be misidentified for the Zerg at a passing glance. However, when you spend some time with the game, you will see that aside from its obvious inspiration, it is a world comprised of simply gorgeous landscapes. Now not everything is lush or vibrant, but even the most desolate wastelands are handled with care and they just look amazing – even on the Vita’s small screen (I can only imagine what the game looks like on the PS4).
Overall
I’m not going to lie, when I first booted up Helldivers I didn’t know what to expect, or have too many high expectations. I had never played Magicka and hadn’t heard all that much about Helldivers to begin with, but I was absolutely blown away with what I got. It’s tactical shooter gameplay, intricate and in-depth mechanics and dynamic world really create an experience that is the most fun I have had on my Vita since I bought it and I cannot wait to finish typing this sentence and getting back to my defense of Super Earth.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 has received a brand new trailer and some new screenshots courtesy of Bandai Namco. The trailer focuses on the games impressive looking story mode that seeks to improve on the first two games in the series and include lots of cutscenes and battles against hordes of enemies. The games story will cover right from the beginning all the way through to the Dressrosa Arc. Players can team up with popular heroes from the anime such as Zoro or Chopper and even popular villains such as sad Perona, the greedy Buggy and the almighty Mihawk.
It was recently teased in V-Jump Magazine the red haired pirate Shanks, who gave Luffy his trademark hat, might be playable for the first time in this new game. One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 will hit Australian shores sometime this winter for the PS4, PS3, Steam for PC and the PS Vita. The game is releasing on the 26th in Japan. You can check out the action packed trailer and new screenshots below.
EA and Visceral Games launched the thirteenth instalment of the long running Battlefield franchise in Australia today. Battlefield: Hardlinetakes the war franchise to the mean streets of Miami and Los Angeles, as police are locked in battle against the criminal elements that inhabit the underworld.
The single campaign is inspired by TV police shows and includes a star studded cast featuring the likes of Kelly Hu (Arrow), Wendy Calhoun (Justified), and Benito Martinez (House of Cards). The multiplayer mode adds some new cops and robbers themed game modes like Hotwire and Heist to old mainstays like Conquest.
Battlefield: Hardline is available now on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows in Australia. The New Zealand launch will be on March 20, 2015.
To celebrate the launch, EA released several new screenshots of Battlefield: Hardline and some concept art for the multiplayer portion of the game.
Late last year we learned that a third season of Senki Zesshō Symphogear was in the works and now new details, including when the new anime season will air and what it will be titled have been released. Senki Zesshō Symphogear GX, as it is now called, will premiere sometime in July and feature the return of all of the previous characters with the likes of Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika appearing to be allies this time around as the above art shows a few design changes to their Gear forms.
Happen to be a big fan of Danganronpa and plan on attending Anime Conji on April 4th? Well then we have some rather surprising news for you. NIS America has announced that they are partnering with the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation to bring the Danganronpa Murder Mystery to the event. This event mirrors the themes of the mystery game series and will feature attendees searching through the Sheraton Hotel in San Diego, CA for clues while also using their wits to figure out which cosplayer from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is the blackened (murderer).
On Saturday, April 4, 2015, this event will start at 10 A.M. with an introduction video, and conclude at 6 P.M. with a class trial where participants can use truth bullets that are scattered throughout the convention center by writing or taking a photo of the clue. More details about the event can be found here while a teaser video can be found below.
Are you willing to choose the fate of two girls who have saved your life? Well you will now be able to do so as NIS America‘s The Awakened Fate Ultimatum is currently available for purchase in North America, both digitally and at retail, and will be released in Europe on March 20th.
For those who haven’t been following the game, The Awakened Fate Ultimatum follows the story of a human boy who is traveling home from school only to be stabbed in the heart by a group of devils. He is saved by a mysterious girl with the “Fate Awakening Crystal” and finds himself in the land of Celestia where he finds himself in the middle of a war between angels and devils and ultimately it will be up to him to harness his new abilities and choose who to save.
To go along with the game’s release NIS America has also released a pair of new English trailers showing off the Angel and Devil transformations and you can check those out below.
