Warp Zoned Presents
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Sega is bringing demos of Team Sonic Racing, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Valkyria Chronicles 4, and more to PAX West 2018
Like a lot of publishers, Sega’s presence at PAX West 2018 will look very similar to the slate of playable demos they brought to last week’s Gamescom show. This year, the prolific publisher is going all-in with Sonic’s latest racing adventure, two dance-heavy Persona spinoffs, and the latest entry in the Valkyria Chronicles franchise.
Here’s a sneak peek at the full lineup of games scheduled to appear in their PAX West booth (#2513):
Placing First: Team Sonic Racing
First off the blocks as always is the blue blur himself. Team Sonic Racing, developed by the award-winning studio Sumo Digital, combines the best elements of arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing experience, featuring your favorite characters from across the Sonic Universe. Visitors at PAX will have the opportunity to race on the newly revealed track Ice Mountain, and play as Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose, or Team Vector.Get Ready for Total War
The latest in Creative Assembly’s legendary Total War series, Total War: Three Kingdoms is set to showcase some exciting content of its own. The hands-on demo will give players the opportunity to explore the exotic lands of ancient China in a campaign map flythrough before being thrust into the midst of a night-time ambush battle. Sun Jian’s army, led by Sun Ren and Sun Quan, face either a desperate defence against waves of incoming heroes and warriors or a gruelling fight to escape with what remains of their forces, and live to fight another day.Japanese Games Galore
As if that wasn’t enough, Sega is bringing a whopping four games to the show floor! With tactical RPG Valkyria Chronicles 4, frantic action/adventure Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, and the hugely anticipated rhythm games Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, they will be hosting a collection of some of the hottest Japanese IP on the planet. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to play everything!Last but by no means least is Shin Megami Tensei Liberation Dx2 which after a successful initial release in Japan, has just launched worldwide in English so that all fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series from Atlus can finally play the renowned post-apocalyptic RPG on their mobile devices. Swing by the Sega booth’s presentation stage for a chance to see one of the daily appearances by Producer Norio Furuichi, who also previously worked on Virtua Tennis series and Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force.
Sega is also inviting fans to learn about “previously untold secrets and nuanced details about how Japanese games are localized and published for the western audience” in the a panel (“A Sega Perspective: Bringing Japanese Games to the West”) scheduled for Saturday, September 1, at 4:30 (Pacific Time).
If you can’t make it to Seattle for this year’s PAX West, you can view the full panel at home through Twitch.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s launch pushed back to 2019; Vita version canceled
In a new Kickstarter update, Koji “IGA” Igarashi announced that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night‘s PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One launch has been pushed back to 2019. Within that same update, Igarashi also confirmed the game is no longer in development for the Vita.
According to the developer, the delay is to “raise the quality level” of the game:
Our first announcement is that the game will now launch in 2019. The most important reason for this is to raise the quality level, especially after all the very valuable feedback from the Beta Backer Demo.
He went on to say that the Vita version of Bloodstained was canceled due to Sony’s plans to discontinue the handheld:
The second announcement is that the game will no longer launch on PlayStation Vita. This decision is largely due to Sony’s plans to discontinue the Vita console, ending production of physical copies and stopping certain online store support features.
It is extremely unfortunate, but as a result, we won’t be releasing the game on Vita. For the backers who have ordered the PS Vita version of the game, you will be able to choose another platform or request a refund.
You can see “IGA” deliver this message personally in the video embedded above.
Madden NFL 19, Dead Cells, Overcooked 2, more coming to PS Store this week
Are you ready for some football?
EA Sports intercepts another PlayStation Store update with this week’s launch of Madden NFL 19 for the PS4. This time around, the football simulation will feature an expanded Story Mode and a new animation engine known as Real Player Motion. Also available to download this week for the PS4 is Dead Cells, a MetroidVania that also includes the “constant adrenaline-pumping threat of permadeath.”
Equally nerve-wracking is the kitchens found in Overcooked 2, a multiplayer cooking simulation for the PS4 from Ghost Town Games. And after you cook up some grub, you can settle in for a game of “basketbrawl” from Bread Machine Games and try to impress the Giant Blue Man of Slam Land.
Finally this week, Compulsion Games will bring their wild tale of an alternate 1960s England to the PS4 in We Happy Few. Players will explore a retrofuturistic city in three intertwined storylines as they try to survive among the drugged-out populace.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Dead Cells, Madden NFL 19, Overcooked 2, Slam Land, We Happy Few
Sega’s Gamescom 2018 lineup includes Team Sonic Racing, Valkyria Chronicles 4, Persona 3: Dancing, Persona 5: Dancing, and more
Sega has big plans for this year’s Gamescom show, and the publisher will give attendees the chance to try out six playable demos, as well as give gamers their first look at the soccer-centric skills needed for Football Manager 2019.
Strategic planning is at the center of several of Sega’s Gamescom offerings, including “epic strategy RPG” Valkyria Chronicles 4 and team-based racer Team Sonic Racing. But if you want to kick off your shoes and dance, the publisher will also have kiosks available for Persona 3: Dancing in the Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in the Starlight.
Here’s a look at their complete Gamescom 2018 lineup:
Team Sonic Racing, developed by award-winning studio Sumo Digital, is the ultimate arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing experience, featuring your favourite characters from across the Sonic Universe. Visitors to the stand will have the opportunity to race on an all new track, Ice Mountain, and experience two brand new playable teams.
Creative Assembly’s Total War: Three Kingdoms will also showcase never-seen-before content and consumers will get the chance to go hands-on with the game for the very first time. Players will witness an exclusive look at the exotic lands of ancient China in a campaign map flythrough before being thrust into the midst of a night-time ambush battle. Sun Jian’s army, led by Sun Ren and Sun Quan, must defend against waves of incoming heroes and warriors or choose to make a break for freedom.
As if that wasn’t enough, epic strategy RPG Valkyria Chronicles 4, frantic action/adventure Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, and the hugely anticipated rhythm games Persona 3: Dancing in the Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in the Starlight will feature on the stand in a collection of some of the hottest unreleased Japanese IP on the planet. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to play everything!
Football Manager 2019 will make its Gamescom debut this year as an official partner of the Bundesliga, with an activation that will put football fans in the firing line for questioning from renowned ESPN Football Journalist, Raphael Honigstein. After they’ve been grilled, they’ll get to line-up in front of a Football Manager themed step and repeat for an authentic Football Manager photo and leave with a Football Manager notebook. A must have for would-be managers! The game itself will not be playable.
Gamescom 2018 will take place, as always, in Cologne, Germany. This year’s show will open its doors beginning on Tuesday, August 21.
Chasm, 1979 Revolution, Pixel Ripped 1989, more coming to PS Store this week
Step back into history with this week’s PlayStation Store update…
First up, PS4 and PS Vita owners will finally get the chance to download Chasm, a medieval MetroidVania designed and developed by Bit Kid. In development for more than five years, the procedurally-generated adventure asks players to explore a dungeon teeming with monsters and mayhem.
Also available to download for the PS4 this week is 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, an interactive adventure that takes place during the Iranian Revolution.
Finally this week, Pixel Ripped 1989 is a PSVR-powered trip back to the earliest days of gaming, and players will need to travel inside the games themselves to save the real world in this “wacky multi-dimensional homage.”
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2, The Banner Saga 3, more coming to PS Store this week
Travel to a far-flung future and a distant past in this week’s PlayStation Store update.
If you’re a fan of side-scrolling platformers, you’ll definitely want to look ahead to 20XX and this week’s release of Mega Man X Legacy Collection and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2. Available for the PS4 separately or as a bundle, the Legacy Collection compilations include all eight games in the Mega Man X series, as well as a wealth of behind-the-scenes material in the Museum Mode and the brand new X Challenge Mode, which pits players in a battle against two different bosses at the same time.
Also available for the PS4 this week is The Banner Saga 3, the finale to Stoic’s trilogy of strategic RPG series. Things are not looking bright for our Viking heroes, as the developer asks, “As the world continues to crumble around you, who can you trust, how will you protect your allies, and what choices will you make as the Darkness draws near?”
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Mega Man X, The Banner Saga 3
Mothergunship, Tempest 4000, Hungry Shark World, more coming to PS Store this week
Two wild shooters and two high seas adventures highlight this week’s PlayStation Store update…
Grip Digital and Terrible Posture Games have teamed up to bring Mothergunship to the PS4. The first person shooter adds “bullet-hell intensity” to the genre, along with an in-depth crafting mechanic to give players the chance to create the perfect gun. Also available to download for the PS4 this week is Tempest 4000, a brand new “tube shooter” from Jeff Minter, one of the genre’s pioneers.
Elsewhere on the PlayStation Store, PS4 owners will be able to pick Hungry Shark World, an “action-packed aquatic adventure” where you take control of a shark and eat everything in your path, and Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion, a pirate-themed adventure based on the popular animated series.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Chasm will be released for PC, PS4, Vita on July 31
After more than five years in development, Bit Kid has announced that Chasm, their medieval-styled MetroidVania, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Vita on July 31.
In addition to the release date news, Chasm received a new trailer yesterday (embedded above), and Game Director James Petruzzi stopped by the PlayStation Blog to discuss the game’s lengthy development process:
One distinctive feature of Chasm is that the world map is procedurally generated when you start up a new campaign. That feature has led to a lot of questions and confusion, so I’d like to address exactly how it works and why we designed it that way. The latter part is easy to answer. Our entire team is composed of Metroidvania fans. Whether it’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or Axiom Verge, we’ve played through our favorite games so often that we’ve long since memorized the maps. We love how those games play but wish we could wipe our memories so we could get that experience of exploration all over again. It’s our hope that people who love Chasm the way we love our favorite games can play it over and over and still have it feel fresh. But at the same time, people who only play the game once should have no idea that there’s anything procedural about it.
But that’s not to say that everything’s completely random; there is a fundamental structure to the game that never changes. If you’re familiar with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night you may recall that first you get the Jewel of Open, then the Leap Stone, then the Soul of Bat – in that order. As you get these upgrades, new areas of the map become accessible. Chasm, like most titles in this vein, follows this structure. When you start up a campaign, the game always has these key upgrades and plot points in the same place.
What’s different is how you get from one key point to the other. Chasm has a bunch of pre-designed rooms that are slotted in modularly in different combinations. So you won’t have any rooms that feel like they were designed by a computer. Instead, you’ll encounter rooms in a different order and even encounter new rooms you never saw the first time, and your path will be different each time you start up a new campaign.
Chasm will be priced at $19.99 when it launches later this month.