It also brings a number of bug fixes too.

According to EA, SimCity has gone on to sell 1.6 million copies, despite the complete backlash that arose from week one connectivity issues. They have also confirmed that the SimCity Amusement Park Pack will arrive on May 28.

You can read the entire patchnote by clicking on Show Press Release below. Sorry it says press release, we can’t change that for some reason.

The post SimCity 4.0 patch is live, amusement parks coming next week appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

According to Klei’s blog post, players will have access to at least one cave on any survival map you played before today’s update, and it will likely house a multitude of things that want to kill you such as bats, spiders and killer rabbits. They did suggest that generating a new map is a better option, ensuring that there are more caves to explore.

The update also steamlines the controls for better inventory management, and fixes issues with traps springing unsuspectingly when playing as Chester and Abigail.

The developers do warn that this update could contain some bugs, which will be squashed in the next update. Don’t Starve launched last month, and Klei has vowed to keep bringing new content to this awesome adventure for at least six months.

The post Don’t Starve update arrives, now you can starve in a cave appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

Teslagrad has also arrived on Steam Greenlight, which means you can go give it a hefty thumbs up to ensure the masses are aware of its existence. While you’re at it, you should give us a thumbs up for bringing you this awesome news.

Teslagrad will be launching for PC, with Mac and Linux versions coming soon after. A non-linear magnetic puzzler could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

The post Great Scott! Teslagrad is looking mighty fine appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

My first question is can badgers really take down foxes? That’s pretty badarse if they can! Putting that aside, I’m certainly watching Shelter with a very keen eye. It’s perhaps one of the more interesting concepts that has come across our news desk in quite some time.

Shelter is releasing for PC sometime later this year.

The post The Fox and the Badger? Shelter gameplay goes on the hunt appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

Element4l is that game.

From the opening menu the player is introduced to the magical and natural world of Element4l. Made from stark backgrounds with minimalistic art design and warm tones, the game puts players in control of the four elements as they race through the environments. It’s something we’ve seen done a million times before, but it’s the movement mechanics and gorgeous setting that makes Element4l truly stand out from the crowd.

TL:DR? Check out our 1:30 video reivew!

Using nothing but the arrow keys, players can instantly switch between air, ice, rock and fire to move through the environments. You will need to learn how to master these changes at a blistering pace, because Element4l will throw a number of challenges your way in each and every level. Air floats, fire propels you forward, ice will slide and rock slows you down and smashes through weak paths. What’s the catch? Air and fire will explode upon impact with the environment, while ice will melt in the presence of lava.  Using each element in quick succession, while navigating the environments is a challenging prospect, yet the sense of reward upon completion of a tricky section is amazing.

You can’t change between elements too quickly however. A power bar that surrounds your character will drain each time you switch between an element, the only way to recharge is to simply wait. This is when strategy comes in; turning into ice costs no resources so perhaps a double air jump and then a quick fire will send you flying and you can coast for a while as an ice cube. It’s hard to explain, but after just a few moments this seemingly complex system becomes second nature.

Element4l features sixteen perfectly crafted levels, each one outfitted with a perfect difficulty curve that challenges your skills. Upon completion, the player is awarded a bronze, silver or gold flag, determined by how many elements were lost (deaths), how many hidden soul sparks you discovered in that level, and your overall completion time. I-Illusions are also appealing to the growing speed running community within Element4l, offering a race mode which is kitted out with leaderboards and completed with online ghost data. This alone will bring you back time and time again, and the developer has promised free DLC is coming in the near future.

While the gameplay is challenging and excitingly fresh, the visuals and audio are the true standouts with Element4l. Imagine LIMBO as a colourful walk through a magical forest and you should have an image of just how beautiful this game truly is. Dark shadows and deep shades of green, brown, red and gold are shining through in almost every screen, with detailed backgrounds and a friendly avatar that players can bond with.

The soundtrack is simply outstanding. Provided entirely by Australian outfit Mind Tree, sweeping echoes of xylophones, glockenspiels, deep bass and electro beats sound as if they are coming out of the environments themselves. This sounds like the score of a Hollywood movie more than a game, and that’s saying something.

THE FINAL VERDICT

Element4l is perhaps the most important game I have played this year. It embodies the spirit of every warm summer’s day you have ever spent at the water’s edge. It feels like a bike ride through an abandoned forest, where nothing but mystery and adventure await you at every turn. It encapsulates the spirit every cubby house you have ever built. It reminded me of the reason why I became a gamer in the first place. If you are only going to check out one indie game this year, I think I can safely say we’ve already found it.

Element4l is truly something special.

Written by Stephen Heller

You can buy Element4l from their official Steam page when it launches in the 24th of May. Alternatively, you could try and win yourself a copy in our Free Game Fridays initiative.

The post Element4l Review – A Wondrous Adventure appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

* The name – Xbox One came out of the blue. The largest bet leading up to the reveal was Xbox Infinity which, upon reflection, would have made more sense. I can see where Microsoft is headed with the brand, but will fans and new users follow?

* The look – There’s a bit of chat amongst the world wide web that considers the new look a step backwards, looking more like an 80′s console than a modern re-design. The controller, though, looks mighty fine by all accounts. Hopefully it’ll feel comfortable and weighty enough in the hands. And yes, in-built battery packs.

* No Backwards Compatibility – Say farewell to your old Halo and Gears friends, folks. Your old discs won’t mean a thing to the new console, until Microsoft consider some kind of download only feature perhaps.

* Full Kinect Requirements – The Kinect sensor has been designed to fully control your Xbox One, therefore it’s a requirement. You can’t live without it, so you’d better make some extra space on your TV shelf.

* 8 new IP’s, 15 new 1st party games – Only two were shown off last night, Forza Motorsport 5 and Remedy’s new baby, Quantum Break. Both looked seemingly impressive, but it has to be said that no-one on stage mentioned whether either videos shown were in-game or FMV. The 7 other new IP’s and 13 other 1st party games were no-where to be seen at this stage, so expect E3 to shed some more light on this one.

* EA Sports on-board – EA showed off its new engine and some sports personalities chatted. What’s important, we got our first glimpse of EA’s exclusive UFC title and the return of NBA Live (finally).

* Xbox On – Much of the one hour presentation showed off the new Kinect voice commands. Though a neat little piece of tech, was it really necessary to spend so long saying and repeating commands over and over, as if we’d never heard voice commands before? Also, Windows 8 has had a substantial influence over the new Xbox OS. Remains to be seen how effective it will be.

* Fake fans – Many tweets over the hour referenced what appeared to be a set of XBox crew cheering on the presentation, where as the journalists who took up most of the crowd barely piped up the entire time. Make of that what you will.

* Halo TV – One Steven Spielberg made a cameo appearance to introduce a new project, a live action Halo TV series which will debut on the console at a later date. Would it have been better to show off Halo 5 instead?

There’s more info trickling in, such as you don’t have to be online all the time, EA and Ubisoft confirming 3rd party support at launch, 8GB of ram and a few hands on reports from the show floor, but what do you think? Let us know in the comments below and share your thoughts on the Xbox One so far. Personally, it’s too soon to tell, but the hype machine will be in full force.

On a side note, Sony’s share market price rose this morning.

The post The Xbox One: In Brief appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

KRUNCH belongs in that place in hell.

Taking reference from hardcore 80′s arcade games, KRUNCH puts you in control of a floating orb as you dash through over one hundred courses to the finish line. A speed runner’s delight, the fact that the game has next to no story is rudimentary; you don’t play KRUNCH to enjoy yourself, you play it to challenge every gaming fibre in your body.

“It take a special individual to find the value in KRUNCH, the same kind of individual who has to find all the warp zones in Super Meat Boy, or has to finish Dark Souls with a level one character.”

Everything can, and will kill you at a moment’s notice, and it doesn’t help that you don’t have any real defence against the danger facing you at every turn. You have two options at your disposal, movement and boost. It’s worth mentioning that using your boost will drain your life force, and at times you will have no choice but to use it to pass a fast-moving enemy. It becomes a testy balancing act as you navigate a perilous environment, avoiding swarms of enemies and attempting to reach the end of the course before your energy runs out.

Oh, I forgot to mention that your life force acts as a countdown timer for each level, slowly depleting with each and every second. That’s how masochistic KRUNCH is.

If that wasn’t enough, your floating orb controls like an ice cube sliding down a slippery slope during a blizzard. That isn’t a design fault however, that’s how KRUNCH is supposed to feel. You are a floating orb after all, so learning to balance your movement, the slight drag that comes with it, and the added speed boost becomes a challenge in itself.

There are a few checkpoint scattered throughout the game, each one arriving during the intermission between the four worlds. A constant timer will keep track of how well you are doing, almost mocking you every time you need to replay a stage. If you’re clocking in at 96 minutes for a run through like I did, you’ll soon see you have a long way to go to even make a dent in the leaderboards.

Chances are, if you made it to the end, you will. KRUNCH stays with you, long after the blood, sweat and tears have been shed. You can’t wait to go through the gauntlet just one more time.

KRUNCH Launch Trailer (2012) from LeGrudge & Rugged on Vimeo.

That’s not to say the game isn’t without annoyances. While the level design is spot on for the most part, the teleportation tubes can often feel cheap. These tubes will have you entering one end and turning up somewhere else, the problem being that you will still be moving in the same direction you entered in, which will often result in a cheap death. It’s not a huge issue, but it can cause some frustration during the heat of the moment.

The boss battles are few and far between, and while they don’t change up the fundamentals of the game, they are an interesting distraction. On the whole, KRUNCH offers some really smart level design that fits the game’s objectives perfectly.

I can take or leave the art style; the monotone pixelation is a stark reminder of how games looked back during the era KRUNCH is playing homage to. The soundtrack on the other hand is phenomenal, and well worth a purchase alongside the game. Crafter by Disasterpeace (Fez) and DirkRugged, the KRUNCH soundtrack is a swirling amalgamation of chiptune prowess and industrial growl. Rounded out but perfect sound effects, provided by Jodan Fehr, who worked on Super Meat Boy, Hotline Miami and Donkey Kong Country Returns, KRUNCH provides grade A stuff for your ear holes!

THE FINAL VERDICT

It take a special individual to find the value in KRUNCH, the same kind of individual who has to find all the warp zones in Super Meat Boy, has to finish Dark Souls with a level one character, or if you just enjoy a retro hardcore challenge which harkens back to all those coins you spent in your local arcade. With fantastic music, a short but welcome stay on your screen, and leaderboards for speed runners, KRUNCH not only fits a niche that is often overlooked, it excels in almost every way.

Written by Stephen Heller

You can purchase KRUNCH directly from the developers, DRM-free for $9.99. We recommend you purchase the game and soundtrack collection for $13.99. You can purchase either version from this link.

The post KRUNCH Review – Masochistic and Proud Of It appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

However, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has confirmed that Deathstroke, the main antagonist of the game, will be a playable character in the challenge mode for Batman: Arkham Origins. He’ll be packing his own moves and weapons, and will also receive two additional challenge maps.

Yet only those playing on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC will get the pleasure. No mention of the Wii U when it comes to the bonus pre-order DLC.

Batman: Arkham Origins will be arriving worldwide on October 25, 2013.

The post Batman: Arkham Origins gets a new trailer, Deathstroke is playable appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

So we decided that we wanted to share the magic of Element4l with our readers! We have two copies of this magical platformer to give away, which runs on PC and Mac.

So to win a copy you simply need to:

• Visit and Like our Facebook page.
• Tell us which of these elements you would like to be and why – Air, Ice, Fire or Rock
• Bonus points if you actually make us laugh

Winners will be announced late Friday afternoon (Australian time) so get in quickly folks!

The post Free Game Fridays – Element4l appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.

Judging from what little information we can gather, someone who worked on the 1996 Bullfrog classic is at the helm of Satellite Reign, and an official website features a countdown timer. What happens in 35 days? We’re guessing a super awesome Satellite Reign Kickstarter will launch. That, or the corporations are going to take down the internet.

As long as my Steam library will still function, I’m okay with either option.

The post Satellite Reign is the Syndicate reboot you have been waiting for appeared first on Pixels For Breakfast.