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Get Ready for More 'Hitman' as 'Episode 3: Marrakesh' Drops Next Week[teaser]The banker and the general are ready to go.[/teaser] The new 'Hitman' has been on a role with both the Intro (see here) and with the second episode, 'Sapienza' (see here). And next week, on the final day of the month, 'Hitman Episode 3: Marrakesh' will be released on all platforms. Episode 3 will feature 'The Gilded Cage' mission, which will have two primary targets, private investment banker Claus Strandberg and Army General Reza Zaydan. Unlike the typical 'Hitman' level, this is no party, no secluded spa or retreat, this is a tense, pressure-cooker of city, and the government is poised to fall. With Episode 3 set for May 31st, that will leave three more episodes and locales left for 2016. Episode 3 can be had on its own for $10 or as part of the full experience. Order from Amazon Order from Amazon Order from Amazon Order from Amazon Source: Square EnixPosted Wed May 25, 2016 at 09:05 AM PDT by: -
Hey 'Overwatch' PC Players, Don't Forget to Enable Dolby Atmos for Headphones[teaser]Made for use with any headphones.[/teaser] 'Overwatch' on the PC can be had for $40, and that includes all future content of consequence. But available right now for the team-based shooter is a special audio mode. By virtue of a partnership with Dolby, PC 'Overwatch' players can enable Dolby Atmos in the Options menu. To be clear, this is an audio surround mode that is meant to work with whatever headphones/headset the players are using. Likewise, if using the Dolby Atmos for headphones option, players ought to disable any other virtual surround sound software. Naturally, part of the idea with the Dolby Atmos for headphones option is to give players the ability to perceive players coming from the 6 o'clock position. In fact, it should be good for above, below, and all around. So there go, a PC-only feature for 'Overwatch.' Order from Amazon Order from Amazon Order from Amazon Source: DolbyPosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 03:27 PM PDT by: -
Classic JRPG Fans Step Forward for 'I Am Setsuna'[teaser]Coming this summer.[/teaser] Hitting the PS4 and PC on July 19th, 'I am Setsuna' is a serious attempt by Square Enix to tap into what their RPGs achieved in the 1990s. Happily, this isn't a mobile title, and it isn't made of up of Square Enix palette art. Developed by Tokyo RPG Factory, 'I am Setsuna' utilizes a 'Chrono Trigger' style of combat. And when it comes to the story and the characters, the game seems to really be channeling the 16-bit era: I AM SETSUNA is the sorrowful story of Setsuna, a young woman of incredible inner strength, and the sacrifice she must undertake to the save the people of her land. As Setsuna leaves with her two bodyguards for the farthest lands, players will be immersed in an emotional and unforgettable story of true bravery. Square has announced that 'I am Setsuna' is priced at $39.99. A preorder offer is up on Steam, and it includes an exclusive digital track 'The warmth of hope' by composer Tomoki Miyoshi (see here). Source: Square EnixPosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 11:05 AM PDT by: -
Koei Tecmo Bringing both 'Nioh' & 'Attack on Titan' to E3[teaser]One exclusive and one multiplatform.[/teaser] Koei Tecmo has detailed their E3 plans, and it's all about the PS4 exclusive 'Nioh' and multi-platform 'Attack on Titan.' For 'Nioh,' a game that I already really like based off of the recent Alpha (see here), Koei Tecmo will have that Alpha content plus some new stuff as well as members of Team Ninja. As part of this announcement, Koei Tecmo has confirmed that 'Nioh' will be a 2016 title. Meanwhile, due out on August 30th, 'Attack on Titan' is being developed for the PS4, Xbox One, Steam, Vita, and PS3. This is promised as an action title. wherein "players will engage in high-flying, high-octane combat as they utilize the trademark Omni-Directional Mobility Gear and ultra-sharp blades to repel the fearsome Titans." Source: Team NinjaPosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 10:33 AM PDT by: -
Micro Steam Review Round-Up: Squirrels, Hamsters, and Happy Blobs[teaser]A quick look at some recent indies.[/teaser] In this piece we’ll be taking a look at three small indie games on Steam and hashing out their strong and weak points. The games included are 'Acorn Assault: Rodent Revolution', 'Mr. Nibbles Forever', and 'Spunk and Moxie'. 'Acorn Assault: Rodent Revolution' is a turn-based strategy title from High Tale Studios. It casts the French Revolution in squirrel form, as Charles DeMontesquirrel defends his hard-earned acorns against King Louis the Umpteenth and his despicable tax collectors. The gameplay is quite similar to 'Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes', which used a mix of strategy and more accessible match 3 gameplay. The two squirrel armies occupy a grid facing one another. Each turn, I was given a set of barrels and squirrels to set up on the grid to shoot my opponent and defend my own home from being shot. Similar pieces placed next to one another will combine into a tougher unit. Acorns collected on the board can be used to buff an army’s stats right before the firing phase. That about sums up the gameplay. 