Page 3928 – Capsule Computers

First-Ever Games+Movies “Devolver Double Debut” Humble Bundle: Get Behind the Scenes in the Merciless World of Competitive Gaming with Professional Gamers in “Good Game” and Take a Psychedelic Audio-tastic Ride with Cosmic DJ

Press Releases

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March 7, 2014

First-Ever Games+Movies “Devolver Double Debut” Humble Bundle:
Get Behind the Scenes in the Merciless World of Competitive Gaming with Professional Gamers in “Good Game” and Take a Psychedelic Audio-tastic Ride with Cosmic DJ

MARCH 6, 2014 — AUSTIN, TX – A mega Games+Movies bundle from Humble Bundle is now available ending March 16, featuring a film and game debut that allows Humble fans a chance to get them first. From independent games publisher and film distributor, Devolver Digital, comes the Devolver Double Debut Bundle (www.humblebundle.com/devolver) which packages five games both classic and new, including the world-debut of the sinisterly brilliant audio adventure, Cosmic DJ. Also premiering is a new documentary profiling the professional gaming lives of the world-renown Evil Geniuses team. Proceeds from the Devolver Double Debut bundle are set to benefit the Brandon Boyer Kicks Cancer’s Ass fund as well as The Film Collaborative. Brandon Boyer is the Independent Games Foundation (IGF) Chairman, founder of videogame culture site Venus Patrol, and co-founder of Austin’s independent game collective JUEGOS RANCHEROS. The Film Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping creators preserve their rights in order to be the main beneficiary of their work.

Grab a bowl of popcorn and get a first-hand look at the high emotional toll professional gaming takes on players in “Good Game” which chronicles life with the Evil Geniuses – one of the world’s most successful professional gaming teams. In the relentless and unforgiving digital gaming realm, the stakes are high and one wrong move could end it all. Also making its world-debut in the Devolver Double Debut Bundle is hypnotic and visually engaging music sequencer, Cosmic DJ. Cosmic DJ invites you into a seductive world of beats, highs and loops as you engineer your own tracks set to an incredibly stylized 3D digital world – whether you are a novice or lifelong musician, Cosmic DJ is one fantastic voyage you won’t want to miss.

“The entire Humble team is thrilled to be working with Devolver Digital on this game and film bundle that includes two world debuts. We’re also excited to give our fans a way to support indie film makers through The Film Collaborative and to help Brandon Boyer during his time of need,” said John Graham, co-founder of Humble Bundle. “Double debut all the way!”

This unique bundle comes via the collaboration between Humble Bundle, Devolver Digital/Devolver Digital Films and VHX, an online direct-to-fan distribution platform built for premium video.

“We’re excited to be working with Devolver and Humble Bundle. This is what modern digital distribution is supposed to look like,” said Jamie Wilkinson, co-founder and CEO of VHX.

Mike Wilson, co-founder of Devolver Digital said, “Where entertainment is concerned, games have always been at the forefront of digital technology, breaking down the barriers of entry with fast, easy access to a myriad of games across multiple genres. With the help of our fantastic partners at VHX and Humble, Devolver is poised to push films in similar directions by offering unique and engaging cinema to fans via similar distribution platforms that have seen so much success in the games-sphere.”

Included in this stellar bundle:

Fine Independent Cinema

o   Good Game (Debut movie via VHX key)
o   Austin High (movie via VHX key)
o   The Poisoning (movie via VHX key)
o   One Couch at a Time (movie via VHX key)
o   Mars (movie via VHX key)

Historic and InstaClassic Games

o   Cosmic DJ (Debut game DRM Free PC/Mac version)
o   Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition (game via Steam Key)
o   Shadow Warrior Classic Redux (game via Steam Key)
o   Marc Ecko’s Getting Up (game via Steam key)
o   Defense Technica (game via Steam Key)

For more information on Humble Bundles, please visit www.humblebundle.com.

For more information about Devolver Digital, please hit up www.devolverdigital.com, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/devolverdigital and Twitter @DevolverDigital and @DevolverFlix.

More information on VHX distribution is at www.vhx.tv/.

To contribute to the Kick Cancer’s Ass Brandon Boyer fund hit up http://www.gofundme.com/brandonnn.

