Today, boutique studio FuturLab released their latest update for Steam Early Access title POWERWASH SIMULATOR with Square Enix Collective. Published by Square Enix Ltd, the newest update features Online Co-Op, new Career Jobs, new Challenges and the highly anticipated Professional Duty Washer!
In the newest update, PowerWash and chill in Online Co-Op! Lend a helping hand to your closest pal in Career Mode or up to 6 friends can splash around in Free Play, tackling any job the host has already completed. We also have brand new Career Mode jobs; freshen up the feline features of the Mayor’s Monster Truck, then clean and ride on the Ferris Wheel down at the Fairground.
“Online Co-Op is a big step toward the vision we have for this game, and is one of our most requested community features, so we can’t wait to see the reaction,” commented James Marsden, FuturLab Founder and Creative Director. “Co-op brings people together, allowing players to enjoy the game with their friends, in a relaxing non-competitive environment.”
That’s not all for this update! We have more cool cosmetics to make the game your own, including gloves, washer skins and new character skins.
On top of all that, the most powerful power washer class ever has arrived! The Professional Duty Washer will make light work of previous dirt tiers, but watch out for new, oily dirt types mucking up the town. For a complete list of what’s new, check out our patch notes on Steam.
POWERWASH SIMULATOR lets players wash away their worries with the soothing sounds of high-pressure water. Players can build their very own power washing business and blast away every speck of dirt and grime they can find. With a unique take on the simulation genre, POWERWASH SIMULATOR focuses on player relaxation and escapism.
Fast Travel Games has today announced Cities: VR, the ultimate city-building and management simulator, is coming to Meta Quest 2 in the Spring of 2022. Made for VR, Cities: VR brings the definitive city-building experience of Cities: Skylines into virtual reality for the very first time.
Experience your architectural and urban-planning creations in the most immersive VR city building simulation to date. Step through the screen and control every aspect of city planning – design neighborhoods, construct buildings, direct the flow of traffic – all while you handle economics, emergency services, and more. As the mayor of your city, you’ll also need to provide healthcare, education, entertainment, and more to your growing population. Watch the city of your dreams rise from the ground up.
“Cities: Skylines is the ultimate modern city-builder, and it’s an honor to bring this franchise to VR,” said Erik Odeldahl, Creative Director at Fast Travel Games. “The city-building genre has huge potential in the VR market and we couldn’t wait to work on this IP. We’ve spent a ton of time, research, and energy to translate Cities: Skylines to VR in a way that is both approachable for new players and a new challenge for Cities veterans. We can’t wait to see what players build!”
Cities: VR Key Features:
Build and Manage Your Ideal City – Get hands on with an immersive and comprehensive city-building simulation like no other. Control every aspect of urban planning – from the downtown center roadways to utility line placement in suburban districts – and build your ultimate city.
An Immersive & Scenic Simulator – Experience your creations in the most immersive VR city building simulation to date. Raise the city of your dreams from the ground up through an unparalleled level of presence, immersion and hands-on gameplay. See your skyline rise from an expansive bird’s eye view, or become a part of your creation to watch your city come alive from the streets.
The Definitive City-Building VR Game – Cities: VR takes the core gameplay experience of leading city-building simulation Cities: Skylines and brings it to life like never before.
Easy to Pick Up – A detailed, easy-to-follow tutorial will take players through the basics of city building in VR. Precise and tactile feedback and a palette of tools at your fingertips makes for an easy-to-use control system.
Cities: VR is a new take on the leading city-building simulation, Cities: Skylines, and is both a great entry-point to the franchise and a compelling new experience for Cities: Skylines veterans. This experience keeps the core gameplay elements of the franchise intact, while offering a unique approach to the simulation through VR. The game is being solely developed and published by Fast Travel Games, who has licensed the IP from Paradox Interactive.
Holiday in the Park is back at Six Flags Great Adventure once more for festive cheer around the new year. We visited Six Flags Great Adventure this past weekend to see what park-goers can expect. Six Flags does a great job decorating for the holidays with lights everywhere you look and, once the sun sets, it really comes alive with the winter motif. There are campfires set up throughout the park for s’mores, plenty of winter-themed photo ops, and the food and entertainment options become holiday-inspired.
From the eyes of an eleven year-old, here are some reasons to love Holiday in the Park at Six Flags: Of course, rides are front and center and new this year is “The New Jersey Devil” roller coaster. I liked this coaster because it had multiple inverts and a steep drop. Also, it is a single rail coaster which means there is just one seat per row and the train of cars rides on one track. Finally “The New Jersey Devil” is the world’s tallest, fastest, and longest single rail coaster. When we visited there was no line and you could just walk on to ride.
