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TOM CLANCY’S GHOST RECON PHANTOMS® RELEASES REDESIGNED MAP FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH

TOM CLANCY’S GHOST RECON PHANTOMS® RELEASES REDESIGNED MAP FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – April 23, 2014 – Following the launch of Ghost Recon Phantoms on Steam and PC, Ubisoft® is releasing a redesigned version of the Attica Heights map. The redesign will allow for more circulation and flanking opportunities for both teams. According to Ghost Recon Phantoms producer Corey Facteau, “Attica Heights Reloaded will make it more difficult for a team to keep control of the capture point, which will require teams to craft new strategies to hold control.”

The launch of Ghost Recon Phantoms was well received with a positive response from Steam and PC players. The game is now the third most played free-to-play game on Steam and traffic to the Ghost Recon Phantoms website has increased to half a million visitors daily.

“We are seeing a lot of new players from countries where the game was already available during open beta, as well as from newly opened territories including Brazil and Argentina. We are also seeing a rise in popularity of the game in Asia, in particular Thailand, South Korea and Singapore, which is especially important to our team as Singapore is where the game was created” continued Corey Facteau. “To keep our new and veteran players engaged, we plan to keep improving Ghost Recon Phantoms by releasing regular new content and incorporating player feedback and suggestions to help us shape the future of the game.”

For the latest information and to play now and play for free visit: www.GhostReconPhantoms.com

About Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s video game series, Rayman and Far Cry. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2012-13 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,256 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com/.

© 2013Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Tom Clancy’s, Ghost Recon, the Soldier Icon, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries

BUILD THE ULTIMATE TOWN WITH TOWNCRAFT, AVAILABLE NOW FOR iPHONE AND MAC

BUILD THE ULTIMATE TOWN WITH TOWNCRAFT, AVAILABLE NOW FOR iPHONE AND MAC

Watch the New Trailer and Explore Your Inner Megalomaniac With This Non-Violent Crafting Game

Sydney, Australia – April 23, 2014 – The Aussie developer Flat Earth Games announced today it has released the crafting-building-exploration game TownCraft for iPhone and Mac. TownCraft offers players the chance to satisfy their building urges, crafting a variety of unusual tools and constructing entirely new towns from the ground up. Originally released on the iPad last year, TownCraft for iPhone and Mac adds a whole new level of polish, content, depth, and replay value highlighted by four new levels, 30 new resources, new building types and structures, 44 new quests and much more, all without any in-app purchases ever.

Watch the YouTube launch trailer for the video HERE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=epO8f-migjc

“We’re so glad to finally see TownCraft out on iPhone and Mac today,” said Leigh Harris, Lead Designer. “We put a lot of effort into making the game the best it can be for both new platforms. Our hope is that new players and the community see our dedication and love of TownCraft now and well into the future.”

TownCraft is a simple yet addictive building and crafting game that’s easy to get into, non-violent, and engages one’s desire to discover, create and explore. Set in medieval times, players are alone in the wilderness and must start a new town to become the toast of the kingdoms. Gamers begin by crafting the most basic of tools, tying a sharpened stone to a small piece of wood as a hatchet and, before long, their town will be teeming with travellers from all across the land. They’ll buy wares at the local shops, come to check out the sights, have some food, and drink at the tavern players build. Fish, farm, forage, mine, mill, and explore the bizarre and distinctive world of TownCraft.

Key Features in TownCraft

  • Play a new world every time – no two worlds will ever be the same thanks to procedurally generated maps.
  • Test your skills at crafting, with hundreds of different objects to create, shape, and construct.
  • Build bridges, jetties, workshops and windmills in the effort to create a fully functioning and self-sufficient town.
  • Order around muck-ridden peasants, who will manage one’s gold mines, stone quarries, crop fields, lakes, shops and taverns.
  • Play in a world with a real-time day and night cycle – workers will wake up, go to work, hit the tavern to meet some passing travellers later at night, and then get some shut-eye again.
  • Explore each new world and unearth countless resources, from cotton to canary eggs, gold to grapes, wheat to wax and stone to silver.
  • Follow an off-beat story as kingdoms vie for control.

TownCraft is produced with the support of Screen Australia, and is currently available for the iPad and iPhone on the APP Store for $4.99 (with no in-app purchases); the Mac version is available HERE (itunes.apple.com/us/app/towncraft/id846559976?ls=1&mt=12) for $9.99. For more information, keep in touch with Flat Earth Games on its Website www.flatearthgames.com.au, like it on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter @fegames.

# # #
ABOUT FLAT EARTH GAMES
Founded in January 2012 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Flat Earth Games was created by Rohan and Leigh Harris. This is a tale of two Australian brothers who grew up playing games (as brothers do), never expecting to one day make their own. Imagine their surprise when they find themselves with a distribution partner, funding and a development team bringing TownCraft to life.

