Author Archives: 1080Partners

ArmaGallant: Decks of Destiny out now

April 4, 2017 – Walnut Creek, CA – Maximum Games, in partnership with developer Rock Nano Global, today announced the release of ArmaGallant: Decks of Destiny, a deckbuilding game blending elements of RTS and MOBA gameplay. The title is available exclusively for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system today in the Americas and April 7, 2017 across Europe.

In ArmaGallant: Decks of Destiny, players will go head-to-head in real-time battles using a powerful collection of elemental creatures and spells. Capture enemy map points and defend your monoliths across maps boasting stunning environments and formidable opponents. Battles are fast-paced and deployed instantly. Players have the option of engaging in 2v2 online play or private matches with friends.

“While ArmaGallant focuses on the core mechanics of traditional card games, it’s the swift and quick-witted combat that sets it apart, blending strategic deck-building with fast-paced action,” said Christina Seelye, CEO of Maximum Games.

The game features three unit classes – melee, ranged, and flying – each with a variety of attributes that will come into play. Learn and evolve the abilities of electrifying creatures and magical spells belonging to one of five elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Light, and Dark. Manage the right ratio of units, spells and effects, and you’ll compile a deck of unstoppable power. As you perfect your strategy, you’ll gain more powerful cards and level up, creating the ultimate battle deck. 

ArmaGallant: Decks of Destiny is now available in North and South America, and will release April 7, 2017 in Europe for PlayStation®4. For more product information, please visit www.maximumgames.com/armagallant. For more information on Maximum Games, please visit www.maximumgames.com.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Dock

The Joy-Con Charging Dock is the easiest solution for charging your Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers. Charge 4 Joy-Con Controllers at a time for multiple players, or keep an extra pair charged for single players to switch out. Simply slide the Joy-Con Controllers down and wait until each charge LED turns green!

*Officially licensed by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch

• Charges up to 4 Joy-Con Controllers simultaneously
• Individual LEDs indicate charge level for each Joy-Con
• Easy slide-in design connects each Joy-Con to charger
• Weighted base for stability
• Underside cable warp keeps USB cable tidy

Why Yooka-Laylee is coming to retail

When Playtonic first announced the game on Kickstarter back in 2015, it took less than an hour to reach its initial funding goal of £175,000, and less than a day to hit £1m. Yooka-Laylee ended up raising over £2m.

There’s clearly an appetite for titles harking back to the N64’s heyday, then, but for Playtonic’s managing director and creative lead Gavin Price (pictured below), Yooka-Laylee isn’t just about bringing back the 3D platformer days of yore.

“I think first of all we’ve tried to capture the core audience, the people who backed us and the people who fit the profile of what our backers are,” Price tells MCV.

“There are those who didn’t back us at the time and took a wait and see approach, but with Playtonic as a whole, we’re trying to be a company which provides games for anyone, anywhere – broad appeal, mass market.”

“Even if a young gamer can’t complete an objective in the game, they can just sit and hold the controller and run around with the characters and have fun. We introduced the co-op mode to help get younger players in, so I think that’s how we plan to grow the audience and get Yooka-Laylee to reach new players who don’t remember the content we’ve done and have been credited with in the past.”

TWO OF A KIND

In addition to its digital release on PS4, Xbox One and PC on April 11th, Playtonic and publisher Team17 are also partnering with Sold Out to bring Yooka-Laylee to retail – a move Price says is the perfect fit for its family-friendly gameplay.

“I think for the kind of gamer we’re attracting and hoping to attract, they’re still very much  physical retail buyers,” Price explains. “It’s a family that has to go in to a store and be educated by what they see on the shelves, and they’re not going to be someone who spends two hours surfing the web for hardcore gaming websites and the latest news. They still rely on retail to get an understanding of what’s going on.”

Price is also hoping Yooka-Laylee will catch the eye of more traditional gamers who perhaps don’t have 50-odd hours to spend playing single player games anymore.

“Even though we’ve inadvertently made a much bigger game than we realised when we actually started sitting down and playing through it, we’ve always built the game from the ground up with content that can be accessible to someone who isn’t time-rich and who doesn’t have a lot time to spend [playing games],” says Price.

“Features such as the co-op and couch multiplayer [are also aimed at] family gamers who are looking for that game where parents can perhaps play it when they’re just around [by themselves] to when the family is all there and everyone can pick up a pad and everyone can play as something to do.

“With the Kickstarter campaign, we’ve always had a massive single goal of delivering on what that campaign promised, and hopefully we’re doing enough alongside that with a really nice colourful game, approachable characters, to attract a whole new audience as well.”

