Page 4189 – Capsule Computers

Horror Game Documentary Playing With Fear Is Out For Your Cash

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November 13, 2013

A new horror gaming documentary on Kickstarter is the latest crowdfunding project to vie for the attention of gamers. Playing With Fear: The World of Horror Video Games, is attempting to raise £25,000 by the end of November. The project is being led by British film maker Anthony Carpendale, who has secured the co-operation of developers such as Frictional Games (Penumbra, Amnesia: The Dark Descent), The Chinese Room (Amnesia: Machine for Pigs) and Infinitap Games (Neverending Nightmares).

In addition to the haul of smaller teams already on board industry giants Konami have recently agreed to fully co-operate with the project, allowing Carpendale and his team full access to the people behind the iconic Silent Hill series if the Kickstarter campaign succeeds. In addition to interviewing and profiling some of the best horror developers out there, Playing With Fear will also focus on the development process, visiting inspirational locations and digging in to the history of some of the most celebrated moments of horror in gaming.

The project will shine a light on the stories behind the enduring classics, the ingenuity of the new harbingers of our digital nightmares, and the speed of technological innovation nurturing the global renaissance of interactive horror.

As with every Kickstarter campaign there is a host of perks and rewards on offer for contributors, ranging from digital downloads of the finished film right up to an Executive Producer credit and having your mug immortalised in one of the film’s animated sequences.

You can check out the Kickstarter page for Playing With Fear: The World of Horror Video Games – here.

PlayStation launches the Declaration of Play

Luke Halliday

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November 13, 2013

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With the launch of the PlayStation 4 console just around the corner, PlayStation have begun their ‘Declaration of Play‘ a celebration of the PlayStation brand and the anticipation that surrounds the imminent release of the fourth incarnation of the legendary PlayStation brand of consoles.

‘Declaration of Play’ celebrates all manner of gamers and their varying play-styles and personalities. PlayStation have compiled a video of players discussing their very own declarations of play all in hype for PlayStation 4.

You can check out the ‘Declaration of Play’ video below. Not only that but your can discuss this and share your stories on twitter with the hashtag #4ThePlayers. What type of player are you? PlayStation wants to know!

BioShock® Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1 Available for Download Starting Today

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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November 13, 2013

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BioShock® Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1 Available for Download Starting Today

Return to Rapture in a story that brings Booker and Elizabeth to the underwater city
on the eve of its fall from grace

Sydney, Australia – November 13, 2013 – 2K and Irrational Games announced today that BioShock® Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1 is available for download worldwide* on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC starting today.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1, developed by Irrational Games, is the second add-on content pack for the award-winning BioShock Infinite, and features Booker and Elizabeth in a film noir-style story that places them in a shining Rapture on the eve of its fall from grace.

Game Informer recently called BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1: “…the DLC we’ve been waiting for.” Destructoid stated: “…I loved it so much that it makes me wonder why it’s not a standalone game.” IGN concluded: “It feels damn good to be back in Rapture.”

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1 can be purchased separately for $20.49 or as part of the BioShock Infinite Season Pass, which is priced at $29.99. The Season Pass, which is available for purchase via online marketplaces on all available platforms, contains $45 of playable content for MSRP$29.99 including both Burial at Sea episodes, the previously released Clash in the Clouds add-on pack, as well as the Early Bird Special Pack that has powerful weapon upgrades, exclusive gold weapon skins and infusion bottles to upgrade player abilities.

“It’s been particularly rewarding to return to Rapture with Booker and Elizabeth,” said Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games. “We were inspired by both Columbia’s and Rapture’s storylines, and merged them into something new. The icing on the cake is seeing the BioShock Infinite team build entirely new sections of the underwater city in the Infinite engine.”

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 2 is in development at Irrational Games and brings gamers something they have been asking for since they first met the character of Elizabeth: the chance to see the world through her eyes and face challenges as she would. In this second episode of Burial at Sea, players will experience a new storyline, and a new stealth-oriented gameplay experience.

BioShock Infinite is rated MA15+ in Australia and R16 in New Zealand and is available now for the PS3™ system, Xbox 360, Mac® and Windows PC. For the latest news and information on BioShock Infinite, become a fan on Facebook and follow Irrational Games on Twitter.

