Rockstar released a huge cache of screenshots today of Grand Theft Auto V for PC. The screenshots show off the major visual overhaul the game has received ahead of the PC release.
Rockstar promises that this is the first piece of a large amount of information that will be revealed leading up to the game’s April 14th, 2015 release date.
To much disappointment, the PC version was not launched alongside the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version of Grand Theft Auto V to allow for additional testing and bug stomping. The PC version has been delayed three times so far.
Rockstar Games is rewarding those who pre-order the game in-stores or online with $1,200,000 cash for Grand Theft Auto Online and an extra $300,000 for those who pre-order before March 31st.
Indie Gala and Capsule Computers is inching closer to the 50th Every Monday Bundle this week. Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle #49 comes with six indie games for $1.99 for the first 24 hours of the sale.
King Arthur’s Gold – From the creators of one of the best 2D competitive shooters, King Arthur’s Gold is a competitive 2D action title about building and destroying castles.
Master Reboot – Players will explore other people’s memories that have been preserved forever in the Soul Cloud in this intriguing adventure title.
X-note – Essi was left with an encrypted USB drive known as X-note upon Essi’s mother’s death. A murder and a disappearance at the Xen Institute may be the key Essi has been looking for to unlock the X-note.
Depths of Peril – An action RPG blended with a city simulator, players will need to destroy the monsters that lurk outside the town walls and manage their city’s political intrigue to prove they are worthy of leading the city.
Secrets of Raetikon – A beautiful adventure set in the Alps, players will control a bird as it rebuilds the ancient machines to discover the secrets of the ancient culture that once inhabited the mountains.
Solar Struggle -An arcade shooter featuring an 11 mission campaign and a skirmish mode.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, the bundle is only $1.99, so grab your copy at Indie Gala before the price rises.
Media releases are coming thick and fast for the Final Fantasy series, as the release date of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD fast approaches and Final Fantasy XV gains momentum. The last week has been no exception with Square Enix UK uploading two videos (which can be seen below) detailing gameplay and the different wildlife that we will find in Final Fantasy XV.
The first video originates from a playable demo (titled EPISODE DUSCAE) that showcases a dungeon segment. The video shows four characters entering and proceeding through a dungeon, where they are ambushed by a group of goblins. Combat mechanics are demonstrated as well as a combat music track.
Shifting away from the dungeons, a second video illustrates some of the wildlife we can expect to see in the different locales. The video uses the real time graphic engine and boasts some superb visuals.
Final Fantasy XV currently has no solid release date for either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One platforms, but a playable demo will be included in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.
Dungeon Gameplay Video: FINAL FANTASY XV –EPISODE DUSCAE- Playable Demo
Curve Digital are excited to announce that Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones, will be available on PlayStation, Xbox and PC in April.
Curve Managing Director Jason Perkins commented: “The best thing about making a sequel is the opportunity to look at the all the reviews and comments about the original game and ask ‘What can we do better this time around?’. With Stealth Inc 2, we’ve not only made a much larger game, we’ve spent a lot of time adding depth to the experience and balancing the difficulty and pacing of the game.”
Following the success of Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark, comes the next level of insanely challenging puzzles in the highly anticipated sequel. Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones introduces players to a metroidvania style overworld, hidden secrets, customisable clones with a wide range of silly hats and brand new gadgets and equipment to play with.
With all the best features from the original game, (the sarcastic messages and wonderful puns!), players won’t be able to get enough of Stealth Inc 2. The puzzler is currently available on Nintendo Wii U, and is set for release on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One and PC early next month.
Evolve from Turtle Rock Studios was one of this year’s more highly anticipated games. Asynchronous gaming where not everybody is doing the same thing is becoming a bigger and bigger, and the unique 5 v 1 multiplayer aspect of the game had everyone hooked from its first announcement. Well the wait is finally over and while Evolve is no doubt a solid game, it suffers from a few problems like bugs and connectivity issues that considering its status as a multiplayer-focused title, really let it down.
Gameplay
Asynchronous gameplay is the hip, emerging thing in this day and age and now Turtle Rock are trying to tap into it with Evolve. Gameplay is pretty simple; four players operate as a team of hunters who are tasked with taking down a monstrous beast. The fifth player controls said beast, and their aim is to grow stronger and devour the hunters. Simple concept, tricky execution seems to be the case here as Evolve offers some really new ideas, but a lot of them get muddled up and lost in the confusion.
There are four monsters (only three playable unless you preordered the game) and each moves and attacks differently. For example the Goiliath moves a lot like a gorilla, climbing up walls and leaping long distances, while also smashing down with its fists, and breathing fire at its enemies. In contract the Kraken can fly and shoot blasts of electrical energy to zone and pick off the hunters. The variations between the monsters is impressive and allows you to play to your own strengths as a gamer. The hunters themselves have a similar variety in their characters, all of which have to work together to fell the giant beasts. The game features two support classes Medic and Support, and two combat-specific classes Trapper and Hunter. Once the team starts losing its soldiers, then it grows weaker and weaker.
With the hunters separated into two attacking and two support classes, it is simple for the monster to wipe out the team by simply eliminating the support characters first. Without a medic the team is unable to heal downed players, and without support they lose their shielding. With those two gone it is a matter of just steamrolling the two attacking units and the monster would emerge victorious. There is a lot of team work required from the hunters and sometimes it is beyond the capabilities of four random strangers on the internet. Not only that, but the classes themselves feel like watered down versions of the old Team Fortress classes, which makes the whole game feel a lot less unique than it outta be.
So I don’t think this will come as a shock to anybody, but Evolve is a mostly online, multiplayer experience. While the single player campaign is present, it is far from the focus. This puts Evolve squarely up against some series competition with the Call of Duty’s and Battlefields out there. However, Evolve suffers from a very similar problem that the Halo: Master Chief Collection had, and that is the fact that online connectivity is tedious, and downright broken in parts. I shouldn’t have to wait 5-10 minutes in between round while the server tries to find me another game to join. More than once this issue took me straight out of the mood to even keep playing, being forced to sit and just wait for almost as long as I was playing does not lead itself well to holding my attention.
When I actually managed to get a round going, I actually enjoyed myself. Playing as a monster offers those who are less than stellar at FPS games to have a good go of it (and probably even win a few rounds) while those who are more classic CoD or Team Fortress players will find themselves right at home as a hunter. The problem with all of this comes down to the variance. Each round felt completely different and while that was an amazing and refreshing feeling at the start, being unable to plan or coordinate made everyone look and feel like headless chickens running around (except that one player was a much larger chicken). Admittedly though, a lot of the confusion and variance is eliminated if you are playing with people you know as opposed to strangers on the internet, and if that is the case then you will likely be having an absolute blast of a time.
Visuals & Audio
Credit where it is absolutely due – Evolve is a beautiful video game. The monsters are all incredible detailed and look like horror-movie creatures come to life. The character models on the hunters all look as equally impressive, with little things like facial hair and movement animations really standing out. I was legitimately impressed with just about everything I saw in Evolve.
When it comes to the game’s presentation, it is the little things that matter. The Goliath’s fire-breath attack is one of the most impressive depictions of fire that I have ever seen in a video game. The way that it erupts from the beast’s mouth and bends and twists through the air on the way to its targets is amazing. However for every bit of good, there is some bad, as some of the game’s textures look a little flat or pixellated. It is hard to tell if these are the cause of bugs, connection issue causing textures to lag or just poor rendering times, but on more than one occasion I found myself staring at a rocky outcrop that was blurry or impossible to make out correctly.
Audio-wise, Evolve is very toned down, allowing you to get into the zone and the feel of the game without being bogged down by large musical numbers or over the top sound effects. What there is though is sublime, the monsters all have their own individual growls and snarls that serve not only to make the player feel powerful, but to alert the hunters as to how close their prey is. The vice versa is also true, as the sounds of a hunter’s rifle or talking too loud over Kinect can alert the monster to its victims.
Overall
There is one thing I want to really touch on with regards to Evolve, and that is the way that the game has been marketed and distributed. We live in a time where there are two distinct types of games – full priced games, and free to play titles that feature in-app purchases and microtransactions to account for the lost revenue. Sadly, Evolve tries to fit itself right in the middle of the two business models, and is a $100 game that still locks out some of the content unless you pay. Sure, more of the content are cosmetic changes, but there are some character classes that are completely locked away behind a pay wall. Not only that, but some of the game’s skins are exclusive to those who buy the season pass and the Behemoth monster class is reserved only for those who pre-order the game meaning that 1/4 of the game’s monsters are simply blocked off from the majority of players (until a later date). This is a frightening precedent for full-priced games and is a business practice that absolutely should not be allowed to grow. As of publishing, Evolve has 54 pieces of DLC available on the Xbox Live store, and this is a game that has been out for just under three weeks.
Frightening business decisions aside, Evolve is a solid game. While not necessarily reaching the heights of excitement, it differs enough from the regular FPS-shooters out there. However, while its differences are novel, they aren’t exactly memorable and the lack of consistency in gameplay sadly works to the game’s disadvantage more often than it works in its favor.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
It’s time for some March Madness folks! That’s right, the third month of the year has already begun and with it comes a brand new installment of everybody’s favourite Microsoft-specific news blast, Xbox Newsbeat! We have some killer headlines to kick off this month for you, so sit back, relax and get down to the Newsbeat.
Xbox and Universal Partnerships & Licensing Partner to Create Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious
Xbox and Universal Partnerships & Licensing have announced an unprecedented partnership to bring a unique, interactive, and exclusive experience to millions of Xbox fans worldwide. For the first time ever, the thrilling driving and amazing cars of Forza are combining with the unstoppable “Fast & Furious” movie franchise to create an original adventure filled with high-speed automotive action in Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious.
