Yearly Archives: 2019

Ion Maiden Becomes Ion Fury, Launches in August on PC

Ion Maiden is an upcoming old-school FPS, developed by Voidpoint and published by 3D Realms/IC Entertainment, but due to potential legal issues (a two million dollar suit by Iron Maiden), they will rebrand. Now releasing as Ion Fury, it will leave Early Access on PC on August 15th, 2019. The Nintendo Switch, PLaystation 4 and Xbox dates will come later. There will also be a Big Box-style physical release on PC, which is available for pre-order.

“After careful consideration, we’ve decided to rename our first-person-shooter “Ion Maiden” to “Ion Fury,” said Mike Nielsen, CEO of 3D Realms. “A lot of thought went into this, but most importantly it would be a disservice to our loyal fanbase and the fantastic developers, to drag out a long lawsuit. The amazing gameplay, interactivity and pure fun, is what makes Ion Fury a great game. Not the title.”

Ion Fury is crated in Build, which was used for many of the 90s classics shooters, from Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, and Shadow Warrior, and Ion Fury will share that nostalgic look, with a more modern series of features and technology – auto-saves, improved physics, map interactivity, headshots, controller support, and so much more.

To celebrate the sheer madness of a modern shooter made in the Build engine, Shelly’s getting the Big Box she deserves. This edition includes a Bowling lBomb-shaped USB Drive, a poster, a keycard based on the ones Shelly finds in-game, a making-of booklet, a lanyard, and of course Ion Fury, all for $59.99. Ion Fury is also presently available in Steam’s Early Access Program in English, for 19.99. One week from today, the price will increase to 24.99, as the content has doubled in planned scope since the launch.

 

Disintegration Is a New Sci-Fi Shooter to be Fully Unveiled During Gamescom 2019

Disintegration Announcement

Disintegration was revealed today as a title that will be revealed during Gamescom 2019, from V1 Interactive, which is a studio co-founded by Marcus Lehto. Marcus Lehto is the former creative director at Bungie and the co-creator of Halo. Disintegration will be available in 2020’s calendar year, during Take-Two’s fiscal year 2021 (April 1st, 2020 through March 31st, 2021). Keep your eyes here for more information as it develops. Disintegration will be a sci-fi first-person shooter, though, so it should be right in Lehto’s wheelhouse.

“The opportunity to create not only a new game, but this entire studio has been exhilarating,” said Marcus Lehto, President and Game Director at V1 Interactive. “It is great to be able to share what this amazing team has been working on, and we can’t wait to introduce this new game that our team is building to the world next month.”

“We’re lucky enough to work with someone like Marcus, a gaming icon whose creativity has influenced an entire industry,” said Michael Worosz, Executive Vice President and Head of Private Division. “We’ve been with Marcus and the V1 Interactive team since the studio’s inception and have seen the organization grow its talent base throughout our partnership. As such, we have high confidence in Disintegration, and cannot wait to introduce it as another unique experience that further enhances the Private Division lineup.”

Killsquad Reveals Roadmap for Upcoming Content

Killsquad Content Roadmap

Novarama published their official roadmap for content in their upcoming co-op action RPG, Killsquad, which hits Steam Early Access on July 16th, 2019. This roadmap will show new features and content coming over the next six months. July 16th will start this first season, called “Revelation”. It will shed more light on the Killsquad universe as a whole, across four major content updates. This season will last until 2020 and will offer new game areas, factions, enemies, and so much more, as the game moves towards full release on PC/console in 2020. More information can be found here.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Reveals Monster Subspecies and More

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is the upcoming expansion to Monster Hunter: World and a new subspecies variation of monsters was revealed, as well as the new gathering hub, Seliana. Subspecies are twisted, extreme variations of monsters that will seriously increase the difficulty of encounters, and will require master-level hunting skills to conquer. Today’s trailer shows off one of these horrific new encounters, Glavenus, which joins Fulgur Anjanath and Ebony Odogaron. Glavenus will wield its sword-like tail to demolish hunters who are too careless.

As part of the cozy new Seliana home base in Hoarfrost Reach, a streamlined Gathering Hub offers a warm welcome for hunting parties with more centralized facilities and features. Built around an interactive hot spring, hunters and Palicoes can conveniently manage all the pre-hunt necessities in close proximity such as the Smithy to craft gear, resource center to manage bounties or botanical research to harvest items. “My Room” is also accessible and features new personalization options such as furniture, décor, and colors, with a post-launch update planned to allow other players to visit each other’s spaces.

A series first is coming to Iceborne, scaling balanced difficulty, which will adapt itself for a two-player team, if other players drop out, or if a duo sets out to tackle a quest with their Palicoes in the party. Palicoes will also receive upgraded gadgets, and some new options, like the Shieldspire Stooge. This is a mobile decoy that draws a monster’s attention. The Meowcano is a giant jar that launches fireballs, and they will also receive an enhanced Vigorwasp, that can even revive players immediately if they faint.

