Deus Ex has been a critically acclaimed franchise for some time for Square Enix, and that looks to continue as it takes a ride to the mobile scene. Today, it was announced that Deus Ex: The Fall would be headed to mobile and tablet devices later this year, with a new main protagonist and narrative in tow.
Now, for those concerned about quality, fear not as the team from Eidos-Montréal and N-Fusion who worked on Deus Ex: Revolution will be behind the project, and will feature characters from the novel DEUS EX: THE ICARUS EFFECT.
Here are some plot points to expect in this story-driven RPG:
DEUS EX: THE FALL is set in 2027– a golden era for science, technology and human augmentation, but also a time of great social divide and global conspiracy. Powerful corporations have seized control from governments and command the drug supply needed by augmented humans to survive. In this chaos Ben Saxon, a former British SAS Mercenary who underwent physical augmentation, is desperate for the truth behind the drug conspiracy. Betrayed by his private military employers, the Tyrants, not only is his own life at risk, but for all augmented humans, time is running out…
Sounds rather enticing, and seeing a brand new tale for the series known for its twisted and captivating world. Check out the announcement trailer down below, and stay tuned as there is sure to be even more information on The Fall in coming weeks. For now, you can check out log onto www.deusex.com/TheFall or visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/DeusEx and YouTube www.youtube.com/DeusExOfficial for your fix.
Rise Of The Ravager Developer: Gentleman Squid Studio Publisher:Gentleman Squid Studio Platforms:Windows (reviewed), Linux, Xbox 360 (XBLIG) Release Date: Out Now Price: £3.99 – Available Here
Overview
Gentleman Squid Studio’s Rise of the Ravager is pretty simple in its design. You have a base which needs protecting along the bottom of the screen, and the objective of the game is to shoot down anything that attempts to attack this base. Despite this simplicity by some of the later stages you’ll find walls of enemies raining down at you forcing you into a blind panic, becoming flustered as you struggle to choose how to take them on. The game has been heavily compared to Guitar Hero, and initially I was sceptical at best into how this would be the case. However, after playing the game I now see the similarities in gameplay as well as in the frustration, as well as the relief after completing a tricky level, that can come with both these titles. Rise of the Ravager is a compelling game, one which will keep the player engaged and interested throughout despite its simple click this button to kill this enemy mechanic, and one which will be thoroughly enjoyed by many.
Story
Rise of the Ravager is set in some unknown period of time on the brink of a potentially catastrophic event. The Ravager, an ancient god, seeks to come alive once more, the bad news is that he’d pretty much wipe out all life if he were to awaken. The player must prevent his revival by destroying his minions and avatars protective as they descend from on high onto your base, and to seek favour from the Old Ones. If the monsters manage to break through the shield and hit the base, then the Ravager will break free and thus wreak havoc among the planet.
Gameplay
The game is simple in nature. The player has one stationary turret to deal with the threats that are raining down on you, and you have to shoot them down with a shot of the same colour as the enemy. This is done by clicking the correct button which corresponds to the correct colour bullets you fire, to hit the correct coloured enemy. If you miss an enemy and they reach your base, the first hit will make your shield go down, and any further hits will do damage to the base, If more than three hits are taken without the shield then that’s game over.
The game starts you off with one or two colours that need to be fired, but soon you’ll be having to manage all 4 colours. Aside from the first few levels, the game is actually quite difficult. The game is designed around putting the player outside of their comfort zone, you never quite feel comfortable with the amount of enemies attacking you and this can lead to panic and silly mistakes. The levels also last just a tad more than is comfortable for the level of focus required as well, but all this adds up to the sense of elation after completing a level where you have been on edge and fully focused for what seems like a lifetime.
The game comes with an excellent upgrade system for your weapons and shields, and it’s key that you utilise it differently for varying stages throughout the game. The player is able to increase things such as damage, firing rate and shield regeneration or increasing aim assist on the turret. As the levels change some upgrades become more useful than others, and in other games this could leave the player hindered by their previous choices. However, unlike most games the upgrades you choose don’t get locked in, but Rise of the Ravager will let you take away any upgrade you have made, and repossess the skill points these costs, and then the player is free to redistribute these in any way they please. This is vital as upgrades which were useful at the beginning of the game weren’t useful towards the end, a very welcome addition to the game, and one which makes its tough difficulty a bit easier to handle.
Visual And Audio
The visuals are simple and clear, making the game very easy to enjoy. Rise of the Ravager uses an Inca theme throughout, and one that is inherent in everything from the the design of the enemies you are trying to shoot down to the backing music. Enemies at the start look like Inca masks, but the different type of enemies become more varied as the game progresses, other enemies look like animals or odd creatures and each of these move in different ways. The clear art design helps the player to pick out which enemy it is that is coming towards you and enables quick reactions in order to be able to deal quickly and efficiently with enemies as soon as they come into view.
The backgrounds on which the action takes place is also nice and simple, and doesn’t distract from the main task of the game, although if there was one complaint about these it would be that there could possibly be a bit more variation to these backgrounds. Overall the visuals on the game are not flashy or over the top, and nor do they pretend to be. They don’t distract from the gameplay, but at the same time are sharp and colourful enough not to be dull or a hindrance to the overall feel of the game.
There isn’t much to say about the sound track which is mainly tribal sounding drums, apart from the fact that it is oddly hypnotic and manages to fit nicely with the Inca theme the game is going for. It was repetitive for sure, but in a way this sort of helped to keep in the zone while attempting to shoot down the enemies raining down at me, but again this wasn’t a hindrance to the game and like the gameplay was simple in its implementation. If the sound bothers you that much and you are looking for a more upbeat sound track, then simply play your own music to get yourself pumped up to save the world!
Overall
Rise of the Ravager needs your full concentration and skill of reflexes at all times. The game keeps you completely engaged throughout and not once did I become bored while playing this game. The player is never far away from a lapse in concentration and letting the Ravager escaping, and thus being game over, although very simple in nature but you cant help to get addicted. In a way Rise of the Ravager is like a pushy parent, putting you just beyond your comfort zone in each level in an attempt to make you up your game and become better. I can’t emphasise enough how such a simple game is made so effective, engaging and enjoyable. The comparisons to Guitar Hero are definitely warranted, but Rise of the Ravager is an excellent game in its own right, and well worth picking up for the price.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Digital Extremes, developers of Star Trek: The Game, have announced that their sci-fi action co-op Warframe, the fastest growing Free-to-Play game on PC, is coming to the PlayStation4 when the console launches later this year. Warframe debuted on PC a few months ago, and since then has reached its 8th title update, and a player base of over 2 million. Steve Sinclair, creative director at Digital Extremes expressed his thoughts on the prospect of developing for the PS4 his excitement about it. He stated that;
The fact that we’re developing Warframe for the launch of the PS4 this fall is unbelievably awesome… The irony is not lost on me that our original sci-fi concept for this game was the first ever seen footage for the PS3 generation that never came to fruition until now. Exciting times are ahead with this next gen transition.
The game’s developers, believe that the game is a perfect match for Sony’s next-gen console. As it is a co-op, online based action title with a heavy emphasis on the community and in building clans, Digital Extremes are taking full advantage of the social connectivity that PS4 is bringing to the table. In addition to the social capabilities, Warframe will make use of the Dual Shock 4 controller and its integrated audio, touch-pad controls and video streaming options.
Also announced twas a companion app for Android and iOS called Warframe Nexus. Nexus will allow players to perform such actions as; checking in on the game in real-time, perform in-game tasks, crafting and inventory management, planning gaming sessions with friends, and more. All of these features will be available even while players aren’t sitting at their PlayStation.
At next week’s E3 Conference, Digital Extremes will be showcasing both Warframe, and Warframe. Not only will there be a discussion and demonstration of the game, and its connectivity with Nexus, but fans in attendance will be able to try out a playable demo of the game. For more information on Warframe, check out the official site here. We are Days away from E3, so be sure to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the news coming from the conference.
Ubisoft and Blue Byte have announced today that they will be introducing a new “Science System” to the popular browser-based strategy game The Settlers Online: Castle Empire. The update will bring upgradable skills and abilities, as well as new buildings and resources to the game. It will also offer players the ability to configure production and tweak gameplay to suit their own styles.
The Science System will be implemented over the course of time using player feedback, with the first phase coming to North America on June 13. To celebrate, all players who login between May 27th and June 10th will automatically receive “Bookbinding Glue,” an exclusive bonus item, on June 14th.