The second reason why I like Six Flags Holiday in the Park is the food and ‘Frost’ show. I enjoyed the food because the ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, mac and cheese, and salad were all tasty and not your typical theme park food. Though, the biscuits weren’t as good as we expected. In ‘Frost’ there are many circus acts including trampoline jumpers which were personally my favorites. The other acts included dancers, a yo-yo pro, Cyr wheel (person spinning in giant hoop) performer, and wheel of death daredevil (not the most appropriate name but very crazy).
A few other things I suggest you do are the mirror maze, go shopping, and take pictures with many holiday characters such as Jack Frost or Tweety. Also some other rides I liked are The Joker, Swashbuckler, and Justice League Battle for Metropolis. These are some reasons why we enjoyed Holiday in the Park.
Six Flags Great Adventure Holiday in the Park actually comes in two flavors this year: The first is the walk-through experience inside the theme park. Great Adventure is also offering drive-through experience for those of you not quite ready to brave the theme park yet. Tickets for both experiences, which run from now until January 2, 2022, are available now at the Six Flags Great Adventure website.
Recently, we got to check out the DJI OM 5 smartphone stabilizer for a brief review period. As you undoubtedly know, the smartphone stabilizer has become such an important tool for content creators out there. Being able to capture stabilized video – especially while vlogging is a terrific capability. With DJI’s new OM 5 stabilizer, the company has slimmed down the stabilizer quite a bit when compared to its earlier offerings. The DJI OM 5 lightweight at 292 grams, allowing for prolonged used without getting tired arms. It’s biggest selling point, however, is its telescopic, selfie stick style extending function. The extender telescopes out to a little more than 8 inches which, while not a super long distance, does provide additional flexibility in the types of footage you can capture.
The foldout design of the OM 5 is welcome as it means that the stabilizer folds down to an even smaller size for storage. However, the actual folding process is a little “loosey goosey” for me. It doesn’t have as pronounced detents for how it should fold together as the OM 4 did. Adding to this is that the telescoping feature of the gimbal is equally unnatural, making me afraid I was going to break it a couple of times. Thanks to its small size, all of the controls are easy to reach and use.
One reason for this is that the gimbal on the end of the telescoping stick can be rotated up allowing you to capture video at higher angles than otherwise possible. Due to the design of the OM 5 it limits the amount of rotation up and down as the phone will hit the connecting arm – this whole unit rotation helps alleviate this, but does add to the overall instability. I should mention that this rotation along with the telescopic extension will allow you to get shots similar to more expensive stabilizers with that underhand carry option – very cool stuff!
Connecting your smartphone to the DJI OM 5 is accomplished by way of the magnetic clamp seen in previous models. However, I’ve never found this clamp to be all that user friendly – especially if your phone has a case on it. That being said, it did work and felt very stable when attached to the gimbal. I would love to see an iPhone MagSafe version of this in the future that does away with the clamp altogether – but, I digress.
Actually figuring out how to use the DJI OM 5 won’t yield too many surprises for those of you with past DJI stabilizer experience. As far as its controls go there is a joystick, zoom slider, mode/power button, trigger, orientation button, and shutter button – there is no passthrough USB port anymore, which is a real bummer. This means that the DJI OM 5 can no longer work as a USB battery pack for your phone, etc. Being able to charge one’s phone from the gimbal itself was a nice to have feature – but, that is one of the side effect’s of the smaller size and battery. All of the controls feel well-built and their functions make sense.
The DJI Mimo app used to control the gimbal has been updated to include some interesting enhancements – things like ActiveTrack 4.0 which helps keep the camera automatically focused on a target while moving around. This is a very cool feature and an incredible pairing with the OM 5. The app made full use of my iPhones various lens options and made shooting video very easy. Also, newbies will appreciate the ShotGuides feature which will help creators capture very interesting, stylized footage.
I actually wanted to make special mention that DJI goes above and beyond to make sure that creators know how to use the DJI OM 5. Between a number of tutorials in the app itself as well as on DJI’s YouTube channel proper, it won’t take someone long to figure out all the in’s and out’s of using the OM 5.
Overall, the DJI OM 5 might not be for everyone, but it does offer creators a lightweight, easy to carry smartphone stabilizer with some very interesting features for a reasonable price point. It is available now for $159 dollars.
The improved edition of the award-winning* action-adventure platformer Oddworld: Soulstorm is now available at retail or digitally on Xbox Series X I S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, and Epic Games Store for $39.99.
Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition includes dramatically improved gameplay mechanics and motion code, audio balance improvements, seven additional months of polish, improved Slig and follower AI (more intelligent and responsive), as well as all previously released updates and brand-new content.
What’s Soulstorm’s Brand New Content?
Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition’s added content is a separate challenge game mode accessed via the main menu once you complete the game.
Xbox players will go hands-on with Vykkers Labs, a throwback to classic Oddworld 2.5D gameplay featuring short puzzle-filled levels. Earn leaderboard prestige for speed runs or zero-death performances. For those who don’t recall, Vykkers Labs is a large airborne lab used for pharmaceutical testing on animals and run by the sadistic Vykkers.
PlayStation and Epic Games Store players will experience Toby’s Escape. Like Vykkers, it is a throwback to classic Oddworld gaming short puzzle-filled levels to master. If you have played Soulstorm, you’ll know Toby from the train, but how did Toby escape RuptureFarms and become the train’s conductor…find out in Toby’s Escape.
What If You Already Own Oddworld: Soulstorm?
For the millions of gamers who already own Oddworld: Soulstorm on PS5®, PS4®, and Epic Games Store, you will receive the Enhanced Edition as a free update.
Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Collector’s Edition for Xbox
Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition is available at retailers and online at Xbox.com. The physical retail edition is available in both standard and Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition comes with an exclusive embossed metal case, 9” Abe figurine, 160-page art book, three art prints, a mining company keychain, tattoo and tribal stickers.
More information at @OddworldInc, @OfficialOddworld, TikTok, @oddworldinc, YouTube or sign up for our newsletter at http://www.oddworld.com/.
World of Warships Blitz, the leading mobile naval action MMO with 30m+ downloads worldwide and a Pocket Gamer People’s Choice Award under its belt, is about to treat its players to exclusive content inspired by the rich and grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe. Starting December 2, steer mighty Naval Battleships in the name of the Emperor of Mankind or for the Blood God!
World of Warships Blitz players will be able to take charge of two brand-new Tier VIII Battleships: the Ragnarok and the Ignis Purgatio. They each come with a unique camouflage and a custom voiceover Commander who provides an additional upgrade to their ship when equipped.
Justinian Lyons XIII, a valiant Imperial Navy officer of pious military lineage, is in command of the Naval Battleship Ignis Purgatio. This sea-roaming stronghold has the For the Emperor! skill temporarily boosting the range of its secondary guns and anti-aircraft weaponry, and can bear the unique Protector of the Faith camouflage.
The sworn enemy of Justinian, Arthas Roqthar the Cold, is a Khorne Aspiring Champion who commands the Naval Battleship Ragnarok. This seaborne citadel of Chaos possesses the Let the Galaxy Burn! skill that can increase its top velocity and its main gun accuracy and reload speed. The vessel can wear the unique Primordial Annihilator camouflage.
“We’re very excited to bring these unique ships, Commanders, and camos to our players”, says Alex Sou, World of Warships Blitz Product Manager. “Warhammer 40,000-inspired content was appreciated by the World of Warships PC and consoles communities, and we’re excited to add some of the grim gothic atmosphere of this renowned universe to the World of Warships Blitz setting. We hope that our community will enjoy limited-edition offers as well.”
The unique content can be obtained in the game’s Premium Shop, via the Blitz Pass and Crates.
What side are you on? Procure your mighty Naval Battleship, shell your adversaries with powerful salvos, and turn the tide of battles to rule the waves!
Independent developer Misc Games recently announced the release of Fishing: North Atlantic Enhanced Edition for Windows PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Major improvements include RTX support, PS5 DualSense controller support, as well as the addition of new fishing boats, officially licensed in-game items, customized start options, and the ability to transfer game saves from previous gen to current gen consoles.
Those who own Fishing: North Atlantic on consoles can purchase the Enhanced Edition for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S at an 85% discount ($5.49/£4.10 — normally $37.99/£28.40) until March 24, 2022. Owners with the existing Steam version will receive the Enhanced Edition as a completely free update, while those with previous gen consoles can take advantage of a minor update to the base game that includes various bug fixes and gameplay improvements.
Watch the Fishing: North Atlantic Enhanced Edition teaser trailer here:
The sequel to the popular fishing simulator game Fishing: Barents Sea, Fishing: North Atlantic is set off the coast of Nova Scotia, where the ocean is boundless, unpredictable, and teeming with tuna, swordfish, succulent scallops, and crawly crustaceans. You’re invited to take on the role of captain responsible for commanding a crew of fellow anglers keen on returning to port with a bounty of fish, crab, and lobster. This is one of the most deadly careers in the world, where ocean swells are as rife with risk as they are riches. It’s up to you to monitor GPS and sonar signals for fish habitats, avoid brutal storms when possible, and order the crew to toss deep line buoys and crab pots overboard at the appropriate moments. Be sure to study those maps carefully: this is as real as it gets.
Key Features of Fishing: North Atlantic Enhanced Edition:
True to Life Detail: Now featuring stunning RTX support, every island, inlet, harborfront, and rocky crag is meticulously crafted after real-world map data of Nova Scotia. Players will have their hands full navigating the open waters of the Canadian maritime province.
Ship-Shape Vessels Abound: With over 27 available ships, all of them based on real vessels, including a brand new trawler and the legendary “Andrea Gail”, players will have plenty of ways to traverse the Atlantic. There’s even officially licensed equipment from Hermes, Scanmar, Skipasyn, Pronav, NorSap, and Breeze to be found on deck!
Hooks ‘n Lines: Catching swordfish is quite a bit different from trapping lobsters, which is why harpooning, trawling, deeplining, and many more fishing techniques are part of the game. Players will learn all the ins and outs of what it takes to be a commercial fisherman and haul in a fortune!
When it Rains, it Pours: The Enhanced Edition introduces a new volumetric weather system, which includes intense rain, snow, heavy cloud cover, and thunderstorms. Captains and their crew will need to maintain careful watch of weather systems in order to keep their boots firmly planted on board.
Gone Fishin’: A new custom start option means players can decide how and where they’d like to begin their commercial fishing career. Start options include which fishing vessel to begin with, what habitat size they’d like to explore, as well as their starting fishing season, down to an exact day of the year.
In 2014, Dark Horse Comics and CCP Games brought to life new stories from the world of EVE Online for fans across the globe to enjoy. Now, Dark Horse is pleased to continue that partnership with EVE Online: Capsuleer Chronicles new four-issue miniseries from the universe of EVE, launching digitally on December 1, 2021.
Creators Melissa Grey, Sam Maggs, Dexter Vines, Kieran McKeown, Sebastian Cheng, and Nate Piekos explore never-before-seen stories from EVE Online featuring explosions, space battles, dying, and being reborn—again and again and again!
A new threat has come to their star cluster, an ancient and inhuman civilization demanding New Eden’s empires either submit to conversion or die. Despite their differences in loyalties, these four Capsuleers battle tooth and nail to save each other and all of New Eden, hoping to buy just enough time for reinforcements to arrive.
“Beyond any of the technological pinnacles achieved among its stars, the world of EVE is unwaveringly human. There are no aliens; from the vast Empires, to the ruthless Drifters, to the enigmatic Triglavian Collective, each of EVE’s factions is a different branching descendant of humanity. Every ounce of the drive and tenaciousness of our modern mankind survives and thrives in the people of New Eden, forming a web of ideals, politics, and conflicts that will always be at their core familiar to us – laying the foundation for a universe like no other.” – Uriel Anteovnuecci
EVE Online: Capsuleer Chronicles #1 of 4 arrives December 1, 2021, and is available through Dark Horse Digital and wherever you get your digital comics.
Discover a stunning array of Cretaceous animals with Jurassic World Evolution 2: Early Cretaceous Pack. Expand your park with four thrilling prehistoric species, including land dwelling dinosaurs, and marine and flying reptiles. These majestic species feel more alive than ever as they preside over territory and display brand-new behaviors when interacting with each other, fighting for dominance and reacting intelligently to the world around them.
This Early Cretaceous Pack features:
Kronosaurus is named after the King of the Titans, Kronos, as it is one of the largest ever pliosaurs, a carnivorous species of marine reptiles with powerful, paddle-like flippers to help it capture its prey.
Dsungaripterus is a small and stout pterosaur, easily identified by its distinctive head crest and its long, upcurved jaw.
Minmi is a small, tank-like dinosaur belonging to the ankylosaur family. Unlike other ankylosaurians, it has horizontally oriented bone plates running along the sides of its back, making the Minmi well-protected against predators.
Wuerhosaurus is part of the stegosaurid family of dinosaurs. It sits low to the ground in order to feed on lower vegetation and uses tail spikes as a defence against any potential predators.
Jurassic World Evolution 2: Early Cretaceous Pack will be available December 9 on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and GeForce Now, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One for a suggested retail price of $7.99.The Jurassic World Evolution 2: Early Cretaceous Pack requires the Jurassic World Evolution 2 base game to download and play. Jurassic World Evolution 2 is available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and GeForce Now, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One for a suggested retail price of $59.99.
DJI waited a good long while before releasing the follow up to their popular OSMO Action camera. The new camera, dubbed the DJI Action 2, features a daring new design with all new features and technology. The question remains, however, was it worth the wait?
Out of the box, you’ll find the DJI Action 2 camera, USB charging cable, magnetic lanyard mount, and GoPro style mount. Depending on what box you purchase, you’ll also find either the front-facing display module or the power module. The biggest change to the camera since its predecessor is its modular approach. The actual camera of the DJI Action 2 is its own module. This little module weighs about 2 ounces and makes for a great helmet camera. Under the hood of the camera module lies a 1/1.7″ CMOS sensor and an F2.8 lens with a 155º field of view. This provides slightly better low light sensitivity than the GoPro HERO 10 and allows for some great stabilization. Unfortunately, the protective glass of the lens is not replaceable. GoPro attempted this with their HERO 8 only to receive so much criticism for it, they re-added it in the HERO 9 and 10. Will the same fate befall DJI? Time will tell!
DJI includes a really cool technology in the Action 2 called HorizonSteady, a new stabilization method that automatically keeps the horizon level in your footage. Even more impressive is that it does this in real time as you record video! One caveat to HorizonSteady is that it is relegated to 1080p resolution. Thanks to its lens and sensor combo, the Action 2 supports up to 4x digital zoom while taking photographs. Incredibly, it still takes good photos even when fully zoomed-in! While recording video, the available digital zoom options will change based on framerate and stabilization selection.
The camera supports a number of shooting modes, including timelapse and slow motion – and it can do both of those in 4K. On the backside of the Action 2 camera module, you’ll find a large and crisp LCD display. The display features a snappy touchscreen with an easy to use interface. There is no room for a front-facing display as the entire camera module is very small. You can, however, attach the camera module to the front display module. This provides not only a front-facing display but, also, a bigger battery to draw power from as well as a four-way microphone system for better audio pickup. There is a microphone on the Action 2 camera module, but it is not meant for high quality recording – it’s not bad, just not what you’ll probably desire in your footage. DJI has recently announced the DJI Mic, a wireless microphone system (similar in idea to the RODE Wireless Go II) that connects with the DJI Action 2 in a camera/microphone ecosystem. We haven’t gotten to check that out, but we’ll do a review if we do.
Unfortunately, there is no way to replace the built-in battery of the camera module. Not being able to swap batteries out means you are reliant on charging more often and, sometimes, that just isn’t conducive to the event or activity you are filming. This also means that, eventually, when that LiPo battery dies – that’s it… You’ll have to rely on the power module or display module to provide power to the camera which won’t always work for your needs. Worse yet is that the built-in camera module’s battery doesn’t last very long – especially when shooting in 4K. We’re talking like ten minutes or so. In 1080p, the camera module lasts a lot longer. Of course, when attached to the power or front display modules, battery life goes up quite a bit, but that’s to be expected. It could have been nice to have hot swappable camera module batteries to help with this – but, I digress…
Also, the magnetic clamp system, while ingenious, is not entirely foolproof. For instance, even though I thought the camera was securely snapped into the power module, I actually had to give it a little push and jiggle to make sure the clamps fully connected to the housing. The magnets are strong to be sure, but the added clamps provide the extra confidence needed to take both modules into more extreme situations.
The camera module also lacks a memory card slot. This means that you are limited to 22.4GB of available storage while recording. However, given the low battery life, this might not be a problem? The power and front display modules do, thankfully, support microSD cards for additional storage, but this is another area where the camera module needs to improve.
Overall, the DJI Action 2 is a mixed bag for an action camera. It features a great sensor and stabilization but, from a longevity standpoint, the camera module alone may not be what you need for your helmet-mounted recording. If you are happy with using the power module or front display modules a lot while filming, then you’ll probably like it quite a bit. Another bonus, its modular design means that DJI can always add more cool modules down the road but it’s anyone’s guess as to what they’ll be and at what cost.