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About the Bundle – Films:

Good Game (http://www.goodgamemovie.com/)
Good Game is an independent documentary from Nine Hour Films that follows a year in the life of the members of Team Evil Geniuses Starcraft 2 division as they compete throughout the United States and the world. Good Game will debut at this year’s SXSW on March 11 in a special screening by Devolver Digital. View the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/82424677.

Austin High (http://keepaustinhigh.com/)
Keep Austin Weird is the unofficial saying of this Texas town that’s packed with music, film, fun and of course, weed-loving folks. In this hilarious and sexy stoner adventure, the blazed students and faculty of Austin’s Ladybird High attempt to shake off their slacker demons to stand up for their lifestyle and the eccentric city they love.

The Poisoning (http://www.devolverdigital.com/films/view/the-poisoning)
Three men travel across the country and encounter a hitchhiker that turns their world upside down. A maddening hellride and a race for survival ensue.

Mars: (http://swervepictures.wix.com/mars)
The discovery of life on Mars places a robotic expedition and a manned mission in a race to the Red Planet. On the way we discover that love – biological, spiritual, and even mechanical – can flourish in all kinds of ways. This romantic comedy is told in the playful style of a graphic novel- using a unique animation process that director Geoff Marslett developed specifically for the film.

One Couch at a Time (http://www.onecouchatatime.com/)
One Couch at a Time is the first full-length feature documentary on the CouchSurfing movement and this emerging Age of Sharing. The film follows protagonist and veteran CouchSurfer, Alexandra Liss, through 21 countries and 6 subcontinents for 7 months using CouchSurfing.org. As we explore our inner and societal limits, this film pushes us to ask ourselves and our peers “what would YOU be willing to share with a stranger?”

About the Bundle – Games:

Cosmic DJ (www.cosmicdjgame.com)
Cosmic DJ from is a quick “pick-up and play” musical experience. It is appropriate for people of any musical competence and is meant to be a fun and new way for people to experience the joy of music creation. Create songs quickly and intuitively and then share them on SoundCloud for the world to hear.

Defense Technica (www.defensetechnica.com)
Defense Technica from developer Kuno Interactive is the next evolution in hardcore tower defense strategy games. Protect the core from an onslaught of unrelenting biomechanical terrors with a powerful range of tower defense units – each with their own upgradable features and methods of attacks.

Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition (http://www.devolverdigital.com/games/view/duke-nukem-3d)
Needing no preface, Duke Nukem redefined shooters in the 90s with hardcore gameplay action and unrelenting comedy that became an instant video game classic. The Megaton Edition is the definitive edition and includes enhanced versions of Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition and three unique expansion packs as well as the original version of the classic game.

Shadow Warrior Classic Redux (http://www.3drealms.com/sw/)
Recently remade by Flying Wild Hog and published by Devolver Digital to critical and commercial success, the original Shadow Warrior was released in 1997 and was a pinnacle of eastern-themed swordplay in video games at the time. Follow hero Lo Wang as he fights evil with a sharp sword and a sharp tongue. Classic Redux features remastered visuals and two massive expansion packs. Corporations rule every facet of life in a near-future Japan and employ Shadow Warriors, one-man armies of unparalleled skill, to protect their power and forcefully remove all opposition.

Marc Ecko’s Getting Up (http://store.steampowered.com/app/260190/)
Released in 2006, Marc Ecko’s Getting Up redefined what fans expected from video game soundtracks. Play as Trane, a “toy” graffiti artist with the street smarts, athletic prowess and vision to become an “All City King” – the most reputable of all graffiti artists. Along your quest, uncover the mayor’s deep, dark secret and use your fighting talents and high-wire graffiti to expose the city’s leader as a corrupt…

About VHX
VHX is a digital distribution platform for artists to sell videos from their own websites, directly to their fans. The company was founded in 2011 by Casey Pugh and Jamie Wilkinson and is headquartered in NYC and http://vhx.tv.

About Humble Bundle
Humble Bundle organizes pay-what-you-want sales and puts the power directly in the hands of the consumers, offering them awesome games, eBooks, albums and more at prices they set themselves. Consumers not only pay what they want, but also decide how to allocate their money among the game developers, charity, and a humble tip. Thanks to the generous contributions of bundle buyers, Humble Bundle has raised over $33 million for charity to date.

