Monthly Archives: July 2016
Comic Book Reviews for July 6, 2016
The first week of July brought with it an impressive comic book lineup. DC debuted their new Justice League comic while also delivering memorable new chapters of batman, Superman and Green Arrow. Marvel dove deeper into Civil War II with the release of Captain America: Sam Wilson #11 and Civil War II: Kingpin #1 while also paving the way for The Clone Conspiracy in Amazing Spider-man #15. Plus, Image delivered a solid assortment of indie titles and Black Mask Studios kicked off the eagerly anticipated Kim and Kim.
Scroll down to see our reviews for these and various other new releases. And be sure to let us know your favorite books in the comments below.
DC COMICS
3 More Amiibo Revealed for Monster Hunter Stories
A second wave of Monster Hunter Stories amiibo have been revealed, but for the moment they're Japan-only.
Coming on December 8 in Japan, the new wave features Cheval riding a Rathian, Ayuria with a Barioth, and Dan and a Qurupeco. That’s a person plus a monster for anyone who doesn’t speak Monster Hunter. As Perfectly Nintendo reports, the riders can be removed from the monsters and replaced on other monsters to create your own riding combo.
New GTA Online Expansion’s Release Date Announced
Rockstar has revealed the next expansion for GTA Online, Cunning Stunts and set a release date of Tuesday, July 12.
The expansion turns swathes of the game's multiplayer world into a fantasy racing game akin to Trackmania, complete with boosts, loop-the-loops, enormous stunt jumps and, seemingly, massive bowling skittles to smash over. You can watch the reveal trailer below:
New Stunt Races will add the aforementioned surreal elements to the landscape, and each one will be matched to a specific type of vehicle, keeping everyone on a level playing field (metaphorically speaking - these actual playing fields are bumpy as hell).
According to Rockstar Newswire, Cunning Stunts also offers new vehicles in the form of "new Super cars, Sports cars and Motorbikes". There will be racing-themed cosmetics to match, too, with "appropriately tatted and dressed drivers, sporting new motocross gear, racing suits, helmets and host of other additions."
Hasbro Unveils Marvel The Collector’s Vault SDCC Exclusive
Hasbro will be releasing an exclusive set of figures in the Marvel Legends Series at San Diego Comic-Con, featuring The Collector, Howard the Duck, and more.
IGN can exclusively reveal The Collector's Vault, a collection of Marvel figures in the 3.75 inch Legends series and items that will go on sale at the show for $69.99 at Booth #3329. A limited run of the set will then also be available on Hasbro's official shop. The set will also be available at Fan Expo Canada in September.
The set includes five figures: Howard the Duck, The Collector, Cosmo, Lockjaw, and Moon Boy.
The Zodiac Key, Casket of Ancient Winters, and the Wand of Watoomb are also included in the collection, which you can preview below:
Evolve Re-launched As A Free-to-play Game
As of this morning, Evolve is relaunching with a new free-to-play business model.
Entitled Evolve: Stage 2, this new version of Evolve completely replaces the existing one. Legacy Evolve owners will have instant access to any and all content they’ve previously purchased right from the start, as well as additional rewards for their loyalty down the line. New players will have immediate access to a weekly revolving door of Hunters and Monsters, with plenty of ways to unlock characters of their choice for free, through Evolve’s new earnable in-game currency, Silver Keys.
In an interview with IGN, Turtle Rock Studios said there would be a multitude of ways to earn Silver Keys, and to directly unlock characters and perks. In addition to daily challenges, and rewards for ranking up individual characters and your overall profile, characters will also be given out as rewards for logging in on consecutive days, or by completing tutorials.
New Pokemon, Salandit Revealed
The Pokemon Company has released footage of Salandit, a new monster appearing in the upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon.
Salandit's described as a Toxic Lizard, and is a poison and fire-type whose ability, Corrosion allows it to poison all Pokemon types, regardless of their usual immunities. Here's a trailer:
The Pokemon Company website has this to say about Salandit:
"Salandit emits toxic gas, together with flames, from the base of its tail. This poisonous gas has a sweet smell, and anyone who unknowingly breathes it in will become dizzy. Salandit is not a very powerful Pokémon, but its cunning nature allows it to battle fiercely by throwing its opponents off balance.
Pikmin 4 Fell Down “List of Priorities” But Is Still in Development
Last year, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that Pikmin 4 was "very close to completion", but we've heard very little about it since then. Now we have good news and slightly less-than-heartening news.
“We’re working on
." said Miyamoto to Game Rant at E3 this year. "So, you know, when we’re in development we have to create a list of priorities and it has been hard to kind of fit that into that list, but we’re hopefully starting to see that on the list now.”
While he's less than explicit, it's likely that Pikmin 4's development coincided with plans for the NX, and was either pushed back to tally with the console's March 2017 release, or temporarily shelved in order to get an NX launch line-up that doesn't include the game shored up.
War Child Game Bundle Revealed
War Child has revealed the 12 titles slated to appear in the HELP: The Game bundle.
War Child supports and protects children whose lives have been disrupted by war and conflict. HELP: The Game is a game jam which brought together developers and studios all to raise money to support the charity.
"You’ll certainly be familiar with the games these studios have released previously," states the press release, "but might well be surprised with what they have in store for HELP: The Game."
Here's a brief summary of each of the games, complete with brand-new screenshots.
10 Minute Tower – Developed by Team17 (Worms)
Final Fantasy 7 Now Available on Android
Final Fantasy VII is now available on Android devices for £13 / $16.
It's a big game, and will take over 4GB of free space on your device, and you'll need 2GB of memory to run it. Plus, make sure your device is at least running Android 4.3 or above before you download.
An interesting thing to mention about the mobile version is that you can turn off random encounters. If you want to know how to max your stats in the iOS version, IGN has just the video for you.
The classic RPG came out on iOS last year, and there will also be a remake coming to PlayStation 4 at some point in the future.
Microsoft Appears to Roll Back on its Xbox Play Anywhere Pledge
Remember how Microsoft said that every game it publishes would now be cross-buy and cross-play across Xbox One and PC? Well, about that...
YouTube channel, The Red Dragon (via VideoGamer's David Scammell) points out that Microsoft's statement - which originally read "every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere" - has now been altered to read "every new title published from Microsoft Studios that we showed onstage at E3 this year will support Xbox Play Anywhere" (emphasis mine).