Category: Game Releases

New game releases.

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New information revealed for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!

New information revealed for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!

The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo provided further details on the highly anticipated Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! games, releasing later this year on the Nintendo Switch system.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will both feature a variety of exclusive Pokémon which are unique to each game. In Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! Trainers will be able to capture Pokémon including Oddish, Sandshrew and Growlithe; while players of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will be able to capture Pokémon such as Bellsprout, Vulpix and Meowth.

At the start of players’ adventures, they will receive their first partner Pokémon, either Pikachu or Eevee. Unlike regular Pokémon, their first partner Pokémon is not interested in evolving and instead prefers to stay out of its Poké Ball. It will travel with players throughout their journey by hanging on their shoulder or riding on their head. Players can become best friends with their Pikachu or Eevee and can pet, feed and even tickle them. Not only that, but players can dress up their Trainer and partner Pokémon in a wide variety of cool and cute outfits, accessories and even hairstyles to become the perfect style duo with their new best friend.

As players travel throughout the Kanto region, they will meet some familiar faces as well as a few new ones. Professor Oak returns, alongside a new Rival, to present the Pokédex—a high-tech encyclopedia that records data on any new species of Pokémon that players catch in the games. Players will be able to battle Gym leaders across Kanto, including fan favorites Brock, the Gym Leader of Pewter City, and Misty, the Gym Leader of Cerulean City, as they strive to become the Pokémon League champion. In-game Pokémon Trainers aren’t the only ones who can be battled. Players will be able to connect with other players online* or via local wireless communication between Nintendo Switch systems to enjoy intense Pokémon battles. They will also be able to trade Pokémon with each other using these communication features to help complete their Pokédex.

For the first time in a mainline Pokémon game, two people can now play together on one system! By gently shaking a second Joy-Con controller, another player can join the fray. There are some real benefits to adventuring together as well, including making it easier to catch Pokémon and even battling against tough Trainers as a tag team in Pokémon battles. Grab a friend, explore Kanto and experience an adventure like no other.

The Poké Ball Plus device can be used to play Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! in place of a Joy-Con or alongside the Pokémon GO app instead of the Pokémon GO Plus accessory**. Poké Ball Plus also allows players to bring one of their Pokémon from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! with them as they explore the real world. The Mythical Pokémon Mew will be available in the Poké Ball Plus, and players will be able to transfer it to their version of these new games.*** Poké Ball Plus will be available to purchase separately at retail alongside Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! on November 16.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch on November 16, 2018. For more information, please visit: www.pokemon.com.

* Nintendo Account required. Online services and features, including online gameplay, are free until the paid Nintendo Switch Online Service launches in 2018. ** Using as a Pokémon GO Plus requires installation of the Pokémon GO application on a compatible smartphone. See www.pokemongo.com for details.

***Nintendo Account and Internet connection required. At the time of its release, Poké Ball Plus will only be compatible as a controller for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! It cannot be used for other Nintendo Switch software titles.

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Nintendo Labo Creators Contest: New Winners Announced!

Nintendo Labo Creators Contest: New Winners Announced!

Thank you to all the My Nintendo members who submitted so many great creations to the Nintendo Labo Creators Contest. We’re happy to announce that the winning entries have now been selected in the Best Toy-Con Mod using Toy-Con Garage and Best Original Invention using Toy-Con Garage categories! You can see the six winning creations on the Nintendo Labo Creators Contest Winners’ page.

If you didn’t get the chance to enter this time, take a look at the upcoming Nintendo Labo Creators Contest No. 2 starting July 19 at 11 a.m. PT. Categories include Best Toy-Con Musical Instrument and Best Gaming Experience using Toy-Con Garage. Check out the official site for all the details.

And in more good news, did you know that the Toy-Con Motorbike from the Nintendo Labo: Variety Kit is now compatible with the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe game? You can steer your kart in an all-new way! Learn more on the official site.

Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec), ages 13+. Nintendo Switch system and Nintendo Labo kit required. Contest begins 11AM PT on 7/19/18 and ends at 10:59AM PT on 8/20/18. To enter, upload a video of your Toy-Con creation or invention as detailed in the Official Rules. 2 Grand Prize winners will each receive one (1) collectible Nintendo Switch system (ARV: $ $1,000 USD), one (1) Nintendo Labo Creators Jacket (ARV: $ 70.00 USD), and one (1) award certificate (ARV: $ 70.00 USD). 8 Runner-Up winners will each receive one (1) collectible pair of Joy-Con controllers, one (1) Nintendo Labo Creators Jacket (ARV: $ 70.00 USD), and one (1) award certificate (ARV: $ 70.00 USD). Total ARV of all prizes: $3,640 USD. Chances of winning a prize depend on eligibility and quality of entries received, and how well each meets the judging criteria. Details and restrictions apply. For Official Rules, visit https://labo.nintendo.com/share/#!/contest-rules/. Sponsor: Nintendo of America Inc.

Games Shown:

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Worlds Collide in Fortnite Season 5!

Worlds Collide in Fortnite Season 5!

New to Fortnite? The start of Season 5 is a perfect time to try it out!

This Season features new changes to the map like a Viking ship, a desert outpost, and ancient statues! Also, now you can zip across the island in style with your squad and uncover the mysteries of Season 5 in the first four-person vehicle – the All-Terrain Kart (ATK)!

The start of a Season means that you’ll have a ton of time to complete Challenges and earn rewards like outfits, emotes, toys and more. Rewards change each Season, so check out the Battle Pass tab in the game to see what can be earned.

Speaking of the Battle Pass, players who want more rewards can get the Battle Pass in-game for 950 V-Bucks. You’ll instantly unlock two exclusive outfits, then play to level up your Battle Pass to earn up to 100 rewards worth over 25,000 V-Bucks. Remember to complete Weekly Challenges to level up faster!

Jump in now and play Fortnite for free. Good luck out there!


Violence
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Dota 2 Update – July 11th, 2018

Dota Plus:
—
* Added a new Summer Terrain
* Added a new Plus in-game prediction charm, grants you increasing amounts of shards for correct predictions in a row (10/20/30/40/50 for 1/2/3/4/5x, 50 for subsequent)
* Added a new feature to let Plus members spectate their friends’ games live, seeing only what their friend’s team can see. You can join in any time the game is ongoing.
* Added dozens of new Hero Quests
* Playing Turbo games now grants half the normal hero xp for wins/losses, rather than none.
* Added a new global Hero Trends page
* You can now purchase some Tools for shards in the Plus Rewards store.

* Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause Plus guides to get stuck and not work.
* Improved the item/ability/lane suggestions
* Plus item suggestions now default to the first suggestion, with a button to examine alternatives.
* The full popular items list is now shown even when you have a specific sequence selected.
* Suggested items that have already been purchased are now greyed out, to improve readbility.

* Added the Plus Hero Badge to the Post Game screen.
* The Profile screen now shows your Plus Hero Badge and Relics

General Changes:
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* Ranked Roles: Added a new type of report function that can be used during the picking phase for players that don’t adhere to the selection they queued for. Does not consume normal reports.
* Trivia: Added a button that lets you disable playing trivia sounds automatically.

* Turbo: Added an ability that lets you toggle the couriers auto deliver behavior.
* Turbo: Courier will deliver gems and other shareable items picked up from your teammates.
* Ctrl-alt clicking HP bars now correctly messages raw HP/Mana values of the target to the rest of your team.
* Fixed a variety of consistency issues with alt-click modifier messages not being worded from the point of view of the person sending them.
* Fixed a bug that caused AFK abandons to be assesed earlier than intended in cases where the player was AFK during the pick phase and was forced to a random hero.
* Monkey King’s Disguise now uses the correct bounty rune model for 5 minute runes.
* Minimap icons for Viper and Slardar have been updated to their remodeled verison.
* Enabled custom minimap icons for Primal Split Brewlings
* Added a custom minimap icon for Arc Warden’s Tempest Double
* Refresher cast sound effect now audible to nearby teammates and enemies.

* Custom Games: Fixed the lobby list connection sort not working correctly
* Custom Games addoninfo.txt: “HeroGuidesSupported” setting is now defaulted to truebv
* Custom Games addoninfo.txt: Added a new setting “ShouldForceDefaultGuide” which will cause default_* files to be utilized (if none is defined it will use the default from the base game)
* Custom Games Lua API: Linked several missing modifier properties
* Custom Games Lua API: Added function “SetUseDefaultDOTARuneSpawnLogic” to let custom games opt into the current set of rune spawning rules (previously it was forcing usage of an older rule set )
* Custom Games Lua API: Added “SetPowerRuneSpawnInterval” and “SetBountyRuneSpawnInterval” functions to customize rune spawn intervals (works with either the current or backwards compatible ruleset of rune spawning)
* Custom Games Lua API: Added several functions for asking for basic stats on units on the server “GetBaseAttackRange”, “GetStatusResistance”, “GetEvasion”, “GetSpellAmplification( bool bBaseOnly) ”

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Daily Deal – Banished, 66% Off

We’ve heard a bunch of complaints from the community after the recent treasure was released, and we wanted to walk you through how things unfolded from our end.

On Tuesday after the release, we heard the community being concerned if there were bugs with the item drops, with many examples of people not getting the Witch Doctor set but having the Phantom Assassin and Outworld Devourer sets. We looked into it to see if there were any differences between the drop rates of those items, and found that all three were identical, so we just assumed it was anecdotal cases and selection bias. Another contributing factor is that the volume of Treasure 3 is meaningfully less than Treasure 1 and 2, partly because a lot of customers bought the Weekend Bundle Sale and that did not include Treasure 3 (as is the case historically). So it would then be expected that a number of people would have some items and not the others, and that the Witch Doctor set would be the most rare.

However, the complaints continued to come in, and it was confusing to us why. We decided to investigate a bit more, but were generally still assuming it was a mixture of selection bias and supply differences between Treasure 1 and 2 and Treasure 3, especially since we knew the three items were identical. Late last night we eventually found a bug that existed for all the Immortal treasures this season. It primarily affected players who opened a very large number of treasures, causing the drop rates to not escalate as quickly as they did last year. And since the volume of Treasure 3s were lower than the other two, it was a more visible bug to players.

As a result of this, this morning we started working on fixing this. We are re-running the rolls for players on Immortal Treasure 1, 2 and 3, and will be granting the items shortly as well as fixing the bug for unopened treasures. We will also be giving all Battle Pass owners 10 extra levels.

In addition to this, we’ve also heard the community being unhappy at the content of the level 615 reward. As part of this update, we are adding an extra bundle of treasures at level 615. It’ll include 4 Immortal Treasure 1, 4 Immortal Treasure 2, and 4 Immortal Treasure 3.

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Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 is a thing; coming this summer

By Joe Robinson 11 Jul 2018

Playsport Games have announced that they’re working on a third entry in their Motorsport Manager Mobile series. Better yet, we’ll be able to get our hands on it pretty soon!

The mobile spin-offs to the popular motorsport racing management/sim PC game has historically reviewed well here on Pocket Tactics, with Owen giving the original entry 5/5 Stars, and Mark giving the sequel 4/5 Stars.

MMM3 1

The developers have been touting the following new features going into MM Mobile 3:

GT AND ENDURANCE RACING

With 6 new championships, MM Mobile 3 is bigger and better than ever before. GT races bring action-packed, wheel-to-wheel action, while Endurance is a Motorsport Manager’s ultimate strategic challenge, with 3 drivers per car and timed races!

A STUNNING SETTING

Monaco makes its Motorsport Manager debut! Manage your cars around la Rascasse, Casino Square and the Swimming Pool. It’s the ultimate test, rendered in a beautiful, detailed new art style.

NEW FEATURES

The Supplier Network sees managers grow their team’s presence around the globe, while Invitational Races are huge annual events, bringing international races with a unique twist. Mechanics are the new members of your team, and their relationship with the driver is all-important!

AUGMENTED REALITY

AR support brings you the ultimate camera mode! Choose your own perspective on the race. Peer over trees, through bridges and down cliffsides as you experience races in a whole new way.

GAME CHANGERS

Votes on rule changes, dynamic AI team movement (including teams going bust and being replaced) and new difficulty settings mean that the world of motorsport constantly evolves – but the challenge stays at your level.

ON-TRACK ACTION

Energy Recovery System, with Hybrid and Power modes, mixes up every race! Will you boost your way past your rivals into clear air, or smartly manage your fuel levels to pull off a genius strategy?

The release date is listed as ‘This Summer’, which according to my thermometer is pretty much now, and it will be launching on iOS and Android via the Google Play and Amazon App stores.

Given that the PC version has only ever had one release, how are you feeling about the mobile spin-offs? Are you excited for this new release? Let us know in the comments!

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Corona 2018.3326 Released

Corona, a seminal cross platform 2D game engine using the Lua programming language just released version 2018.3326.  This is the first public release of Corona since 2017.  The biggest new feature in this release has to be beta support for the HTML5 target, enabling you to run your Corona game in web browsers.  Image result for corona game engine logo

Important parts of the update:

  • HTML5 beta.
  • Google Play changes to support IAP level 27.
  • GDPR support.
  • Apple support fixed (iOS 11.4 and XCode 9.4 supported)

Additionally in this release, several libraries were made open source:

In addition to these changes, Corona Labs is open-sourcing the following libraries:

  • timer.*
  • easing.*
  • transition.*
  • composer.*

You can download the Lua source for these libraries from the Corona Labs GitHub account. In addition, the widget.* library was updated to be in sync with our internal library.

You can read the full release notes here.  Corona is free to download but requires registration.  You can sign in and download Corona here.  If you run into problems trying to perform an HTML5 build, be sure to launch the Corona simulator as an administrator on Windows.  This at least fixed my error 12 problems when performing an HTML5 build, seems to be a permissions issue.

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GameDev News

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Lace up your coaching shoes with New Star Soccer Manager, which is out now

By Ian Boudreau 10 Jul 2018

As commenters wisely pointed out, there are better mobile options for football gaming than EA’s FIFA Mobile, which has a World Cup mode available now. One of these is New Star Soccer, which was the runner-up for our Sports Game of the Year in 2012 (iOOTP Baseball managed to edge it out for the top slot that year). Now, there’s a new front office layer available: New Star Soccer Manager is out today for iOS devices.

While it keeps a lot of the simple tap-to-kick charm of the original, New Star Soccer Manager adds in scouting and recruitment, additional team management layers, training, and even stadium building. There’s plenty to do off the field, but the updated look and feel of the action on the pitch is certainly welcome as well.

Right now, New Star Soccer Manager is only available for iOS devices, and it’s free to download from the App Store. Developer New Star Games says they have an Android version in the works, but that won’t show up in time for this weekend’s World Cup semifinals, unfortunately.