About The Film Collaborative
The Film Collaborative is a non profit organization dedicated to helping creators preserve their rights in order to be the main beneficiary of their work. We advise and we actively work with filmmakers to distribute their work and educate them on the best opportunities available for gathering an audience and generating income. The Film Collaborative is currently preparing the next edition of the groundbreaking book Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul filled with case studies and in depth information about distributing films and making money in the digital age. The past edition of this book is available for free from sellingyourfilm.com/store/#PDF For more information on our organization, visit www.thefilmcollaborative.org.

EDGE OF SPACE ONLINE MULTIPLAYER LAUNCHES WITH FIRST NEW TERRARIA CONTENT

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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March 7, 2014

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EDGE OF SPACE ONLINE MULTIPLAYER LAUNCHES WITH FIRST NEW TERRARIA CONTENT

Buy One, Get One Free and Explore the Dangers in Edge of Space with Friends

Twain Harte, CA – March 4, 2013 – ArkCo space adventurers, get ready to join forces to conquer space! Reverb Publishing is proud to announce that today the wild 2D sandbox, survival-adventure game Edge of Space is getting a fresh injection of life with full online cooperative multiplayer support. This major content update will also include a new Training mode and the first phase of the crossover content from the hit game Terraria. Now gamers can band together online to trek across unexplored landscapes, share resources to create wicked-cool weaponry and construct bases, battle wicked mutated monstrosities, and discover the first taste of the Terraria content.

Watch the new Edge of Space multiplayer launch trailer HERE: youtube.com/watch?v=buu-ly9w9U8

“This is by far the biggest and probably most important content update for Edge of Space yet,” said Jake Crane, lead designer and founder of Handyman Studios. “Multiplayer support has been a long time coming and it’ll be awesome to see Edge of Space gamers team-up in some awesome co-op play. We’ve also added a ton more improvements to the overall look of the game, balanced gameplay mechanics, and even added a rewarding Training mode. Finally, we’re really excited to begin adding some of the cool Terraria content in this update and look forward to seeing our fans enjoy all the fun features.”

Available on Steam Early Access for the price of $12.99, for a limited time consumers can now enjoy a special “buy one, get one free” promotion to celebrate the launch of multiplayer and the first phase of the Terraria content.

Set in deep space, Edge of Space is an open-world, dynamically generated sandbox survival-adventure game. Gamers start with only a laser pick and the gear from a crashed cryopod, and immediately start exploring and collecting resources as every piece of ore mined is used to fabricate survival equipment. Fight against an array of creative horrors including cybernetically enhanced Space Laser Sharks, vicious genetically evolved polar bears, and deadly quick Jet Pack Space Penguins — and those are not even the strangest monstrosities to encounter! At the absolute edge of space gamers must adapt or die – good luck ArkCo Operatives!

For new feature announcements, please visit the game’s official Website, playedgeofspace.com/ and follow the development team at Twitter, “Like” it on Facebook, and watch development video streams on Twitch.

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ABOUT HANDYMAN STUDIOS
Founded in 2011, Handyman Studios is an independent game company founded on the dreams and skills of two game development veterans who are also best friends who have worked together for four years in various capacities. Starting out as a work for hire company, Handyman used its skills to help others and learn how to operate effectively and efficiently. With a successful kickstarter, Handyman Studios is able to transition into its real purpose – becoming a game studio dedicated to creating the best gameplay experience possible without fear to evolve or innovate in small and large ways.
For more information about Handyman Studios, please visit www.handymanstudios.com/.

ABOUT REVERB PUBLISHING
Launched in 2010, Reverb Publishing offers digital publishing to independent game developers, combining production and business development support paired with the proven public relations and marketing agency expertise from its parent company, Reverb Communications. Reverb’s unique model is form fitted for studios, ensuring they receive the majority of the game’s revenue and maintain ownership of their titles while Reverb handles non-developmental tasks including production support, navigating QA, and preparing for product submission.

For more information about Reverb Publishing, please visit www.reverbpublishing.com.

