Starting tomorrow (Saturday) 18th February the third Rare “Sea of Thieves Technical Alpha with Update 0.1.1: Taming New Seas”.
Quote from the Rare Blog
“If you’ve been following the development of Sea of Thieves, then you know we’re building our shared-world pirate adventure in a different manner than our previous titles. With an emphasis on community involvement and feedback, we’ve been inviting players into the game sooner than ever before.
This kicked off with our Technical Alpha last December and Technical Alpha Update 0.1.0: The Quest for Gold, which gave players new tools and matchmaking capabilities. This weekend’s update, 0.1.1: Taming New Seas, introduces elements that change the way players experience the game: gravity, voyage system implementation, new regions and islands, and maniacal gun-toting skeletons, to name a few! It also means that we’re inviting more of our Sea of Thieves Insiders to have a go in our treacherous waters.
As we move forward developing Sea of Thieves, we’ll have additional Technical Alpha Updates and will be growing our invited player-base as we move through the phase.
With every Technical Alpha Update for Sea of Thieves, we invite more of our Insiders to help test the game – and it’s not too late to join! You can enlist in our armada of potential testers by signing up today.”
Today the released date for Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has been revealed.
Watch the video to find out the release date
Your favourite marsupial, Crash Bandicoot, returns on June 30th, 2017! He’s enhanced, entranced & ready-to-dance in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Now you can experience Crash Bandicoot like never-before in Fur-K. Spin, jump, wump and repeat as you take on the epic challenges and adventures through the three games that started it all, Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Relive all your favorite Crash moments in their fully-remastered HD graphical glory and get ready to put some UMPH in your WUMP!
Ubisoft announced that the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Open Beta will be available to all players from 23rd to 27th February, on current-gen consoles and PC. Players eager to jump into the Ghost’s boots and tame the Wildlands will be able to pre-load the Open Beta starting this Monday, 20th February.
Each player entering this Open Beta will get access to an exclusive mission – the “Unidad Conspiracy” mission, in which players will spark a war between the Unidad, a local corrupt militia group, and the Santa Blanca cartel – by playing the full game before 31st March, using the same Ubisoft account.
The Open Beta will introduce players to two provinces among the 21 of the final game: Itacua, a flourishing and mountainous province where the grip of the cartel is looser, ideal to perfect your sniping skills and get introduced to the Wildlands. Montuyoc, set in the snowy Altiplano, and the second province available in this Open Beta, is much more challenging – players who have suppressed the Itacua bosses will gain XP and skills boosts allowing them to face this dangerous area, home to Santa Blanca elite training centers. Players can of course confront Montuyoc right away… at their own risk.
As in the full game, all the content in the Open Beta will be playable with up to three friends on the same platform via four player co-op, or in single player. Players are free to utilise a large variety of vehicles, tactical equipment and weapons to get the job done.
Set in the largest action-adventure open world ever created by Ubisoft, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands takes place in Bolivia, a few years from now, as the country has been turned by the vicious Santa Blanca drug cartel into a narco-state. Players are tasked with eliminating the cartel by any means necessary. The massive and responsive open world encourages a variety of playstyles, allowing players the freedom to choose how they execute any and all missions.
Paradox Interactive, has today announced that Cities: Skylines, the management game will release for Xbox One this year. Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition, optimized for play on a controller by Tantalus Media, will bring the game to new audiences worldwide when it launches in Spring 2017, allowing players to build and manage everything from small towns to sprawling metropolitan cities.
Along with the core Cities: Skylines game, the Xbox One Edition will also include Cities: Skylines – After Dark, the game’s first expansion, which adds tourism and nightlife options to the robust feature list.
“Paradox is a company that’s proud to publish and support ‘niche’ games, and we’re happy to be able to bring those specialized experiences to console as well.” said Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive. “Cities: Skylines has built one of the biggest and most active communities we’ve seen among Paradox’s fans, and that’s saying a lot. We can’t wait to welcome Xbox One players into that group, and I’m eager to see the towns and cities they can build.” Cities: Skylines is a best-selling management game, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs, and coming very soon to Xbox One with all of its deep gameplay and unique charm along for the ride. The Xbox One Edition includes the award-winning base game, bundled together with the popular After Dark expansion, allowing players to plan and design for their cities’ nightlife and tourist attractions.
Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition will feature:
· Build the city of your dreams: Plan road networks, bus lines and parks. Bring on a smog-filled industrial revolution or create a quiet beach town ideal for tourists powered by renewable energy. Bring education, healthcare and safety to your citizens. Build it your way!
· Multi-tiered and challenging simulation: Playing as the mayor of your city, you’ll be faced with balancing essential requirements such as education, water electricity, police, firefighting, healthcare and much more, along with your city’s economy. Citizens within your city react fluidly, keeping you on your toes with ever-evolving demands.
· Extensive local traffic simulation: Managing traffic and the needs of your citizens to work and play will require the use of several interactive transport systems – use careful road planning alongside buses, trains, subways, and much more.
· Districts and policies: Be more than just another city hall official! Create a car-free downtown area, assign free public transport to your waterfront, or ban pets in suburbia. Designate parts of your city as a district in order to set policy at the local level, and give different parts of town their own personalities.
· After Dark included: Watch your city become an entirely different place at night: a day-night cycle will have your citizens seeking out places to unwind after work. Add in new policies and zones to create popular hotspots and provide enough taxis and trains to get to and from the clubs!
Beans Entertainment (Beans), the developer of Bean&Gone, a new interactive brand that delivers shared engagement experiences for children across digital and physical media formats, has announced that it has secured £300,000 of seed investment.
The funding comes from a number of investors including; Charles Smith (the COO of Shoezone), Shirish Patel (retired Deloitte Partner), Ashley Cooper (Catalyst Growth Partners), Nick Pendleton (former Head of Royal Mail Ventures), Saracen Ventures, and Smart Anchor Capital.
Beans CEO & Co-Founder Dan Clemo says. ”We’re thrilled to have secured this funding from such prominent investors whom I know will add significant value to our business beyond their cash investment. The new funds will provide us with the necessary operating cash flow to launch Bean&Gone after nearly 3 years of creative design and character building. We’re also planning to hire a number of new employees to help with technical and commercial development”.
Beans Entertainment based in Cardiff was co-founded by Dan Clemo and Jason Veal, who also founded the prominent creative branding agency Sugar Creative Studio. Beans Entertainment Ltd was launched with the aim of building a global evergreen brand franchise, one that emulates the long lasting success of Thomas the Tank Engine, Mr. Men and other well-known children’s characters. The company has already acquired the worldwide rights to the bean shaped characters first created by British illustrator Richard Fowler in the 1970s, and which provided the inspiration for Bean&Gone.
A new interactive website has also been built in preparation for the launch, which includes company history, activity sheets, and a product store.
Charles Smith commented, “I’m pleased to have become a shareholder in such a dynamic young company like Beans. The founders are a truly gifted set of creative individuals who have a collective global vision to build a brand that future generations will grow up with and love”.
Shirish Patel says. “The decision to invest in Beans was quite simple once I’d met Dan and Jason. Their backstory is compelling as is the potential for making Bean&Gone a brand that has lasting appeal to children around the world”.
“Beans has progressed significantly in the last 12 months and is already attracting the attention of an number of potential strategic partners who are interested in collaborating on Bean&Gone. As new shareholders, Smart Anchor Capital are excited to see what the future holds for the company considering the size of the opportunity that lies ahead”, said Mark Hindmarsh.
As well as the new funding, Beans are in dialogue with a number of well known media entertainment sector parties that will help accelerate brand awareness of Bean&Gone and the company expects to make further announcements prior to the formal launch planned for March 2017.
OH NO… The high tech Kingdom of Knighton is in trouble! Join five young knights, Clay, Aaron, Lance, Princess Macy, and Axl as they fight to protect the kingdom from Jestro and the Book of Monsters in LEGO® NEXO Knights: Season One. It arrives on DVD on February 13th complete with a free NEXO Power and we’re giving you the chance to win your very own copy on DVD.
The high tech Kingdom of Knighton is in trouble. The King’s Jester has gone rogue and stolen the strange talking Book of Monsters. Using its evil magic, he summons an army of dangerous Lava Monsters and attacks. It is up to the brave but inexperienced NEXO Knights to come to the rescue. In their amazing rolling castle and with the help of holographic Wizard Merlok 2.0, they have technology and NEXO powers, an incredible new digitized magic, on their side. But the Jester and the Book of Monsters have a sinister plot that may spell doom over the once peaceful kingdom. Collect your NEXO Powers and join the battle to save Knighton in LEGO® NEXO Knights: Season One. Available to order now at Amazon.co.uk.
How to enter to win
We have two copies of LEGO NEXO Knights: Season One On DVD to giveaway.
All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to enter below:
Wired Productions has today announced Victor Vran: Overkill Edition, the content-packed console debut of the RPG developed by Haemimont Games, alongside an ‘Overkill’ filled new trailer.
Headed to digital and physical formats for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as Windows PC, Victor Vran: Overkill Edition promises more thrills than ever before.
Players and fans can experience the all-action game in full, alongside two brand new adventures: the ethereal Fractured Worlds – a challenging and empowering new expansion featuring a new chapter in the story of Victor Vran, and Motörhead: Through the Ages – a wild, rock adventure, inspired by, officially endorsed by, and starring, the loudest band in the world.Players who already own the game on Windows PC will be able to purchase the Fractured Worlds and Motörhead: Through the Ages expansion packs separately, as will players who wish to purchase the standalone game digitally on consoles.
Journey to the Fractured Worlds, a dimension formed from the fragments of broken realms. A perilous place for even the most experienced of hunters, explore its unfathomed depths through new levels and endless dungeons where each step proves more dangerous than the last. Continue your journey as Victor as you attempt to piece together the Astrolabe in this new, thrilling addition to Victor Vran.
Enter the world of Motörhead: Through the Ages – a wild tour through the mythos of the loudest band in the world! Harness the powers of the immortal Motörhead to defeat deadly new adversaries in three demon-infested worlds intertwined with the songs of the band.
Many years ago, Lemmy stumbled upon a twisted dimension filled with pain. Suffering under the dominion of a cruel dictator, to this world Lemmy entrusted the mighty Snaggletooth that he may defend that world… but Snaggletooth now lies silent. Join Victor as he answers the call of Lloyd Kaufman – the bartender in The Pub at the End of Time, to investigate Snaggletooth’s mysterious downfall, in this most gripping new addition to Victor Vran.
Motörhead: Through the Ages was conceived back in 2014, with all three members of the band having been active consultants in its design and development.
Extensive details of both the Fractured Worlds and Motörhead: Through the Ages expansions will be announced in the coming weeks ahead of the games release.
To celebrate the launch of 24: LEGACY today (Wednesday 15th February) at 9pm on FOX, Fox Networks Group (FNG) has pioneered the use of Facebook Messenger technology to introduce 24 Legacy Game, FNG, a brand new interactive experience for fans of the ground-breaking franchise. Fans can now enter the world of an original coinciding story with 24: LEGACY.
Employing cutting edge use of Facebook chatbot technology and authentic, original storytelling, this ‘fiction by phone’ immerses fans into a race against the clock mission to stop a terrorist attack on US soil. The game provides a unique experience as users are thrown into making the critical decisions a CTU agent faces when in the field.
The game narrative plays out in a unique Facebook Messenger environment, with cryptic instructions, video, audio and other rich media that elaborate on the world of ‘24’. The game will provide an exciting, tense and fast paced experience filled with suspense and delivered in a way that only ‘24’ can.
Niantic, Inc. and The Pokémon Company International announced an additional 80 Pokémon will begin to appear in Pokémon GO later this week. These include Pokémon originally discovered in the Johto region from the Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver video games, including Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile. Trainers will encounter these Pokémon “in the wild” as they embark on adventures and explore their neighborhoods and cities to catch Pokémon. In addition to Pokémon that will appear in the game for the first time, the latest update introduces new gameplay mechanics for Trainers to master, including new encounter gameplay, new Evolution items, two new Berries, and expanded outfit and accessory options for their Trainer avatars.
“Today is a momentous occasion for Pokémon GO as we welcome more Pokémon and build upon the encounter and capture mechanics for the passionate global community of Trainers playing the game,” said John Hanke, founder and Chief Executive Officer, Niantic, Inc. “Pokémon GO is a live experience which we’ll be continuing to support and evolve in new and interesting ways for years to come.”
“With Pokémon GO, The Pokémon Company endeavored to create a compelling game based on the concept of encountering and catching Pokémon in the real world,” said J.C. Smith, Senior Director, Consumer Marketing, The Pokémon Company International. “The amazing response to Pokémon GO by millions of existing and new Pokémon fans around the world is remarkable. We’re thrilled to keep the adventure going by welcoming these Pokémon to this engaging new way of experiencing the fun of the Pokémon brand.”
With the latest Pokémon GO game update, new Pokémon evolution options will give players the ability to use new Evolution items to evolve their Pokémon into ones that were originally discovered in the Johto region. While catching Pokémon, Trainers can use two new Berries—the Nanab Berry, which slows a Pokémon’s movements, and the Pinap Berry, which doubles the amount of Candy received if the next catch attempt succeeds. Trainers will also be able to customize their avatar’s appearance with a new selection of hats, shirts, pants, and other items. Additional items will be available for purchase from the in-game Pokémon GO shop.
Composer, sound designer and general audio junkie Simon Poole, known for various video game soundtracks like The Secret World, is the mastermind behind the 48 tracks which underline the game’s atmosphere perfectly.
“For the Dreamfall Chapters soundtrack I wanted to create an immersive and eclectic score combining both traditional and con-temporary elements. The game’s deep and engrossing story transports us to two rich and vibrant worlds, and contains a multitude of fantastic characters. I wanted the music to reflect the magic and wonder of these two contrasting worlds, whilst reinforcing the emotional journey the main characters embark on“ says Simon Poole.
Furthermore, he talks about how recording the soundtrack was pretty much a family affair: “The two featured singers are my wife and daughter. My wife is an established singer called Ingvild Hasund, and one of her songs, “Rush”, which also features my mother playing cello, was featured in the original Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, from 2006. As a nod to the fans of the original game, I included the song in this new soundtrack, but in an updated more orchestrated form, “Rush Redux”. My daughter, 6 years old at the time, sings the solo in the track “Prologue”, and I still get a lump in my throat every time I hear it.”
The game’s full Soundtrack is included for the PlayStation 4 version as download code and for Xbox One, as MP3 disc. The worldwide release is set for the 5th of May and it will offer the full story, including all five episodes around other bonus features, at Digital and Retail for £24.99 / €29.99 / $29.99.
Dreamfall Chapters is a 3D Adventure set in parallel worlds: one a dark cyberpunk vision of our future, the other a magical fantasy realm. The game follows two unlikely heroes on their journeys across worlds to save the very fabric of reality from falling apart. Dreamfall Chapters is a mature, emotional, dark, magical and heart-breaking adventure that will take players by surprise.
Both console versions of Dreamfall Chapters come with numerous enhancements: reworked character models, improved animations, lightning, and special effects. Plus an expanded in-game soundtrack as well as improved sound-effects.
Key Features
GRIPPING STORY: Experience a deep and emotional storyline with over 100 fully voiced characters in EN and DE and continue the epic saga of The Longest Journey
FAR-REACHING DECISIONS: Shape the story and the course of your journey through your choices and actions, and live with the surprising and sometimes devastating consequences
EXCITING EXPLORATION: Delve into over 50 beautifully crafted locations, exploring each of them using the direct control interface.
DIVERSE WORLDS: Explore beautiful, rich, detailed and original worlds that combine a stunning cyberpunk vision of our future with magical fantasy, along with a broken and decaying dreamscape
THREE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS: Play as three different characters, all on journeys across worlds, through life, and into their own hearts and souls.
CHALLENGING PUZZLES & RIDDLES: Solve the completely plot-driven puzzles and riddles which are an integral part of the game’s narrative.
ENHANCED ON CONSOLES: Enjoy the definitive experience of Dreamfall Chapters on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with reworked character models, improved animations, lightning, and special effects plus an expanded in-game soundtrack as well as improved sound-effects.
Today Replay Events, has announced the return of the much loved Video Game Market in Doncaster, UK and London Gaming Market in Russell Square, London.
This is a haven for those seeking the unusual, rare or elusive, the Game Markets bring together dozens of the nation’s retailers and traders, providing an unmissable day out for lovers of video games, board games, memorabilia and merchandise.
Returning for its triumphant fourth year, the Video Game Market is the UK’s largest market-style event, presenting visitors with over 180 tables heaving with collectibles, retro-gaming and much more besides, from more than 70 independent retailers.
Taking place on 25th February at the Doncaster Dome Leisure Centre, the event is expecting over 3000 enthusiasts and with entry capped at just £2 (With under 16’s free!), the Video Game Market is the idea day out for gamers of all ages.
London gamers have their own event to flock to, with the London Gaming Market returning for its third year on 2nd April at the Royal National Hotel, Russell Square. Set for its biggest show yet, over 2000 visitors are due to ascend on the nation’s capital and for just £2 entry fee (Under 16’s free!), gamers are guaranteed to be greeted with enormous variety, catering not only for video games, but also supporting table-top gaming enthusiasts with a jaw-dropping selection of traders and rare merchandise available.
“Our gaming markets continue to prove enormously popular with gamers of all ages and we’re delighted to be returning for our third and fourth year with these two key events,” said Andy Brown, Director for Replay Events. “Gaming and collecting is a great way to socialise, and our shows have an infectious community feel that simply can’t be replicated in any other environment. Unlike buying online, the Gaming Markets offer the idea opportunity to get hands on with the rare, weird and wonderful and we’re expecting record attendance figures as news spreads amongst the passionate collecting community.”
The Sniper Elite series has always been a special kind of shooter for players and fans. Over the years it has adapted well to keep up with other shooters but has resisted going to far from its core gameplay and World War II setting. Now on Valentines Day, the fourth installment will make the biggest changes yet as Sniper Elite continues to evolve. For me it is a series that has always done just enough to keep my interest though I have had some niggles about certain features which had stopped it becoming my go to shooter experience. Happy to say that Sniper Elite 4 has finally ticked all the right boxes and then some…
Sniper Elite 4 picks up the action right after events in the last game, with hero Sniper Karl Fairburne tasked with helping the Italian Resistance fight back against the Fascist forces. To do this Karl will be sent on missions with a main objective but will also be given side objectives by other characters along the way at the start of each mission adding even more to accomplish in each mission. By doing so each mission can take anywhere from 90 minutes to over two hours to complete, and I was captivated and loved every one of those minutes.
The first big change in Sniper Elite 4 is the size of the playing area, which is now three times larger than in previous games. Rebellion has moved to a true sandbox environment now with multiple routes and methods to reach and complete each objective in the missions. There is a real freedom of choice for the player in how they tackle both the assigned objectives and in how they complete them, but the focus on using all the skills of a Sniper has never felt more important and as such, each mission will push the player to stay in the shadows and use stealth tactics to order to keep Karl from being caught in a situation where he will have to shoot his way out, something that left me rather cold in the previous games.
To achieve this, the player will need to take their time and scout an area before moving forward. Now you would think the most important item in a Sniper’s arsenal would be his rifle, but for me and especially in this game, the most vital and used bit of kit for Karl is his trusty binoculars, and boy do they come in handy. By using the binoculars the player can get a long range look at the objectives and playing area but the most valuable use is in tagging enemies and tactical targets such as enemy vehicles, ammo caches and fuel barrels. By tagging an enemy you will learn their rank, what weapons they have and a nice little bio about that soldier just to give them a little back story. Enemies will be shown on the mini map but by tagging them you will also see their markers on the screen so you will always know their whereabouts and after being tagged, the direction they are facing will also be shown, adding a much needed method of planning an approach into that area.
The variation in environments has benefited so much from the move to a larger sandbox design. For one mission you could be sniping across long open countryside during the day or moving through an Italian coastal town before being challenged with tackling a harbour at night. Each mission will encourage the player to embrace the skills a sniper must use, moving stealthily and remaining unseen. The environments will provide different options for the player to choose and will reward patience and planning. Taking the time to use the binoculars to scan the area ahead to tag enemies and study their patrol paths is crucial to all the missions just as studying the map will be to plot a path to the many objectives that will need to be completed in order to finish the mission. Learning to use shadows and foliage to hide in will help the player remain unseen and each location will have a way of sneaking to it rather then an obvious direct approach. But Rebellion has not made it too easy for players as the AI of the enemy has also been reworked, making them far more alert and suspicious should the player make a mistake and be spotted either by being caught in the line of sight of an enemy or by making enough noise to raise an alert. Once alerted all soldiers in that area will become suspicious and will investigate any possible spotting or sound and conduct a search. It is a welcome challenge to have an enemy capable of punishing a player for a mistake and gives each mission objective a real tension to get things right.
This has been the most satisfying Sniper Elite title for me, giving me a real satisfaction when completing campaign missions. I was able to use tactics and strategy on each mission rather than simply going in guns blazing with little consequence. I relished the need to wait patiently to take the right shot with my sniper rifle, often taking minutes to track an enemy and wait for the sound of a plane or gun placement to fire in order to mask my shot and therefore remain undetected. Watching the enemy scatter after a successful shot was exhilarating, to see them scared and confused meant I had done my job correctly. Using distractions such as taking out an enemy vehicle or causing an explosion in order to guide the enemy to a specific area in order to get more kills or to move to a new position is just how I would imagine a real Sniper would choose to use their skills. My tactics would change depending on the objective and environment, relying on my suppressed Welrod pistol when the action needed an up close and personal approach. This game simply offers so much in every single mission that replaying each one to try different things is a natural thing for a player to want to do.
The infamous X-Ray killshot cam is back but thankfully has been refined so that it is not triggered by every shot taken, something that bugged me in previous games. Now each time it does activate to show the trajectory of the sniper round as it decimates an organ in the enemy’s body has a real impact instead of glorifying the kill. It has also been added to physical take-downs and kills involving shrapnel from explosions making it even more perfect for taking a cheeky video clip with the DVR. The XP earned from kills will help level up the player and the weapons they are using, with each earning a bonus feature the more you use the weapon to and how you use it to get kills will have players trying out different load-outs, all of which can be tailored to how the player prefers with new weapons becoming available to buy with money earned from completing missions.
The entire campaign can be played in co-op with a friend, or you can tackle survival modes fighting against waves of enemies. Multiplayer takes traditional game modes and gives them the Sniper Elite treatment with a free for all deathmatch, team deathmatch and control modes. Distance King Mode is a twist on the deathmatch mode type where it remains free for all but the length of shots is what counts with the longest shot taking the winners podium. The online adds a welcome element and compliments the solo campaign side to give the most complete Sniper Elite game yet in the series.
Sniper Elite 4 accomplishes so many things and it does them all brilliantly. The campaign missions have real depth and challenge to each one with the story told through dialogue from the main characters but more so from the characters and enemy conversations heard via the binoculars in the mission. The Italian setting provides a rich look at World War II in 1943, in contrast to the South African setting of the last game. By focusing on Italy the game is able to offer more than just shooting Nazis, it shows how the country was affected by the war, how crucial the resistance was to the allied forces but also takes a look at Fascism as a movement and in a world that is currently so divided in views and its treatment of others, to go back and see how little the world has changed since WWII is rather alarming.
This game is a vast improvement for the series, and each time I completed a mission I wanted to go back and tackle it again to improve my performance and to try and complete the additional challenges that each one has on top of the main and side objectives. Sniper Elite 4 offers the most satisfying experience in the series for me, it keeps the best elements but has made the best leaps in improvements to give old fans and new players something to appreciate and sink their teeth into.
I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this game, I hoped for great things but Rebellion has refreshed the core gameplay and enhanced them by adding new elements that offer an enticing and delicious challenge for players in each campaign mission. Definitely one game to tag with your binoculars and track all the way till it is in your hands.
System 3 has announced the return of the Constructor, Construction meets corruption in the latest incarnation of Constructor and marks the 20th Anniversary of the city builder.
Boasting a huge array of new features and game modes, combined with an all new online mode to challenge and sabotage rival builders, the city is yours for the taking.
To aid budding property tycoons in their quest for city-wide domination, Constructor is also debuting an army of ‘Undesirables’, a collection of rogues and degenerates who can ruin rival builders. Using the services of hippy squatters and killer clowns, to skinheads and sex workers – players will be able to create their own thriving metropolis using whatever means necessary!
“System 3 celebrates 35 years of flying the flag for British game develops this year, so what better way than to re-visit our award-winning Constructor, itself celebrating 20 years. Constructor is going to be bigger, badder and more brilliant than ever before”, said Mark Cale, CEO of System 3.
System 3 offered the original Constructor game for free to PC fans at the end of January this year and over a whopping 100,000 people signed up to receive their free copy.
Constructor will be released 28th April for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, & Steam players.
Anyone looking to pick up the brand new Nintendo Switch console will have a colourful treat to look forward to, thanks to a special Splatoon 2 preview coming up in March. Players will be able to download a demo version of Splatoon 2 ahead of its summer release that will allow them to battle against opponents around the world during six sessions spanning the three days of the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire event.
At the Tokaigi Game Party Japan 2017 event that took place in Tokyo over the weekend, Splatoon series producer Hisashi Nogami also confirmed new details on this summer’s splat-tastic sequel for Nintendo Switch. Private Battle Spectator View is a new functionality that will allow up to two people to participate in a Private Battle as cameramen to observe the 8-player battle from multiple angles .
Players equipped with their own recording tools will be able to broadcast videos online from a commentator’s perspective.
That functionality can also be used in conjunction with the newly announced LAN Play feature. Connecting up to 10 docked consoles via wired LAN will be well-suited for proper tournaments, while for more casual get-togethers up to 8 players can still enjoy a quick game via the previously revealed local wireless connection.
“Two years have passed since the original Splatoon and since then, the weapons, maps and characters in that world have evolved. Through the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire event this March, players will be able to get a taste of that. There will be more new features to Splatoon 2, so please look forward to more reveals in the future,” noted Nogami.
The Global Testfire event will give Nintendo Switch owners six chances to play with other players worldwide during the three-day event. It will offer content also featured at various Nintendo Switch hands-on events around the world. Players can test four different main weapons, including the new Splat Dualies, as well as remixed versions of the iconic Splat Roller and Splat Charger. The timings of the event are as follows: Friday, March 24th
• 20:00pm – 20:59pm CET Saturday, March 25th
• 4:00am – 4:59am CET
• 12:00pm – 12:59pm CET
• 20:00pm – 20:59pm CET Sunday, March 26th
• 5:00am – 5:59am CEST***
• 13:00pm – 13:59pm CEST***
Splatoon 2 will be compatible with Splatoon series amiibo and for the first time in the series with an upcoming Nintendo Switch app for smart devices that enhances online play.
This app will connect to the game and allow players to set play appointments with friends who have been added to their Nintendo Switch friend list or via their social media accounts. It also allows players to match up with those friends directly in the game or voice chat with them via their smart device.
For example, during a Private Battle, players can voice chat with all of their connected friends when they divide into teams, but once teams are set, voice chat is switched to communication only between teammates on the same team.
