Image & Form, the studio behind the indie 3DS hit SteamWorld Dig, announced today that their darling will be hitting PC via Steam on December 5. The platformer held the top spot on Nintendo’s 3DS eShop and is now coming to computers for more people to enjoy.
PC and Mac gamers can hope to get the same fantastic game loved on the 3DS, but with high definition graphics. They haven’t forgotten the fantastic support they’ve received from Nintendo and its fans, though. They’ve announced that the next SteamWorld dig will release on 3DS day one.
SteamWorld Dig will be available December 5 for $9.99 / £6.99 / €8.99, with an expected release sale. For more information you can check out their official website here.
DANCINGANCHOVY, a Korean mobile game developer, and mobile game publisher DeNA are proud to announce that their highly anticipated action/RPG, Team Monster, is now available for all compatible iOS devices, that means the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch with the latest update are all compatible. Much like Pokemon, Team Monster is a game where you must find, fight, collect and raise certain powerful monsters and creatures. The game comes packed with an extremely fun gameplay style and over a hundred different monsters to catch, raise and train, it’s a game that will surely keep many people occupied for hours on end and it’s free!
“With Team Monster, we set out to create a mobile experience with the depth and quality that RPG fans expect from a handheld console game, but free to play and with great social mechanics,” said Deelee, chief executive officer of DANCINGANCHOVY Entertainment. “I’m thrilled to invite mobile game players to download and play Team Monster. Our development team hopes that consumers enjoy playing Team Monster as much as we had creating it.”
The simple style of a childrens game mixed with the in-depth style of gameplay much like what you would find in an action/RPG will delight players around the world. Any fan of monster taming games are sure to pick up this title and be very thrilled with what it has to offer. It has incredible looking graphics that, much like the game itself, are very cute yet very thought out and beautifully detailed. The game free and available now in the Apple iTunes store, you can grab the game for yourself by clicking here. You can check out the trailer for the game below.
Fans of One Piece will be happy to hear that the series has reached a major milestone because as of today One Piece has become the world’s top selling manga series of all time with over 345 million copies in print around the globe. As such, Viz Media has announced that they are giving away a free gift to fans and users of the Vizmanga.com website and app with the release of One Piece Retrospective.
It has already been given to everyone registered on the website or app and will also be given to anyone who signs up between November 21st to the 27th. This retrospective features five full color art spreads as well as a collection of covers for all 69 One Piece volumes. It also features an interview with Eiichiro Oda as well as a one-shot called Strong World which shows the world of One Piece twenty years before Luffy was born.
The latest update for Hutch Game’s Smash Bandits comes at a bit of a surprise yet it almost seamlessly fits in with the overall feel of the game. If you’re unaware of what Smash Bandits is; it is a racing game like no other, you can smash cars, smash buildings and leave a trail of destruction behind you as you tear up the racetrack and fight to be the best. In the latest update for the game Hutch Games have decided that the perfect people to mix into the game is none other than the A-Team themselves! Be the best while being the best is something that fans of the action-packed racing game can now do and the development team could not be happier.
Hutch Games had this to say:
“This is the first big brand we’ve had the pleasure of working on and I’d like to thank our partners at Fox Digital and Silvastone Music who have been brilliant. The iconic 80s brand fits perfectly with our action racing game and we’ve had a load of fun bringing the music, the characters and the gadgets from the A-Team universe.”
The chaos is never ending and with updates like this who would want it to? If you’re a fan of racing, a fan of destruction or a fan of the A-Team I think this game is exactly what you’re looking for and, luckily for you, Smash Bandits is free and you can get yourself the game on all iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) by clicking on thislink. New vehicle, new action, new tunes and a new way to burn rubber and smoke out the other racers! Get the Smash Bandits update now!
With Ys: Memories of Celceta set to be released next week both as a digital download and at retailers, XSEED Games has released a new gameplay trailer for the title which focuses on Duren. Duren is a master of information and a skilled fighter who works alongside the protagonist, Adol.
The gameplay trailer can be found below and the game itself will be available for purchase on November 26th where both a standard and limited edition version of the game will be available. As for gamers in Europe, Ys: Memories of Celceta is currently set to be released in that region sometime in 2014.
GAMEPIRES’ NEW UPDATE IMPROVES ADDICTIVE MULTIPLAYER RACER GAS GUZZLERS EXTREME
Extensive Community Feedback Fuels Change Shown in New Screenshots
Haarlem, The Netherlands – 21 November 2013 – Video game publisher Iceberg Interactive released today an update for Gas Guzzlers Extreme on Steam (PC) that improves the game’s already highly touted multiplayer experience. Developed by highly respected Croatian studio Gamepires, Gas Guzzlers Extreme offers extensive hi-octane single-player and multiplayer thrills and has received tremendous feedback from both the community as well as high praise from the press.