New Screenshots Released for Etherium

Chris Chu

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March 7, 2014

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Focus Home Interactive and Tindalos Interactive, the studio that created Stellar Impact, has just released another series of screenshot of their upcoming title Etherium.

The futuristic real-time strategy game will feature three unique factions: the Consortium, the Council, and the Clones. Each are unique in their own way and will complement certain styles of gameplay. The new screenshots available will highlight some of the maps and game environments that players can expect from this title. Environmental hazards are a real thing in this game which can affect your buildings as the weather changes.

The solo campaign in this game is non-linear, meaning that you get to decide what decisions you make and what paths you take when progressing. There are 7 different planets with different environments, which means that you’ll have to tailor your strategy to fit with each of those environments.

For more information on this PC game, check out their site here.

God Of Light Review

Frank Inglese

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March 7, 2014

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God Of Light
Developer: Eon Games
Publisher: Playmous
Platforms: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (Reviewed)
Release Date: 27th February 2014
Price: $1.99 – Available Here

Overview

“The bigger the darkness, the easier it is to spot your little light.” (Brother Andrew, “God’s Smuggler”). “God Of Light” is a puzzle game developed by the awesome little team over at “Eon Games” and published by “Playmous” that has players set off on an adventure to light up a once beautiful world that has been thrown into darkness by an unknown force obviously set on the destruction of a gentle peace. It is a game that boasts quirky puzzle-solving and brilliantly vibrant visuals, the likes of which any avid iOS gamer will love…or so they say.

Gameplay

As far as puzzle games go, I really wouldn’t consider “God Of Light” to be anywhere near your average puzzle title. It has all the fundamental aspects of a good puzzler; challenge, quirkiness and a cute character to play as, but what “God Of Light” does is it twists and tweaks what is good about your typical puzzle game and makes it into something of its very own. I’m not saying it revolutionises the genre in any way but it definitely does something that I personally have never seen before and it does it well.

You play as “Shiny”, a ball of light and what seems like the only hope left at lighting up this darkened world. As “Shiny” you use an array of mirrored surfaces to reflect and guide your beams of light around obstacles and to a structure called the “Source Of Light” which permanently lights up and brings back some form of light to the desolate world. Each level contains three crystals that can be lit up while trying to make your beam reach the “Source Of Life”, collecting all three crystals will simply award you a perfect level completion and, even though I’ve played through the game, I saw no reward for collecting each and every crystal.

There is also a hint system within the game that comes in the form of fireflies. Alongside the three crystals, some levels will contain a firefly that you can light up. Doing so will allow you to use the dragonfly to give yourself a hint as to where you should line up the beams of light to complete the level perfectly. My favourite mobile titles are ones that are easy to pick up, easy to play and easy to put down when necessary yet deliver a level of thought-inducing gameplay to get one thinking just enough to get the brain juices truly flowing but not enough to spark frustration.

A great deal of GOOD games do this but some do miss their mark by quite a lot…luckily “God Of Light” does this very well! I think it is a perfectly balanced game that doesn’t demand too much from its player but also doesn’t treat its player like a brainless potato. The unfortunate thing is that they really give you no incentive for collecting each of the crystals within a level. I do it because I’m competitive in nature and I’d rather not let a game get one over me so I collect each and every one of them but I can’t see why others would do the same.

Visuals

“God Of Light” has an absolutely brilliant visual style, especially for a puzzle game. Using a theme revolving around darkness and light, you have to be able to make things visually murky and mystical yet also quite vibrant and beautiful, a few mixes that aren’t often portrayed within one title but when they are…they’re done damn well. Case in point; “God Of Light”.

When starting out on a level the entire stage is covered in a deep, purple mist which scatters and reveals an essence of beauty below it, this is a fantastic example of what “God Of Light” does well; it throws you into a stage covered by shadow but, by the end of it, you’re floating in a vibrant world that almost gets flooded by lights. It looks absolutely brilliant and I can’t imagine any way in which it could be done better. I don’t even really think my descriptive skills are at high enough of a level to truly explain to you readers the subtle but also obvious transition between the darkness and the light throughout the game. Clearly these folks know what they’re doing because they’re doing it damn well.

Audio

This game is like a peanut butter and jam sandwich when it comes to how the audio and the visuals complement each other; neither is as good without the other, they just work together so well! While both of these aspects work great autonomously, they’re simply fantastic when working simultaneously. I believe it is simply because of immersion; the visuals literally give you a view of the world in which the game takes place in but without being able to experience the same world auditorally the feeling just isn’t the same.

The music is also very hard to pin down as a genre or type, the best way I can describe it is that it uses a whole lot of light-hearted and fantasy-type tones to exactly portray that sense of whimsicality in which the visual style does its best to do. The music within was done by an electronic act by the name of “UNKLE”. It seems as though, even though I’ve never heard of them, they’re quite a “big deal” when it comes to music making. Regardless of whether or not I’m aware of these electronic artists, they created the soundtrack to “God Of Light” to which I’m not a big fan, I know hold “UNKLE” in quite a high regard and it was simply due to my enjoyment of “God Of Light”.

Overall

I’ll keep this short and sweet: “God Of Light” is a fantastic game that ditches in-app purchases and replaces them with a one-off price of $1.99. In-app purchases is a style of payment most puzzle game developers employ as a money making system but “God Of Light” doesn’t do this, “Eon Games” and “Playmous” simply want their brilliant game to be a form of enjoyment to players rather than a hassle and that’s something to be admired. Fantastic visuals, brilliant audio and a gameplay style that will keep you hooked to your mobile devices for ages. There really is nothing else you could possibly want from a game of its kind. It truly is a great source of light in a dense darkness.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Thief Review

Andrew Day

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March 7, 2014

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Thief
Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Release Date: Out Now
Install Size: 22GB
Price: $59.95 – Available Here

Overview

Many years ago the Thief franchise really kickstarted the whole stealth action genre. Now we have the latest iteration – a reboot of the franchise that tries to combine what was so loved about the originals with modern gameplay mechanics. The result is a game that is filled with good ideas but who’s overall execution just feels lacking. The highlight of the game are its impressive visuals, but the inconsequential system of choice means that the gameplay is just simple puzzle solving in a pretty setting.

Story

Set hundreds of years after the events of the original Thief series, players will take on the role of Garret; a master thief who has returned to his home town after a significant amount of time abroad. As soon as he is back he is dragged into a mission with an ally (but seemingly not a friend). After berating her for what seems like an eternity, the two stumble across a mystical cult performing a magical chant. After watching his ally fall to her death, and almost collapsing himself, Garret wakes up a year later to find his home in The City completely different to how he remembered it.

The once bustling city is now rife with a strange new plague which causes civil and social unrest. While the elite still live in luxury, the common-folk are all struggling to survive the poverty and disease ridden city. Garret’s plan is simple; use the unrest to his advantage and steal as much as he can from the wealthy and privileged.

Garret comes off as self-righteous, condemning those around him for not living up to his lofty ideals (this coming from someone who steals from everybody he sees for a living). From the moment he is introduced through to the end of the game, he never comes across as an endearing character. The story itself is cumbersome and it isn’t hard to imagine the game being more beneficial without it – In fact, the game’s challenges which are unlocked after you beat each level feel like the more fun alternative.

Gameplay

Like its predecessors, Thief’s gameplay is largely stealth based, but players are given a lot of choice in how they will handle each situation. They can either attempt to sneak by completely unseen – living up to Garret’s “master thief” moniker. Or they can go in arrows-a-blazing and take out every guard, soldier and target that they can get their hands on. Each level also gives you a variety of different pathways to take so that you really do feel like you have a lot of control over the situation. The problem is that there seems to never be any tangible reason to take one option over another aside from your own sense of difficulty. There are no benefits or bonuses bestowed for taking a more stealth-inspired route than to simply knock out everybody you see. It would have been good to have a bit more consequence to make the choices in each scenario feel more powerful.

Garret has a wealth of weapons at his disposal – from water-arrows that will put out fires, through to grappling arrows to help him climb to otherwise unreachable areas. It gives a lot of variability to gameplay when you can pick one of a dozen different ways to challenge a room. “Will I take out that enemy with my broadhead arrow, or just sneak past him in case I need it for the next room?” Is a very real question that players will ask themselves. Alongside his utility belt of weapons and gadgets, Garret also has a mystical “focus vision.” At the press of a button, All important things in the room will be highlighted in a vibrant blue, making them impossible to miss. It becomes way too easy to rely on this ability and it can considerably cheapen the experience, limiting the challenge.

As you increase your skills as a thief and unlock more weapons you will get more and more unrestricted access to the game’s hub map; The City. As you travel through The City you will get a sense of freedom and openness… Until you hit one of the many, many loading screens. You only get small sections of the map to play through at any time before you are hit with a loading screen that can take upwards of 10 seconds to load the next area. Not only that but you will often have to stop and break your way into the game’s many houses by holding X, then pressing it rapidly to open a window or a steel grate. This slows down the game and can break you from the rich environment around you.

A lot of the game revolves around Garret swiping anything that isn’t nailed down. I personally found this to be a real detraction from the game. It is hard to picture Garret as this master thief when he is just stealing every knife, fork and ashtray that he can find. It breaks the illusion and makes him seem like nothing more than a common cat burglar, or dare I say it – a magpie.

Visuals & Audio

Visually, Thief is a magnificent game to look at. The City is dark, decrepit and looks like a typical victorian-inspired city. Each single part of each structure looks real and tangible and like you could walk through it yourself. Although gameplay-wise it is an absolute clustered mess, it still looks fantastic. The characters that sparsely fill the streets all look unique and amazing and bring a lot to the overall presentation of the game.

If there is one thing that needs to be said about Thief it is that the way that have implemented hand and foot movements of the protagonist is incredible. Never before have I played a game where the hand movements were so lifelike and realistic. It actually feels like you are a person reaching out to grab an object when it is being swiped and it is very natural.

One problem with the visuals is that they can, and frequently do completely glitch out. The game’s cinematics and animated cut scenes are the worst for this. During my play through, Garret’s character model was on more than one occasion out of focus, and on top of objects and back drops that he should have been behind. This not only breaks the immersion, but absolutely ruins any flow that the game has built up until that point.

The audio is no where up to scratch with the visuals. The character performances especially are flat, lifeless and just hard to be interested in. They make an already lacklustre story into a cumbersome bore. Worst of all is the fact that the voices rarely sync up with the visuals, giving a slightly delayed lip-sync like quality to the game.

Then there is the guards themselves, who frequently spout the sane nonsensical dialogue. It is very haphazardous and sometimes it will sound like two guards are talking to one another even though there is only one left in the room. One massive problem with the game’s audio is that it doesn’t matter where a sound is coming from or how far away the source, it all sounds the same. It can be really hard to plan a stealth-based attack accordingly when you have no idea where a sound is.

Overall

Thief tries to do everything that Dishonored did a few years back, but sadly doesn’t reach that game’s level of polish of complexity. The illusion of choice is very much present but unlike many other games, there are no consequences to making certain decisions. This gives Thief a very shallow feel, and combined with flat, lifeless characters and a cumbersome story, this results in a game that has a lot of good ideas but lacks the correct execution.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Cubical Drift Launches Planets3 Kickstarter

Jamie Laike Tsui

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March 7, 2014

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Cubical Drift Launches Planets3 Kickstarter

Cubical Drift is turning to Kickstarter to raise $250,000 to complete their voxel-based RPG/adventure game Planets³: Race to Space. In Planets³, players will need to craft buildings, weapons, vehicles, and more using a system that will give players a large degree of freedom. These tools will allow players to explore new hostile terrains that hold new and greater opportunities. The world is inhabited by Job Masters who will assist players in their journey by teaching and providing physical assistance in a variety of tasks like construction and recipe research.

The team is seeking money to fund the development. A large majority of the funds will go towards R&D and artwork for the game. Cubical Drift has completed 10% of the development and are looking to release the alpha in Fall of 2014 with the full release a year later. If the team is able to raise at least a million in funding, they will be able to also complete the second, more ambitious portion of the game which includes entire universes for Fall 2017. Help fund development at the game’s official Kickstarter.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Review

Andrew Day

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March 7, 2014

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Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Review

Plants vs Zomies: Garden Warfare
Developer: PopCap Games
Publisher: EA
Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), Xbox 360
Release Date: Out Now
Install Size: 4GB
Price: $49.95 – Available Here

Overview

The Plants vs Zombies franchise has been dominating the markets for years. With its incredible tower-defense gameplay and colourful art style it has been impossible for players everywhere to resist. Now, in a massive deviation from the norm, the Plants and their Zombie foes have come back with a vengeance – in a third person, squad-based shooter. Now the Plants are mobile and are taking the fight to the Zombies. With a brilliantly coloured backdrop, Garden Warfare makes the shooter genre fun, friendly and approachable for players of all ages.