* BioShock Infinite is not included in this add-on content, but is required to play all of the included content.

About BioShock Infinite

From the creators of the highest-rated first-person shooter of all time**, BioShock, BioShock Infinite puts players in the shoes of U.S. Cavalry veteran turned hired gun, Booker DeWitt. Indebted to the wrong people and with his life on the line, DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia. Forced to trust one another, Booker and Elizabeth form a powerful bond during their daring escape. Together, they learn to harness an expanding arsenal of weapons and abilities, as they fight on zeppelins in the clouds, along high-speed Sky-Lines, and down in the streets of Columbia, all while surviving the threats of the air-city and uncovering its dark secret.

**Based on Metacritic average ranking across available platforms.

About Take-Two Interactive Software

Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a leading developer, marketer and publisher of interactive entertainment for consumers around the globe. The Company develops and publishes products through its two wholly-owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K. Our products are designed for console systems, handheld gaming systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, and are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at http://www.take2games.com.

About 2K

Founded in 2005, 2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, which are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms and cloud streaming services. 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment. The 2K label has some of the most talented development studios in the world today, including Firaxis Games, Visual Concepts, Irrational Games, 2K Marin, 2K Australia, 2K Czech, Cat Daddy Games and 2K China. 2K’s stable of high quality titles includes the critically acclaimed BioShock®, Borderlands™ and XCOM® franchises, the beloved Sid Meier’s Civilization series, the popular WWE 2K franchise and NBA 2K, the #1 rated and #1 selling basketball franchise***. 2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). For more information, please visit www.2K.com.

***According to 2008 – 2013 Metacritic.com and The NPD Group estimates of U.S. retail video game sales through September 2013.

About Irrational Games

Located near Boston, Massachusetts, Irrational Games is widely recognized as one of the industry’s leading game developers. Irrational has earned a reputation for creating story-driven, genre-defining games with award-winning hits like System Shock 2, Freedom Force, the original BioShock, and BioShock Infinite. For more information, visit http://www.irrationalgames.com.

Irrational Games is a 2K studio. 2K is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.

WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship Interview with Producer Marco Calzolari

Claire Phillips

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November 13, 2013

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WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship Interview with Producer Marco Calzolari

WRC 4 FIA World Rally Championship is the latest entry in Milestone’s reboot of the WRC series. The game holds the official licence for the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship, and features cars and rallies from the 2013 season. After the third entry was published earlier in the year by Namco Bandai, this release is being handled by Bigben Interactive. Marco Calzolari is one of the producers on the Milestone team, taking some time out to answer a few questions about the game for Capsule Computers.

What are some of the major changes between WRC3 and WRC4?

MC: With WRC4 we focused on two main areas; improving many aspects that were appreciated in previous titles and creating new and better features that were criticised by players in previous games.
The main changes are to the car physics, and the car and environment audio. There are also five new rallies, and the ambient 3D such as the Service Park and Team Office where the career mode is concentrated.

What new feature do you think will be the biggest attraction for fans of the series?

MC: Generally speaking I would mention the car physics and the in game audio: the car sound is great and changes on each gameplay camera. For the more hardcore players, I think that the new H gear + clutch and the 900° wheel options will satisfy them.

How would you convince someone who didn’t usually play racing games to give WRC a try?

MC: For someone that is not used to playing rally games I would simply encourage them to try a new kind of game. Motorsport games can be a real challenge, and WRC4 has a great career mode that helps the player to get into the game, step by step. At the same time WRC4 has 3 different difficulty settings plus many custom options that can facilitate the driving experience, giving a great introduction to the less experienced players.

What was the biggest challenge the team faced during the game’s development?

MC: Considering all the aspects I think that the new audio can represents a good example. We had to replan the whole pipeline for the sound recording, and this goes from the technical equipment used to the location difficulties. In addition to all of that, the difficulty has been organising the actual recording sessions around Europe for the different manufacturers. Each car has its own challenge; under-bonnet space, heat, interior vibrations, technical issues, etc. Overall though we did a great job and the effort seems to have paid off.

The next generation of consoles are released not long after the game hits shelves; did the approach of the new generation of hardware have any impact on the development process for WRC4?

