Today, the publisher of SQUARE ENIX products in the Americas announced that their upcoming supernatural mystery detective thriller Murdered: Soul Suspect will also be available on the Xbox One and the PS4, in addition to the Xbox 360, the PS3, and the PC.
The anticipated release onto the newer consoles will offer increased graphics quality, making the ghost world even more immersive. You as the player will be playing as Ronan O’Connor, a Salem Detective who was killed. Now you have to uncover who killed you so that you can escape Dusk, the world after death. Only when you find your murderer, can you find peace from this limbo-like world.
Check out the trailer they recently released below, or if you want to see 15 minutes of gameplay by the Senior Game Designer and the Producer during the E3 2013 event, click here. They’ve also included a few screenshots for us, and for more information, here is their site. The game will be available for all of the previously listed platforms this June, 2014. If you’re into mystery and horror, make sure to keep an eye out on this exciting, but spooky title.
Murdered: Soul Suspect Announced For Xbox One, PS4
London (Feb. 4, 2013) – Square Enix Inc., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in the Americas, today announced supernatural detective thriller Murdered: Soul Suspect will also be released on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, as well as the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system.
The new console versions will offer increased visual fidelity via native 1080p output. Elements such as subsurface scattering and an increased particle count will depict an even more immersive ghost world and cast as players guide slain Salem detective Ronan O’Connor on a quest to find his killer and escape the limbo-like world of Dusk.
In addition to the newly announced Xbox One and PlayStation®4 system versions, Murdered: Soul Suspect will be available June 2014 for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.
There is a trailer to accompany this announcement, as below:
Starting the hunt for his killer, slain detective, Ronan O’Connor, discovers that he was not the first to die and is unlikely to be the last. Watch this latest trailer for Murdered: Soul Suspect™ to find out what other secrets are buried in Salem.
About Murdered: Soul Suspect
Murdered: Soul Suspect™ is a dark, detective thriller with a supernatural twist: solving your own murder from the afterlife. Play as Ronan O’Connor, a Salem police detective with a checkered past, whose life is brought to an untimely end by a brutal killer. Trapped in a limbo world called Dusk, he is unable to find peace until he can bring his killer to justice. Hunt for leads at www.murdered.com, www.facebook.com/murdered and www.twitter.com/murdered and find out how you can bring your killer to justice.
About Square Enix, Inc.
Square Enix, Inc. develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX®, EIDOS® and TAITO® branded entertainment content throughout the Americas as part of the Square Enix Group. The Square Enix Group operates a global network of leading development studios and boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property, including: FINAL FANTASY®, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide; DRAGON QUEST®, which has sold over 59 million units worldwide; TOMB RAIDER®, which has sold over 35 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS®. Square Enix, Inc. is a U.S.-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
GAMEVIL announces equity investments in BOOLEAN GAMES, creators of global hit Dark Avenger
LOS ANGELES, CA- February 4, 2014- Leading mobile games publisher and developer GAMEVIL today announced that it has made equity investments in mobile game studio, BOOLEAN GAMES. The move comes as part of GAMEVIL’s global expansion efforts to actively pursue business relationships and investments in promising developers around the world.
The deal was structured as a long-term partnership and includes publishing rights to upcoming BOOLEAN GAMES titles. In its first collaboration with GAMEVIL, BOOLEAN GAMES found global success with Dark Avenger, collecting over 10 million downloads worldwide and a gross revenue of over $10 million USD. In fact, Dark Avenger still continues to find success today ranking in the Top 100 grossing in more than a dozen countries around the world. Also, the game is ranking 7 top grossing in China’s largest Android market, Qihoo 360.
GAMEVIL and BOOLEAN GAMES plan to launch the sequel to Dark Avenger within year’s end. By leveraging its strong user-base and publishing know-how, GAMEVIL plans to catapult the title onto the global stage for another successful collaboration with BOOLEAN GAMES.
About GAMEVIL
GAMEVIL®, with over 330 million game downloads and experience publishing hundreds of games on multiple platforms, is one of the most active and innovative mobile game companies in the world. Established in 2000 and with offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, GAMEVIL is an experienced global mobile game publisher working with more than 70 top studios around the world.
With deep industry and regional knowledge, GAMEVIL has been able to craft numerous award winners through a diverse portfolio of games. Backed by unparalleled expertise in mobile, GAMEVIL continues to lead the sector with a commitment in establishing mobile gaming as a way of life.
