Thankfully, what was perceived to be an untimely release for The Last of Us – during E3 week – has not had a negative effect on its sales as the Naughty Dog developed masterpiece has sold over 1 million units in its first week in retail. Now, you can watch an insightful Q&A session with the voices actors of lead characters Joel and Ellie, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, as well as Creative Director Neil Druckmann and Game Director Bruce Straley.
The panel was held at Sony‘s PlayStation booth on day 3 of E3 2013 and touches upon many topics in the video – which can be seen embedded below – including their interpretations of the roles, elements of the developmental process, changes to the story and more. One of the more interesting factoids is that initially, Joel and Ellie had a constant pursuer who would chase them throughout their journey…his character was reworked (those who’ve finished the game have a good idea of who he might’ve been).
If you haven’t bought the game yet, go do it. Seriously. If you own a PS3, you have no excuse.
There’s a new update for Joymax‘s popular MMO game Digimon Masters Online that will unveil the Digimon Lord Daemon to the general player public! Daemon is one of the “Seven Great Demon Lords” who is the leader of an army of demon-type and fallen angel-type Digimon, he was once even a very high level angel-type Digimon. Daemon has seen how good and just the Digimon World has become and has now vowed to plunge it back into darkness where he believes it truly belongs. His big plan: To revive the “Super-Ultimate Digimon” to send the Digital world into an all out war destroying those who stand in his way!
Daemon will be the “endorser” of the new and exciting update! Digimon Masters will be hosting a special Facebook event from the 2nd to the 23rd of July. The event will be called “Digital World’s Hidden Charm of the Month“. Thirty lucky owners of Daemon will win a “never-before-seen” prize! Basically players are asked to take the best and coolest screenshots of their very own in-game Daemon and upload it to the Digimon Masters’ Facebook events page.
Tamers out there can expect a bunch of more news to come through soon so keep your eye on the site and keep training those Digimon! To check out any other info on Digimon Masters Online hit Joymax’s website here.
Invader Zim, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Angry Beavers…those names mean anything to you? Of course they do! What do they have in common? They all star the brilliant man, the king, Richard Horvitz! He was another of the big names at this years Supanova Sydney and we managed to snag a short but sweet interview with him at his signing booth. He let me jump behind the desk and take a seat next to him for the interview and I’m not embarrassed to say that I was fairly star-struck and, more so,extremely appreciative.
I. AM. ZIIIIIIIIM!!!
We got to speak about his role inInvader Zim, Angry Beavers and basically his all-round career. We spoke about Invader Zim series creator Jhonen Vasquez and what he was like to work with, we spoke about Angry Beavers and I asked him if he too thought that Norbert Beaver looks a little like Owen Wilson, he made us all laugh with his lines as Zim and we even got him to shout out to all you Capsule Computer fans out there!
You can catch the whole interview in our Featured Video section below. I would like to thank both Richard Horvitz and Supanova Sydney for allowing us the time to do this interview. It was an honour.
The free-to-play title MechWarrior Online is still in open beta, but it’s slowly stomping its way towards launch this summer for the PC. Piranha Games and Infinite Game Publishing have unveiled “Project Phoenix“, a pre-launch program offering a slew of in-game content that includes even more Mechs. But these ones happen to be rare and wield some dangerously effective perks.
From today onwards, you can pre-order up to four different Project Phoenix BattleMech packages with prices ranging from $20 USD up to $80 USD, the most expensive of which includes 12 Mechs.
These will be made available on October 15 and come equipped with the following:
Unique Project Phoenix BattleMech(s)* (dependent on package) featuring a 30% C-Bill Boost, 10% Loyalty Point Boost and an exclusive custom-designed exterior.
Locust –The Locust, a speedy reconnaissance `Mech, infamous for its quick speed and extremely quick manoeuvrability, was first introduced by Bergen Industries in 2499. Weighing in at just 20 tons, the Locust has been a fan favorite for decades.
Shadow Hawk –The Shadow Hawk is a versatile and quick medium `Mech at 55 tons, arguably most famous for its use by Grayson Death Carlyle of the Gray Death Legion. It was first built by Lang Industries in 2457 during the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of BattleMech creation.
Thunderbolt –The Thunderbolt is an eclectically armed heavy `Mech weighing in at a whopping 65 tons and was originally designed as a heavier `Mech by Earthwerks Incorporated in 2491.
Battlemaster –The Battlemaster is an Assault `Mech with a storied history and has been used in countless historic battles throughout the Inner Sphere. With an adaptable weapons platform this `Mech has been used in virtually every role and on hundreds of battlefields, including the Battle of Coventry by Wayne Waco, commander of the Waco Rangers and according to some, a pilot prodigy.
Those who pre-order any of the Project Phoenix packages in the first 30 days (June 25th to July 24th) will receive an Early Bird Bonus of 30 days Premium time. Those with Founder status who join in and pre-order will additionally receive their exclusive Founders Icon as a cosmetic Hanging Item to decorate their Mech cockpit.
Once Project Phoenix is over, the special Mechs with custom exteriors and camo specs won’t be available again. Fans can expect “several major new game features between now and launch.” If you’re curious, you can visit and signup at the official site.
Bohemia Interactive‘s latest entry to their legendary combat simulator series, ArmA 3, officially entered beta testing yesterday. The beta features the island of Stratis, spanning twenty kilometers squared. The showcase missions has been expanded to eight, several co-op scenarios have been added, the mod tools have been fully implemented, and vehicles have been added to the game.