MC: Not directly. Sure we are aware and closely follow the next gen consoles, and the way we did look at WRC4 made us think about the future.

Assuming that technology can keep up with your imagination, what is your dream feature or mode to include in a WRC game?

MC: Well, this is a question that can free a good amount of fantasy…but we must remember that we are still dealing with a licensed game and therefore not everything is possible. One of the things that would be great would be a more in depth customisation of the game and a wider online/social experience. Plus, I can’t unveil our secret ideas yet!!

WRC4 is the official video game of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship, how do developments in real world rallying influence the development of a game like WRC4?

MC: A lot of changes and development that affects the World Rally Championship are implemented in each game. Some examples are the vehicle models, the technical differences between classes, locations and sponsor influence.

Do you work with the rally drivers and teams to enhance the realism of the game?

MC: This is a big part of our work throughout the game development. We collaborate with many team figures in order to collect precious data about things such as car physics and components, terrain feeling and pacenotes, the sound and tuning of the cars. This part of the work has been crucial for us, since we had the opportunity to have our programmers, designers and engineers together with the mechanics, drivers and co-drivers at the same table. In addition, the feedback on game prototypes and on past games that some W.R.C. teams member managed to give us during the development helped us when refining the game.

Are virtual reality technologies like the Oculus Rift something that you would aim to incorporate in future WRC games?

MC: Well, this is something we have been looking at with a certain curiosity…but is a bit early to talk about this.

Could you sum up the experience of creating WRC4 in one sentence?

MC: This WRC4 development has been a great experience. We had a wonderful core team, with many years of experience in four wheels motorsport games and all passionate and fans of the World Rally Championship. Passion is always a winning recipe!

WRC4 FIA World Championship is now available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC (you can check our review for the game here). The game is also available on the PlayStation Vita for the first time, and retains all the console features on the handheld version.

Tonight’s Nintendo Direct Focusing on Previously Announced 3DS Games

Zac Elawar

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November 13, 2013

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Tonight’s Nintendo Direct Focusing on Previously Announced 3DS Games

On November 13, 5pm Central European Time and November 14, 3am AEST for us Aussies, Nintendo will be presenting another Nintendo Direct stream. This one will focus entirely on previously announced Nintendo 3DS titles, releasing through to the new year.

The broadcast will be hosted by Nintendo of Europe President Satoru Shibata. Although no specific games were listed for the proceedings, we imagine that more information will be shared on The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Mario Golf World Tour, Yoshi’s New Island and possibly a new Kirby entry. You can view the presentation at the given times above right here.

Warner Bros. Interactive Announces Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Zac Elawar

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November 13, 2013

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Warner Bros. Interactive Announces Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Coinciding with the reveal of the cover for the December issue of Game Informer magazine, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, a third-person action game for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC.

In development at Monolith Productions, this new entry in the much beloved Tolkein fantasy universe is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and has players embody a valiant ranger named Talion, whose family was slaughtered before his eyes the night that Sauron and his army returned to Mordor. Moments later, his own life was taken, but he was resurrected by a Spirit of Vengeance and empowered with Wraith abilities, enabling him to seek revenge. Along the way to the ultimate confrontation, Talion learns about the Spirit that lives within him as well as the origins of the Rings of Power.

Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, said;

In Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, players will explore the dark and very personal theme of vengeance in a world where decisions have a consequence, and those consequences persist even after death. The game introduces new gameplay mechanics to the action genre, creating opportunities for emergent and customized gameplay that will be rewarding for players.

A unique, adaptive system called the Nemesis System ensures personal arch-enemies for each individual player by shaping enemy relationships and characteristics depending of the actions of the player. This results in foes that remember and adapt to the player, offering a different, but tailored experience for every play session. Essentially, gamers are subconsciously and intuitively crafting their own battle situations, opposition and rewards within this smart, dynamic world. Die-hard fans will be pleased to know that the developers have been collaborating with Middle-earth Enterprises, Peter Jackson and the artists at Weta Workshop to ensure that the settings, characters and story align authentically with the canon.

For more information, stay tuned to Capsule Computers, and also visit www.ShadowofMordor.com, Facebook.com/ShadowofMordor and Twitter.com/Middleearthgame.

