If you are one of the millions of people worldwide who are dying to get stuck into Master Chief’s next outing (then lets be honest you are probably playing the Halo 5 Beta right now instead of reading this) then you will be excited to hear that Microsoft and EB Games have announced a special, very limited collector’s edition for the upcoming Halo 5 – Guardians.
For the rrp of $329.95, players can get a copy of the game and a limited, collector’s numbered statue of a certain character from the game. Although we don’t know much else at this point, I am already excited (and I don’t even play Halo). These are sure to go fast, so make sure you put in your pre-order ASAP.
Will you be gunning down aliens in the next Halo installment next year, and if so will you be picking up this sweet collector’s edition? Let us know in the comments below and make sue you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Halo news as it becomes available.
Indie developer Spiderweb Software is set to release a new RPG, Avernum 2: Crystal Souls. Spiderweb has stated that the game will feature over 40 hours of new content, furthering the story from Avernum: Escape from the Pit. However, the story is self-contained, and players new to the series will not be missing out if they haven’t played prior games.
Avernum 2 will bring over 100 new towns and dungeons, as well as a large underworld brimming with nations and cultures. There will be 3 main story quests, and players will be able to choose to do just one, or all three. Loot and magic are also a huge part of the game, with a generous number of spells and combat styles, as well as character perks and progression. Combat is turn-based, rather than active, and characters move on a grid-system. The sprite graphical design and isometric viewpoint bring to mind games like the older Fallout Series, Baldur’s Gate, and Neverwinter Nights.
The Avernum games are notable for being independently made, yet offering just as much depth as any of the Baldur’s Gate type of games. The series is notable for having unique races and settings compared to many other adventure & RPG fantasy series.
Avernum 2: Crystal Souls will be available on PC and Mac January 2015. It will also see an iPad release sometime in early 2015. Bookmark their store page, and keep an eye out on Steam and the iOS store.
Today a new trailer was released for Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance and unlike past snippets, this one contains nearly six minutes of gameplay footage that focuses mostly on the combat aspect of the game and the various characters and techniques that we will be using once the game is released in Japan as well as in the West by NIS America.
Also revealed are a number of new classes and monsters that will be included in Disgaea 5. This includes a Sage, shown above, that focuses on attacking many enemies at once, dealing extra damage the more she target also revealed is a Wrestler that specializes in throws. Some of the new monsters include a Hare, a two headed Dragon, and a Rider that looks similar to a headless horseman.
Habitat is a quirky physics based strategy game from 4gency and Versus Evil (The Banner Saga). The game is currently in Early Access alpha and was funded with the help of a Kickstarter campaign held earlier in the year. Players are given a randomly generated patch of space junk and some engineers to create a habitat that will help them survive.
After a quick tutorial, players are given an initial space station to serve at the core of their new space station. There are four main resources to manage: Omni for ammunition and purchases, electricity, fuel, and population for engineers. Some parts can be ordered for a small fee of Omni, but most of the building materials used in construction will be scavenged from the nearby junk field. Attached space junk will help generate resources over time. Some have special abilities that will interact with the world, such as weapons, rockets, and robot arms, at a cost of resources.
Players cobble together their space ships with the junk floating around in space by having their engineers weld in attachment points. Each piece of junk has a few pre-determined attachment points. Once an item has been selected and brought close enough to a valid attachment point, the game will automatically orient the object in the closest valid configuration. Further configuration can rotate the module in exactly the angle you desire. I did notice that it is not always clear why a module cannot be placed at a certain angle, especially when the model on the screen looks clear of any interference. A small error message in the chat box would be appreciated here.
Once the first ship is configured to the player’s liking, a small number of simple quests can be started at the nearest space station. At this point in time, the quests do not provide much in story. Quests range from peaceful activities likes picking up and dropping off pieces of junk and clearing out enemies. Players can earn a small rewards for completing quests.
Habitat relies heavily on its physics engine. All of the junk seems to have its own mass that will affect how each space station handles. Stack too many pieces on one side of the station and it will need more thrusters attached to that side to move the station forward. Shoot an object with a missile and it will bounce away from the force of the explosion. Some of the hit boxes are a little off. A few seem to be smaller than the actual model itself. The physics engine is really what makes the gameplay shine. It is entertaining to just watch your insane creation interact with the world.
The premise of Habitat is an absolute riot. It sort of reminds me of the monstrous Lego creations I would make as a child, cobbling different sets of Lego together into a strange Star Wars/Indiana Jones hybrid. There is something hilarious about flying a space shuttle armed with a tank, a burger shack, and enough rockets to send it all to kingdom come if someone lit a match in the wrong place.
The controls are simple to learn. The camera is moved around using the WASD/mouse layout and several ability icons line the bottom left corner of the screen. For the most part, the game intelligently chooses idle engineers for the task. Once in a while, the player may opt to send a specific engineer to complete a task. Sending single ones is easy if zoomed in close enough; however, there is no way to assign groups of engineers to a single task, like disassembling an enemy ship.
Steam Workshop has been integrated into Habitat. Currently, gamers can use the in game tool to import .fbx files from popular 3D modelling software like 3ds Max, Maya, and Blender and then skin them with .PNG files. Once the files are imported into the game, players just need to assign a health and mass value and are ready to go. The mod tools lets players share their creations with just a click of a button. The less creative among us can use Steam Workshop to download new junk to add to their world. Adding mods to my world was just as painless as creating the junk. I just needed to select which items I wanted to download through Steam Workshop, then go into the modded junk menu and tick off which ones I wanted to appear in my world.