Today’s update focuses on improving the multiplayer lobby environment while also fixing other minor issues, including:
Ready button in multiplayer lobby is not clickable if game is in progress
Added race progress notifications for the players waiting in the multiplayer lobby
Input controller is automatically set as current input device if plugged-in
Team color is visible on players in lobby when custom car paint is selected
Added Croatian and Ukrainian localizations
Added message for vote keys when voting is initiated
“After the release of Gas Guzzlers Extreme, we started collecting and filtering feedback via the Steam community hub and game forums,” said Andrej Levenski, Technical Director at Gamepires. “We decided to implement a selection of the most talked-about features in this patch. We hope the update and fixes will enhance the overall multiplayer experience and we look forward to your opinion. See you online!”
Gas Guzzlers Extreme can be purchased in the Steam store page HERE: store.steampowered.com/app/243800. Gamers interested in a box copy of the game can purchase Gas Guzzlers Extreme in European retail or from the Iceberg shop: www.iceberg-games.com.
What the press is saying:
“Buy this game now and join the online frenzy and thrills of explosive car combat racing.” — Game Chronicles
“Fast paced action, good track design and great music: a thoroughly enjoyable combat racing experience.” – Hookedgamers.com
“The solid controls, amazing visuals and sheer variety on offer are well worth the £18.99 asking price.” – InvisionCommunity.co.uk
“A comfortable looking racing videogame with an aggressive edge that much of its competition simply can’t match and a handling system that feels responsive enough for the player to make the most of it.” – Electronictheatre.co.uk
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ABOUT GAS GUZZLERS EXTREME
Gas Guzzlers Extreme is a fast, furious, armed-to-the-teeth, trigger-happy shooter, shifted into top gear! Take a white knuckle ride in this crazily addictive combat racing game that features a ton of vehicles, weapons, upgrades, on-track bonuses and environments. Gas Guzzlers Extreme is an exciting new twist on the car combat experience with the addition of furious team/clan combat battles.
Players start out with low performance vehicles and soon work their way up to high-performance models, by earning money in a series of hi-octane races and arena battles. New game modes, tracks and vehicles are unlocked as players progress through the game. Along with developing their driving and fighting skills, players can spend their hard-fought cash, customizing their vehicle to match their clan members or pimping their ride for the road to glory!
ABOUT ICEBERG INTERACTIVE
Iceberg Interactive is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of games industry veterans and is located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. While keeping its roots in the European retail games market, Iceberg has rapidly increased its focus towards the global digital games market, by building strong direct relationships with dozens of Game Portals. Staffed with avid gamers, Iceberg works closely with an international assembly of game developers, both midsize and indie. With a distinct focus on the strategy, action, simulation and adventure game genres, the company has garnered attention with acclaimed releases including Killing Floor, Wings of Prey, APB Reloaded and Endless Space among its 70+ game arsenal – with more promising games in the pipeline.
While most people are fine with listening to the English voice track for most games, many people prefer listening to the original Japanese voice track for games, going so far as to boycott titles that do not include a dual-audio option.
Well it looks like Square Enix is going to be offering some DLC for those who want to listen to the Japanese voice track of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Today the company has announced that after the game is released on February 14th, they will release a Japanese voice-over pack as DLC that will be free for two weeks before turning into paid DLC.
Free-to-play PC title MechWarrior Online has seen great success with its pre-order Phoenix Package Mechs, introduced in June as a way for players to get their hands on bundles of Battlemechs and other goodies.
Now Infinite Game Publishing is discontinuing these one-time offers on December 3, giving players little more than a week to purchase the rare Mech packages before they’re gone.
Since the game reached its milestone of version 1.0, Piranha Games has been preparing a new UI and Community Warfare metagame features. Folk that like their stomping Mechs as much as their FPS can jump into the game for free right here.
Let Me Loose Publisher:Chillingo Developer:Sketch Mill Platforms: iPhone (Reviewed), iPod Touch, iPad Release Date: 21st November 2013 Price: $0.99 – Available Here
Overview
Chillingo is a fantastic publisher that has a lot of great games under its belt, it is one of the very few publishers that I would consider to make almost perfect mobile games. Their attention to detail alongside their attention to the simplicity of a game is what makes them great and their latest title, Let Me Loose, is no exception. The adorable and bubbly aesthetics of the game blend well with the easy way in which the game is played, it makes for a fantastic “pick up and play” title yet can keep you occupied for hours.
Story
Let me loose does exactly have a fleshed out story, I actually wouldn’t consider it to have much of a story at all but it does have a small intro that pretty much gives you the idea of what’s going on and it just so happens that I’m a big fan of that kind of thing. The beginning of the game is very cute, we’re shown a little amoeba with a silly face and a squishy body, the little guy is trapped in what looks to be a test tube and yearns for the outside world.