Gameplay

Garden Warfare is a pretty big deviation from what we have come to expect from the Plants vs Zombies franchise. Instead of a colourful and creative tower defense game, we have a colourful and creative squad based shooter. The game itself plays rather similarly to Team Fortress 2, where each player picks a particular class of plant or zombie and uses that class’ unique skills and weapons to their advantage.

Each side has four different character classes, and each play wildly differently to one another. Plants get their infamous frontline soldier Pea Shooter, the healing Sun Flower, melee-based Chomper, and the sniper-class Cactus. Zombies get a completely different set of classes; their frontline Soldier Zombie is equipped with a machine gun, the Sngineer can build teleporters and turrets, the Scientist can teleport and wield his dolphin shotgun with great skill, and the All-Star Athlete can charge down even the tightest pack of Plants.

The fact that both teams have largely incompatible teams means that each side plays totally different to the other. The plants seem to have the slightly more powerful units, especially the Cactus who can put up walls and mines before sniping enemy zombies from quite a considerable distance. The lack of balance between the teams and classes is somewhat disappointing, but the fact that you don’t choose if you are on the Plants or the Zombies team and instead have to rotate helps to round this out.

The gameplay itself is pretty standard fare for a shooter and contains a Team Deathmatch style game where the opposing teams are each trying to get to 50 kills. You can resurrect your fallen teammates which takes a kill off of the opposing team’s score. These matches tend to go by relatively quickly, especially once players have started unlocking upgrades for their weapons and characters.

Alongside Team Deathmatch is Gardens and Graveyards mode. Here, the Zombies are tasked with claiming certain plots of land in a Domination-style scenario. They have four minutes to successfully take the Plant’s base. If they fail the game is over and the Plants win, but if they succeed then the Plants retreat a short distance and have to cover a new base. Each map has 6 defendable locations and once the Zombies have taken them all, there is a unique challenge that has to be fullfiled before they claim their ultimate victory. These can range from getting 5 zombies successfully into a garden mansion, or by blowing up strategically placed pillars around a building. This is definitely the most fun of the competitive game-modes, and requires a lot of team work and strategy to pull off.

Garden Warfare isn’t all competitive however, and there is one game mode that is all about cooperative gameplay. Garden Ops is a Horde Mode inspired gameplay that pits you and three other team mates against increasing waves of AI-controlled zombie forces. The aim is to stop the Zombies from getting to your garden and devouring it. This mode more closely resembles the tower defense origins of the franchise, and also allows you to plant some of the series’ most famous plants around the map to stop the zombies’ progress.

The plants that can be placed around the map are limited uses. You will start the game with a handful, but once they are gone they are gone forever. The way to get more is by opening Booster Packs in the game’s Sticker Shop. Booster Packs each provide a random assortment of items, either consumable (like plants for Garden Ops), or weapon upgrades and character customisation options.

The multitude of customisation options mean that you can tailor your Plants and Zombies to your liking. Each of the game’s four classes has six different alternate characters that look and act slightly different. For example, the Pea Shooter has the Frozen Pea Shooter and the Chomper has the Hot Rod Chomper. These let you change up your gameplay style and find the character that suits you.

There are no micro-transactions in the game as it currently stands, but EA have said they will likely add them in later. At the moment you earn coins by playing matches which can then be used to buy the booster packs from the Sticker Shop. While you can earn coins pretty consistently (especially in Gardens and Graveyards), this may change when the ability to purchase coins with real-world money becomes available. However, I am not one to speculate and at the moment you wont find yourself struggling to get coins to open new packs.

