How War Unfolds in Code Name S.T.E.A.M. Multiplayer
Head-to-head multiplayer matches in Code Name S.T.E.A.M. play out like a match of speed chess. The quick choices you make present your four-person squad with opportunities, but the same choices can also reveal major vulnerabilities to an opponent. If you’ve been keeping track, you already know S.T.E.A.M. blends third-person action, turn-based strategy, visuals from the golden age of comics, and steam-powered tactical abilities into a wacky world where President Lincoln leads a squad of alien hunters. Competitive play takes that framework and speeds it up, transforming the deliberate pace of campaign missions into a quicker, meaner experience locally or online.
The timer plays the most important role in Code Name S.T.E.A.M.’s multiplayer modes. During a match you and an opponent take turns planning out strategies 60-seconds at a time. In that window your four-person squad can individually secure spots on that map, attack opponents, heal teammates, or acquire helpful items that increase health, movement, or other attributes. Remember: You aren’t allowed to move during an enemy’s turn, but you can interrupt them with overwatch – a counterattack that can be used during an opponent’s turn. It requires a specific amount of steam to use and, in some cases, a specific type of gun. I should note that each squad members special moves are disabled in multiplayer.
The LEGO Movie Video Game and LEGO Batman 3 Head to iOS
The LEGO Movie Video Game and Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham are coming to iOS.
The LEGO Movie Video Game is available for download from the App Store as of today. LEGO Batman 3 on the other hand, is expected to release this coming spring.
The LEGO Movie comes complete with a mix of 90 characters, whereas Batman 3 boasts more than 150 characters, including members of Justice League, The Legion of Doom, and many more.
In our review of the Caped Crusader’s latest outing, we said “Lego Batman 3 has loads of great DC characters and missions, but suffers from an inconsistent tone.” And in our review of The LEGO Movie Video Game, we said “The LEGO Movie Videogame's diverse backdrops and heroes devolve into tedium and busywork.”
LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin Gets a Release Date
Warner Bros. and TT Fusion have revealed the release date for LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin as March 27, 2015, for Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita.
The latest entry tells the untold story of the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu TV series, and features a mix of Spinjitzu abilities along with puzzle solving gameplay.
For those who don’t know, Ninjago is getting its own feature film, with an expected release date of September, 2016. The movie itself will be directed by Charlie Bean, who you may know from Disney XD’s Tron: Uprising. For all the details on that, and what else 2015 has in store for the LEGO games (Spoiler: Jurassic World and Marvel Avengers), follow the links.
Badland: GotY Edition Coming in Spring 2015
Action adventure game Badland is getting an enhanced Game of the Year Edition across PS4, PS3, Xbox One, PC/Mac, and Wii U in Spring 2015.
The game -- originally released for tablets in 2013 by a then two-person development team -- offers physics-based puzzle play that places you within flying creature Clony as it traverses an "ominous" forest, solving puzzles and triumphing over obstacles. The Game of the Edition is set to feature four times the content originally offered in the launch title, complete with 100 single-player levels, 100 co-op challenges and 27 multiplayer deathmatch stages, too.
"Our original goal in making Badland was to create a console quality game for tablets," writes developer Frogmind's Teemu Mäki-Patola on the PS Blog. "Back then we were a team of two with too few resources to enter the console market. But we hoped to bring Badland here. Luckily, it did well and we can finally make this dream a reality."
Warner Bros. Announces LEGO Marvel Avengers
Warner Bros. and TT Games have officially revealed LEGO Marvel Avengers.
The new movie tie-in is set following the events of both Avengers films, namely Avengers, and the forthcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron.
No specific release date has been given as of yet, but it’ll be available in Fall 2015 for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, 3DS, and Windows PC.
In case you missed it, Warner Bros. is lifting the lid on what the company has in store for 2015. One of the other big announcements was the confirmation of LEGO Jurassic World, which – like Avengers – will let players experience every single film.
Ivan Reitman Talks About Draft Day and the Comedy Greats
Director Ivan Reitman was the king of comedy back in the day, kicking off his career at the National Lampoon before helming gut-busting classics like Meatballs, Stripes, Ghostbusters and Twins. This week sees the DVD release of his new film Draft Day in the UK, a sports drama that stars Kevin Costner as the General Manager of an American Football team trying to hold it together on the most important day of the season.
Here he talks to IGN about the movie, about sport, about the potential of future Black Panther Chadwick Boseman, and about his working relationship with screen legends Kevin Costner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Murray and John Belushi.
Reitman on the Draft Day set.
LEGO Jurassic World Has Been (Finally) Revealed
Warner Bros. and TT Games have officially unveiled LEGO Jurassic World.
Details are scarce at the minute but we do know the game will follow a similar route taken by LEGO Star Wars in that players will be able to play through Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Jurassic Park III, and of course the LEGO video game version of the forthcoming Jurassic World in their entirety.
LEGO Jurassic World is currently scheduled for a June release for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, 3DS, and Windows PC.
We first learned about Jurassic World back in November via the credits of LEGO Batman 3. Before that, LEGO had announced it would be releasing licensed sets themed around Jurassic World, which are set for release in May, ahead of the film’s opening on June 12.
New Update is on its Way for Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies
Counter-Strike Nexon: Zombies will receive a new update in January.
The update, which is scheduled for release at the end of January, brings with it a training mode, new weapon types, a guaranteed weapon recipe, and an increase to weapon enhancements from five to eight.
Also coming is the inclusion of two news classes, namely Criss and Yuri, as well as a new costume box, which will award one of 26 different – and permanent – costume items.
You can view the full breakdown of what to expect through this link.
If you’re a fan of the Counter-Strike eSport scene you’ll probably have heard of the issues the industry is currently dealing with. In November of 2014, allegations of cheating at the Dreamhack Winter 2014 tournament shook things up. That was followed by further allegations that a top team intentionally threw a match to receive a large payout from betting odds. After that last revelation, Valve got involved, advising partners not to allow members from the teams in question the opportunity to participate in further Valve-sponsored events.
Inventor of the Laser Charles Townes Dies at Age 99
Charles Townes, the inventor of the laser, has died at age 99, the University of California at Berkeley has announced.
Born in 1915, in Greenville, South Carolina, Townes first conceived the idea of a short-wavelength, high-frequency beam while sitting at a park bench in Washington DC during the spring of 1951.
With the help of fellow scientists and students James P. Gordon and H. J. Zeiger, Townes was the first to create a device capable of harnessing ammonia molecules to amplify microwave frequencies to around 24.0 gighertz. The device in question was dubbed a maser, which stands for Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Comic Book Reviews for January 28, 2015
Uncanny Avengers sees its big relaunch this week, with Marvel also delivering the next chapter in the search for the new Juggernaut, an illuminating issue of New Avengers that gets up one step closer to Secret Wars, and the followup to that crazy cliffhanger in Uncanny X-Men.
Over at DC, there was a huge twist in Batman (we talked to writer Scott Snyder about it!), another creepy issue of Gotham By Midnight, and one of the last few issues of Red Lanterns.
On the indie scene, we got the return of Casanova, the debut of a new Jonathan Hickman series called The Dead and the Dying, and another issue of Bitch Planet.