Habitat is looking pretty slick so far. It is not the most beautiful game of the year, but the sheer variety of junk available makes up for it. The UI is simple and works well. The music and sound effects are descent, though the real surprise is the high quality voice acting for the engineers. There are several sets of voices, which reinforces the individuality of each uniquely named engineer.
Habitat is a quirky sandbox game with a bright future. The quirky premise is great fun and will appeal to the kid in all of us. The simple to use mod tools is the icing on the cake. There are still some minor bugs and some hit box oddities that could be ironed out, but the game is surprisingly well polished, considering it only at v0.5 at the time of writing.
With the third season of Dog Days, called Dog Days” (also Dog Days Double Dash) set to premiere on January 10th, the official website for the anime has released a two minute preview trailer that not only features new footage from the upcoming season as well as the new character Sharu, but also a sample of the new opening theme “No Limit” by Nana Mizuki.
Dog Days” features the same cast as well as the same animation studio, Seven Arcs, as the prior two seasons and the story will take place two to three months after the end of the second season with Shinku and the other two heroes being summoned back to Flonyard.
It looks like Capcom is already looking forward with their HD remasters of older Resident Evil titles. With Resident Evil HD Remaster being released on January 20th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, the Japanese website for the title was updated to show off a PlayStation 4 theme given to gamers who pre-order the title. On this theme, shown above, you will notice a menu icon that is almost exactly like the one for Resident Evil Zero.
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to be honest, as fans generally loved the classic Resident Evils and although upgrading these older titles is likely challenging for Capcom, they will likely be quite popular. Then again, I’m sure most fans would rather they work on Resident Evil 2 HD before Zero.
It is certainly hard to believe that a PSP game will be released in 2015, especially when one thinks about how little Sony seems to even care about their current handheld, but that is indeed the case as XSEED Games has announcedthat they will be releasing Brandish: The Dark Revenant sometime in January 2015.
At the moment no exact release date has been given, but they are also planning on bringing the title over to European regions at some point in the future. Brandish: The Dark Revenant is a remake of Nihon Falcom‘s classic title from 1995 and if you happen to no longer have a PSP or can’t unbury it then you’ll be happy to hear that Brandish: The Dark Revenant will be compatible with both the PS Vita and PS TV at launch.
Recently the first trailer showing gameplay for Nitroplus Blasters: Heroine Infinite Duel was released by Nitroplus and Examu. Considering this is a preview trailer, only around thirty seconds of the trailer, found below, contains actual gameplay footage showing off a handful of the already introduced characters but this does mark the first time we’ve seen the upcoming arcade fighter in action.
Currently Nitroplus Blasters: Heroine Infinite Duel is set to be released in Arcades in Japan next year though Examu’s titles have a habit of not only being released on consoles, but with Arcana Hearts and even games like Aquapazza being released, a title such as this one that features various heroines from Nitroplus series isn’t much of a stretch.
Indie Gala and Capsule Computers have put together a huge bundle to cap off 2014. This week’s adventurous Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle contains eight indie games.
Amerzone: The Explorer’s Legacy – Fans of the cult classic adventure game Syberia should check out the first game from Syberia’s creator.
Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy – Nostradamus’ daughter Sophie is on a mission to stop the murderer who is leaving a trail of bodies across France.
Heileen 2: The Hands Of Fate– After being shipwrecked, Heileen discovers a deck of tarot cards that could possibly change her life. The game features 15 possible endings and 20 quests in this visual novel.
Stick it to the Man! – What would you do if a pink spaghetti arm grew out of your brain and gave you magical powers? Ray is about to use his new found powers to save himself from being falsely accused of murder.
Idea Factory International has announced that they will be releasing Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1, Fairy Fencer F, and the upcoming Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2: Sisters Generation on PC sometime in the future through Steam.
At the moment the company has not stated when they plan on releasing these PC versions, though Re;Birth 2 is currently set to be released on the PS Vita in North America on January 27th and Europe on February 6th digitally and 11th at retail.
They have also yet to reveal the system requirements and the prices for these titles, but they have provided a story synopsis for each game which you can read below.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 Story
In the world of Gamindustri, four goddesses known as CPUs battled for supremacy in the War of the Guardians. One of the CPUs – Neptune – was defeated by the others and banished from the heavens. In her fall from grace, her memories were lost but a mysterious book reveals itself to Neptune with knowledge of all of Gaminudstri’shistory. Joined by Compa, IF, and the sentient book known as Histoire, Neptune embarks on an extraordinary journey across four different nations on a quest to save the entire world!
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation Story
20XX – Gamindustri faces a dire crisis! Ever since the advent of ASIC – the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime – morality has all but vanished. As much as 80 percent of all students are rumored to worship a being known as Arfoire, and the authorities have chosen to turn a blind eye to the threat. Basically, Gamindustri is pretty messed up, you guys. Ahem. Thus did Gamindustri fall into complete and utter disarray. Will the goddesses be able to reclaim their world from ASIC’s grasp, or will they be forced to wander the Gamindustri Graveyard, forever lost?
Fairy Fencer F
Long ago, a dreadful war was fought between the Goddess and the Vile God. Equally matched, they created a vast number of special weapons imbued with their godly energy, each containing the life force of a fairy. With the passing of time, the weapons left behind by the Goddess and the Vile God are now known as “Furies,” and the warriors who wield them “Fencers”. Due to their immense power, rumor has it that anyone who collects the Furies will have their wish granted. As luck would have it, a young man named Fang acquires one of the Furies, accidentally becoming a Fencer. He soon rescues Tiara, a fellow Fencer, and this fateful encounter draws him into the ancient battle between the Goddess and Vile God.
