It has been over a year since Shin Megami Tensei IV was released in North America so it is easy for gamers in that region to forget that the title had not been released in Europe yet. Well we have some good news for European fans, as Atlus has announced that they are going to finally be releasing Shin Megami Tensei IV in Europe this September and it will be sold at the discounted price of €19.99 / £17.99.
It is worth noting that Shin Megami Tensei IV is still a digital only release in Europe. The company went on to say that all DLC released in North America, minus retailer-exclusive pre-order items, will be available for purchase in Europe as soon as the game is released.
We have some great news for fans of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. We have recently been reporting on how Persona 4 Golden’s Marie will be a post-launch DLC character for the title and today Atlus USA confirmed that she is going to be released in the West and better yet, she will be free for the first week after the game is released.
Today the company announced that Marie, “The Antisocial Poet of the Hollow Forest,” will be given the same treatment as Adachi, meaning that for one week after the game is released both characters will be available as a free download, though no price was announced for those who miss out on the free download.
Today EA and BioWare released the first in what is going to be a series of videos showing off some of the features in Dragon Age: Inquisition and since this is the first video, they chose to highlight how the game’s combat system has been refined in this third title.
In the video, found below, viewers are shown how to make use of the strategic camera and plan out their attacks and change their strategy on the fly. After a slight delay, Dragon Age: Inquisition is set to be released on November 18th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
Logitech has unveiled the Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury Ultra-Fast FPS Gaming Mouse (they love insanely long titles, don’t they?), which features their exclusive Fusion Engine sensor technology, allowing the mouse to reliably track over 500 inches per second (IPS) and claim the throne as the fastest gaming mouse ever made. Marcus Fry, Managing Director for Logitech ANZ, said of the peripheral;
We took on the challenge of creating the world’s fastest mouse in service of FPS gamers, and after three years of intensive R&D we are proud to launch a mouse that only Logitech could develop. The Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury is the fastest gaming mouse, bar none, and the best mouse for high-speed FPS gameplay. Its lightweight design, combined with the precision and capability of the Fusion Engine, lets you make fast, furious swipes and dominate the battlefield, proving once again that Science Wins!
The lightweight, streamlined mouse – bearing a resemblance to the Logitech G502 Proteus Core – also guarantees pinpoint accuracy with its integrated Delta Zero technology, can switch between four DPI settings with a range of 4000-240 DPI and has eight programmable buttons. The Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury Ultra-Fast FPS Gaming Mouse will be available mid-August for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 PC’s at an RRP of $69.95.
Today, new footage and screenshots were released for Ghost Machine’s new upcoming game, Final Burn. Final Burn is a flight combat game coming out on PC that has been designed to be played with the awesome new gaming tech, Oculus Rift.
The game is still in development, but with VR in mind. Final Burn is action packed and has been described as being reminiscent of popular blockbuster sci-fi movies like Independence Day and Mars Attacks. An official release of the game is set for early 2015 in anticipation of the Oculus DK2 release.
You can check out the alpha gameplay footage below and more on the Ghost Machine website. This kind of simulation, whether it be action in the sky or high-speed track racing, really creates big screen arcade experiences and with the help of Oculus tech, Ghost Machine is certainly showing that they can take the experience to a whole new level.
Broadcasting your RuneScape adventures to Twitch is now easier than ever. Jagex Games Studio announced that Twitch is now integrated into their MMORPG, RuneScape. The new feature allows RuneScape players to seamlessly broadcast directly to Twitch from within the game and without having to muck around with any external software.
It was a big update for Runescape, as the release of this cool feature came hand in hand with the launch of a new adventure and boss, the arachnid horror Araxxor. The new combat boss challenge was voted for by RuneScape’s community as part of the game’s Player Power initiative.
It also seems that RuneScape is not Jagex’s only game that will have the built-in Twitch feature. They are also working to have it in their up-coming game Transformers: Universe, which is still in it open beta stage.
In a move that may entice some peoples decision in which next gen console they will be picking up, EA and Microsoft have entered into an exclusive deal to bring you EA Access, a subscription based service promising a collection of EA’s biggest games on Xbox One ready for you to download and play. The Beta has been rolled out over the course of the day and is currently offering gamers unlimited access to four EA games including FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2 and Battlefield 4, with more titles being added soon. The subcription cost $6.99 (AUD) a month or $39.99 for a yearly subscription and provides access to those games whenever you want while you’re subscription is active. No release date for the service outside of Beta has been released yet, with EA only saying coming soon.
Besides the unlimited access games you have access to from what EA is calling the Vault, there are also a few other perks for subscribers including a 10% discount on all EA digital content purchased through the Xbox One digital store. This includes everything from full game downloads to DLC so the subscription could pay for itself if you are a frequent buyer of EA products. Subscribers also get early access to trials of new EA games up to five days before release date. Planned titles so include Madden NFL 15, NHL 15, FIFA 15, NBA LIVE 15, and Dragon Age: Inquisition, however many more are planned. In a great move from EA, if you decide to buy the full game upon release your progress will carry over from the trial version.
This seems like a great payment plan option especially for those who purchase the yearly sports games only for them to become redundant a year later or those that play a game for a month and then move on. There are a few hidden details here that we had to dig through the T&C’s to find out about. First up, an Xbox Live Gold account isn’t required to access the service but will be required if you want to play online. You will also need an active EA Origin Account to subscribe to EA access. If any games are to be removed from the service, EA will give 30 days notice before such action occurs.
Sony released a comment on the exclusivity of the service to Microsoft’s console basically saying the service won’t be coming to the PlayStation 4 anytime soon.