Visuals & Audio

Garden Warfare is an absolutely beautiful game that manages to not only capture the look and spirit of the game, but also feel like something new. The plants and their zombie foes have all made the jump from 2d to 3d really well, and the new models have captured their look and feel while taking advantage of the Xbox One’s impressive hardware. The fact that you can customise your characters mean there is a great deal of visual difference even between two Pea Pods. So with the game’s 8 different classes, and six variations on this plus all of the customisation options there is a good chance that you will never see the same character twice in a row.

The game’s maps are all wild, varied and a whole lot of fun to play in. Whether it is the pirate cove or the suburban streets, everything is brightly coloured and incredibly detailed. Each of the maps are surprisingly big, and although you will spend a lot of your time battling over the middle, there are enough secret passageways and vantage points for you to twist into in order to surprise your enemies.

The audio feels right at home and straight from the Plants vs Zombies universe. The background music is the same as you would hear from the classic tower defense games, and makes you feel right at home. Of course the tracks have been cleaned up for a higher quality of sound, and it really shows. The sound effects are also taken straight from Garden Warfare’s predecessors, leading to an incredibly authentic sounding Plants vs Zombies game.

Overall

Despite the massive deviation from the formula, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare has done an amazing job of staying true to the source material and providing a shooter experience that is approachable, and enjoyable for people of all ages. The plethora of game modes make it so that you will always find your niche. The requirement of being an online-only game can cause some problems, especially during server issues, but all in all it is a great shooter and a great entry into the PvZ franchise.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

American Release Date Revealed For “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle”

Frank Inglese

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March 7, 2014

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American Release Date Revealed For “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle”

Heads up, JJBA fans living in North America! It seems as though Namco Bandai games have some news for you regarding the localisation of the action/brawler title “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle” and it comes in the form of a release date. Now is the time to start getting out and dusting off your old, useless calenders because this one’s a “biggie”.

After last weeks reveal of the games release date for Europeans and Australians, Namco Bandai has decided to finally follow up with the announcement of a North American release date: The 29th of April, which is great seeing as it is barely a week after it gets its release here in Australia! North American players can expect everything that the European/Australian players will be getting with their copy of the game, this includes the “Part IV: Diamond Is Unbreakable” DLC characters you get as a pre-order bonus (Yoshikage Kira and Shigekiyo Yangu).

There you have it! Even though Japan got its release of the game a few months ago (and we were all pretty jealous), we’re getting it now and that is all that matters! The game is set to release on the PlayStation 3 so make sure you hold onto your consoles for just a little bit longer before upgrading. Get ready to go head to head with “ZA WARUDO!” with “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle”.

TinyKeep To be Released in September for PC

Jamie Laike Tsui

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March 7, 2014

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TinyKeep To be Released in September for PC

Digital Tribe Games and Phigames announced their new game TinyKeep will be released on PC in September 2014. PhiGames was able to fund the development of TinyKeep with the help of Kickstarter.

Players will break free from a procedurally generated dungeon all while fighting against an intelligent AI looking to send the player back to their cell. The AI has been programmed to behave like unique creatures, each with their own behaviour, motivations, and needs. Players will need to improve their character’s stats and arm them with the best weapons as they take on harder and harder dungeons.

TinyKeep will be available for Windows PCs in September 2014. Mac and Linux support will be released soon after release. Learn more about TinyKeep at the official website.

LEGO The Hobbit Buddy-Up Trailer Released

Kane Bugeja

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March 7, 2014

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LEGO The Hobbit Buddy-Up Trailer Released

LEGO-The-Hobbit-Buddy-Up-Trailer-Screenshot-01 — **Friendship can be exhausting**

Warner Bros has released another trailer for the latest instalment in the TT Games‘ LEGO franchise: The Hobbit. This time around, the focus lies on the new buddy-up system set to bring the characters closer together.

As the trailer so humorously notes, players will rely on teamwork to progress through levels. These buddy skills will range from forming a totem to climb high ledges, creating handy bridges out of ladders or even picking up your buddy and using them to slay your foes.

LEGO The Hobbit is set for a Spring release on PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, 3DS and PC. So there’s no shortage of opportunities for you to trek through Middle Earth. Check out the trailer below and enjoy the misadventures of Oakenshield’s 13. It’s going to be a wild ride.