Ubisofts‘ massive open world racer The Crew has received it’s first DLC pack and it comes with three new cars for those willing to shell out some cash as well as a great deal of free content for everyone. The three new paid cars are the smooth and extremely rare Aston Martin V12 Zagato, the ferocious 2013 SRT Viper GTS and the zippy Abarth 500. Anyone with a Season Pass would have had access to these car’s one week earlier.
Now for the stuff everyone gets! Four new faction race missions have been added, all with an ‘EXTREME’ theme (if anyone’s seen Harold and Kumar you know how I’m saying that). In “Vertigo,” players outrun their opponents in a high speed and high stakes race along the Colorado River. “Rollercoaster” tasks players to race to the top of a mountain and fly down it full speed. Fans of driving on ice and snow can push the pedal to the metal and on a treacherously icy route to secure the fastest time possible in “Slip and Slide” and lastly, “Hurricane” with have players jumping on a demanding stunt-filled course located in a construction site with plenty of tricky jumps to land. Check out the new cars and races in action in the trailer below.
Besides new missions, five previously available cars have acquired new specs. These are:
Dodge Ram – Dirt Chevy Silveradro – Street Hummer H1 – Dirt Mini Cooper – Circuit Ford Focus – Raid
Lastly new “animal” and “nature” stickers were added to the tuners decal options. There are over 50 new stickers players can purchase and put on nearly any car from there out. I logged in this morning and the new content is definitely there. The new vinyls for your car are amazing with some fierce looking dragon and big cat decals. Definitely check it out if you are still playing The Crew.
I have an extreme soft spot for Club Nintendo. Over the past six years, the program has rewarded consumers for doing nothing more than redeeming a code and taking a thirty second survey, where the prizes have been games, digital releases, and even some nice merchandise featuring some of the favorite characters of the brand. Sure, some have debated the quality of what Nintendo has put out, but free is always free and most have no reason to argue as you never bought the codes, they were just a nice gesture for loyalty.
All good things must come to an end though, but with the end of Club Nintendo comes a new beginning. On March 31st, members will no longer be able to enter codes on the website. You then have until July 1st to run out and spend your coins on offerings put up on the service. Right now, the digital rewards are nearly all that is left, but more games will be added next month and all members will receive a free code for Flipnote Studio 3D as well. Those who hit platinum or gold will also be rewarded with a digital selection later this year, so fret not if you have already earned that rank. You can read all of the rules here, and if you had old surveys, get to doing them now before time runs out.
**UPDATE POST INFO** Details written by Kyle Roberts
Nintendo Australia and UK has just announced that they will be discontinuing their Club Nintendo rewards programme in Australia, New Zealand and UK. A new membership programme will be launched later this year, and anyone who signs up to the new programme at launch will be able to download Flipnote Studio 3D to their Nintendo 3DS at no cost. Read on for more details of the discontinuation.
From April 1, 2015, product registration cards will no longer be included in packaged products however members can continue to register cards included in copies of games released before this date. The New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS Xl may not be registered in Club Nintendo.
From April 20, 2015, digital products downloaded from the Nintendo eShop will no longer be added to Club Nintendo accounts. Surveys for digital products will also be unavailable from this date. Post-play surveys will be still be available until the discontinuation of the programme.
All Stars in Club Nintendo accounts will expire on September 30, 2015. More items will be added to the Stars Catalogue over the next few months, so members will have plenty of options when it comes to using up their Stars. Current items are available for a reduced amount of Stars. Any Stars not redeemed by the end date will be forfeited. New accounts can still be made until this date.
As the resident tabletop and strategy game geek at Capsule, it is my duty to inform you that Exodus Wars is receiving a video game adaption by Membraine Studios called Exodus War: Fractured Empire which will receive a full release on February 2nd of this year. The indie, strategy title looks like it will be a faithful translation of the tabletop game from analog to digital.
The game will feature a sci-fi storyline which contains a galactic, idealistic (but somehow feudal) empire fighting against inter-stellar merchants as well as in-depth strategy to match. Players will be able to customise their armies to their hearts content with each side presenting their own options and challenges to overcome. The gameplay employs an interesting mechanic to break up turn-based simplicity by allowing for a side to develop ‘momentum’ and continue activating units more than just once per turn, with subsequent activations becoming harder to pull off.
If you’re interested, you can check the game out yourself via steam or the game’s page here. It’s currently in Early Access, with the devs eager to hear your feedback and willing to give a 50% discount for buying in early.
Wastelands Interactive announced their upcoming fantasy 4x strategy game Worlds of Magicwill be leaving Steam Early Access on March 19th, 2015. The game has been in beta testing since September 2014 and was successfully Kickstarted in November 2013.
Worlds of Magic is set in Elannara, a world torn apart by the War of Ascension. Gateways link magical worlds full of power together, giving sorcerers the opportunity to gain more power. Players will create their own sorcerer to lead one of eight unique races and master over 400 spells. A handy infographic shows how 13 schools of magic can be combined to create the weighty spellbook.
The game features over 80 military units and 40 wandering/summonable units. Combat is based on the popular D20 RPG system.
Currently, Worlds of Magicis part of Steam’s week long sale. The game is 25% off until January 26th and comes with a free 80 page art book. Those who backed the Kickstarter campaign will get bonus content in their art book.
Firaxis Games and 2K Games have announced a new turn-based strategy games set in the popular Civilization universe titled Sid Meier’s Starships. The title is to be released for Mac, PC, and iPad, as a tactical turn-based space-combat strategy game.
Sid Meier’s Starships will allow players to command a fleet of starships to explore the galaxy. Players will have to fight to build and protect their civilizations, and ultimate create a galactic federation of planets.
This new title will allow cross-compatibility if players also on Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth. This promises to add further replayability to avid Sid Meier fans. According to 2K, Sid Meier’s Starships features:
• Tactical space combat: Encounter unique tactical challenges in every mission, with dynamically generated maps, victory conditions, and foes.
• Fully customizable starships: Create an armada that fits your tactical plan with modular spaceship design.
• Diplomacy, strategy, and Exploration: Expand the influence of your Federation and gain the trust of the citizens of new planets. Use the unique abilities of the each planet to enhance your fleet and Federation, and keep your opponents in check. Build improvements on worlds to increase the capabilities and resources of your Federation.
• A galaxy of adventure: Explore the galaxy as you lead your fleet to distant worlds and complete missions to help the citizens of these planets. Fight pirates, protect colony ships, destroy rogue AI, and more.
• Multiple paths to victory: Will you win by conquering the greatest threat to the galaxy? Or will you unite a plurality of worlds in your Federation? Perhaps you will lead your people to push the frontiers of science. Each choice you make carries consequences on your path to victory
The title is to be released in early 2015, and a trailer may be viewed below.
Bandai Namco Games America have posted a new interview from Jump Festa that took place last month and while it doesn’t really reveal any new information, we do get to see some of the awesome new cutscenes that will feature in Dragon Ball Xenoverse. We see the fight with Raditz unfold, Raditz dodging Gohan as he becomes ‘villainous’ and then your character intervening to save the day. Unfortunately the video is edited so we don’t get to see the fight play out, but what we can see looks great and could overtake the infamous Budokai 1 from back in the PS2 days for cutscene king.
Some new gameplay was also released recently from Bandai Namco Japan showing some of the awesome combos you can pull of in this game with Super Saiyan 3 Goku, Super Saiyan Trunks and Nappa all getting a chance to show their stuff against their punching bag opponents. You can watch both videos below and make sure to let us know in the comments what you think about the cutscenes and the new gameplay footage. Click here for more awesome Xenoverse footage.
Release dates have been confirmed for new ‘Mama’ titles Cooking Mama: Bon Appetit! and Gardening Mama: Forest Friends. Both titles will be landing on the Nintendo 3DS on March 7th in Australia after being released last September in the States. You can pick the games up in retail or on the eShop for $49.95 each.
Cooking Mama: Bon Appetit! is another sequel in the popular Cooking Mama series made famous on the original Nintendo DS, and players must use the 3DS’ unique controls and touchscreen to help craft exotics and sweet dishes. Players are ranked for their performance with a medal system, offering replay value for completionist. The game has over 60 recipes and two additional game modes that get players out of the kitchen in ‘Let’s Help Mama!’ and ‘Let’s Help Harvest’. Players can utilise Download Play to allow up to four users to play off one game cart in a variety of mini games. SpotPass functionality is also being used, allowing players to earn exclusive items from the online service that they can use in the kitchen.
In the sequel to the spin off, Gardening Mama: Forest Friends has you pretending your 3DS stylus is a makeshift garden tool that will allow you to grow over 50 different plant types to create your own unique garden. Players help Mama turn an empty piece of land into a garden brimming with fresh and healthy produce, completing fun minigames while planning your garden strategy and delivering your crops to 6 different shops owned by your animal friends. Shops can raise in rank by selling them specific crops which will then offer you new items for you to decorate your garden with from fences, fountains and even pets. Like in Cooking Mama, SpotPass will be used here to hand out exclusive items to take the customisation options further.
Indie Gala and Capsule Computers launched Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle #43 today. This week brings seven indie games for an extra low price.
Aztaka– An action RPG inspired by the Aztec legend, players will conquer 21 levels in a quest to reunite the seven phonograms.
Eleusis – A cult in Greece seeks to summon an evil being, but their plans are soon disrupted when the player stumbles upon the village they call home.
Final Dusk– A two phase action puzzle game. Players will open up a safe path in the first phase, then guide Vampire Princess Mina to safety in the second phase.
Sweet Lily Dreams– Lily loves books, but the Realm of Dreams is now under invasion by famous literary monsters like Dracula. With her two faithful pets at her side, Lily must battle against the darkness and stop the monsters from destroying the Realm of Dreams.
Tesla Breaks the World!– A side scrolling puzzle platformer starring Nikola Tesla and his famous rival Thomas Edison.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, all seven games can be purchased for a stunningly low $1.49. Be sure to head over to Indie Gala to grab your bundle before the price rises.
Come one, come all to the world’s most exciting and entertaining (we hope) news program; Xbox Newsbeat. What makes us so exciting and entertaining? Well, the fact that we deal with all the latest and greatest news out of Microsoft HQ for starters! With the new year comes new news and this week we have three killer Xbox One headlines for your viewing pleasure (I’m guessing that 2015 will NOT be a big Windows Phone year). So sit back, relax and enjoy!
Xbox One February system update: Game hubs and TV updates now in preview
If there is one thing that can be said about Microsoft, it is that they are not stingy with the Xbox One system updates. The console is already far more versatile and customisable than it was at launch, and yet they keep making it better. Here is what you can expect from the upcoming February update (which is presently in preview for some lucky gamers):
Game hubs –New in preview this month, game hubs are the go-to centres for all sorts of interesting content around your favourite games. Every Xbox One game will have a game hub where you can see which of your friends are playing the game, compete with your friends in game leaderboards, dive into the coolest game clips and game broadcasts, and follow the game’s VIPs and top players.
To get to the game hub for your favourite game, find a game in your pins, recently played list, or My games and apps, then press the Menu button and select View game hub. You can also search for any game in the Xbox Store and click on the game hub tile from the game’s store page.
Custom backgrounds and tile transparency – After listening to your feedback, Xbox have added additional tile transparency to the Home tiles to make your background images more visible. As a reminder, to set a custom background, go to Settings > My Xbox> My background. Note: some items can’t be made transparent due to usage rights/restrictions for certain images.
TV updates – We’re releasing a lot of updates to the live TV experience and features are being released to additional countries in preview this month:
OneGuide for the Netherlands – Support for OneGuide will continue in preview for the Netherlands and the missing channels for the Netherlands OneGuide listings will become available over the next few weeks.
TV trending in OneGuide – As you scan the detailed OneGuide TV listings, you can see which shows are trending by a “Trending on Xbox” note and associated icon. Xbox – live TV trending is based on the number of Xbox One owners currently watching that show in each country, pulled from anonymous data collected at a national level. Currently, Xbox TV trending is available to all members in the U.S., UK and Canada.
Live TV trending (new countries) –France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico will begin seeing live TV trending data in Xbox OneGuide.
Improved control of TVs, set-top boxes and audio/video receivers – Xbox One will work even better with more devices. This month’s preview release contains updates to the IR blasting database for new models and addresses issues reported by our fan community.
“Trick play” with Xbox One Digital TV Tuner – Preview members with the Xbox One Digital TV Tuner in supported countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) will now be able to see video frames when fast-forwarding or rewinding paused TV on your Xbox One consoles.
Live TV streaming on Windows Phone and Android – Xbox are continuing the preview of live TV streaming on Windows Phone and Android devices for Xbox One Digital TV Tuner owners in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
What’s in Week 3 of the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta?
We recently previewed the beta for 343’s upcoming Halo 5: Guardians, but as we mentioned then the beta was operating in a sort of episodic format, where every week new content was being added and expanded upon to give players a real sense of what to expect. Here is what got added over the past week:
New Game Mode: Stronghold – Building off the strengths of team-based Slayer mode, Strongholds features three control zones placed around the map that your team will need to control in order to dominate the enemy. But take note! Only the team that controls two Stronghold zones can score points: the first team to score 100 points, wins the match. Try to control all three zones and you’ll be spread too thin, so your team will need to strategize and stick together to hold the combination of two Strongholds that establish map control!
New Weapons –Sniper Rifle, Rocket Launcher, Energy Sword and Prophet’s Bane
New Map: Pegasus – The winner of the fan vote over Orion, features long sightlines, perfect for marksman weapons. Holding down the raised area with the Sniper Rifle, Rocket Launcher or Light Rifle gives a team excellent presence, and the ability to lock down huge swathes of the map. However, this spot is vulnerable to grenades and flanking routes that the opposing team should use to retake the high ground.
Pre-Order and Pre-Download Evolve on Xbox One
After running a successful beta over the past weekend, 2K and Turtle Rock Studios monster hunting shooter, Evolve is now available for preorder and preloading on Xbox One. By going through the Xbox Store, players can preorder one of the two following versions of the game:
Xbox One Evolve Pre-Order Edition – available for $99.95, includes the standard game, plus a Monster Expansion Pack, Team C and Wraith.
Xbox One Evolve Deluxe Edition – available for $126.45, includes the standard game, plus a Season Pass, a Monster Expansion Pack, Team C, and Wraith.
So there we have it folks, another week has come and gone and with it a bunch of Xbox news. Did any of this week’s headlines grab you? Let us know in the comments below and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Xbox news as it becomes available.
Let me tell you about the prerelease for Fate Reforged, the excitement and storm of magic players battling with dragons, all determined to prove their clan is destined for greatness. The most popular choices for the latest Khans of Tarkir expansion this weekend, were Jeskai and Abzan – however, I would not completely dismiss the likes of Temur, Mardu and Sultai.
Fate Reforged brings a variety of new and old elements into the playing field, with the return of hybrid mana for casting card effects and the addition of manifest, (which replaces morph) for summoning a face down 2/2 colourless creature. The most exciting features are the modal cards, which present players with a choice when their spell is cast, as well as the new mechanics; bolster for Abzan and dash for Mardu.
Bolster enables players to empower their creatures overtime, by adding X 1+1 counters to target creature with the least toughness. Whereas, dash speeds up the attack phase, with creatures entering the battle with haste and returning to their owners hand at the beginning of the next end step. Of course, the original mechanics are just as powerful and strategic for the other clans: Jeskai with prowess, Temur with ferocious and Sultai with delve.
For the prerelease event, all participating magic players received a prerelease pack with five boosters (four Fate Reforged and one Khans of Tarkir), a ‘seeded’ booster pack, D20 life counter, clan pin, info and activity card of their clan choice. Players are tasked to assemble a 40 card deck from their booster packs (with 40 being the minimum) and compete in four rounds that are based on the best of three games. Each local gaming store offers players two flights, competitive or casual, which determines what prizes players receive at the end of the tournament.
Jeskai vs. Abzan – an intense match for Tahnee and Bryce.
A special promo ‘Time Shifted Cards’ was included at the Fate Reforged prerelease, to illustrate how the plane of Tarkir has changed over time. All players received an ‘Ugin’s Fate’ booster pack, containing a Token, Land card and a few ‘Time Shifted Cards’ from a pool of 40 holo foil stamped cards with different artwork.
Fate Reforged hits shelves this coming week on January 23 – you can check out the epic 180 card gallery on the Wizards of the Coast official site here. Be sure to get your pre-orders in early for the Fate Reforged fat pack and booster box! Let us know your suggestions for the best deck build for each of the clans and what cards stand out for you the most in this expansion.
