Comcept the developer behind the Kickstarted Mega Man spiritual successor Mighty Number 9 has released a whole set of brand new screenshots for your viewing pleasure. We’ve got an entire gallery containing all of the high-rez colorful screnshots at the bottom of this post.
Mighty Number 9 was originally revealed back in September 2013 and reached its funding goal only after 2 days. With gameplay that is reminiscent of Keiji Inafune’s former Capcom creation, long time platform veterans and those familiar with his other works should have no problem jumping right into protagonist Beck’s shoes. This past August the project was delayed from a September 2015 release into February of next year for most versions of Mighty Number 9. It will be released on Windows PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, OSX, Linux. Wii U and at a later date PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS.
It seems that not a week goes by without a a brand new video for Star Citizen. The latest short video that has our attention is a three minute segment that showcases the upcoming ability seamlessly fly from the outer orbit of a planet all the way down to the surface. It should be noted that this feature has not yet been implemented into the version of Star Citizen 2.0 that is currently available to backers. In fact this video came from a Live-Stream of the game according to comments on both the r/PCGaming sub reddit and the video’s comment section.
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I think EvilNight on Reddit said it best when describing what kind of a technical achievement this is:
“All the things that SC does were done before in other games.
The praiseworthy part is that SC ties together a half dozen different game engine styles into one seamless, no-loading-screen persistent universe. This is something that a hell of a lot of people (including veteran game developers) have always said couldn’t be done. It is a truly mind boggling technical challenge to pull off.
SC is proving them wrong, one step at a time. It’s only been in development 3 years and the alpha v2 is already showing they’ve nailed most of the hard stuff. The rest is just fine tuning, bug squashing, prettying things up, and content generation.”
Star Citizen of course recently passed the $100 million mark in crowdfunding in the last few weeks and has made steady progress in deploying regular updates to backers. The developers over at Cloud Imperium Games have also released an official Dev video educating potential pilots about their procedural generation system. These new features are expected to be rolled out with the Star Citizen 2.1 update sometime soon.
I absolutely love the Star Wars franchise – like many children of the late 80s and early 90s I grew up alongside the films, my parents showed them to me on VHS just before the Special Editions came out in theatres. Nowadays the use of puppets looks silly, I mean Yoda can’t even hit things with stick he just kind of nudges them, the effects are hella dated and the series is full of plot holes that you can fly the Executor Star Destroyer through but it’s still really fun. The same can be said about several of the interactive experiences based off of George Lucas’ most famous works. Here’s why the following three Star Wars games got it right.Read More
The latest hero to enter the Nexus is Lunarathe deer.. Dryad centaur Assassin that hails from the Warcraft universe. Her agile abilities allow you to poison your foes and extend the duration of this damage if you are quick enough. Likewise her ultimate abilities also allow her to literally leap over enemies, slowing them down, or allow her to unleash a damaging storm of vines at will.
Blizzard has released a spotlight video giving players a rundown of all of the abilities that this new hero has to offer alongside some counter strategies for those who are bound to face her.
She is currently priced at 15,000 Gold – so if you’ve been doing your dailies perhaps you can afford her – or $4.99 USD thanks to the end of year extended Black Friday Sale.
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Abilities
Natures Toxin (Passive) – Auto attacks poison enemies dealing 33 DMG + level modifier. Each additional attack increases amount of time poison lasts.
Noxious Blossom (Bound to Q) – After 0.5 Sec causes an explosion that deals 166 DMG + level modifier
Crippling Spores (Bound to W) – Enemies currently afflicted by Natures Toxin have toxin duration increased by 3 sec + slowed by 40%.
WISP (Bound to E) – Spawns a Wisp to scout for you, lasts 45 seconds.
Ultimate Abilities
Thornwood Vine (Bound to R) – Sends forth a vine dealing 170 points of DMG + level modifier. Can have up to 3 charges.
Leaping Strike (Bound to R) – Leap over an enemy slowing them by 80% and dealing 255 DMG + level modifier. Can have up to 2 charges.
Sony has updated the PlayStation Store yet again with some fantastic deals thanks to the second week of their Holiday Sale. Some really big titles are on sale this week including Square Enix’s Final Fantasy X / X-2 remaster collection, Star Wars Battlefront many others. If you’ve missed out on some of the bigger games from last year & this year, then this might be the time to save a few bucks.
I’ve highlighted some of the games I think are worth checking out below:
It’s time to say goodbye to the hype train that is Super Smash Bros directs for the time being. Nintendo aired the final prepared video presentation this afternoon which featured two surprise character announcements – In the form of the witching Bayonetta & the transforming Corrin as well as a ton of additional content.
Previously Nintendo revealed that Cloud Strife will be joining the brawl –and you can download him right now for $5.99 USD (providing that the servers are stable). By purchasing Cloud you also gain access to the Midgard stage for either Wii-U, 3DS or both if you prefer!
Also announced alongside the two new characters were a whole bunch of Mii fighter outfits including licensed consumes from Wario Ware, Super Mario RPG, Sonic The Hedgehog and other franchises. At the end of the video Sakurai even re-counts how much content is available between the two versions and it is simply staggering.
To be honest I’m going to miss the hype and speculation that came with a Super Smash Bros direct. I could spend hours reading sub-reddits and forum threads guessing what the next announcement might be. At least Nintendo is holding onto Corrin, Bayonetta and a lot of the Mii Fighter stuff so we have something to look forward too in 2016!
Check out a summary of all of the announcements below alongside an embed of the YouTube presentation in its entirety.
New Character – Corrin From Fire Emblem Fates – $4.99 USD, Available Feb 2016
Cloud Available Now For $5.99 USD, Includes Midgard Stage – Available Now
Bayonetta – $5.99 USD, Includes New Stage – Available Feb 2016
It seems like North American fans of Kat & Dusty’s adventures in Gravity Rush have won over executives at Sony Computer Entertainment America it seems as the president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has announced that the physical version of Gravity Rush: Remastered will be available physically this February
The announcement was made while Yoshida-san was appearing on the Dengeki PlayStation winter live-stream. Surprisingly Shuhei directly mentioned that this decision was directly related to pressure from fans on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to release the game in a physical format.
Gravity Rush: Remastered was revealed this past September alongside new information on it’s sequel, Gravity Rush 2. The remastered version of the game has already been released in Japan, although no date for the sequel has been confirmed.
If you want to watch the live-stream (in Japanese) you can do so here.
Nexon’s take on the Cyberpunk world of Ghost In Shell: Stand Alone Complex, titled Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – First Assault, is now available via Steam Early Access.
Set in the year 2030 players are put into the role of Section 9 special forces member as the nation of Japan is under siege by members of a cyber terrorist organization. In order to combat this threat the player has been augmented with cybernetic enhancements that allow them to exceed current human limitations – deploy turrets, see in the dark with infra-red vision and more!
The game will eventually go free-to-play but for now it is available in as an early access build for a minimum of $5. As with other games that Nexon has published – expect some form of microtransactions with this title. There are a number of different buy-in tiers for early access beyond the initial $5 investment that will unlock some extras:
Recurit Pack ($5.49 CDN) – Access to the closed beta + one exclusive weapon skin.
Operative Pack ($7.69 CDN) – Access to the closed beta + Two exclusive weapon skins + 100,000 GP for early access and 100,000 GP for the eventual open beta.
Specialist Pass ($10.19 CDN) – Access to closed beta + three exclusive weapon skins + one extra character slots + 1000,000 GP bonus for closed & open beta.
Elite Access Pass($32.99 CDN) – Access to closed beta + three exclusive weapon skins + three extra character slots + 500,000 GP bonus for open & open beta.
Nexon has also released the recommended system specs for the game.
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RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 7 64bit or later
Processor: Intel i5 2500 3.3 Ghz
Graphics: GeForce GTS 450
DirectX: Version 9.0
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 3 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or higher compatible sound card or on board processor
The Broken Cast is back once again with Episode 7 –The FPS Rundown. This week on the show we talk about three major First Person Shooters that have all hit the market or had closed betas in the last few weeks.
First up we venture through the wastes with Fallout 4, quite a few people on our staff have been playing the game since it was released a month ago and we recount our early hours exploring the burnt out city of Boston. If you haven’t heard of it by now, Fallout 4 is one hell of a game.
Next up we talk about the recent Overwatch Weekend Stress Test. Our EIC absolutely loved her time with the game enough that she went out and pre-purchased the game. Expect lots of gushing about the beta version of the game and hopes of the future.
Last up we talk about Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Our reviewer, Erika, gives us her impressions of the game.
You can find our podcast on Itunes or on Soundcloud.
If you’re in the mood to shoot some undead monsters in the face, then this weekend’s Steam Deal might just the thing for you.
Killing Floor 2 is free to play until Sunday afternoon. This means anyone who meets the minimum requirements and doesn’t mind a 10GB download then you can get in on the co-operative Zed killing action with the wave of new players this free weekend will bring.
If you’re more of a solo FPS players than Bethesda’s discount on the entire DOOM franchise might be of more interest. Almost every entry in the series – except for the upcoming 2016 reboot- has been discounted. Honestly the price difference between DOOM 3 standard and DOOM 3 BFG, which includes the Lost Mission Expansion, is less than $1 USD. If you’re going to go for anything DOOM related, that’d be my pick.
Here’s a full breakdown of all this weekend’s Steam Deals:
So here’s a game we haven’t written about in a few years – Mechwarrior: Online. The game recently made it’s debut in Steam’s free-to-play section and to celebrate the developers have released a brand new trailer as well as the “Factions Play” update. Whether you’re new to the game or a returning veteran pilot here’s a bit of a brief overview about how Mechwarrior: Online works.
Mechwarrior Online bills itself as a “tactical online shooter” – this means that you’ll be playing with & against other players online in a number of different modes. All six currently available game modes are available for free, but if you’re looking to gain new Mechs, custom paint jobs or other limited edition items then the game also offers an in-game cash shop.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the game’s six game modes, two of which were added with the recent “Factions” update:
Skirmish: Player Vs. Player with the objective of eliminating the enemy team.
Assault: Capture the enemy base (or) Destroy opposing team entirely
Conquest: Be the first to collect 750 points (or) Possess the most points when time expires (or) Destroy the opposing team
Invasion (Faction Play): Defenders must defend the Space Defense Station, Attackers must destroy the Space Defense Station. Either team may eliminate the other team to secure a victory
Invasion Counter Attack (Faction Play): Attackers must eliminate the enemy team and their Space Defense Station. Defenders must survive until the timer runs out or until the Attackers are all destroyed.
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When players first hop into the game they are given a “trial mech” which is a pre-determined configuration which allow you to adjust to the game’s controls and game types. When you first sign up you’re also awarded a “Cadet Bonus” which increases the amount of in-game credits you’ll earn. Like many other free-to-play games you’ll have to play quite a bit to earn cash to get some good gear, thankfully the community has written lengthy guides for new players who don’t want to shell out any real world cash. Some of the mechs can get quite expensive – after looking through the prices available on their official websites they appear to start at about $17 USD – so the same price as subscribing to your average MMO for a month.
The brand new factions modeattempts to relive some of the cooler things about the older BattleTech games like Mechwarrior 2 – the different factions and how they relate to one another. You have the choice of joining either The Great House of the Inner Sphere or The Invading Clans and must work with others in your same faction to either occupy new territory or defend planets that are vital to your factions survival.
To celebrate the launch of Factions Mode the devs will be hosting a live stream at 5 PST which you can watch below. Also make sure to check out the game’s official Steam Page.
If you’re a player of Star Citizen today’s news might you a bit excited – should everything go according to plan – Version 2.0.0 of Star Citizen should make its way from the Patch Test Server onto the live servers at some point later today.
In an update posted by WLeverett-CIG the current plan is for build 2.0.0 to be pushed live as long as there are no more major issues. If there are major complications the launch will be pushed back until next week.
Here’s the full statement as discovered by Reddit:
We’re going to push one more build to PTU today to test an extra fix for the AI spawns at a comms array that slow down and occasionally crash the game server. Our internal testing shows that the fix resolves the crash, though there can be slowdowns of 30 seconds or so, at which point the servers clear up.
If all goes well with testing, we will push this build to Live later today.
Please know this is fully dependent on a successful, stable test, and is therefore a fluid situation where plans can change last minute. If there are any problems with the new build on PTU, we will assess, make some changes, and push to Live next week.