If you don’t own Forza Horizon 2, don’t worry: This is a standalone, open-world expansion. Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious puts you behind the wheel of more than 11 iconic vehicles from the “Fast & Furious” films – including some exciting new cars from the upcoming “Furious 7.”
To celebrate the April 2 theatrical launch of “Furious 7,” the expansion will be available at no charge for a limited two-week period. Players can download the expansion on Xbox One or Xbox 360 (at no charge!) from March 28 through April 11; after this, the expansion will cost AU$13.45. Players who downloaded it during the initial two-week window can continue to play without restriction.
Pandora Internet Radio now available on Xbox One
It seems like Microsoft just can’t stop adding new features to the Xbox One as it steadily moves towards its goal of being your all in one home media center. Well it took another giant leap forward today with the introduction of Pandora Internet Radio to the console.
Now after downloading the app, you can use your Xbox One controller, media remote or simple Kinect hand gestures you can listen to all of the music and radio stations that Pandora has to offer.
Make Room for Three Amazing Games in March – and Double Games with Gold in April
It is the start of the month and that means it is time for new Games with Gold! So here are the free games you will be able to nab this month if you are an Xbox Live Gold subscriber:
As a little extra something for you Gold subscribers out there, next month will feature FOUR Xbox 360 games and TWO Xbox One games as a celebration of over 100,000,000 games having been downloaded!
There you have it folks, another hard-hitting installment of Xbox Newsbeat. Did any of this week’s headlines grab your attention more than others? What did you think about this week’s Games with Gold? We want to know what you think so drop us a line in the comments below and make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the awesome Xbox news as it becomes available.
Mad Max is an absolute classic that is about to receive a lot more attention due to not only an upcoming video game release, but also a reboot featuring Tom Hardy by the name of Mad Max: Fury Road. On May 5th, Shout! Factory will be re-releasing the original on Blu-ray, with a good number of new features in tow.
Have a gander at the features for yourself:
Special Features:
NEW Interviews with Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel and Director of Photography David Eggby
Audio Commentary by Art Director Jon Dowding, Director of Photography David Eggby, Special Effects Artist Chris Murray and Tim Ridge
Mel Gibson: The Birth Of A Superstar
Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots
Photo Galleries
Contains Both the Original Australian English Audio and the U.S. English Dubbed Audio
For those who have never watched the original or the sequels it donned, here is a brief synopsis:
Setting Mel Gibson on a sure path to superstardom, this highly acclaimed “crazy collide-o-scope” (Newsweek) of highway mayhem “cinematically defined the post-apocalyptic landscape” (TV Guide). Featuring eye-popping stunts that are “electrifying and very convincing” (Variety) and “an authentically nihilistic spirit” (The Village Voice), this unforgettable actioner from director George Miller is “pure cinematic poetry” (Time).
In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them. But they underestimate one officer: Max (Gibson). And when the bikers brutalize Max’s best friend and family, they send him into a mad frenzy that leaves him with only one thing left in the world to live for – revenge! MAD MAX also stars Joanne Samuel (Nightmaster), Hugh Keays-Byrne (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Steve Bisley (The Great Gatsby, Red Hill).
As a huge bonus, those who order Mad Max Collector’s Edition Blu-ray directly from ShoutFactory.com will get it shipped two weeks early, plus receive an exclusive 18″x24″ poster featuring newly commissioned artwork. That is a pretty awesome deal, to say the least. Mark May 5th on your calenders and get ready for more Mad Max via Shout! Factory.
Who doesn’t or hasn’t at one time loved The Simpsons? Now you can add them to your world all over again as Microsoft and Mojang have released a brand new skin pack featuring Springfield’s finest for Minecraft.
While you will have to utilize your own creativity to recreate that famous setting, players can now don a good chunk of the cast for the low price of $2.99 for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Sure, its a bit gimmicky, but I am all for support and with a title like Minecraft, more skins are more than welcome. Check out the trailer below to get a better look at the latest skin pack. Keep in mind as well that the “Story Mode” game is also coming soon.
If you happened to be a big fan of the first Xblaze game, the visual novel spin-off of Blazblue, then you’ll be happy to hear that Aksys Games is planning on bringing the sequel, XBlaze Code: Embryo to North America sometime this summer. When the title is released it will be available for both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita just like XBlaze Lost: Memories was.
The title will expand upon the events that occurred throughout the first game while also introducing new characters and adding extra elements to the story all while offering branching storylines and multiple endings with unexpected twists and turns to give players “hours of compelling gameplay.”
If the various developments about Fable Legends were concerning to longtime fans of the series, then the most recently revealed news from Microsoft and Lionhead Games may have been the last straw. The companies recently announced that Fable Legends will be a free-to-play game when it is released later this year on the Xbox One and PC.
The base game will offer four different heroes to play for free and every two weeks these heroes will be swapped out and replaced with new ones. You can unlock characters permanently by either spending in-game currency or using real money. Players will also be able to purchase chests using either form of currency which will provide the player with random items including weapons, augments, armor, and more.
