Inspired by the award-winning tabletop game, Evolution retains the elements which made the analog edition so popular with more than 1.6 million players worldwide, but offers a swift pace and features only possible in a modern video game. Meticulously designed so even those who are completely unfamiliar with the original board game can jump in right away, the digital release features a learn-while-you-play tutorial, exciting campaign mode with “Apex Species” to test your wits against, and cross-platform multiplayer that effortlessly matches players with others of similar skill.

Create new species and adapt them for survival in an ever-changing environment, brought to life with a beautifully hand-painted, watercolor art-style and an earthy, contemplative original soundtrack. Combine different traits rooted in science, such as a long neck or a defensive shell, in limitless combinations to help creatures thrive in the fight for survival over scarce food resources and defense from deadly predators. Develop symbiotic relationships or even evolve carnivorous traits and feast on foes in this addictive turn-based strategy game.

Evolution brings stunning new artwork, animated cards, lush environments, distinct enemy A.I., and more than 24,000 possible species to the virtual table. The campaign presents varied scenarios and smart “Apex Species” requiring careful planning and strategy to survive.

Take the fight for survival online and square off against live opponents around the world in fully cross platform, skill-based matchmaking. Rank up from a field researcher all the way to a Nobel Laureate in the progression system. Test yourself against others in the ongoing seasonal tournaments. Turn-based and simultaneous play options allow for fast and fluid multiplayer games in under ten minutes.

“The original Evolution tabletop game has developed a fanatical following among players since its release in 2014,” said Scott Rencher, president and co-founder of North Star Digital Studios. “With the Evolution video game, we’ve gone all out to make this not just a great board game adaptation, but a fantastic strategy video game in its own right.”

Evolution, the strategy game of adaptation from North Star Digital Studios will flourish on PC, Mac, iOS and Android on the 12th of February 2019.

The post From Tabletop to Digital Game appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Acclaimed indie developer Team Meat has brought its beloved platforming mascot Meat Boy to the tabletop space for the first time in the CCG Super Meat Boy: Rival Rush.

Super Meat Boy: Rival Rush is a one versus one nonstop fast paced no holds barred finger blistering every card for themselves showdown where only the swiftest and smartest survive. It will include cards for all your favorite Meat Boy characters, like Dr. Fetus, Bandage Girl, and of course, Meat Boy himself. There’s some new characters too…

Super Meat Boy: Rival Rush will make its debut at PAX West from August 31st – September 3rd, 2018. Located in the Washington State Convention Center, a demo area will be available where players can learn Rival Rush, and full decks will be available for purchase at the show for $10 USD. As an added bonus, PAX attendees who stop by the booth will be given a free limited edition card as a token of Team Meat’s gratitude.

“Kyle was over at my house for my birthday and we jokingly said ‘We should do a Meat Boy CCG for PAX’” said Team Meat co-founder and director Tommy Refenes. “It was a good laugh until we whipped out the index cards and actually built a Meat Boy CCG. Happy Birthday to us all!”

“There’s a special place in our hearts for CCGs, so it’s been an absolute RUSH to put the Meat Boy Cinematic Universe into a card game,” said Super Meat Boy: Rival Rush lead designer Kyle Pulver. “Rival Rush is our chance to really put Meat Boy in your hands without getting blood everywhere.”

Meat Boy took the world by storm in 2008 when it was conceived as a free Flash game by developers Edmund McMillen and Jonathan McEntee. This devilishly difficult love letter to arcade platformers went so viral that over 8 million people played it. Due its popularity, Team Meat founders Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes collaborated on a commercial successor that became the 2010 megahit Super Meat Boy, which went on to sell over a million copies in its first 15 months. Nearly eight years later, Super Meat Boy is still capturing the populace’s imagination as its Switch port’s launch sales nearly matched that of its 2010 debut on Xbox 360. The franchise’s latest project is Super Meat Boy Forever, which is due in 2018 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Super Meat Boy: Rival Rush is available online at The Yetee.

The post ENTER THE MEAT SPACE appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Hand of Fate 2, the acclaimed action RPG from Defiant Development, will deal out a Nintendo Switch release on 17 July, 2018.

Collect cards and build a customizable deck of equipment, enemies, encounters, loot, and surprises that will be shuffled in with the Dealer’s own challenges. Once combined, cards are laid out into a dungeon floor for players to navigate. Each card presents obstacles to overcome, including action-packed hack-and-slash combat, precarious exploration, high-risk high-reward minigames as well as Dungeons and Dragons-style storytelling and decision making.

The original Hand of Fate has been downloaded more than 2.5 million times since its debut in 2015. The award-winning sequel pits a brand-new hero against the series’ enigmatic antagonist, the Dealer, as he seeks revenge following his dramatic defeat at the climax of the first game.

The sequel sports a variety of upgrades over the original title, such as an overworld map where each location presents new challenges, new tabletop minigames, companions (including the Dealer himself) with unique side-quests that provide assistance both in battle and perks outside, more robust combat, a deeper story, and an ever-growing supply of new content. The Nintendo Switch version will also include all the DLC add-ons that have appeared in the PC release from its November launch through April, with more coming later post-launch.

“We’ve been careful not to tip our hand about this news until now, but our team is thrilled to finally announce Hand of Fate 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch,” said Morgan Jaffit, Director, Defiant Development. “We are very much looking forward to seeing fans having the opportunity to take the game on the go with this exciting new platform.”

Hand of Fate 2 is available now via PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.

The post Hand of Fate 2 Coming to Nintendo Switch appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Penny Arcade, to host one of the internet’s largest gaming communities, and ReedPOP, the world’s leading producer of pop culture events, announced PAX Unplugged, its first tabletop gaming focused event, in front of tens of thousands of attendees today at PAX South. PAX Unplugged, the sixth addition to the international line-up of PAX events, will debut at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, November 17 – 19, 2017.

PAX Unplugged will take all the elements that have drawn millions of gamers to PAX – the chance to play and see the reveal of highly-anticipated upcoming games, attend game-inspired music concerts, participate in tournaments and watch panels with industry leaders – but with a renewed focus on fostering the best event for the burgeoning tabletop gaming community.

PAX Unplugged will be a destination for attendees to share their common passions and socialize over board, card and other tabletop games, which have experienced a renaissance in recent years. Penny Arcade and ReedPOP are happy to embrace the thriving tabletop scene and provide those around it with a welcoming atmosphere to take this resurgence to even greater heights.

“With the rise of popularity of board games, we wanted to provide a dedicated space where fans can come together,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder, Penny Arcade. “We will continue to have tabletop games at every PAX, but Unplugged will focus on stepping away from the TV, monitor and phone to foster face-to-face multiplayer experiences.”

Badges for PAX Unplugged will go on sale this Spring.

Working journalists as well as YouTube and Twitch content creators who are interested in attending PAX Unplugged to create coverage of the event and its exhibitors can register for a media pass in the Spring.

For more information, visit the Official PAX Unplugged site or follow PAX for updates via their official Twitter.

PAX or Penny Arcade Expo is a festival for gamers to celebrate gaming culture. First held in Seattle in 2004, PAX has grown in size each successive year, with PAX Prime 2014 selling out of tickets in a matter of minutes. Connecting the world’s leading game publishers and developers with their most avid and influential fans, PAX expanded with a second show in Boston in 2010 and a third in San Antonio in 2015, making it the three largest consumer-facing game expos in North America. The first international PAX was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2013.

Penny Arcade is a web comic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. With over 3.5 million readers, it is the most popular and longest running gaming web comic online. Penny Arcade is also responsible for the Child’s Play Charity, the Penny Arcade gaming expos (PAX) in Seattle, Boston, San Antonio and Melbourne, multiple video games based on the brand, and multiple online video series.

ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture world. ReedPOP is dedicated to celebrations of popular culture throughout the globe that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) West, East, South, Australia and Unplugged, Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), BookCon, BookExpo, Oz Comic Con, Comic Con India, Paris Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, Star Trek: Mission New York, TwitchCon, ComplexCon and more. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan-based group of professionals uniquely qualified to serve those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, India and Australia.

Everyone that works on StG is a volunteer. Keep StG Independent and (mostly) Advertising Free with a Donation

The post Penny Arcade & ReedPOP Announce PAX Unplugged appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

PAX Prime Australia is an annual gaming convention held in Melbourne. Having never attended I was both curious and excited to see what this type of gaming convention has to offer.

So the first game I got my hands on is the highly anticipated (at least by me) Rise of the Tomb Raider at the Xbox booth. I was very impressed with both the visuals and audio. The scene was a temple that Lara needed to get to the top of the temp and collect an important relic before a strange group that is on her tail catches up with her.

Exploring this smallish area I was mostly impressed the beauty and decent level of detail of the environment. Looking in any particular direction had you still looking at something interesting. Lara has, at least, had a change of clothes since last game and still continues to tend to her hair sporadically, although I can’t say she has much hope fixing it, what with being constantly battered around and covered in blood, sweat and water.

Lara is still taking a beating from the elements, surroundings and the enemies in her way but she is still kick-ass and I still enjoy navigating the lost worlds of… wherever as long as I am her.

There were some minor issues with navigating. I did find a few parts where I was over jumping and not going the direction I wanted. It almost had an Assassin’s Creed feel to it. The other slight issue was some aspects had a few odd visual issues. I can hope this is just minor issues with the demo but the rest looked great. I can say I am very excited for this title.

At the Nintendo stall I was keen to try out Yo-Kai Watch, a 3DS game that has a strong Pokemon-esque feel about it.

The game is made by Level-5, the company responsible for one of my favourite JRPGs, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, so I was admittedly quite curious as to their next game. The playable demo had you running around a town fighting menacing spirits or rather Yo-Kai. You already have you selection of your own Yo-Kai which you must use in battle to defeat the new ones you encounter.

The combat system was a bit odd and by then end of it I still wasn’t sure if I had all of it understood, and if I did…well… it was very odd. Its live action and you need to select a character and pick the special attack action. You also need to spin around who is in combat so the others get a chance to recharge. If one is knocked out, rotate them out and heal them.

Apart from those few actions the Pokemon… ah spirits… fight on their own accord.

Many of the ideas, themes and looks strongly echo those seen in Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The Yo-Kai all have a very similar look to the familiars in afore mentioned game. Overall I honestly think I would need a fair bit more time to get a good grasp and taste for the game. I hope it lives up to the potential the developers have to create a wonderful game.

Running over to the PlayStation booth I got some time with what is the re-imagining of Insomniac’s classic Ratchet and Clank. Unfortunately the demo was same one that was showcased at E3 earlier this year, so there wasn’t any new or interesting footage to comment on. That isn’t to say I’m less excited for the title come release date.

I did get to use the weapon, Pixelator, which amusingly turns enemies in an 8-bit version of themselves. I really can’t wait to see what other quirky weapons and gameplay there will be on offer.

These where just a few of the games on offer to play and there were also various watchable demos for other games. All the big names where there, from Bethesda to Ubisoft, but it was nice to see a whole section dedicated to indie game developers. While somewhere a bit more than off target, others looked and played great with a few still on their way.

One such game was Grim Balance. This delightful little game was a side scrolling platformer where you played a little Grim Reaper. The real Grim reaper apparently went on holiday, leaving you, his apprentice, in charge. You somehow accidentally knocked over his jar of souls and now it is your job to go and collect them all before he returns.

The look and idea was great. It had great combination of both darkness and colour. Admittedly there were some technical bugs but it played well when working. I enjoyed the art style and the premise and hope come full release its future isn’t grim (pun intended).

One issue with big conventions is you very soon find yourself waiting to play a game in a very long line. If you did not get in early you simply did not get in. Lines for Star Wars: Battlefront quickly reached past an hour with lines for some games closed off at a three hour wait time. It is nice to see big games on offer but it makes it hard to see everything else if you are waiting in line for half the day. Trust me, there is plenty else to see.

PAX Prime Australia does seem to cater to everyone. There was a good sized console gaming section for players to come in and just play a game that might not have tried before. There was even a retro gaming section where they had some original arcade machines set up for play.

Moving on from video games, PAX Prime Australia also covers various other gaming media. There were many card games to watch or participate in. From Magic: The Gathering to Pokemon Trading Card games and many, many more. Unfortunately I didn’t have too much time to sit down and participate or be a spectator, but I could certainly see myself making space in my schedule for it next time round.

The broad section, dubbed Table Top covered quite a variety of other game styles. One particular area, hosted by Reaper Miniatures,was set up so you could choose from a small selection of paintable miniatures and sit down and paint the tiny little things as you please. They even provided the paint and tools necessary for the job. I may have got distracted, at least twice, sitting down to paint a little character of my very own.

For those less artistically inclined there was quite a selection of short session role playing games, such as Pathfinder and D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). So I did settle down to get my D&D fix. Everyone was really friendly and even though the game was only an hour long we all had a good dungeon crawl. Hats off to the DM.

I even got my hand at my first ever game of Warhammer 40k. The set up was interesting and I was happy those running the area made it easy for noobs (such as myself) to jump in and play. The whole area was quite welcoming to both veterans and newcomers.

LARP (Live Action Role Playing) was a bit more absent from the whole scene. There was one Swordplay booth where they promoted LARP just a little but there wasn’t much else, which was a bit disappointing as I certainly see it as a unique form of gaming that more should have a chance to explore. The LARP panel too didn’t quite seem to really explore what LARP is or has to offer a player. I guess there is always next year.

Our very own Jude as Lara Croft.

At one point I did take on gaming of a more physical notion in the form of an Escape Room.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies Escape Room was in Melbourne’s Federation Square to promote its launch. Just in case you don’t know what an Escape Room is, it is usually a series of rooms that require skill, puzzle solving and team work to move on to the next and eventually escape and is usually done so against the clock. The scenario was interesting and I was quite surprised how well they utilised a crate shipping container for the set up. Thank you Black Ops III.

Summing up I can say my PAX Prime experience was compiled of numerous game styles and media and I was happy to see all of them. There were panels that catered to all and I was happy to see what information those in the gaming community have to offer. There was a lot of different things to see and do.

I have to say if your free the same time next year I would make every effort to pay PAX Prime Australia a visit.

The post PAX Prime Australia 2015 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.