'Acorn Assault' never goes deeper than that, and the sole strategic consideration is whether to leave a lane undefended in order to open up an opportunity somewhere else, or play conservatively and defend all the time. The difficulty gets higher after the third battle or so, but less in a challenging way and more in a trolling one. The enemy commander would simply steal any acorns I had collected the previous turn, mitigating my ability to buff my troops. There is a derivative humor amongst the squirrels, riffing from pop culture, but the jokes are pretty lame. It could perhaps be appreciated by a much younger crowd, in terms of both gameplay and dialogue, but 'Acorn Assault' isn’t a particularly engaging strategy experience. The content you get at the beginning never really grows, and each battle is more or less the same. The technical and visual side is about as appealing. Even on the highest settings, 'Acorn Assault' looks and feels ancient. The character models and environments are grainy and lack detail, and the explosions and other effects are simple. Even the Renaissance-style music is repetitive. In short, 'Acorn Assault' is a game best avoided. 'Mr. Nibbles' is a browser platformer/endless runner available for free by Epic Shrimp, and 'Mr. Nibbles Forever' is the improved Steam version. The controls, as extolled by the devs, are simple enough for even a three-year-old to master in minutes: Mr. Nibbles never stops rolling but can speed up, slow down, and jump. He has two jobs: collect nibbles and avoid spiders. Despite the simple controls this is a challenging game. Even a single spider bite results in a game over, and the little bastards are tricky to avoid, especially as Mr. Nibble’s jumps can be unpredictable. Each of the challenges has its own specific object, and I was required to stick with that level until I had finished. Otherwise, the only real objective as Mr. Nibbles is to grab those nibbles, which are used to spin the wheel of fortune and receive goodies, like new outfits. An actual level select would have been nice, as the current interface is rather confusing and very limited. 'Mr. Nibbles' is classic platforming goodness, although it can get repetitive after a few hours. New levels, challenges, and outfits are unlocked with successful runs, which are used to unlock more of the same. Between the cutesy design, quick and straightforward mechanics, and its tendency to chafe after too long, it would be a perfect mobile/handheld game. On PC it’s a fun endless runner but there are many games like this with more features and content. Of course, for only $3 it’s also a bargain, particularly if you have enjoyed the previous Flash game. On the technical side it is very competent - the framerate can keep up, models and animations are smooth and pretty, and controls are precise. The third game in our set is 'Spunk and Moxie', ported over from its 2013 iOS release. This is another platformer, but not of the endless level variety. Even so, it’s still very fast moving and challenging. The titular characters are little blobs who race around each level and can bounce off the walls as much as they like. The levels are expertly designed with big jumps and tiny crevices that require accuracy to navigate properly; thankfully the blobs are nimble enough to avoid death by bouncing back and forth along the walls of bottomless pits. There are other ways for them to die, mostly in the form of environmental hazards like spikes, which of course are common in areas where collectibles are found. The game quickly gets more advanced and tougher with the addition of walls that can be destroyed to access secret areas and new paths, items to upgrade the blobs and make them more badass, and dangerous obstacles. My only complaint that there are no checkpoints, so dying far along in the level, even right next to the exit, means a restart. It’s not terrible because the levels are so short, so I happily jumped along the floors and walls with Moxie and blasted through chokepoints for time and score records. There was a lot of death, not to mention backtracking because Moxie never stops moving, but by and large it is worth playing, especially for fans of the genre. Although it’s a challenging game with frequent difficulty spikes, 'Spunk and Moxie' is a great platformer for killing time or just getting better at platformers in general. There are still only 30 levels but unlockable stuff extends its life, like tribute skins for other indies such as 'Spelunky' and 'Super Meat Boy'. Overall this trio is grab bag of tough, inexpensive platformers and a weak strategy entry. We recommend both 'Mr. Nibbles Forever' and 'Spunk and Moxie' (the latter more than the former), and highly recommend skipping on 'Acorn Assault', which falls short of any kind of engaging tactical gameplay.Posted Tue May 24, 2016 at 10:01 AM PDT by: -
Activision Knows Collectible Card Games - 'Skylanders Battlecast' Brings Cards to Life Today[teaser]iOS, Android, and Kindle.[/teaser] With 'Skylanders Battlecast,' Activision is attempting to combine some very winning ingredients into a new product. There are the colorful characters of 'Skylanders,' there are real collectible cards, a digital card combat platform, and mix of single player and multiplayer. With the today's full launch, 'Skylanders Battlecast' is ready to be downloaded on iOS, Android, and on Kindle. The real cards are bought in packs, and then scanned in via the mobile device's camera, from there it's digital card-based combat. Of course, Activision is pretty shrewd here as the cards can also be bought and managed in an all-digital manner. There are character cards, spell cards, gear cards, and relic cards. Players will need a starter pack, and from there, it'll be worth considering booster packs. The 'Skylanders Battlecast' is free to download on Google Play, iTunes, and Amazon. Source: ActivisionPosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 09:22 AM PDT by: -
Cross-Network Play Comes to 'Rocket League' on the Xbox One[teaser]Let the PC and Xbox One versions play together.[/teaser] 'Rocket League' hit the Xbox One in March, but it debuted on the console missing an important feature, cross-network play. The PS4 version by comparison debuted along with the PC version with optional cross-network support, allowing PC and PS4 players to compete directly against each other. Post-release there were big changes. A shift in Microsoft policy has opened up the ID@Xbox program, and as a result, 'Rocket League' on the Xbox One now allows the cross-network play with the PC version. This makes 'Rocket League' the "first-ever Xbox One game to support cross-network play with a Steam PC game." Of course, a further hope is that players will one day have be able to play 'Rocket League' on the Xbox One against PS4 players and vice-versa, but that's still something to hope for. For now, this a major change, and should grow the online 'Rocket League' play on the Xbox One by leaps and bounds. So, as of today, on the Xbox One, cross-network play can be toggled on or off via a check box in the Options menu. Source: Xbox WirePosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 08:49 AM PDT by: -
Latest 'Blood & Wine' Look Makes Me Want to Return to 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'[teaser]It's like 'The Brotherhood of the Wolf.'[/teaser] It's quite reasonable for anyone, such as myself, who really enjoyed 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt' to want to play 'Blood and Wine.' But in my case, just a few months back, I watched 'The Brotherhood of the Wolf' for the first time in years, and it has added that much more intrigue to the setting of Toussaint. But then there is another factor. 'Blood & Wine' is apparently the last ride that we will have with Geralt, and the character (and his world) have earned enough sentiment for this final meeting to be considered special before it's even begun. 'Blood and Wine' is coming to the PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions of 'The Witcher 3.' It is included 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Expansion Pass.' Source: CD Projekt REDPosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 08:24 AM PDT by: -
Games with Gold for June Include 'The Crew,' 'Goat Simulator,' 'Super Meat Boy,' 'and XCOM: Enemy Unknown'[teaser]Praise backwards compatibility.[/teaser] For June, the 360 part of the Games with Gold program stands out. There is the excellent 'Super Meat Boy' of 'Indie Game: The Movie' fames, and there is that special Firaxis console gem, 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown' (review here). Of course, these two games are playable on the Xbox via backwards compatibility. Meanwhile, on the Xbox One, the two June games are 'Goat Simulator' and 'The Crew' (review here). So for Xbox Gold members, 'Goat Simulator' and 'Super Meat Boy' are free from June 1st through June 15th, and 'The Crew' and 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown' are free from June 16th through June 30th. Order from Amazon Source: Major NelsonPosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 08:14 AM PDT by: -
Learn the Ways of 'Overwatch' from Conan O'Brien, Peter Dinklage, & Lena Headey[teaser]It does get vicious.[/teaser] Blizzard's team shooter 'Overwatch' is not a MOBA, it's a team shooter. This is no more clear than when three celebrities are playing each other. And that's what happens on the latest Clueless Gamer segment. Lena Headey, who before now, may have never played a game, still manages to learn pretty fast and turn the tables on Peter Dinklage. Meanwhile, Conan keys in on the game's more stereotypical features. Order from Amazon Order from Amazon Order from Amazon Source: Clueless GamerPosted Tue May 24, 2016 at 08:02 AM PDT by:
