On Saturday, at the Lavecon Elite Dangerous fan event, Frontier unveiled a number of new features coming to the game later this year in the September and December updates, including a new in-game currency and the much-anticipated first look at the Fleet Carrier. Full details can be found on the game’s forums here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forums/elite-dangerous-news/

The Lavecon announcements also included information on the December Update for the game and this is what really grabbed my attention. The first glimpse of Elite Dangerous’ December Update was given to Lavecon attendees with the premier of the Fleet Carrier Teaser, here:

For the September Update a brand new “Starter Ship Experience” will be added to the game. A whole new starting experience right from the cockpit of a Commander’s first ship wiith clearer instructions and guidance during the beginning of Elite Dangerous, the new starting flow should provide a more engaging way to learn the basics on their way to becoming fully-fledged pilots.

At the start of the experience, commanders will be guided through essential pilot training by a flight instructor from the Pilots Federation. During this training, a number of lessons will be taught to commanders, from space flight to combat.

• Basic flight controls and scanning.
• Supercruise and navigation.
• A combat exercise around a megaship.
• Culminating with the final lesson: completing a first Hyperspace Jump and docking at a Starport.

All of the training will include VO across supported languages. Veteran Commanders out there who wish to experience the training will also be able to access it in the ‘Training Section’ via the right-hand panel of their cockpit.

New Virtual Currency: Arx which those on consoles will already be familiar with the concept of Frontier Points and, as part of the September Update, they will be reworked and re-named Arx, across all platforms (including PC). This new currency can be purchased, as well as earned by simply playing the game and participating in regular in-game activities. Players can spend Arx on items such as Paint Jobs, Ship Kits, Bobbleheads and more.

A full Arx FAQ is here: www.elitedangerous.com/help/arx-faq/

The Arkham gaming series is something very near and dear to my gamer heart and when they remastered both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City for current gen consoles as the “Return to Arkham” release, I was surprised that they never felt the need to do a full collection that would also include Arkham Knight, the final entry in the Rocksteady series.

Well thanks to an earlier leak by Amazon UK listing this, Rocksteady finally came our via their Twitter channel to confirm that they would be releasing the ‘Arkham Collection’ which would include the remasters of Asylum and City along with their DLCs but now Arkham Knight and its DLC this September for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One:

Rocksteady went on to tweet that “Batman: Arkham Collection will include the Earth 2 Dark Knight Skin, exclusively on PS4. This marks the first time the Earth 2 Dark Knight Skin has been available to players in Europe. It’ll be made available to all owners of Batman: Arkham Knight on PS4 worldwide January 2020!”

Well that is quite annoying for fans on Xbox, personally not a fan of console exclusives especially when it comes to collections of old games that have all the DLC but now this new collection will have something that the Xbox collection won’t have.

You may also be wondering why the infamous Arkham: Origins has not been included in this collection, well the answer is that Rocksteady never worked on Origins, it also had a different voice cast than the regular series and was essentially WB Montreal studio reusing the assets from Arkham City who also tagged in a terrible and never fully working MP mode to the game. Whilst the story for Origins, which was essentially the Batman Year One story of the series where we saw a very rough and inexperienced Batman heading out to save Gotham, it was plagued with problems and bugs from day one, may of which were never fixed. It also remains the only entry in the series not to be remastered for current gen consoles.

Now as someone who has the original Arkham series games from Xbox 360 as well as Arkham Knight and Arkham Returns for PS4, this is a great collection for anyone who may not have played these games. I should also point out that the Arkham Returns set and recently added Arkham Knight are all currently available in the Xbox Game Pass so will be interesting to see if that remains the case once this collection comes out in September.

Buff up, Straw Hat Crew, you’ve got new battles to win! The Pirate Warriors are back to set sail on an epic journey in ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4, coming to PS4, XB1, Switch and PC in 2020!

#OnePiece #PirateWarriors4 #BandaiNamco

For more information:

• Web: https://www.bandainamcoent.eu
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bandainamco…
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bandainamcoeu
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bandainamcoeu

Today, EA and visionary German studio Jo-Mei Games have released the story-driven adventure game Sea of Solitude  via digital download on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Origin  for PC.

Sea of Solitude is an emotional experience that takes players on a personal journey to overcome a young woman’s inner loneliness. Players must help Kay see below the surface and beyond, guiding her through a flooded city landscape in a deeply touching tale of darkness and light. As waters rise and fall to reflect her own state of mind, Kay will meet fantastical creatures and monsters, learn their stories and solve challenges to rid the world of tainted memories.

“Sea of Solitude centers on the essence of loneliness and tugs on the heartstrings of its players by mirroring their own reality. It’s by far the most artistic and personal project I’ve ever created, written during a very emotional time in my life,” said Cornelia Geppert, CEO of Jo-Mei Games. “Designing characters based on emotions was a deeply personal achievement for our team and we’re so excited for players to soon experience Kay’s powerful story of self-discovery and healing.”

Designed with a striking visual style, Sea of Solitude is an intimate adventure across a beautiful and evolving world where nothing is quite as it seems. Kay’s journey unfolds around dynamic environments as atmospheric in-game weather help visualise the characters’ emotions. Players unlock new areas to explore by overcoming emotional challenges and progressively revealing light and color into the dark and stormy world. Through unique encounters with a variety of beautiful and terrifying monsters, Kay will discover why her loneliness has turned her into a monster and what it will take to change back to a human.

Sea of Solitude is an innovative EA Originals game developed by the talented team at Jo-Mei Games in Berlin, Germany. EA Originals helps shine a light on some of the most passionate, independent and talented game studios across the globe. These games come from highly creative game makers who love to enchant and inspire players. Sea of Solitude’s empowering narrative makes it an unforgettable gaming experience and another exciting addition to the EA Originals program.

Sea of Solitude is rated PEGI 12 and is now available for £17.99 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Origin.

For more information on Sea of Solitude, head to www.seaofsolitude.com.

Visit www.ea.com/ea-originals for information and to stay up to date on EA Originals.

Developers FromSoftware and General Arcade along with Devolver Digital have announced that Metal Wolf Chaos XD will launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on August 6! Patriotic gamers from all over the world can pre-order the upgraded re-release for $24.99 / £19.49 (Steam) and receive an exclusive mech suit skin on their platform of choice.

The country is in peril as President Michael Wilson defends the nation against a full-scale rebellion lead by Vice-President Richard Hawk and the mechanised legions he commands. As the 47th President of the United States, it is your sworn duty to take your country back by any means necessary and end this unjust coup d’état! Battle in your advanced mech – armed to the teeth – across iconic American landscapes including the Brooklyn Bridge, the Grand Canyon, and the front steps of the White House.

FromSoftware originally released Metal Wolf Chaos in December 2004, appearing exclusively on the original Xbox and only in Japan. The game went on to become something of legend as it was hard to acquire and even harder to play outside of Japan. Devolver Digital and FromSoftware have partnered together with developer General Arcade to modernise Metal Wolf Chaos with updates to the game including upgraded visual fidelity, refined controls and gameplay, a new save system, and 4K + 16:9 support for modern displays.

Visit metalwolfchaos.com to pledge your allegiance to either President Wilson or Vice President Hawk and pre-order Metal Wolf Chaos ahead of its August 6 launch!

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and IO Interactive today released the HITMAN 2 July 2019 content roadmap providing a detailed look at the robust lineup of downloadable content (DLC) and free updates in store for players throughout the month. As part of this content rollout, the next Sniper Assassin map, ‘The Prison,’ will be available on 30^th July for all HITMAN 2 Expansion Pass owners and will transport players to the frigid tundra of Siberia where they can unlock the Druzhina 34 ICA Arctic sniper rifle. Additionally, players can look forward to a range of free live content available for all HITMAN 2 owners, including a new challenge pack, featured contracts, escalations, outfits and more.

Saber Interactive, in partnership with Focus Home Interactive, has released the free ‘Six Skulls’ update for World War Z, the action-packed co-op shooter inspired by Paramount Pictures’ blockbuster film. This latest content pack introduces the new six-skull extreme difficulty setting for all chapters released so far. More than ever, these challenges demand careful resource conservation, a strategy to cover every corner and truly skilled trigger fingers, with unique rewardsa vailable for those brave enough to take them on.

The “Six Skulls” update follows the recent addition of “The Undead Sea” patch, which opened up a totally new mission aboard an undead-infested ferry in Tokyo, as well as a terrifying new zombie type to battle. In the near future, the team plans to release “The Big Update”, free DLC which will feature a new weekly challenge mode, as well as a number of weapon variants, character skins and accessories.

Powered by Saber’s dynamic Swarm Engine™, World War Z unleashes upon players hundreds of fast-moving, bloodthirsty zombies at a time, able to move and strike as one collective herd, as well as break off as individual attackers. Choose from six distinct classes and an arsenal of deadly weapons, explosives, turrets and traps. Outlive the dead through intense four-player co-op campaign missions around the world, including New York, Jerusalem, Moscow and Tokyo, and battle both zombies and real human opponents in competitive, team-based Players vs. Players vs. Zombies (PvPvZ) multiplayer.

World War Z’s free Six Skulls Update is available now on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, coming very soon to the Epic Games Store!

World War Z is currently available digitally and at most major retailers on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as Windows PC via the Epic Games store.

For more information, visit http://wwzgame.com, and follow the game on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WWZGame, Twitter @WWZTheGame, and Instagram@WWZGame.

The Xbox Game Pass has really become a must have subscription in recent months and in particularly now the Xbox Ultimate Pass now includes your monthly Xbox LIVE, Xbox Game Pass and now the PC Game Pass all under one subscription.

Now Xbox have announced the new titles that will join the Game Pass this month of July and oh it is a very shiny list indeed:

Looking forward to trying out “My Time in Portia” as have heard nothing but good things and I really enjoyed Shadow of War on its release so that is also a great addition to the Xbox Game Pass starting off this July 4th not to mention the critically acclaimed Undertale for PC Game Pass.

Following the very successful launch of Top Gear Series 27 – with new presenting team Paddy McGuiness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris – Xbox Games Studios’ Playground Games and BBC Studios are pleased to announce that all Forza Horizon 4 players can now immerse themselves in an all-new Top Gear-“Horizon Story” at no additional cost.

With a consolidated audience of 4.1 million, the first episode of the new series of Top Gear is the most watched BBC Two show of the year so far. Now with the Horizon Festival in the UK this year, Top Gear presenter Chris Harris and The Stig are there to see what it’s all about. This update adds a new Horizon Story, with seven chapters featuring entirely new gameplay, narrated by Chris Harris. Completing the Top Gear Horizon Special will unlock the “I am The Stig” t-shirt, The Stig race suit, the Top Gear project E-AT car, the record-breaking Top Gear Track-tor, and more.

Head of Digital Entertainment & Games at BBC Studios, Bradley Crooks says “Top Gear and Forza continue their great association working with the Horizon team for the first time with this all new Top Gear story. We can’t wait to see Stig and the team driving all over the UK like never before.”

In Forza Horizon 4, you experience new dynamic seasons in a shared open world, set in beautiful, historic Britain. Each week, a new season brings dry, wet muddy, snowy and icy conditions, adding new themed content, gameplay, challenges and rewards to all players across the world – all at once thanks to the Shared World.

Forza Horizon 4 is available on the Xbox One family of devices and Windows 10 PCs and is included in the Xbox Games Pass.

For more information: https://forzamotorsport.net/en-us/games/fh4

Square Enix Ltd., today announced that Tifa, the fan-favourite character from FINAL FANTASY VII, is now available for purchase as a downloadable character in both DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT and DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT Free Edition for STEAM and the PlayStation 4 .

Tifa Lockhart joins the ever-expanding playable roster of DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT today, bringing her powerful brawler playstyle to the game. As an Assassin character, Tifa is a master of martial arts, and able to unlock varied and powerful moves the more she hits her foes. Her Limit Break ability enhances her allies according to the number of successes she manages to roll on the slot machine reels that appear on-screen.

Additionally, to celebrate the recent launch of FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers, the latest expansion for critically-acclaimed MMO FINAL FANTASY XIV Online, players can download a special new appearance for the downloadable character Zenos yae Galvus. Zenos’ Legatus of the XIIth appearance will be available to download for free from today until 16:59 BST / 17:59 CET on 7^th August 2019 on STEAM and until 23:59 local time on 7^th August 2019 on PlayStation 4. For more information about FINAL FANTASY XIV: Shadowbringers, visit: http://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/shadowbringers/

Both DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT and DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT Free Edition are now available on STEAM and the PlayStation 4 system. To learn more about DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT, go to https://sqex.link/final-fantasy-87931 

For more information:

• Official Website: www.dissidiafinalfantasynt.com
• Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/finalfantasy
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finalfantasy/
• Twitter: @FINALFANTASY
• FINAL FANTASY Portal Site: https://eu.finalfantasy.com/

Wired Productions Ltd., an award-winning independent video games publisher, and leading developer Caged Element Inc., today revealed plans for GRIP’s Summer of Combat as they close in on the first anniversary of the arcade racer’s full multi-format release.

The Summer of Combat campaign is going to make the summer sizzle even hotter and commences with an action-packed free weekend for Xbox Live Gold members. The free weekend event begins Thursday, July 4 at 12:01 a.m. PT and runs through to Sunday, July 7 at 11:59 p.m. PT, alongside a 50% sale for racers that want to keep the battle going after the chequered flag waves! Summer of Combat then moves to PlayStation 4, Switch and PC, with weekly developer races and a scorching amount of new content. From new tracks and arena maps, to brand-new vehicles (including an as yet unannounced new licensed IP!) – in addition to a host of new updates and optimisation as the developers continuously look to fine-tune GRIP for its players!

GRIP’s Summer of Combat will include:

• Xbox Gold Free Play Days (July 4^th to 7^th)
• New Artifex vehicle manufacturer containing 3 new Airblade and Roller vehicles (DLC)
• Two new free Space tracks
• New garage cosmetic packs to further customise your vehicles (DLC)
• New free Orbital Prime ‘Skate Style Park’ arena map
• New retro car DLC pack
• … and to be revealed new car, inspired by an 80’s classic

Powered by Unreal Engine 4, GRIP: Combat Racing was a holiday hit in 2018. Since its launch, Wired Productions and Caged Element have released six free tracks, created battle lines with Red Vs Blue team modes and in May 2019, dropped the game changing update ‘AirBlades’ – which introduced anti-grav racers to the track for adrenaline pounding wheel-to-wing action, flipping the title on its head in a first for the genre!

For more information visit the GRIP: Combat Racing website HERE and blog post HERE.
GRIP: Combat Racing can be purchased now for console platforms (SRRP £34.99 / €34.99) and PC (SRRP £24.99 / €24.99) – digitally on Steam, the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, Nintendo Switch or physically, upright or upside-down at global retail.

In addition to its digital release on Xbox One, GRIP: Combat Racing is available through the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, bringing the title to Xbox players around the world.

A nasty bug. And you. High noon, in front of the Saloon … the clock strikes 12 … *bang* and he’s sent to meet his maker! You are exactly the gunman, Mimimi Games is looking for – we need fans and interested players to participate in the closed beta test for Desperados III.

Desperados III, the upcoming real-time tactics game, was recently nominated as Best Strategy Game of E3 for the official Game Critics Awards. Although Desperados III is really breathtaking, it didn’t had a fair chance to win, as one of the competitors was the one and only John Wick. And everyone knows you shouldn’t mess with John Wick.

The Closed Beta will start on Tuesday, July 9th and will end on Sunday, July 21st. Out of all applications Mimimi and THQNordic will select 500 participants which will get the chance to play the game, which is entering the final stages of production.

Players can sign up for the Desperados III Closed Beta here: https://forms.gle/329bY5wwQmrvvLLu5 

“This is not the a “pre order now to play the game before anyone – but we don’t really need you feedback because release is in just two weeks”-closed beta, people might be used to nowadays. We really want to invite the community to play the game while it’s still under construction and share their thoughts and wishes with us. And we want to have the time to react to the players’ input and to optimize the game together.” says Dennis Huszak, Narrative Director at Mimimi Games.

Desperados III will ride into the sunset on PC, PlayStation and your Xbox One in 2019.

For more information on the game, please visit https://desperadosgame.com/