Of course, after the backlash over the price of Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky, deciding how much Yooka-Laylee should cost at retail inevitably became a bit of a minefield.

“The word ‘indie’ is a label now that means one thing and yet price-wise, I don’t think that a game that’s independently developed means it has to fall into a certain price bracket,” says Price.

“It should all be judged based on the game quality and length itself. I can certainly see why there’s value for games at a variety of different prices and it would be great to see more indie content have physical releases and it be a viable business for them, and the price structures at physical retail be flexible enough to allow that. I’d certainly buy it myself,” he enthuses.

Regardless of its boxed cost, though, Price remains confident that Yooka-Laylee’s appeal will be strong enough to even tempt lapsed gamers back into the fold as well:

“We’ve been speaking to some of my friends I’ve known since school, but the one that got me into video games doesn’t play games anymore. As soon as he saw Yooka-Laylee, though, he was like ‘Wow, I’ve got to go and buy a console to play this. I didn’t think games were like this anymore.’ So I guess we’ll hopefully be bringing a few more people back as well.”

Via mcvuk.com

Troll & I coming to Nintendo Switch

February 22, 2017 – Walnut Creek, CA – Video game publisher Maximum Games, in partnership with developer Spiral House, has released a brand-new features trailer for its upcoming action adventure game, Troll and I. Today’s video further delves into the world of Troll and I, providing an extensive overview of key gameplay features including the in-game foraging and crafting systems, as well as the split-screen co-op feature. Maximum Games and Spiral House also confirmed today that Troll and I will be releasing on the Nintendo’s upcoming new system, the Nintendo Switch, later this Spring.

In Troll and I, players will be tasked with strategically utilizing Troll and Otto’s unique strengths to overcome the many enemies they will face in the Scandinavian backcountry – whether they be the human hunters pursuing Troll for their own greedy ends or mythical orcs known as ‘Ahky’ unleashed from the depths of the earth. Solo players can seamlessly switch between Otto and Troll in-game, using Troll’s massive size and strength to throw boulders at enemies or Otto’s speed and resourcefulness to stealthily take out a lone hunter without raising an alarm. Troll and I also supports split-screen gameplay for couch co-op, as two heads, and pairs of hands, are always better than one.

Throughout the game, players will encounter various natural resources when playing as Otto, and should make use of Otto’s keen senses and attunement to nature to track down wildlife, which can be hunted and used to heal him during battle. Otto will exploit the materials of the forest to fashion spears and other weapons that will prove crucial to the duo’s survival. Otto’s connection to his surroundings and the environment around him plays a key role in the player successfully navigating treacherous situations.

In addition, Maximum Games is proud to confirm that Troll and I will be releasing on Nintendo’s revolutionary new system, the Nintendo Switch, this Spring! The game will be fully playable at home or on the go using the Joy-Con™ controllers for both solo and split-screen co-op gameplay, allowing players to continue Troll and Otto’s adventure wherever they are. Additional details about the Nintendo Switch release for Troll and I will be available at a later date.

Troll and I is currently in development from Spiral House and will be published by Maximum Games. The game will be available on March 21, 2017 in North America and on March 24, 2017 in Europe for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and digitally on PC, with the Nintendo Switch release slated for Spring 2017. This title has been rated “T for Teen” by the ESRB.

For the latest news on Troll and I, please follow the official Facebook and Twitter pages.

For more information on Maximum Games, please visit: http://www.maximumgames.com.

Flatout 4 has new gameplay trailer

PQube and Bigben Studios are pleased to reveal the newest trailer of their exciting arcade racing franchise, FlatOut 4: Total Insanity. FlatOut 4 is coming toPlayStation®4 and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system on March 17, 2017.

The gameplay trailer shows off a bit more of the new modes available in FlatOut 4. With a detailed and expansive damage system, vehicles deform and explode in real-time with each smash and crash!

The legendary stunt mode is back – Whether you have the gentle soul of a golfer or the destructive desire to demolish all opponents, you will find your jam in FlatOut 4.

Styx main quest is more than 15 hours long

Cyanide’s Styx: Shards of Darkness is due for release in about a week from now. After previewing the stealth game sequel recently, we had the chance to talk to Cyanide’s  Julien Desourteaux, Lead Level Designer.

He opened up on the game’s longevity as well as the most important new features, such as the co-op multiplayer. He also confirmed that Styx: Shards of Darkness won’t have any dedicated support for PS4 Pro, which seems to be a trend lately (Yooka-Laylee won’t have it either) though at least PS4 Pro users will be able to use Boost Mode as soon as firmware 4.50 is released.