Demon Gaze now available for purchase in North America

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Today fans of dungeon crawlers will be happy to hear that NIS America‘s Demon Gaze is now available for purchase in North America both at retailers and from the PlayStation Store. Those looking forward to the game in Europe have a few more days to wait as the title is set to be released there on April 25th.

It is worth noting that for the first month after the game’s release, gamers can download some free Disgaea DLC that offers players character portraits of Etna, Flonne, Cicily, Asagi, and a Prinny. For those who haven’t been following the game, Demon Gaze follows the story of Oz, the nameable protagonist, who suddenly wakes up with no memories of his past in a land overrun with demons. Without knowing what to do or who he is, Oz starts hunting down demons and assisting around the Inn that he is staying at by using his powers as a Demon Gazer.

Girls und Panzer OVA Series Review

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Girls und Panzer OVA Series
Studio: Actas
Publisher: Hanabee
Format:
Blu-Ray (reviewed), DVD
Release Date: April 2, 2014
Price: $34.99 – Available Here

Overview
Girls und Panzer was an amusing mix of history, military authenticity and cute anime characters tailored for those of us who know our tanks as much as our anime. Believe it or not the military otaku fanbase is formidable in Japan with even the Japanese Self Defence Force using anime mascots in its recruitment drive. The anime even caught on in the West where players in the popular online game World of Tanks saw the series trademark phrase “Panzer vor!” being typed across their screens.

While the TV show (reviewed HERE) delivered a clever and original spin on the sports competition genre, the OVA collection promises to be more of a companion disc rather than an expansion of the series. Should fans roll out once again for the OVAs or treat this as a mere blank?

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Story
As expected, there is no real story or plot here in case you were wondering. Just six short episodes are on offer which run from anywhere between four minutes to sixteen minutes. Fans of Girls und Panzer will enjoy more educational military references and more fun and games with the girls while some episodes manage to be pretty clever in their delivery.

Such as a reconnaissance mission which sees two members of the team take a hike through the snow while they point out curious army facts, sing marching songs, infiltrate Pravda School’s base and eventually come full circle back to HQ. Once again we’re left to ponder how these girls wear short skirts in subzero temperatures all while being informed on how to keep one’s feet warm.

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Although we’re given obligatory fan service with a swimsuit episode, where they still manage to fit in tank camouflage references, other episodes give you more practical info on the world behind Girls und Panzer. Such as facts about the gigantic aircraft carriers that hold entire cities while one episode is dedicated to just the bizarre yet fan-favourite Angler fish dance.

A lot of the humour injected in these silly episodes can be missed unless you’re on the ball especially with the sixth and final episode where members of the team star in a talent show. Conversations and rebuttals are fast, often played out like a Japanese variety show, and demand that you know the context which can be found either from the TV series or something military buffs are aware of. If you haven’t seen the TV series, leave this well enough alone.

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Visuals & Audio
Studio Actas has managed to maintain the quality of the original TV series, giving viewers above average animation for a simple slice of life anime. Since there isn’t any action there is also hardly any CG used this time around although the tanks you do see are still highly detailed and the environments are crisp as always. To make up for the lack of activity you do get a saucy swimsuit episode though, I suppose.

Most of the girls make a return along with their voice actors, both English and Japanese. The banter being thrown back and forth here is definitely an impressive feat with some of the script resembling complicated tongue twisters.

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Since there’s no real team battles or story development in these OVA episodes, sound variety is a little scarce. Did you enjoy the crazy Angler fish song? They’ve dedicated an entire episode to it so dance along until your heart’s content. On the other hand, it’s also a little disappointing to hear the same opening and ending songs as the TV anime release.

Extras
Expecting fancy extras were we? Here’s a clean opening and ending song of the original anime for your troubles. At this price point and for the content given you would be surprised to find anything extra here.

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Overall
If you haven’t seen Girls und Panzer, ignore this and head straight for the TV series instead. For fans of the series this OVA collection is a compendium of bits and pieces of additional info behind the Girls und Panzer universe along with some fan-favourite references. No doubt you will come away from this with some new, random info about the military. But the fact is, there’s very little to see in this disjointed OVA collection which clocks in at 73 minutes. In the original Japanese release, these short episodes were included with the (admittedly expensive) Blu-Ray volumes.

While it’s nice to have these localised and available on our shelves, I can’t help but feel that making a separate release wasn’t such a good idea. Diehard fans will have fun for a short while, but I can think of a number of ways that $35, or $30 for the DVD version, is better spent.

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Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Blizzard announces Blizzcon 2014

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Blizzard Entertainment, the masterminds behind the colossal MMORPG World of Warcraft and many other titles, have announced that their Blizzard Entertainment centric convention ‘Blizzcon‘ will be returning in 2014.

This will mark the eighth annual Blizzcon event and will bring fans of games such as World of Warcraft, Diablo and the unforgettable Starcraft series together for a two day extravaganza. Tickets for the event go on sale in two batches, May 8th and May 11th.