Thanks everyone! – WL
We’ve also seen some really cool videos come out of the PTU version of Star Citizen including a nifty Ship Interface video we covered last month. For everything Star Citizen keep checking out Broken Joysticks – we’re keeping our fingers on the pulse of the game.
There’s Some Shady Shit Going Down On The European PlayStation Store
When a major retailer launched a “buy one, get one free” promotion that includes AAA new releases, the internet generally pays attention. This can be a great thing for consumers, especially those of us who don’t usually have the cash to rush out to get the latest games right at launch. It can also be a huge negative when companies try to fuck over their customers like Sony Computer Entertainment Europe may have done with their most recent promotion.
This most recent promotion allows a European PlayStation owner to login and snag a digital license for two select games (out of a list of 25 eligble titles) for the price of one. It sounds like an absolutely fantastic deal, right in line with the price slashing that Sony Computer Entertainment America has been doing with the Holiday Sale. Except something isn’t quite right…
Using price tracking website it’s easy to tell that games like The Order 1888 have had their prices increased by up to ten Euros! When the digital version of your game jumps from £34.99 to £44.99 just before this current promotion – it becomes obvious that this promotion won’t benefit most customers. Add into the fact the same games can be purchased for as little as £17.99 on Amazon.co.uk for a physical product and it’s no wonder that people in Sony’s comment section are furious.
Maybe next time you try and ramp up sales, you should make sure your product is actually on sale and not arbitrarily inflated instead.
Competitive gaming is huge business – estimated to be worth around $194 as of current – and the latest industry giant to enter the scene is none other than Electronic Arts. News broke today that long time Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore will step down from his existing role and assume the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Competition office with the formation of the EA Competitive Gaming Division.
EA holds the keys to some of gaming’s most well known franchise including Battlefield, The Sims, Need For Speed, Peggle as well as exclusive licenses with FIFA, the NFL, NHL and more recently Star Wars.
Speaking about the role that the new EA Competitive Gaming Division will have within the e-sports community current CEO Andrew Willson said:
“EA’s CGD will seek to build a best-in-class program to centralize our efforts with new events, as well as the infrastructure to bring you the world’s preeminent EA competitive experiences.”
Electronic Arts has already been preparing its existing franchises for this shift to e-sports. Speaking with IGN Peter Moore said this of the company’s development teams:
“We’re already very engaged with our development teams around the world to make sure our games have got modes that lend themselves very well to competitive gaming, built-in from the get-go. Not as something that’s put in as an add-on mode or a last-minute afterthought”
Will EA be able to make a name for itself in a market that is dominated by free-to-play titles and older titles that never were necessarily $60 annualized experiences? It’s hard to say – as of the writing of this article the following are the top 5 games as ranked by competitive earnings:
DOTA 2 – $54 Million +
League of Legends – $26 Million +
Starcraft II – $18 Million +
Counter Strike (original) – $10 Million +
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – $9 Million +
It might take some time before we see the next Battlefield or Battlefront to crack into the top ten, let alone the top five competitive e-sports games. Rival publisher Activision announced a Call of Duty: World League earlier in the year that focuses on competitive COD.
Today Oculus and CCP announced that the commercial version of the Oculus Rift will come bundled with a free copy of CCP’s upcoming EVE: Valkyrie.
Speaking about this announcement Oculus CEO Palmer Lucky said:
“EVE: Valkyrie is one of the most anticipated virtual reality games, and one of the first true VR games to go into development. It perfectly captures the promise of immersive gaming, shooting you into a sci-fi adventure as you pilot a spaceship in search of combat. Battling your friends (and enemies) in multiplayer space dogfights is the ultimate VR thrill, and we’re excited to partner with CCP to bring this experience to Rift owners everywhere.”
EVE: Valkyrie is a multiplayer online spaceship dogfighting game powered by Unreal Engine 4 currently in development at CCP. It is being co-published by CCP and Oculus and isn’t just confirmed for the Oculus platform but will also be released on the PlayStation VR as well. Valkyrie was originally unveiled to the world in March of 2014 as a technical demonstration for the Oculus before being confirmed as a full commercial title. The development team isn’t just looking into your standard free for all death match but also team modes as well ad objective modes like capture the flag.
