South By SouthWest (SWSX) Gaming Tournaments Announced

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

The North American convention circuit is heating up once again with South By South West starting early next month, the Games Developer Conference rounding out March and the PAX East taking place in early April.

South By Southwest is more than a gaming convention – with creative works from the film and music industries also present. In terms of the gaming offerings at the show, SWSX has announced a number of Tournaments, Speakers and panels that will take place from March 9th thru the 13th.

The Discovery Stage is the central hub for SWSX’s gaming panel presence at this year’s convention. Sonic The Hedgehog’s official panel will be taking place on the Discovery Stage, for all of those fans of the Blue Blur. Castlevania Symphony of the Night developer and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night producer Koji Igarashi also has a slot on the big stage as well.

Here is just a small sample of the offerings at the Discovery Stage:

Legendary Koji Igarashi Chats Bloodstained: The Ritual
Emerging Visions: Game Studios of Latin America
Gotta Go Fast: The Official Sonic The Hedgehog Panel
Bringing Internet Culture to Linear Television

In terms of tournaments on offer, one of my favorite mobile games – Arena of Valor, a fast paced mobile MOBA will be taking the tournament stage by storm. I’ve written previously about how Arena of Valor provides an accessible, smaller scale MOBA experience without sacrificing the core gameplay elements and bright / flash graphics that can make MOBA games so addicting and satisfying.

Here’s the official description of Arena of Valor as provided by SWSX PR:

“Arena of Valor is a competitive 5-on-5 MOBA experience perfected for mobile, featuring turbocharged teamfights in quick 10-15 minute matches. A variety of champions fit any play style, making the game easy to pick up and play while still providing depth and complexity. Those who have mastered it will be in the spotlight at SXSW Gaming as they battle for the top prize on the Tournament Stage.”

Header Image Credit: Official SWSX 360 Video on YouTube.

0

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Closed Beta “A Huge Success” Says Developer

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

This weekend’s  closed beta for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 was a “huge success” according to a press release issued by developer Fatshark. In addition to the news of the beta test’s success they also announced that 10,000 more closed beta keys will be available on the game’s website. Open Beta servers will operate until 9 am PST on the 28th so make sure to get your freebie Vermintide 2 gameplay in!

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is the sequel to the 2016 release Warhammer: End Times Vermintide. Like its predecessor the sequel sees the 5 heroes from the original game return to take on the combined forces of the Skaven army across a number of waves on 13 brand new maps. Players will be offered 15 different career paths each with their own talent trees and customizable weapons. Some heroes excel at melee weapons crossbows while others use melee weapons like dual swords or large flaming staffs.

According to Fatshark CEO Martin Wahlund players killed millions of NPC enemies.

“It’s been an amazing weekend, with millions and millions of Chaos and Skaven enemies eliminated.”

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 will see a retail release next week on March 8th on Windows PC. A vague “2018” date has been given for the PS4 / Xbox One console port.

0

Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition Demo Coming Ahead of March 6th Launch

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Final Fantasy XV will be coming to Windows 10 in a little over a week and Square Enix has announced that a free demo version of the game will be made available a few days before launch. The demo will give players a taste of the real-time combat, NVIDIA Game Works enhancements and characters that FFXV has to offer. You’ll be able to play the entirety of Chapter 1: Departure in the demo version, which should last about an hour or so.

Square also outlined a series of pre-order bonuses that will be available until May 1st. There is a different set of bonuses based upon your digital distribution service of choice:

Steam – Access to the Half-Life pack which decks out Noctis in the HEV suit and glasses of Gordon Freeman. This pack also adds the iconic crowbar as a usable weapon in game. I guess Valve hasn’t entirely forgotten about the Half-Life series, they’ll still dust it off for a cross promotion.

Steam purchases also includes access to the “FFXV Fashion Collection” which is comprised of various stat boosting tees for Noctis.

Origin – Access to the “FFXV Decal Selection” which comes with a selection of alternate skins for the crew’s car.

Windows Store – Probably the most interesting of all three services. The Xbox One version of FFXV is cross compatible with the Windows Store version, meaning that you can play the multiplayer Comrades expansion with friends who own the game on that platform. Save data can be imported from the Xbox One version of XV to the Windows Store version as well.

Previously Square Enix also released the Final Fantasy XV Official Benchmark a couple weeks ago. That tool was supposed to give players a sense of how the game would run on their computers but as it turns out – some features like NVIDIA Hair Works couldn’t be disabled entirely and the Official Benchmark lacked all of the tweakable options that will come with the final release.

Here’s hoping the upcoming official demo fares a bit better. Below are the previously released minimum specs and a run through of the official benchmark.

Recommended Specs for 1080p
• AMD 8350 or Intel i7 3770
• 16GB
• At least 100GB free
• GeForce 1060 6GB variant or Radeon 480 8GB variant

Recommended Specs for 4K
• Windows 10
• Intel 7700k or AMD Ryzen 1600x
• 16GB
• At least 150GB free
• GeForce 1080TI

0

Mod Support Available In Xbox Box One Version of Cities Skylines

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

City simulator Cities Skylines has received at least one major free patch full of features with the release of every expansion. For owners of the Xbox One version of Paradox Interactive’s municipal management game today’s patch could be one of the best yet – adding something that only PC players have enjoyed up until this point, mod support. 

Brand new buildings and in-game items will be added for free through the addition of mods. Both Paradox Interactive and Tantalus Media will be curating through community submitted modifications to bring new content to the Xbox One version of Skylines. From their official press release it doesn’t look like some of the additional features available to PC players for the longest time, like auto bulldoze and automatic tax adjustments, will be making their way to Xbox. 

Sandra, a Product Manager with Paradox had this to say about collaborating with the Xbox Product Team to bring mod support to Cities Skylines: 

“We’ve been working together with Tantalus to see if there was a way to bring mods to our console players that was as enjoyable as it has been on other platforms, and with help from the Xbox team, we’re ready to let our fans give mods a try in Cities: Skylines. If things keep going well, we’re eager to see which mods may appear in the future as we keep testing and working on this content!” 

In addition to the free patch released today that brings mod support to Xbox One, a new pack of premium DLC that includes styles and buildings for resident and commercial districts, the Content Creator’s Pack, will be released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 next month on March 6th. Season Pass holders and owners of the Premium Edition of Cities Skylines on Xbox One will receive the Content Creator’s Pack for free. 

Pictured Above: The PC Version of Cities Skylines Circa 2015.

0

DC Super Hero Themed Cars Leap Into Rocket League This March

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Psyonix’s fast paced rocketed powered soccer title Rocket League will be getting a little more heroic this March with the release of the official DC Super Heroes add-on. This pack includes two new Battle Cars for your sporting enjoyment – the Tumbler from The Dark Night Rises and the ’89 Batmobile from the 1989 Tim Burton Batman film. While no other cars are included in this upcoming pack but Green Latern, The Flash, Green Arrow, Wonder Womand and Superman all have their own Player Banners and car Decals.  A brand new boost effect is also included in the DC Super Heroes pack based upon The Flash – which was previously bundled alongside the Rocket League Collector’s Edition.

DC Super Heros Pack add-on for Rocket League will be priced at $3.99 USD (or regional equivalent) and will be available on your console’s digital storefront on March 5th. It is expected to released for the Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game,

Below you’ll find a breakdown of everything included in the pack as well as some screenshots provided by Psyonix PR:

  • Premium Batman Battle-Cars
    • The Dark Knight Rises Tumbler from Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises
    • The ’89 Batmobile from Warner Bros. Pictures’ Batman
  • DC Super Hero Themed Items
    • Aquaman – Breakout Decal and Player Banner
    • Batman – Paladin Decal and Player Banner
    • Cyborg – Roadhog Decal and Player Banner
    • DC – Player Banner (previously released in Collector’s Edition)
    • Flash – Wheels, Venom Decal, Player Banner, and Speed Force Boost (Wheels and Player Banner previously released in Collector’s Edition)
    • Green Arrow – Hotshot Decal and Player Banner
    • Green Lantern – Merc Decal and Player Banner
    • Superman – Octane Decal and Player Banner
    • Wonder Woman – Wheels, X-Devil Decal, and Player Banner

Screenshots

0

SEGA’s Make War Not Love Promotion Is Back For Year 5

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

SEGA’s annual “Make War Not Love” promotion is back for another round of community earned freebies and deep discounts on some of their more recent titles. 

This year SEGA has chosen a motif similar to the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects”, by titling this year’s giveaway as “The Unusual Suspects” and placing characters from Dawn of War III, Company of Heroes 2, Total War: Warhammer and Endless Space 2 in a police line-up, similar to The Usual Suspect’s theatrical poster. 

By signing up with your Steam account and authorizing SEGA to send you promotional emails over the course of the 5 day event you’ll gain access to two classic SEGA Genesis Titles – Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage 2. 

Each day has a community incentive to reach an unspecified total number of hours played across all titles per day to unlock an addition free game + DLC. As of the writing of this post the insentive for Feburary 14th has already been reached with a Total Warhammer II DLC and full copy of 2008’s Vikings: Battle for Asgard available.  

Of course, SEGA isn’t giving away free titles just for fun (although wouldn’t that be grand of them?) – they’re obviously doing this to bolster the online population of their recent titles and get those games into the hands of potential owners. The following discounts are available until February 18th: 

  • Total War: Warhammer (original game) – 60% off 
  • Total War: Warhammer 2 – 10% off 
  • Dawn of War III – 66% off 
  • Company of Heroes 2 – 75% 

If you don’t own any of the above games to participate in the unlocking of extra freebies – it might be worth it to sign up and stick around just to see what surprises have yet to come. 

0

The Silver Case: The 25th Ward By Suda 51 To Be Released In March 2018

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

For the first time in North America and Europe, Suda 51’s The Silver Case: The 25th Ward is coming to home console. On March 13th “The 25th Ward” will be released in North America on PlayStation 4 and globally on Steam with a European release to follow on March 16th.

Set 5 years after the events of The Silver Case, a woman is found murdered in the Bay Side Tower Land” apartment complex under mysterious circumstances. Now multiple protagonists, including Tokio Morishima from the first Silver Case game, must connect seemingly random events together to solver this woman’s murder.

Get ready to re-enter the “Kill The Universe” world created by Suda 51, as The 25th Ward offers up similar circumstances from three different perspectives in this unique sounding sequel.

Key Art

Logo

0

Penny Punching Princess Confirmed For March 30th Release Date In Europe, April 4th for N.A

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Penny Punching Princess, an isometric brawler where you can bribe all of your enemies with cash, for the Nintendo Switch will be released on April 4th in North America. Publisher NIS America also confirmed that the game will be coming to Europe for the Switch on March 30th of this year.

Princess, the protagonist of the game is able to bribe enemies to fight for her, instead of say bribe them to stop attacking her. Monsters aren’t the only NPCs that will take Princess’ money but also Flunkies who will allow Princess to equip stronger pieces of armor and weapons.

Below you’ll find the official story synopsis from NIS:

“You besta believe I’m in love with money, Hun! Play as Princess, the main protagonist in this isometric brawler, who loses her family and overall rule of the land from the evil Dragonloan family. Regain Princess’s kingdom as she punches, traps, and bribes her way to victory. Meet a colorful cast, including a zombie freeloader, Isabella, and find out the real truths about her father, the almighty Money God, and how her surroundings became a capitalist society.”

Key Art

0

New Alternate Costumes Announced For SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Nippon Ichi Software USA announced today that each of the playable characters in their upcoming fighting title SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy will have three alternate costumes that players will be able to unlock. By using an in-game only currency players will be able to unlock either the Heroines Costume, the Classic Costume or the Alternate costume for their favorite fighter. A range of additional accessories and customization options can also be unlocked to further personalize the in-game characters.

SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy is a 2 vs 2 fighting game with a roster of female characters from SNK’s various fighting franchises. Matches don’t end once your opponent’s health reaches zero, instead a winning point must be sealed by performing a special Dream Finish attack.

You’ll be able to get your hands on SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 sometime this summer. It will be available physically in both standard and limited editions, with the standard edition being available on your console’s respective digital store front. SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy will offer Japanese audio only with text options in English, Japanese, Mexican Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.

Below are 10 brand new screenshots from NIS America and a new trailer.

Logo

New Screenshots

Key Art

 

0

Relic Entertainment Drops Support for Dawn of War III

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Developer of the Warhammer 40k RTS series Dawn of War and publisher SEGA have stated that they are ending support for the latest installment, Dawn of War III, just 10 months after the game launched.

Dawn of War III was a weird beast – not entirely traditional Real Time Strategy title and not entirely a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. DOW3 fused both related genres together in an experience that had commanders still ordering around medium sized armies but with the MOBA like objective of destroying the competitors core before their own core is taken out.

So now, as is so ever common in the AAA gaming space – a once promising title anticipated by the existing fanbase, will be abandoned because the game couldn’t attract all of the players in the world. By abandoning what made the Dawn of War franchise a long-time genre staple and adding in mechanics no one asked for- we’re left with a title that has a smaller player base than a Dawn of War 1 expansion chosen at random.

Below is the statement that Relic/SEGA released to Eurogamer.

“While Dawn of War 3 has a dedicated player base, it didn’t hit the targets we were expecting at launch, and it hasn’t performed the way we had hoped since. It’s been tough for us as professionals who want to make great games for our players, and for us as people who care a lot about what we do.

When a game underperforms, plans need to change. With Dawn of War 3, we simply don’t have the foundation we need to produce major content. We’re working in close partnership with Sega and Games Workshop to determine the best course of action, while shifting focus to other projects within our portfolio.”

[Source]

0

Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition Launches On iOS In Canada

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

It seems that Square Enix has stealth launched Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition on iOS here in Canada without a press release or external announcement. Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition chapter 1 was available only via the App Store’s search function as of press time. It did not appear under the “Editor’s Pick” or “Games We Love” despite last week’s release of Final Fantasy Dissidia Omnia Opera being featured.

Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition is a mobile adaption of the 2016 console release complete with the same number of story chapters and voice acting streamlined for mobile platforms. The nearly photo-realistic reflections and HD textures of the console version are replaced with chibi low-polygon versions of Noctis, Ignis, Prompto, Gladdio and their supporting cast. Surprisingly the iOS edition of Pocket Edition supports a number of graphical options not normally found within mobile games including different draw distances, texture qualities and even support for a 60 FPS mode if your phone can handle it.

This mobile port of XV has 10 chapters in total with chapter 1 available for free. Additional chapters after 1 start at $0.99 with chapters after 3 going for $3.99 USD according to the game’s official website.

Here’s a breakdown of the cost for each in-game chapter and microtransactions:

  •  Chapter 1: Free
  • Chapter 2: $0.99 USD
  • Chapter 3: $0.99 USD
  • Chapter 4: $3.99 USD
  • Chapter 5: $3.99 USD
  • Chapter 6: $3.99 USD
  • Chapter 7: $3.99 USD
  • Chapter 8: $3.99 USD
  • Chapter 9: $3.99 USD
  • Chapter 10: $3.99 USD
  • All Chapter Pack: $19.99 USD

According to the official site the following are the minimum hardware / software requirements for apple devices:

iOS

  • iOS device with iOS 11.1 or later installed
  • iPhone6s (9th gen iphone) or later
  • iPad Pro
  • iPad (5th gen ipad) or later
  • iPad Air2 (2nd gen ipad air) or later
  • iPad mini4 (4th generation ipad mini) or later
  • Disc Space Required: 5GB or greater (the high resolution version requires 8GB or greater)

Although the official website says that 5GB or greater is required, the initial download for Episode 1 was 900MB with a 500MB required patch. I’m still playing through Chapter 1 but so far Pocket Edition feels extremely faithful to the console original – all of the same voice lines that I remember from the opening hours are present and accounted for. Feels a little odd to move Noct around using my thumb, but perhaps I’ll get used to it.

 

0

Report: Hyperdimension Neptunia Re:Birth 1 Coming To PS4

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

A preview of the upcoming issue of Dengeki Magazine spotted by the folks at Siliconera reveaks that Compile Heart’s remake of the 2009 Hyperdimension Neptunia will be coming to the PS4 with enhanced features under the moniker of “Hyperdimension Neptunia Re:Birth Plus”.  

No word yet on exactly what these enhancements will be – most notably the game might get some graphical upgrades, such as available on the PC version. This is especially truely when compared to the original PS Vita release of Re:Birth which ran at 540p – the PlayStation 4 could probably run Re:Birth 1 at 1080p without breaking a sweat. 

I reviewed Hyperdimension Neptunia Re:Birth 1 way back in September 2014. Here’s a snippit of that review: 

“If you’ve beaten all three of the console releases Rebirth1 is still strongly recommended due to the changed story, guild system and remaster options that extend the amount of gameplay. Don’t expect to beat Neptunia on your ride to work, this is definitely a game that requires a substantial time investment.” 

 [Source]

0

Square Enix Launches Final Fantasy Type-0 Mobile Game In More Countries

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Final Fantasy Awakening –  the online only, multiplayer focused Final Fantasy Type-0 spin off game – is now available in several more countries, Square Enix announced this morning.  

Set in the world of Orience, Final Fantasy Awakening allows players to recruit the 14 members of Class-0 to take part what’s called thee “2+2+1” Battle System – which allows players to select 2 members for their party, swapping them out at will while recharging the abilities of the resting members. Players from around the world join together to earn resources to level up abilities, equipment and unlock new classmates. 

This game does employ a “gacha” system of randomization when it comes to both the rarity and % of unlocked class members. I’ve written previously about how these type of systems can be psychologically manipulative – using the same strategies and flashy graphics proven so successful for the gambling industry. Sadly, despite all of the bad press and negative player feedback sorrunding loot boxes and paid RNG drops – the practice is still prevalent in the mobile and space and increasingly so in console games. 

Final Fantasy Awakening is available in the additional countries of Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, India, Laos, Cambodia, and Burma on the Google Play Store. It was launched in the USA this past October and is not available in Canada as of press time. 

 

0

Bungie Bringing Huge Changes To Destiny 2’s ‘Sandbox’ With March Update

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Today Bungie outlined exactly how they’ll be improving Destiny 2 over the next couple of months. In a brand new roadmap and feature breakdown the Destiny 2 outlined plans for update 1.1.3 (Feb), 1.1.4 (March) and 1.2.0 (May). Some additions are small but should have been present from the launch in my opinion – namely PC Public Chat, tweaks to the shader system and Heroic Strike Modifiers. Others like unique Nightfall Rewards, Quit penalties in the crucible and Iron Banner 6 v 6 will have a larger impact on Destiny 2’s playability.

Perhaps the largest of all of these planned changes (and the most complex from a player standpoint) is the “sandbox” changes. This might just sound like adjustments to the large open PVE sandbox that Bungie spent so many years creating but in reality it is a bunch of smaller adjustments to weapon damage, player movement, player health, respawn time and other factors that will provide players with more “hero moments”, especially in Crucible matches.

Their blog  post does note that not all of these changes may make their way in to the final 1.1.4 Patch at the end of March but overall when combined these changes should make crucible and P.V.E a lot more interesting.

Some of the individual changes that compose the “Sandbox” adjustments include:

–          Faster attack animations.

–          Increased Super ability re-charge time.

–          Higher overall maximum speed cap.

–          Buffs to underutilized weapon types like Shotguns, Fusion Rifles, Hand Canons and Sniper Rifles.

–          Major changes to the Arcstrider.

More of the changes involved in the Sandbox adjustments are available in the blog post. Alongside this three month roadmap Bungie also revealed that virtually no new P.V.E content will be making its way into the game until the new Raid tier drops with 1.2.0 at the end of May. Below you will find the full roadmap as posted on the Bungie blog.

[Source]

 

0

Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition Benchmark Released

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Square Enix has released an official benchmark for the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition which will be released on March 6th. The 4GB benchmark is not a playable section of the game but rather a series of pre-configured demo scenes that take about six minutes to run. FFXV: Windows Edition’s benchmark allows users to try out three different quality settings – Lite, Medium and High and three resolutions – 720p, 1080p and 4k. Users of the benchmark have pointed out that it does not offer 1440p resolution support, a common resolution between 1080p and true 4k.

Don’t have access to a gaming PC and want to know how it looks? I recorded the demo on my Dell Inspiron 7000 Gaming Laptop with a Geforce 1050. On this modest medium range gaming setup I got a solid 30 FPS with very few dips (only noticeable during loading screens) on medium settings at 1080p. My gaming laptop ended up with a score of 3000 on the benchmark – which means that it is right around the recommended specs for the medium quality pre-set.

 

We previously reported on the minimum specs for each supported resolution. Here they are:

Recommended Specs for 1080p
• AMD 8350 or Intel i7 3770
• 16GB
• At least 100GB free
• GeForce 1060 6GB variant or Radeon 480 8GB variant

Recommended Specs for 4K
• Windows 10
• Intel 7700k or AMD Ryzen 1600x
• 16GB
• At least 150GB free
• GeForce 1080TI

Square Enix also released a neat little chart that outlines what certain scores mean for the final version of FFXV: Windows Version. It should be pointed out that this chart outs quality pre-sets that go well beyond the released benchmark. The pre-sets expected to be in the final version are: Extremely High, Very High, High, Fairly High, Standard, Slightly Low, Low and Insufficient (does not run the game).

Square also published a reference list about how a whole pile of GPUS should perform in the Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition benchmark under optimal circumstances. Here is a cross section of some of the most popular GPUs and how they should score on the Lite setting:

Geforce 10 Series:

  • Geforce 1080: 1437
  • Geforce 1070: 12797
  • Geforce 1060: 9708

AMD RX 5XX / 4XZX Series:

  • RX Vega: 13263
  • RX 570: 10270
  • RX 470: 9720

Geforce 9 Series:

  • Geforce 980: 11205
  • Geforce 970: 10195
  • Geforce 970m: 7545
  • Geforce 950: 6375

[Source]

0

Get the latest articles and news from BrokenJoysticks and a selection of excellent articles from other sources.

Simply fill out the form below and you’ll be on your way to getting our upcoming newsletter.