Styx: Shards of Darkness is out on March 14th worldwide for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Styx: Master of Shadows is often cited in game forums as one of those games that were slightly underrated when they first game out. Many players seem to be fond of the main character in particular. Were you surprised by how much people like the goblin Styx?

Since the release of Of Orcs and Men, we already knew that Styx as a character had huge potential – that’s why we wanted him to star in his own game. However, we didn’t expect quite so much love as what we received for our goblin!

How long has it been since the events of the first game? Will the story of Shards of Darkness explain what Styx has been up to in the meantime?

About 20 years have passed between the two games. All that is known (Styx 1 spoilers ahead!) is that after the fall of Akenash, a goblin invasion is devastating the world and Styx is among them. Styx used to live in Thoben, city of thieves. He is smarter and more agile than other goblins, making him a good match for the many, less-than-noble jobs to be found in Thoben. He is a shadow, a legend of the city, with few allies and many enemies.

It’ll enhance your enjoyment to know Styx’s other stories. However, we’ve ensured that you can play Shards of Darkness as a player completely new to the series – no prior knowledge is necessary to enjoy the story, and you’ll have a lot of fun even without knowing a thing about Master of Shadows or Of Orcs and Men!

This sequel runs on Unreal Engine 4 and features “larger environments”. Can you quantify roughly how larger than the first game?

Rather than solely taking place in a huge tower (like the tower of Akenash in Styx: Master of Shadows), Styx will travel around to a variety of new locations in the world. These include airships in flight, a hunter village, a huge city under a mountain, roach-infested mines and more.

With regards to level design, we added many different ways to improve player navigation in the level, while keeping the same degree of verticality we had in the first game.

What’s the single biggest improvement in the feature set when comparing Shards of Darkness to Master of Shadows?

Styx’s flow of movement has been improved, and animations are much smoother. He can now use ropes, and the crafting skill tree branch offers more freedom for players to experiment.

Having more diversity in missions and their objectives was one of our main intentions for this sequel. The player will almost always have a few objectives active at the same time, so they can choose the order in which they want to achieve them.

This feature is good for replay value, as some objectives have alternative ways to complete them. Additionally, in the co-op multiplayer, players can choose to stick together or split up to achieve the objectives.

The official description hints at a “complex narrative”. Can you give us any tidbits? Also, do you have an estimate on how long it will take to complete Shards of Darkness?

There are a lot of different characters in Shards of Darkness, and a complex plot with twists, surprises and epic moments, but I don’t want to spoil it for you!

Regarding the length of the game we did a lot of playtests. The average player will complete the main campaign of Shards of Darkness in around 15 hours, but that’s not including the completion of every secondary objective and emblem.

What are the chances that Styx will become a trilogy with another installment following this one? Will we ever see Styx working with Arkail again?

We really like the lore that we are building around Styx and the other characters in our universe! So… maybe. ☺

Are you going to release any content pack/DLC after launch and if so, would those be free or paid?

No DLC or content packs are in production right now, only ideas.

On the PC front, what kind of hardware will be needed to play at 4K resolution? Will there be any extra effects or higher quality textures when compared to consoles?

To play at 4K on PC at a steady framerate, you’ll need to have a good hardware setup, as Unreal Engine 4 is quite intensive on resources. As for the PC options, we do have some visual treats for PC gamers. These include higher resolution, higher texture quality, faster load times, as well as better anti-aliasing and shadow distances.

Via wccftech.com

New Yooka-Laylee Glitterglaze Glaciar trailer

“Yooka-Laylee,” is arguably one of the most-awaited games for this year, and in the newest trailer we get to meet Glitterglaze Glacier, a frozen paradise with various heights, underwater levels and darkness-filled caverns. In the video, Yooka and Laylee are also seen transformed into a truck in order to access other parts of the terrain, which could mean there are more transformations the duo can achieve.

Watch the video here:

“Yooka-Laylee” will be released on PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One and PC platforms on April 11, 2017, with a Nintendo Switch launch later within the year.

The Video Games History Foundation has launched

A project designed to preserve the history and culture of the games industry is now live.

The Video Games History Foundation is headed up by former games journalist and developer Frank Cifaldi.

“We’re non-profit corporation dedicated to figuring out how to save as much video game history as we can, and make it accessible to everyone,” the project’s Patreon states. “Our goal is to make sure that storytellers have what they need to be able to tell the story of video games, and we’re already working through a tremendous backlog of incredible material.