40 New Titles Greenlit on Steam

Jamie Laike Tsui

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November 13, 2013

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Steam announced another 40 games and applications have been Greenlit. These titles will be added to the store in the coming weeks and months when the developers feel they are ready to release the title.

The following have been Greenlit:

9.03m by Space Budgie
Black Gold Online by Snail Games USA
Bollywood Wannabe by Chrysaor Studio
Bot Colony by Bot-Colony
C-RUSH by Artnumeris
Castle In The Darkness by Matt Kap
Chuck’s Challenge 3D by Niffler Ltd.
CLANG by Subutai Corporation
Crimsonland by 10tons Ltd
The Dark Phantom by PardisGame Studio
Death Road by Active Zone Group S.A.
Freedom Fall by Stirfire Studios
Grimind by Paweł Mogiła
Gunman Clive by Bertil Hörberg
Harvest by GondeFire Productions
Hypovolemia by defragen1
Kopatel Online by qmaks2005
NaissanceE by Limasse Five
Liege by Coda Games
Little Racers STREET by Milkstone Studios
Liquid Rhythm Intro by WaveDNA
Lords of Discord by HeroCraft Ltd
Lords of Xulimai by Numantian Games
Ludwig by Ovos
MechKnight Chronicles: Knightfall by Dinosaur Games
Motor Rock by Yard Time
ORBITOR by Evil Aliens
Paradise Lost: First Contact by Asthree Works
Pixel Boy by Giant Box Games
Ratz Instagib by Lino Slahuschek
RaySupreme 3D by BrainDistrict
Smooth Operators by Andreas Heydeck Games
Sokobond by Wanderlands
Stick ‘Em Up 2 by Never Don’t Play
Super Chain Crusher Horizon by Mindware
The Tale of ALLTYNEX by Nyu Media
Toki Remake by Golgoth Studio
Undead Overlord by JumpCore Productions
Wheels of Destruction by Gelid Games
Wilson Chronicles by Frere D’Arme

Razer Kraken E-Panda Hooligan Edition Headphones On Sale, Bruno Mars and E-Panda on Tour in AU

Jamie Laike Tsui

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November 13, 2013

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Razer Kraken E-Panda Hooligan Edition Headphones On Sale, Bruno Mars and E-Panda on Tour in AU

Bruno Mars’ brother Eric “E-Panda” Hernandez backs up Mars as his drummer and has drummed for some of the biggest names in music like Taio Cruz, Rihanna, Sting, and the Far East Movement. Eric and Razer have teamed up to release a limited edition Razer Kraken headphones. The E-Panda Hooligan edition is black and gold and are emblazoned with the E-Panda logo on the ear cups.

Now Eric will be touring Australia with his brother Bruno Mars in February and March 2014. Tickets are available at Live Nation.

The Razer Kraken feature 40mm neodymium magnet drivers and sturdy construction designed for rough conditions. When not in use, the ear cups fold inwards. The Razer Kraken E-Panda Hooligan Edition available in stores and online at Razer.

Assassin’s Creed IV has a Companion App

Sergei Lazarev

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November 13, 2013

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Ubisoft has released an official free Companion App for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, available to download now for the iPad from the App Store and Android tablets from Google Play. Check out the video and screenshots showcasing its functionality below and our review of the game itself.

Acting like a personal quartermaster and a second screen, the App displays an interactive world map that’s more informative than your in-game one, without having to pause the game. Players can also interact with Kenway’s Fleet, track your mission progress and current game status, cross-reference Treasure Maps, view notifications and read through the Animus Database.

Making use of tablets is becoming a growing trend in games, as Battlefield 4 makes use of an iPad for its Battlelog system and Commander Mode.

New Child of Light Gameplay Video

Jamie Laike Tsui

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November 13, 2013

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Ubisoft Montreal released new footage of their upcoming turn based RPG Child of Light. Lead Programmer Brianna Code walks viewers through four minutes of gameplay. Code introduces viewers to turn based combat and exploration in Child of Light.

Child of Light is an upcoming platformer RPG inspired by classic fairy tales and classic JRPGs. The game stars Aurora, a young girl on a quest to save the sun, moon, and stars. The game utilizes the UbiArt Framework engine which allows concept art to be loaded directly into the game. Child of Light will be released in 2014 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows.