Everyone has a fighting chance
From now through February 12th, For Honor players can check out the four Wu Lin heroes from Marching Fire for free even if they do not own the expansion or have not already unlocked them using in-game Steel. During the event, the Marching Fire expansion will be 50% off for those who take a shine to the heroes.
Open Critic, a games review aggregate site, has posted a new blog to let its community know that games with loot box mechanics in them will now be flagged. The blog goes into detail about the site’s promise to include the function, now fulfilled. “The OpenCritic team believes that loot boxes are a net-negative for the video game industry. Loot boxes prey on human’s generally poor ability to accurately understand and internalize probabilities, especially at the extremes.”
Despite a lack of updates or a new version of Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, the community continues to support the game! One way to catch some high-level action is through Silva and zenzen’s exhibition series Tension Pulse. The series had a great run in 2018, and today marks its return, so make sure to not miss it.
Tonight, it’s a slightly different format than in the past. Fighters from the North American region will fight each other in a FT5 round-robin style. We have PepperySplash using Venom, TheArm fighting with Ramlethal, BxA|dotNova with Jack-O’, and BxA|Blaze with Raven. It will be interesting to see how each of those characters fares against one another.
BxA|Sway and RaphTx will man the commentator stations, keeping up the hype and explaining the action as it goes. The exhibition takes place tonight, at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT/6:00 PM PT on Silva_Hime’s Twitch channel.
We’re back (again) with more Guilty Gear sets and a new format! @PepperySplash, @TheArm05, @dot_Nova, and @tsb_blaze will be competing in a FT5 round robin! Tune in for this special episode of #TensionPulse on Tuesday, 2/5, at 9PM EST.
Follow us at https://t.co/i1g6sJv4yj! pic.twitter.com/vMtJtO47Wi
— Tension Pulse (@tensionpulse) January 31, 2019
Since this is still the same version of REV 2, a lot of the previous episodes are still relevant; check them out on Silva’s YouTube channel.
Sources: Tension Pulse Twitter; Silva YouTube
It seems that the appetite for battle royale games remains strong. Respawn CEO Vince Zampella revealed on Twitter that Apex Legends had drawn in over a million unique players less than eight hours after launch. The game was announced and launched simultaneously yesterday for PC (via Origin), PlayStation 4 and XBox One.
Respawn Entertainment and EA have announced Apex Legends, a free to play battle royale shooter. The best part is that it is available right now for PC (via Origin), PlayStation 4 and XBox One. Apex Legends is set in the same universe as Titanfall and features “a cast of unique characters, squad-based gameplay, innovative mechanics and more”.
While most fighting game enthusiasts know Victrix for their Pro AF ANC headsets (as seen during the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour), the San Diego-based company is now unveiling their very first arcade stick: the Pro FS.
The Victrix Pro FS arcade stick comes installed with Sanwa’s Denshi buttons and JLF model joystick, with an easily accessible, spacious interior compartment for optimal maintenance and storage. These internal components are easily modified, and include fully customizable lighting and audio features, to boot.
Additionally, The Pro FS’s brushed metal surface is made of aircraft-grade aluminum, melded into a comfortable downward slope perfect for sitting on the knees during long sessions at a setup. Better yet, the FS’s joystick is fully detachable, lessening the stress of travel between venues and cramped flights. The stick likewise comes with a set of handles and a die-cast metal shoulder strap, making it one of the most easily transportable sticks on the current market.
You read more about our coverage of the in-development version of the stick at Evo 2018 in our article — and can now purchase the stick through Victrix’s website, along with the Pro AF headset, of course.
Source: Victrix
LastLevel Studio has announced that its MMO shooter, SteamCraft, is now in open beta testing. Anyone interested in giving it a try can head to the game’s official site, sign up and receive a key that can be redeemed on Steam. SteamCraft allows players to collect and assemble a unique vehicle using a wide array of components. “There’s no limit to what you can create” including both ground and air vehicles to rain terror down on opponents.
Jandisoft has posted a brand new trailer that shows off its unique art style and a dark gritty world. The video features frantic PvE and PvP battles, huge monsters, and showcases a number of the game’s features. Mad World MMO is a 2D isometric game utilizing HTML5 and a hand-drawn art style. The premise is a post-apocalyptic world where humans are struggling to survive and “battle on the edge of extinction”. Mad World MMO is planning for a 2019 release for PC, browsers & mobile devices.
Their Street Fighter II: Champion Edition X RepliCade is now available for pre-order through the New Wave Toys website, and comes with a variety of features that includes a tiny, USB arcade stick for a two-player experience (which can be swapped out for other controllers of the player’s choice).
Officially licensed by Capcom, the 12-inch-tall cab comes with a rechargeable battery for extended use, a menu featuring dip switch settings that allow players adjust skill level, and even provides two iterations of Street Fighter for play: Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and Super Street Fighter II: Turbo.
Fans of the product can pre-order for a discounted price of $99.99, compared to the cab’s standard price point of $119.99. Pre-orders last throughout the month of February, and will be shipped out in summer of 2019.
You can learn more about the mini-cade on the New Wave Toys website.
Source: New Wave Toys
At the end of January, WB Games Brazil held a Mortal Kombat 11 reveal event in the country. Though the playable build was the same one used at The Reveal event last month –featuring already-announced Kombatants Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Dark Raiden, Sonya Blade, Baraka, Skarlet, and Geras — there was some exclusive news. Ed Boon announced that the leader of the Black Dragon clan and Mortal Kombat original Kano would be once again joining in the bloody carnage.
This version of Kano looks much slimmer than his Mortal Kombat XL counterpart, while only sporting a tattoo on a single arm rather than both like before, implying this could be a younger version of the Australian mercenary — likely brought about by Kronika’s time-bending.
Additionally, Kano will be receiving a special, free, regional-exclusive, alternate costume, that will only be available (for the time being at least), to players in Brazil. This “Kangaceiro” outfit sees Kano don a version of the trademark hat and leather jacket worn by a group of Northeastern Brazilian “social bandits” in the late 19th and 20th centuries, who would steal from the rich in an effort to oppose the poverty that defined the times. A vest of bullets can also be seen adorning the straps holding in his iconic chest piece. This will join Skarlet’s Russian-exclusive “Kold War” skin, which sees the blood mage dressed in the attire of a KGB agent. The Official Mortal Kombat Twitter account has also released his official character render, describing Kano as, “Greed personified.” You can see both pieces of artwork below, as well as a video of Ed Boon announcing Kano at the event.
Greed personified.
Kano returns to Mortal Kombat in #MK11. https://t.co/1FVdgG6G1r pic.twitter.com/0TzPjq3LiS
— Mortal Kombat 11 (@MortalKombat) January 31, 2019
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released worldwide, on Tuesday, April 23rd, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. However, the Switch version has unfortunately been delayed in Europe, until Friday, May 10th.
Sources: MortalKombat (Twitter); MrRedRivers (YouTube); Test Your Might