GAMEVIL is currently listed on the KOSDAQ Market (Ticker: 063080, Bloomberg: 063080:KS, Reuters: 063080.KQ)
Tribal Wars 2: Prepare for Battle – and Go Berserk If You Have to!
New units secure challenging fights for veterans and newcomers alike
Hamburg, February 4, 2014. Today InnoGames released additional information on the unit system of its online strategy game Tribal Wars 2. Thirteen offensive and defensive units will be responsible for the players’ shining victory or crushing defeat on the battlefield. Every unit brings its own set of weaknesses and strengths to the table – archers are a great defense against foot soldiers, whereas rams will easily crush the enemies’ fortifications. The new special units, the powerful berserker and the trebuchet might give players an edge in heated conflicts – but which one will they choose? InnoGames introduces more information on the battle system in a new video.
There will be lots of new strategies and tactics to test in Tribal Wars 2 – Not just entirely new players, but also hardened veterans of the first game might discover something unexpected. Mounted archers for example, are the perfect countermeasure for defenses heavily relying on archers. The Preceptory, a new building, which can be unlocked later in the game, houses even more secret weapons. Having to choose from one of three factions, the players might get access to either the trebuchet or the berserker: the trebuchet is capable of effectively defending a village against siege weapons, whereas the berserkers feel no fear on the battlefield – they get stronger, the more enemies they have to face! Also, numerous generals support the players’ tactical advancements with additional abilities.
Players can already pre-register for the game’s beta on www.tribalwars2.com. Tribal Wars 2 sports state-of-the-art graphics and will later be released as cross-platform for Android, iOS and all browsers. Therefore, players can set up one account for all platforms and play from whichever combination of devices they choose. In the recently released announcement video, members of the team and InnoGames co-founder Hendrik Klindworth are describing their visions for the game and upcoming features.
In Tribal Wars 2, players find themselves as leader of a small village in the midst of a medieval world. Tasked with growing and expanding their empire within a war-torn landscape, they have to fight in order to survive. The MMO’s focus is real-time strategic battles with and against other players. Tribal Wars 2 will be released as cross-platform game for Android, iOS and all browsers. Therefore, players can set up one account for all platforms and play from whichever combination of devices they choose.
Tribal Wars was developed as a hobby project in 2003 by the three founders of InnoGames, Hendrik Klindworth, Eike Klindworth and Michael Zillmer. Today, Tribal Wars has more than 50 million registered players and recently celebrated its tenth birthday with a big in-game event and a video saying thank you.
With more than 110 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world’s leading developers and providers of online games. Next to Tribal Wars, the Hamburg-based company has scored major successes with games such as Forge of Empires and Grepolis.
VTREE ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES VOLLEYBALL GAME FOR WINDOWS WITH FULL BODY MOTION CONTROL POWERED BY EXTREME REALITY
“Volleyball Extreme Edition” Gives Players Full Body Control of the Game for a Console-Like Experience on any Windows Device
Herzelia, Israel – February 4, 2014 – Extreme Reality, the only company to bring full-body motion analysis and control via a device’s native or peripheral camera, and VTree Entertainment today announced the launch of “Volleyball Extreme Edition” a new motion controlled game for any webcam. Player’s movements are captured through any standard camera of a Windows operated device for a motion experience that doesn’t require additional hardware.
“After incorporating the Extreme Motion technology into our Pro Riders Snowboard title last year, our players were thrilled with this entirely new way to experience the game, so we decided to continue our work with Extreme Reality and develop new motion controlled games,” said Charles Bergen, President of VTree Entertainment. “We’re excited that players who used to play sitting down can now get up on their feet, and engage with our games in a way that is fully immersive and that does not require dedicated hardware. When we say ‘You’re in the Game’™, we really mean it.”
Extreme Motion is one of four different game play experiences on VTree Entertainment’s Volleyball: keyboard, controller, Extreme Motion and touch. Volleyball Extreme Edition operates on any Windows 7 or 8 laptop, desktop, tablet or All-in-One with stunning 3-D graphics and multiple volleyball courts to test your ball handling skills. Players can choose from 16 countries with Olympic teams to play for or against, and the opposing team’s skill level increases after each match. Players stand a few feet away from their computer and are prompted to hit the ball in the time and manner directed by the game as if they were actually bumping, setting, spiking and blocking in a real volleyball match. “By enabling VTree and other developers to offer new motion experiences free of consoles or expensive hardware, Extreme Reality is extending motion controlled games to anyone that owns a PC or notebook,” said Asaf Barzilay, VP Products of Extreme Reality. “No longer do people need to make significant hardware investments to enjoy the excitement of this new immersive way of playing games.”
Developers interested in integrating Extreme Motion technology into their game or app can visit the Extreme Reality developer zone at www.xtr3d.com/developers.
About Extreme Reality
Extreme Reality enables a future where people interact with computing devices through the motion of their body. It is the only company to provide full-body, software-based, motion analysis and control to any computing device or operating system via a standard camera. Offered as a software development kit (SDK) and with 16 patents granted worldwide, the company’s Extreme Motion product enables developers to create a wide range of experiences (applications, games, security solutions and more) that pioneer Natural User Interfaces (NUI) while breaking the physical barriers of current hardware-based technologies. Extreme Reality was founded in 2005 and is based in Herzelia, Israel.
About VTree Entertainment
As a leader in the Video Gaming and Virtual Reality industry, VTree™ entertainment develops products to make a real difference. The most important part of VTree Entertainment products, and the company’s overall philosophy, is that the method is fun for everyone. VTree’s video games can be manipulated to match the operator’s level of competency, meaning most children and adults can “play” regardless of their level of gaming skills.
It looks like Ubisoft is getting ready to push South Park: The Stick of Truth as hard as they can as three new trailers have been released for the game, one of which was actually shown during the Super Bowl which turned out to be a one-sided stompfest.
Anyways, these three trailers give us a look at the various cutscenes in the game, including the return of everyone’s favorite Christmas Poo, Mr. Hankey. The trailers can be found below and the game itself is set to be released on March 4th.
South Park: The Stick of Truth TV Spot:
South Park: The Stick of Truth – The Return of Mr. and Mrs. Hankey:
South Park: The Stick of Truth – Ginger Kid Nazi Zombie Trailer:
Overview
JoyBits’ Doodle series has proven to be quite popular among mobile gaming fanatics. The passive gameplay does make for some simple time-passing, but it doesn’t ever truly feel fun. Such is the case with Doodle Kingdom, more of a brainless routine than an entertaining video-game. Doodle Kingdom may engage a few with its meandering, but not because it’s fun.
Gameplay
What Doodle Kingdom does appears on the surface to be quite a lot, but when you scratch at the surface a little you come to realize that there is really very little to do in this game. There are 3 main modes and each of them feel like a very hands-off experience. There isn’t much involvement on your part in doing anything of great significance but that passive style of gameplay makes for some decent casual gaming.
The modes featured in Doodle Kingdom are Genesis, Quests and My Hero. Each mode is different in their own way but similar in the fact that they give players very little involvement to whats happening on screen. For example, in the My Hero mode, by and large the game plays itself with your Hero running through an area and fighting, with you healing him with a button press and tapping on chests as you pass them by the get more gold.
The Genesis mode plays somewhat like a puzzle game, except there is not really any puzzle to it. You match random ‘elements’ in hope they will combine into something else. There is no real strategy or thought required for this mode and is ultimately just a game of selecting random combinations until you get something good.
It is this kind of brainless gameplay that makes Doodle Kingdom ultimately forgettable at best and plain boring at worst. The asking price for this game is nothing short of ridiculous especially when you take into consideration that the game already features a plethora of in-app purchases.
All of this comes together for what is in the end a very disappointing mobile game. It isn’t fun, it is not worth the price of admission and it is just plain half-assed. Unfortunately this is a missed opportunity on the part of JoyBits and is one game that should be avoided.
Visuals and Audio
As far as visuals go, Doodle Kingdom is not bad. The artwork is decent, albeit forgettable, providing the game with a certain style that does elevate the gameplay in terms of aesthetic appeal. It is cartoony and somewhat silly but it kind of works for Doodle Kingdom in some odd way.
As for the game’s soundtrack, there is not a lot worth writing home about here. Its simple and lacking any presence whatsoever. It is just another disappointing facet of a disappointing game.
Overall
Doodle Kingdom is sadly a very weak release from JoyBits. While the Doodle franchise has proven itself to be quite popular, Doodle Kingdom would leave anyone baffled as to why that is. This is quite simply not a very fun game. While it has a few different gameplay modes, each of them feel inconsequential, leaving very little for players to sink their teeth into.
At the asking price you would expect far more from Doodle Kingdom and the addition of in-app purchases doesn’t make matters any better for this game. Ultimately Doodle Kingdom is simply not a very good game and it is advised that gamers either avoid this game or at the very least approach this ‘kingdom’ with caution.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Heat Signature, a new stealth game set in space is being developed by Tom Francis, the man behind the intriguing puzzle stealth game Gunpoint, which plays very similarly to Mark Of The Ninja. This new title is focused on boarding randomly generated ships and accomplishing objectives through each level.
The game requires you to be stealthy while progressing through the levels. However, it’s not based on a line-of-sight basis like in Gunpoint, but actually it uses a “heat signature” system where the more you use your own spaceship’s thrusters, the more likely the enemy can detect you. Using your thrusters sparingly to drift across space to your target is a skill that will need to be developed. After docking onto the targeted ship, you must accomplish your objective to finish the level. Whether it’s killing a target or stealing a rare ship, the intention is to provide a myriad of choices for the players to go through.
The game is still in development, and lots of features have still not been implemented yet, so make sure to keep an eye out on any updates on this exciting stealth title. Francis actually set up a mailing list for interested people to sign up to. Whenever a huge update on the status of the game comes out, they’ll be the first to hear it, so make sure you sign up! Check out the footage down below.
HANDS ON IMPRESSIONS NAMCO BANDAI Games SF (US) New Year Showcase – 1/28
World War II shooter Enemy Front is an exciting upcoming title that is in development by CI Games. At the NAMCO BANDAI New Years Kick-Off event in San Francisco, I was able to test the waters and see what players could look forward to in terms of this new and unique FPS.
One of the main selling points for Enemy Front is that it features plenty of different ways for a player to progress through its stages. Players are given the choice in how to achieve their objectives. Whether you want to take a stealthy approach, slowly withering away the opposition, or if you want to go head-on and take out the enemies like Rambo, the game allows all of these methods to be viable. I ran around during my first try testing the game with a sub-machine gun in my hand and I figured the game couldn’t be that bad, so I charged into the enemy’s base without scouting their goons or looking for safe spots. Instantly, I was spotted, which is gauged by a bar on your mini-map that shows whether someone has detected you or not. On my mini-map, I noticed over 8 enemy NPCs converging on my position. “Easy” I thought, as I parked myself in a house and set up camp through a corridor. The enemy AI easily forced me out of my position, some moving behind another door and the rest funneling into the main entrance. I was able to take out a few, but soon I was overrun and I was taken out.
It’s easy to see that Enemy Front is nothing like our crop of FPS games that have been released more recently, like Call Of Duty: Ghosts or even Battlefield 4. Enemy Front boasts a lot of different features that will differentiate it from the more popular names in its genre. Another huge selling point for the game is that it will focus on the lesser-known resistance battles of World War II. One of the main missions I was able to take a look at was a defense mission. It was located at a field hospital in Warsaw, 5 years after Poland was invaded. The situation during that time was difficult. Conditions were bad, resources were very limited, and these influences ties in with how the mission plays out. CI Games modern interpretation of World War II provides a lot of re-playability in a setting that’s been used a lot of times over the years.
The games graphics were very impressive. On another level, I was hiding out behind some bushes, waiting for the guards to pass by me. I looked around and checked out the environment and you can tell a lot of detail was put into making sure everything looked and felt real. While lots of games can boast that sort of graphics, Enemy Front really ties it all together with the whole general atmosphere within the game.
The game was originally planned to be released during the Spring of 2014, but now it’s been pushed back even further to the summer of 2014 according to their official site. Enemy Front will be available on the PC, the PS3, and the Xbox 360.
Robot Entertainment has been around the block. They’ve had some smash successes with Orcs Must Die! and Hero Academy. Their newest action RPG, Echo Prime, takes the iOS game they had previously released and scales it up for the PC. How well does this Diablo-styled space game deliver?
Join editor Joe Morgan as he works his way through corridor after corridor on a doomed spaceship. Along the way, he’ll receive help from other-worldly echoes, beings in another dimension, that will lend him their abilities to help him escape certain doom.
We livestream gameplay footage on our Twitchpage. Our YouTubechannel is updated with content daily. Also be sure to follow us on Twitter, and Facebook. Leave a comment here or head on over to our YouTube page and leave a comment so we know what you think and how we can improve our Impact! feature.