“We’re building a digital library of video game history. Being an historian myself, I know the kinds of materials that historians rely on to tell stories, so that’s what we’re focusing on right now: gathering, digitizing, and making available video game artifacts, to whoever wants to access it. If you’re a historian, that means a wealth of material to work with. If you’re not a historian, that means lots of cool old video game stuff to look at and play with.

“We’re hoping that this is merely the humble start to what will become a larger organization. Video games matter, and we want to make sure their roots are never forgotten.”

The project has kicked off with The NES Launch Collection, which focuses on 1985 and what Cifaldi describes as “a tumultuous year to have been one of the handful of employees of Nintendo’s relatively new American division”.

He added: “Our collection features materials surrounding these events, sourced from private collections (including our own), the internet, and the generosity of friends and supporters.”

These include a scanned archive of trade ads, scripts for product demos and items from the 1985 US NES launch party.

You can check out the archive here.

Via Mcvuk.com

Torment: Tides Of Numenera Celebrates Worldwide Release

The Eagerly Awaited Science-Fantasy RPG, Now Available on Windows PC, PlayStation4 and Xbox One

Wroclaw, Poland – February 28, 2017 – inXile Entertainment and Techland Publishing are excited to announce today that Torment: Tides of Numenera, the highly-anticipated and massively-crowdfunded science-fantasy RPG, has officially launched worldwide on Steam and Windows PC and for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system as well as Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. A brand-new trailer has been released today to celebrate the full debut of Torment: Tides of Numenera, introducing the game’s premise, and giving fans and prospective players alike a taste of the profound and philosophical questions invoked by the game’s themes of choice and consequence as well as death and rebirth.

Developed by the creators of the all-time classic Planescape: Torment, one of the most critically revered CRPGs in gaming history, this science-fantasy RPG explores similar deep and personal topics of abandonment, evanescence, and the legacy we all leave behind. Torment: Tides of Numenera takes place on Earth one billion years in the future, in the rich and diverse Numenera setting created by pen and paper RPG luminary, Monte Cook. Players will experience a game of intricate choices and consequences with thousands of meaningful decisions that will make every playthrough unique.

Key features of Torment: Tides of Numenera:

• EARTH ONE BILLION YEARS IN THE FUTURE: Discover a world built on the ruins of hyper-advanced civilizations capable of tearing holes in time and space, reshaping the continents, and rekindling our dying sun – and claim their relics as your own.
• DEATH IS NOT THE END: When you die, your mind rebuilds itself inside a psychic labyrinth. Wander its paths to unearth long-buried truths and hear stories that cannot be told by the living.
• A GAME OF CHOICE & CONSEQUENCE: Make thousands of meaningful decisions and construct a legacy that will change the lives of untold others. Define your morality beyond mere good and evil, and write your unique story no other player can repeat.
• HANDCRAFTED CONFLICTS: Plan your way through hand-crafted set-pieces which combine battles with environmental puzzles, social interaction, stealth, and more.

For more information on Torment: Tides of Numenera and the various editions available for purchase, please visit the official website at http://tormentgame.com/.

US game software sales exceeded over $24.5bn in 2016

US video game software sales exceeded $24.5bn in 2016, says the ESA in its latest Video Games in the 21st Century: The 2017 Report, showing a growth of 48.5 per cent year on year.

In 2015, the industry grew just 7.1 per cent year-on-year, reaching $16.5bn. It’s not just software sales that are up, either, as last year the US games industry revenue hit $30.4bn, showing a rise of 29.4 per cent year-on-year.

The ESA also reports that the US games industry’s value contributed more than $11.7bn to the US GDP in 2015, resulting in a 3.7 per cent annual growth rate over the 2013 value added.

Over 65,000 are now directly employed by the US games industry as well. Of that figure, around 28,000 were employed by larger publishing firms, while approximately 37,000 were employed by smaller developer firms. Over 220,000 people rely on the US games industry as a whole. As for overall employment growth in the video game industry, this grew at an annual rate of 2.9 per cent, which is more than double the rate of the US job market.

Likewise, the report found that there were 2,457 video game companies operating in 2,858 locations in 2015, in all 50 US states. However, around 85 per cent of employees in the US game software publishing industry were found in one of just seven states, with the highest proportion of employees found, unsurprisingly, in California. California alone accounts for around 54 per cent of the total number of game publishing employees.

“The 21st Century knowledge economy demands a creative and innovative workforce. The interactive entertainment industry is powered by real jobs that develop the most innovative and remarkable technology and entertainment in the world. These high-paying, creative careers build communities all across the US,” said Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA.

Via Mcvuk.com