Heart Forth, Alicia’s Titular Character in 2016
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, upcoming Metroidvania RPG Heart Forth, Alicia is coming to PlayStation 4 and Vita in early 2016. The game will also appear on Wii U and 3DS, as well as Mac, PC and Linux.
In a post on the PlayStation blog, lead developer Alonso Martin credits the Kickstarter, which was fully funded in May 2014. Several of Heart Forth, Alicia's stretch goals were met, one of which allowed Martin to bring his project to Sony's systems. Manami Matsumae, who composed music for Mega Man 10, Mighty No. 9 and Shovel Knight, produced "a few tracks" for the game, according to Martin.
Netflix Australia Has a Launch Date
Streaming service Netflix has finally announced an official launch date in Australia and New Zealand: 24 March.
'Australian Netflix' will be available on smart TVs ( Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Philips. HiSense, Fetch TV’s second-gen set-top box), Apple TV and Chromecast, Android and Apple phones and tablets, and on all current game consoles - the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.
As part of a deal with Microsoft, those buying Xbox Ones "at select stores" will be given a three month access pass to the service once it launches.
"Xbox has a long association with Netflix around the world, and with this announcement we’re excited to bring our partnership to the millions of Xbox owners across Australia and New Zealand,” said Jeremy Hinton, business group lead for Interactive Entertainment at Microsoft Australia. "With Xbox One we are committed to delivering the best entertainment experience in Australian and New Zealand living rooms.”
Out This Week: March 2, 2015
With so many new games and movies coming out, it can be hard to keep up. Lucky for you, IGN is here to help with a weekly round-up of the biggest releases each and every week. Check out the latest releases for this week, and be sure to come back next Monday for a new update.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Is This the Most Secure Smartphone on Earth?
Silent Circle, makers of smart phones and tablets with an emphasis on secure communications, announced its Blackphone 2 and Blackphone+, its entry into the tablet market.
The products were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress, along with an update to the company's secure operating system, PrivatOS 1.1. The OS, which is a modified version of Android 4.4.2, places emphasis on encryption for internet browsing, telephone calls, and instant messaging.
While the phone itself is a more powerful version of its earlier phone, the biggest improvement to the security-minded niche Silent Circle is carving out for itself is in the OS's new virtualization abilities. "It keeps enterprise and personal apps and data completely separate," the company said, adding that the managed enterprise space can be "locked and wiped" as needed by IT administrators.
Pokemon Shuffle Reaches 1 Million Downloads
Since its release less than two weeks ago, Pokemon Shuffle has been downloaded from the Nintendo 3DS eShop over one million times, Nintendo announced today.
The free-to-play puzzle game is celebrating the milestone by offering players a gift that can be downloaded throughout March. The gift, an item called Complexity -1, can be used to simplify a puzzle.
In Pokemon Shuffle, you must match three or more Pokemon on the bottom screen to clear them from the stage and damage wild Pokemon. Matching an opponent's weakness is crucial, as you must defeat them within a certain amount of moves.
HTC Hopes to Bring Half-Life to Its VR Headset
HTC is working with Valve to bring the Half-Life franchise to the upcoming VR headset Vive, an HTC executive said at Mobile World Congress today.
HTC chairwoman Cher Wang didn't specify whether this would be a new entry in the series, or a virtual-reality remake of earlier Half-Life titles. However, she did say HTC was "cooperating with Half-Life," and that she "hopes" the franchise will make its way to Vive in the future, according to the BBC.
HTC and Valve announced the partnership to develop Vive yesterday. The headset uses Valve's SteamVR tracking technology and pairs with two SteamVR base stations, allowing the platform to be played without using a controller. However, the option to do so still remains.
George Lucas’ Cult Animated Movie Coming to DVD
Warner Archive is releasing George Lucas' 1983 animated cult classic Twice Upon a Time on DVD later this spring.
Executive produced by the Star Wars creator himself, Twice Upon a Time had several future industry legends work on it, including animators Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Harley Jessup (Monsters Inc.), as well as David Fincher (Fight Club), who contributed in a special effects role.
Still from Twice Upon a Time.
Bruce Lee’s Family Developing a Feature Film Biopic
The first definitive Bruce Lee biopic is in the works. Lee's daughter, Shannon, announced on Friday that she and her family will be developing the feature film.
This marks the first biopic on the famed martial artist's life with the family's full involvement in production. EW reports that Bruce Lee Entertainment will team with Lawrence Grey and Janet Yang to produce the project.
Lee died at age 32 in 1973, shortly before the release of his career-defining film Enter the Dragon.
"There have been projects out there involving my father," Shannon said in a statement, "but they've lacked a complete understanding of his philosophies and artistry. They haven't captured the essence of his beliefs in martial arts or storytelling.
Unreal Engine 4 is Free for Everyone
Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 is now free to download and use, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced today.
As detailed in a blogpost, all future updates to the engine, which was previously available to the public for $19 USD a month, will also be free. In return, Epic will take 5% of a game's gross revenue after the first $3,000 USD it generates each quarter.
Previously only free for students and educators, Unreal Engine 4's free download will give you access to the engine's entire toolset, the Unreal Engine Marketplace, and "100% of the C++ source code."
Watch Avatar Land Coming Along
Construction on Avatar Land -- an interactive Disney World park, based on the planet Pandora from James Cameron's Avatar -- is well underway, and we've now got some concept artwork and a video of the progress being made at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.
Posted on the Disney Parks Blog, here's a photo of what the completed Avatar Land will look like in all its bioluminescent gloriousness:
Avatar Land model.