Earth Defense Force 5 Deploys onto Steam

Earth Defense Force 5, the latest in the bug-destroying, Earth Saving franchise has now launched globally on PC, via Steam today. To celebrate this, a 20% off discount is live for the first week (normally 59.99), beginning today. Developed by SANDLOT, EDF5 continues the traditions set in this series, and since it first launched in 2003 on the Playstation 2, EDF has earned a reputation for being utterly relentless and challenging, with tons of enemies on screen to destroy, a wide variety of classes, weapons, and B-Movie dialogue.

This focus on delivering an overwhelming scale of enemies and a sense of exhilaration continues with Earth Defense Force 5, featuring the most detailed enemy models featured in the series to-date with breakable limbs and body parts and more advanced AI behavior. Earth Defense Force has a ton of content and plenty of replay value, with over 100 missions, and five difficulties to pick from for each mission. There are more than 1,000 weapons and armaments to unlock, as well as four classes to master.

Classes include the Ranger, a well-rounded infantry soldier, the Wing Diver, a highly mobile air unit, the Fencer, a heavy weapons unit with thick armor, and the Air Raider, a support focused class with the ability to call in various air support types like vehicles, orbital airstrikes, and missile barrages. Of course, there’s also multiplayer, online and offline, with two-player split-screen in couch-co-op, and four-player online.

Valkyria Chronicles 4: Complete Edition Launches

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is the latest installment in the turn-based strategy RPG series from SEGA and is now available at a permanently reduced price of 29.99 on the Switch, PLaystation 4, Xbox One and Steam. Valkyria Chronicles 4: Complete Edition is live today as well, and features all of the DLC released for the game for 49.99. For those of you who already own the main game, there is an all-in-one DLC pack for 24.99, and contains the following:

  • A United Front with Squad 7
  • Edy’s Advance Ops
  • The Two Valkyria
  • Expert Level Skirmishes
  • A Captainless Squad
  • Squad E, to the Beach!

SolSeraph – Launch Trailer

SolSeraph is now available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam, and brings a blend of top-down strategy and side-scrolling action to life again. Last seen in titles like ActRaiser, you will need to guide these tribes to expand their territory, dispel the darkness, and save the day as Helios, Knight of Dawn.

StarCraft: Cartooned Now Available

Starcraft Cartooned

An all-time classic RTS title has come back with an exciting, refreshing new way to play – StarCraft Cartooned! Featuring new adorable cartoon graphics by Carbot Animations, this is a fantastic way to experience StarCraft. Even if you’re new to the battle, or a long-time veteran, StarCraft: Cartooned has something for you. Every unit, structure, map, menu, and mission has been reimagined and has both the single-player and online content for players to tackle. You can even take on custom games in StarCraft: Cartooned! It’s available from Blizzard for 9.99 on their website.

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Releases New Free and Paid DLC

Power Rangers Battle for the Grid Update

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid has a major update dropping today on Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One, in terms of both paid and free DLC. The first two characters in the Season One pass release today, with an asking price of 14.99 for the full Season One Pass, or 6.99 per character individually. Purchasing the Season Pass also unlocks a bonus skin. Today, Trey of Triforia and Jen Scotts release.

  • Trey of Triforia: The original Gold Zeo Ranger, Trey was an alien from the planet Triforia who came to earth to help the Zeo Rangers battle the Machine Empire. There, he was attacked and split into three separate beings, forcing him to temporarily transfer his Gold Ranger powers to veteran ex-Ranger Jason Lee Scott.

  • Jen Scotts: Jen Scotts assumed the role of leader of the Time Force when her fiancé, the Red Time Force Ranger, was killed by an escaping criminal named Ransik.  Fearless, determined and compassionate, Jen and her team did everything they could to track down Ransik and bring him to justice.

  • Lord Zedd (Coming Soon): The self-proclaimed “Emperor of Evil,” Lord Zedd has conquered and enslaved much of the galaxy. Initially leaving the “insignificant” Earth for Rita Repulsa to conquer, he returns to punish her for her failure and finish what she started.

  • Jason Lee Scott – Red Dragon Shield (skin): After Tommy Oliver, the Green Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, was killed by Lord Drakkon, an evil version of Tommy from an alternate dimension, Jason inherited the Dragon Shield and Dragon Dagger. With their added strength and the ability to summon the Dragonzord, Jason was able to lead the other Rangers in the fight against Lord Drakkon.

As for the free update, this second free update (1.3) introduces some new features to the game. Social play and matchmaking were improved, including Direct Match so you can play against your friends. Crossplay now exists between Nintendo Switch and Xbox One, for Ranked, Casual and Direct Matches. This will increase the players’ ability to find matches faster, with people in a similar skill pool.