“We evaluated the EA Access subscription offering and decided that it does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect…PlayStation Plus memberships are up more than 200% since the launch of PlayStation 4, which shows that gamers are looking for memberships that offer a multitude of services, across various devices, for one low price. We don’t think asking our fans to pay an additional $5 a month for this EA-specific program represents good value to the PlayStation gamer.”
A strange move from Sony as it seems they are deciding for the user whether the service is good value or not rather than letting them decide. Either way we don’t really expect it to hurt Sony’s strong position in the next gen console war. Let us know in the comments below what you think of EA access and if you will be signing up to it on your Xbox One when it becomes available.
Puzzle games have never been my strong suit, nor have I ever been gifted with the particular knack required to beat puzzles easily. However, So Many Me has me hooked, with its cute artwork and addictive gameplay. The title was developed by Extend Studio and published by ORiGO GAMES, who also published Rain Blood Chronicles: Mirage. This amazingly charming puzzle platformer is an absolute delight to experience, especially as the game builds up through your progression. Players follow Filo and his band of clones as they attempt to save the world from an unspeakable evil, one that threatens to destroy all life on the planet. I’m quite surprised at how much fun I’ve had with this title.
Gameplay
The gameplay is quite simple, but it isn’t the movement that will get players confused. While the basic movement is just using the directional keys, there’s extra mechanics that are necessary to complete each level. One of the main things about this game is the ability to acquire clones of Filo, the main character blob that will be venturing across the globe to stop the evil. Each of his clones has an individual name, and while it might take a while to completely unlock each one of your clones, they all serve a purpose in your quest. As you unlock them, each of them will follow your every move. This becomes both a blessing and a curse. One of the unique features of these clones is that they unlock an ability that allows you to turn each one of these clones into a stone, giving you the ability to latch on to otherwise unreachable locations. The ability is keybinded by default to “D”, and turning the clone back to a clone is done by pressing the Down key.
When I say that the clones are a blessing and a curse, I mean by how easy it makes your life to have these clones to access difficult parts of a level, but also how worrisome it is to worry about this huge trail of clones behind you. While turning your clones into rocks has its benefits, it also makes you more susceptible to monster attacks and difficult obstacles. Let’s say you have a trail of 5 clones behind you, and you try to jump over a turret’s firing range to avoid it. Even if you think you passed the danger zone, your tailing clones might not be so lucky, and when one of you gets hit, you all die. The clones mechanics adds a whole new level of depth to the game, forcing you to become aware of everything going on around you. Of course, Extend Studio hasn’t left us in the blind with this. By holding the Shift key, you can overlook the whole level, allowing you to plot out your course to successfully acquire all three objectives in a level.
At first, it was difficult to get used to the movement because you had to account for each of your clones. When they stack up, it takes a while to get your bearings set. With more than one clone, you have to be able to micro-manage how many clones you have stuck in stone form and which ones are going to be pulled out of the form when you recall them. I’ve had multiple instances where I didn’t want to recall a certain clone who was holding down a button, but ended up doing so because I forgot which clone to use. It’s infuriating for me but it also forced me to really think about what I was doing before I set the pace. Trying to get to higher reaching places was also a challenge, as you had to time your jumps so that you recall a clone, and set the next one up as a stone. It’s small things like this that creates an even deeper challenge than the basic floor plan of the level.
They’ve also integrated little special transformational abilities that will assist you in beating certain levels, and by utilizing these abilities smartly, players will have a much easier time accomplishing all of their objectives. They also have boss battles in the game that players have to beat to progress. There’s a lot of different mechanics in the game that creates a very complex experience for players, but where’s the fun if I tell you guys everything there is to know.
Visuals & Audio
Visually, the game is really cute. I love the artwork and style of the game, and I find that with the overall storyline and feeling of the game that the artwork completely works. Filo and the rest of the cast are made to look like blobs, but you tend to not mind his comments or all of his clones, each with their own distinct personalities. It’s not very graphically intensive, but the scope of each level increases, making it harder and harder to finish all of you objectives. The soundtrack wasn’t too bad, and the sound effects are nice. They do complement the gameplay and for that I’m grateful. The audio track helps the game along and it keeps the gameplay light. It saves me from feeling like I should be ripping my hair out.
Overall
Honestly, I haven’t had this much fun with a puzzle platformer in a long time. So Many Me is a special game and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has an interest in beating puzzles or likes being dumbfounded for hours on end. The gameplay was well done and everything seems to be in working order. All the mechanics are pretty unique and you can definitely say that the game plays well. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I suggest you definitely check it out on Steam. While there might be some small kinks about the game that I wasn’t all too fond of, the game was still worth the play, and I can see myself going back to finish the game all over again.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Today, The Last of Us Remastered for the Sony PlayStation 4 hit stores nationwide. The next-gen remastered edition of Naughty Dog‘s opus includes the original game in 1080p and 60fps, and all of the Season Pass content, including the Ellie-centric DLC Left Behind.
In terms of new content, there is also a Photo Mode that has been integrated, made to take advantage of the PS4’s Share button. Players can freeze-frame the game at any point, move the camera around, change filters and add effects before sending their masterpiece out to the world. Check out the gallery of screenshots below, as well as the launch trailer further down. The Last of Us Remastered is rated R18+ and retails for$79.95 RRP.
Last week it was announced that XSEED Games was planning on releasing The Legend Of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for the PC this week and now that day has come. Starting today gamers can purchase The Legend Of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for the PC through Steam, GoG, and GamersGate where the game will be sold at a 15% discount this week before it goes back up to its original price of $19.99.
For those who haven’t been following the PC release of the game, this version comes with a number of exclusive features such as HD resolutions, customizable controls, and significantly faster load times. It also features enhanced features taken from the PSP release, including the New Game+ mode, English battle voices, and selectable difficulty levels once the game has been completed.