The release is slated to feature an island over 290 square kilometers large, more than forty weapons, and twenty plus vehicles.
ArmA 3 has been sold in a format made popular by Minecraft. The alpha costed approximately $33.00 USD to purchase, and the price has risen to approximately $45.00 USD since the game entered beta phase. Buyers receive access to the game in its current state and all future updates, including the full game’s release. The game is available through Steam, with a Digital Deluxe Edition available through the official Bohemia Interactive store. ArmA 3 runs on Windows PCs only.
For awhile now rumors have been circulating about what we can expect from Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1. While it was pretty clear that it would be some sort of remake of the original game, no one knew exactly what to expect. That is until today when information from the latest issue of Famitsu was revealed to the public.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is a complete overhaul of the original game which will feature gameplay mechanics from Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, new illustrations, character models, dialogue, event scenes and more all combined with the original story that fans loved. Currently Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1 is set to be released in Japan on October 31st and it will be interesting to see if NIS America will be bringing this game overseas like they have with nearly all of the games in the Neptunia franchise so far.
Today it was revealed via scans from the latest issues of Famitsu that Gust, now owned by Tecmo Koei, are working on a brand new game that is not related to the Atelier franchise and is instead a new IP. The title is called Chronos Materia and is a brand new RPG for the PlayStation Vita which is set to be released in Japan on September 26.
The title will feature the theme of “time” as well as an “Eternity Looping System” that will allow players to alter their destinies by traveling into the past and replaying different parts of the game to alter events. The game’s story is set to follow a girl named Iris and others who have been mysteriously transported to a world with no humans or any sign of civilization. You can check out the image above for some early images and character artwork of the game.
Today a great video game moment has taken place as Project X Zone has been released in North America. Why is this a great moment? Because Project X Zone features not only characters from Namco Bandai, but also Capcom and Sega as well. To make things even more interesting, the title is a strategy RPG exclusive to the 3DS.
However even with these hurdles Project X Zone has been released to stores and along with it comes a stellar game which features characters from multiple franchises teaming together to fight against an unknown force. To commemorate the game’s release Namco Bandai has released a launch trailer for the title which can be seen below. Those in Australia and Europe have to wait until July 4th and the 5th to access this game but it will be well worth the wait.
Razer released their new Razer Surround application to Windows computers as part of an update to their Razer Synapse 2.0 software suite. The application emulates 7.1 surround sound with any set of stereo headphones. Razer Surround provides users with a variety of customization options. In addition, the software provides sound tests that will help find the optimal settings for the user. The settings are stored in the cloud along with all other Razer Synapse 2.0 settings.
The software comes pre-loaded with profiles that are perfect for Razer’s headphone offerings, but works with all stereo headphones. Be sure to check out our reviews of the Razer Blackshark and Carcharias headsets, which have ready made profiles in Razer Surround.
Razer Surround is normally a one time purchase of $19.99, but the fee is waived for those who register before January 1, 2014. Instead, users are encouraged to make a donation to Child’s Play Charity to help provide entertainment options to children staying in hospitals around the world.
Those interested can download the software for free. It is compatible with all versions of Windows Vista, 7, and 8.
Fans of the tremendous sci-fi franchise Warhammer 40,000 by Games Workshop will be glad to know another game is coming in late 2015, not only for the PC, but surprisingly on the next-gen PS4 and Xbox One as well. A tantalising website is all we have so far, but the developer has spoken out on key details for the next big 40K project.
To the joy of some, and dismay of others, it will be an MMO. Some are right to be skeptical considering how that other ill-fated MMO, Dark Millennium, turned out. But so far things are sounding cautiously good.
First off, while the developer Behaviour Interactive is known for the largely unremarkable WET and Naughty Bear games, they’re promising a team of MMO tech experts from the recent Montreal layoffs and themselves as hardcore 40K fans to craft a title as daunting as Eternal Crusade.
Secondly, the MMORPG aspect is a “system driven virtual world in the vein of PlanetSide 2 or EvE Online.” That’s a good thing for MMO naysayers, as PlanetSide 2 has proven the genre isn’t just for quests and grinding pigs. The team is taking inspiration from co-op games like Left 4 Dead and Diablo to create procedurally generated PvE content.
Onto the gritty details that matter, check out the feature list:
Experience the gameworld with 3rd-person, behind the shoulder action featuring precision gunplay and brutal melee combat with excruciating finishers
Participate in a persistent online war to conquer the planet, its fate completely in the hands of the players
Become a warrior from one of four initial factions, each unique and opposed to one another: Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Orks and Eldar
Participate in truly massive conflicts that simultaneously bring thousands of players to bear over territories and other strategic resources
Get behind the controls of Space Marine Rhinos, Predators, Ork Battlewagons and other iconic vehicles of the 41st millennium
Hack through genuinely challenging procedural content alongside your battle-brothers and never have the same experience twice
Earn the right to customize your builds in a deep progression system drawing on the rich Warhammer 40,000 universe
Found a Battle Squad with friends and prepare for conflict from your customized shared space in orbit – then drop down to the planet together and seek out glory!
If this list is anything to go by, if the game code is solid and the developers aren’t devoured by the legions of demanding fans we may just have a successful Warhammer 40,000 MMO.