That’s basically where your story begins and although it never really comes up again you do get the feeling of adventure and you do get the feeling of progression, the more you go on in the game the more you feel like you’ve almost escaped into the outside world. I suppose the story is in the name, it’s very cute and very quirky and basically gives you just enough of a back story to connect with this little critter. The different environments you play through do reflect the story in some ways, it takes you through different labs which have different obstacles for you to get through and it’s nice to be able to feel adventure rather than adventure being forced upon you.
Gameplay
The gameplay is very basic, very easy and very accessible. You play as the amoeba and your only real mission is to collect these rainbow orbs and make it to your destination at the end of the level, collecting the orbs later allows you to unlock the next lab to play through which gives you enough incentive to perfect a level as you play. Controls are also very basic though, once again, they work perfectly for what it is: You start off at the top of the screen and you use the motion controls of the mobile device to tilt the playing-field and to roll the amoeba left or right, alongside the motion controls you also must move obstacles on the screen with a flick of the finger to open up a clear route to the exit and to collect all the rainbow orbs along the way.
The simplicity of the gameplay allows for literally anyone at anytime to play it which makes this a perfect mobile game, you can play levels while on the bus or train, while taking a break at work or even do what I did and play a level while waiting for another game to load, it is literally THAT accessible. I like the fact that the rainbow orbs don’t go to waste, they don’t make you collect them for no reason, they give you an optional task and they make it so that the better you are at completing a level the faster you can access the next one. It makes sense on such a fundamental level and it’s a pain to see that other games don’t seem to have this worked out, Let Me Loose does though and that’s so nice to see.
One would think the constant tilting and flicking would get annoying over a period of playtime but it actually doesn’t, the tilt feature is also very sensitive so you don’t find yourself turning your mobile device almost horizontal just to get our little friend to one side of the screen, it’s very exact and I feel as though it uses the motion aspect of mobile devices extremely well.
Visuals
Let Me Loose is an incredibly vivid and colourful game that sometimes seems as though it will literally pop out of the screen. The bright, conflicting colours make for an beautiful, cartoon-like style that I think appeals to both small children who enjoy the bright colours and adults like myself who enjoy a basic yet thought out game, clearly the intention of the developers was to make the game look as warm and inviting as possible and they did it perfectly.
The animation in the game is also extremely good. Something that impressed me above all else is the way that the amoeba character and the liquids on screen move and jiggle as you move the mobile device, they slosh up and squish up against walls in a very realistic and all around adorable way. The layout of some levels make it look difficult yet, once you sit back and have a little think, you realise it’s actually doable. That spit second of doubt is what makes a puzzle game great!
Audio
The music tracks throughout the game are all very soft, almost inviting, it welcomes you to play the game and while I may be looking into this too much that is honestly how I feel about it. You play as this goofy, little, orange blob in a colourful world with different liquids in different shaped vials and tubes and the music it just pushes you along to continue playing the game. The music is all electrically made, there’s no real signs of actual instruments and any intruments that are used are very mush played with to turn them into what we hear throughout.
The fact that it is set in a lab also warrants the use of electrically made music, it fits perfectly and for a game to fit together the way this one does is down right brilliant. When I look to the audio of a game I look for how it fits in and, to certain degrees, how suits the game but in some cases, much like this one, it is almost like it slides through the cracks of a game and binds it. It really is the icing on the cake.
Overall
The game is simply great! It is enjoyable for both a young and old audience, it gives you the ability to play for a long stretch of time yet also allows for you to pick it up and put it down almost whenever it is that you please. The way the colours are throughout the game look great and, to a certain degree, feel great. The music isn’t cheesy, corny or annoying in any way and the sound effects are as cute as the little character itself. It comes together fantastically and there really is nothing wrong with this game both on a fundamental level and on a general level. It’s mobile gaming at its finest and another great title for Chillingo to add to its, already great, catalogue.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Usually when a company wants to keep a secret, especially a new addition to an enhanced port of a game, they don’t come right out and reveal the details for that character but it looks like Nippon Ichi Software has decided to do just that.
Today the company has released new details and images for Criminal Girls Invitation which cover the mysterious girls added to the game. The silver-haired girl is named Miu and she is an instructor that guides the other girls through Hell. Interestingly enough she also is a sinner and the key to resolving her sins can be found in the Ancient Garden.
The purple haired girl is named Himekami and is tied to Miu’s story but further details were given about her at this time. Currently Criminal Girls Invitation is set to be released in Japan on November 26th while NIS America has made no mention of bringing the title to the West.