Blizzcon 2014 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Centre in Southern California on November 7th and 8th, 2014. Be sure to check out the Blizzcon website here for more details on the event.

Might and Magic Duel of Champions Cast “Road to Paris” 2014

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Ubisoft have announced the second edition of the eSports “Road to Paris” tournament series for its popular trading-card game, Might & Magic Duel of Champions, currently available for PC and iPad.

The Producer of Might & Magic Duel of Champions, Samuel Jobin declared, “Last year more than 1,500 players participated in epic battles through three online qualifying events and five live events across the world to become the Grand Champion. The eight finalists from 2013 were from all over the world: Sweden, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Denmark and the USA. We hope that the second Road to Paris competition will bring even more players as we continue to expand the game and grow our community.”

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Players can register and participate for the “Road to Paris” online qualifiers starting May 1 on the official site here.

Don’t miss out on the chance to become one of the eight finalists competing for the worldwide Grand Champion title of Might & Magic Duel of Champions!

Croixleur Sigma to launch on Steam on April 30th

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It has been a long time coming but Croixleur finally has a release date for Steam and it is coming to Steam in its revamped form Croixleur Sigma which will cost $7.99 when it is released on April 30th. Croixleur Sigma features a number of new additions that include a new playable character in the form of Francesca Storaro, two player co-op, new gameplay modes, improved graphics, and new music.

If you have already purchased the game do not fret, as anyone who has bought Croixleur prior to the Steam release will be given a Steam code for Croixleur Sigma. For those who don’t know, Croixleur Sigma is a high-speed hack and slash action game that was developed by souvenir circ., one of Japan’s lead indie developers. In this new release players have the option to take on the game’s story mode and see two seperate stories with multiple endings for each character. New screenshots of the game as well as a trailer that highlights the additions to this release can be found below.

Call of Duty: Ghosts New Customisation Items Now Available

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Call of Duty: Ghosts is packing in the heat with six new personalisation packs and a wide range of customisation items now available for players to take advantage of on Xbox Live.

Infinity Ward and Activision have released the third Customisation Items trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts (featured below), showing the six personalisation packs, with customised camo, reticle, patch playercard and background for only $1.99 each. Choices include:

  • Blunt Force: chronic lethality
  • 1987: retrograde makeover
  • Hex: authentic and high-tech look
  • Heartlands: protective patterns
  • Eyeballs: death stares
  • Molten: lava-hot themes

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In addition, players can purchase The Soap Legend Pack with the iconic field commander of Task Force 141 with Captain John “Soap” MacTavish for $3.99, the Classic Ghost Pack for $1.99, the Squad Pack: Extinction for alien smashing soldiers at $3.99 and Voice Packs with Snoop Dogg and the Drill Instructor for only $2.99.

Rise of Incarnates, a fighting game for PC, announced by Namco

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Bandai Namco has announced that they are working on a free to play battle arena game where players will fight 2 vs 2 and it is being developed by the team that worked on Tekken and Soulcalibur. In Rise of Incarnates players will fight in a ruined world amongst real life cities that have been decimated by earthquakes and terrible weather.

Players will be able to control ‘Incarnates’ which are people who can control demonic powers that allow them to transform, fly, and use special abilities. There will be four playable characters at launch, Ares, Grim Reaper, Lilith, and Mephistopheles. Rise of Incarnates is set to be released sometime in Q2 2014 on Steam.

Ubisoft AND Might & Magic Duel of Champions KICK-OFF “Road to Paris” 2014

Ubisoft AND Might & Magic Duel of Champions KICK-OFF “Road to Paris” 2014

Worldwide eSports competition starts May 1 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – April 23rd, 2014 – Ubisoft® has announced the second edition of the eSports “Road to Paris” tournament series for its popular collectible card game, Might & Magic Duel of Champions, available for PC and iPad.

The second edition of the “Road to Paris” tournament serieswill take place over the course of this year through online qualifying tournament events, culminating in the World Championship finals taking place in January 2015. Players can register and participate for the online qualifiers starting May 1. Eight finalists from qualifying events worldwide will be invited to compete for the title of Might & Magic Duel of Champions – Grand Champion.

Last year more than 1,500 players participated in epic battles through three online qualifying events and five live events across the world to become the Grand Champion. The eight finalists from 2013 were from all over the world: Sweden, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Denmark and the USA. We hope that the second Road to Paris competition will bring even more players as we continue to expand the game and grow our community,” said Samuel Jobin, Producer of Might & Magic Duel of Champions. “Beyond the players that competed, the tournament entertained a much wider community that streamed Duel of Champions, watched game replays, and followed the tournament’s results.

To register and for more information about the Might & Magic Duel of Champions“Road to Paris” Tournament Series, please visit http://www.road2paris.com/

To play Might & Magic Duel of Champions, please visit the official website http://www.duelofchampions.com.