The new upgrade will introduce four skill trees and seven new buildings, each with five levels. Those buildings include:
– Simple Papermill: producing Simple Paper
– Finesmith: producing Nibs
– Intermediate Papermill: producing Intermediate Paper
– Lettersmith: producing Printing Types
– Advanced Papermill: producing Advanced Paper
– Ornamentalsmith: producing Book Fittings
– Bookbinder: producing 3 different kind of books (Manuscript, Tome and Codex)
Be sure to check out the video below for an introduction to the Science System straight from the folks at Blue Byte. You can also check out the game’s website here.
Deep Silver and 4A Games, the publisher and developer behind Metro: Last Light, respectively, have released a video they’ve dubbed the “Mobius Trailer.”
The Mobius Trailer is a grim and fascinating look at the Metro within a flash in time. Monsters are raiding the Metro, and everyone must choose whether to run or fight, live or die, who to protect, and more.
The trailer was created by Alexander Bereznyak, aka Monakh, who was originally employed as a capture artist for 4A. Though he was needed as lead technical artist for the game’s production team, he continued his work alone to finish the video.
Be sure to check out the fantastic, eye-widening trailer below…and after you’ve watched it through, watch it once more, tying the beginning and end of the trailer together. You can also check out more at their official website here.
Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon is the latest game in the 3D story driven adventure series and promises to please long time fans of the genre. Player’s will meet a wide variety of interesting characters across their journey including Yanek Kaneyek and Adam B. Stoker.
You can check out the latest trailer below which centers around the adventures of art restorer and main character Ellen Cross, as she travels across Europe and deals personal struggle as she has to accept that her illness will soon take her life.
Both Redheads, both samurai, both added to the Shonen Jump line-up.
The last thing we heard about J-Stars Victory Vs was that Naruto was added to the line-up for this “Jump Ultimate Stars-esq“, PS3/PS Vita, fighter, well now we can say for sure that two more characters have been added; Ichigo Kurosaki from the series Bleach and Kenshin Himura from the series Rurouni Kenshin. It is really no surprise that these two guys were added. Shonen Jump knows what it’s doing when it comes to mix-em-up fighting games so I think they’re just leaving us in some elongated suspense as they slowly, slowly give us little chestnuts of information.
So the line-up so far is: Goku from Dragon Ball, Toriko from Toriko, Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto, Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach and Kenshin Himura from Rurouni Kenshin. It’s not a bad roster but it’s still early days and I can see so many more characters added. I’m hoping that this “Ultimate Jump Game” is like a next generation version of Jump Ultimate/Super Stars and I think a lot of people will agree with me.
Namco Bandai will be launching this game for the PS3 and the PS Vita, we’re not sure exactly when and considering the lack of info on it I doubt it’ll be for a while but keep your eyes on the site for more updates on this as they come through and don’t forget to hit up our comments section to tell us what you think or to speculate in general.
Lune is joining The Capsule Computers Indie Bundle, expanding the bundle to twelve fantastic indie games. Players will take control of the moon in what developers describe as “a game about reflection and solitude.” The Lune alpha is now available to all buyers, including those who have already purchased The Capsule Computers Indie Bundle. The game is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Be sure to check out the official Facebook page for Lune.
After having completed the Pokémon National Championships 2013, the European competitors have found their positions in the different divisions. With 3 divisions divided by age (Junior, Senior, and Masters) for both the Trading Card Game and Video Game, the competitors faced off in Swiss pairings to ensure that each participant would have plenty of games to prove themselves. While players in the TCG faced off with their cards, those in the Video Game used Pokémon Black and White 2 on Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo DS to battle each other.
The top winners in the National Championships have won invitations and Travel Awards to be able to compete in the Pokémon World Championships this year to be held in August in Vancouver, Canada. Here they will be facing the top Pokémon players from across the world including U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, and across Europe. Who will be the very best? We’ll all find out in August.
Classic adventure game Syberia 1 is coming to iTunes! The game was originally published by Microids, on the PC, and will be published by Big Fish Games. The game features Kate, a young lawyer who must untangle the will of a French manufacturing estate’s owner. She is thrust into a fantastical mechanical world as she hunts for the missing heir to the fortune.
Syberia 1 is being split into three parts for its iOS release. Syberia 1 – Part 1 is available for iPhone and iPod Touch for $1.99 and for iPad for $4.99. Both versions of the game feature free demos, with the full game being unlocked as in app purchases.
