Wed Jul 29 17:28:33 EDT 2020
Bad news Star Wars fans, EA will not be giving Star Wars: Squadrons an extra polish if you are playing on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. The news comes via the Creative Director at EA Motive, Ian Frazier, who tweeted “We’re not planning a separate version of the game for the next-gen consoles.”
Star Wars: Squadrons is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, with full support for PSVR, Steam VR and Oculus Rift VR headsets through the entire game, on 2nd October 2020. Check out the gameplay trailer below.
There’s a lot in common with the classic X-Wing and Tie Fighter games, as you balance your fighter’s shields against power, put power to the engines to try and race ahead of your foes and spin back round on them. It looks great, with a ton of detail to the cockpits and fully first person, in cockpit gameplay.
There will be a single player campaign, set after the Battle of Endor and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. You’ll jump back and forth between the the two sides as the New Republic rises and the Empire fights for survival, able to create and customise your own character on both sides. You’ll join the New Republic’s Vanguard Squadron and the Empire’s Titan Squadron, made up of original characters, though there will be some cameos from familiar faces as well.
However, the game will lie after those first few weeks with its 5v5 online multiplayer. This is fully cross-play across all platforms, with VR able to battle non-VR as well.
There’s eight ships in the game – a fighter, interceptor, support and bomber for both sides – each having a specific role in battle. You can unlock and customise them with over 50 components to alter your ship’s loadout, and just having a cute bobble head in the
There’s a few different modes. Dogfight is your traditional deathmatch mode, but Fleet Battles are the signature mode. These are multi-stage battles, playable in both PvP and PvE, where you first fight to win the dogfight in the centre of the map before attacking or defending the capital ships, and finally taking it to the flagship to destroy or defend key components and win the battle. You’ll be battling around a mixture of familiar and new locations as well, with battles around the gas giant Yavin Prime and the shattered moon of Galitan.
The game will come with a budget $39.99 / £34.99 / €39.99 price point, making it a budget offering. If you’re an EA Access or Origin Access subscriber, you’ll get 10 hours of play time at launch.
Source: Twitter
11 Bit Studios has revealed the third and final piece of Frostpunk’s DLC On The Edge will be available to purchase from August 20th. The DLC was announced in June. On The Edge is set after the events of the main campaign acting as a sort of epilogue to what came before. There is some new content including new gameplay mechanics to get to grips with when handling diplomatic and economic issues, as well as new challenges to overcome as the journey to rebuild continues.
The description of On the Edge says:
On The Edge picks up when the base game has ended. The storm has exposed an army warehouse from times before the evacuation. A scouting party is sent from New London to set up an outpost and a steady chain of supplies. It’s time to take another step on the laborious path of rebuilding hope and leading humankind to survival. But… the world of Frostpunk is still full of embroiled dualities: trust or skepticism, independence or domination, union or separation. The question is, what path will you take?
In our review for Frostpunk, Jason wrote:
Frostpunk is a horrifyingly playable post-apocalyptic survival game that demands more out of you than most games ever could. Each decision and each sacrifice you make is hard on your city and on you. There are so many impossible choices and no win situations that the game is almost hard to play, but it’s so compelling that you will be unable to step away from it. The only real negative is the sheer overwhelming nature of the world the game is set in, and really that is more of a compliment to the designers than anything else. Frostpunk is a truly harrowing game in the best possible way and one that will have you steeped in the harsh reality of eternal winter for dozens of hours to come.
You can read the full Frostpunk review here.
Source: Press Release
This September will mark the 25th anniversary of the original PlayStation released in the UK, Europe, and North America. 25 years since that new machine from Sony marked the beginning of a still-unfolding story. To mark that anniversary a new documentary is being released and it is called From Bedrooms to Billions: The PlayStation Revolution, and this documentary will explore the origins of PlayStation as well as talking to some of the key figures behind the brand. Anthony and Nicola Caulfield are the minds behind this documentary.
The description of the documentary reads:
The PlayStation Revolution is an independent documentary feature film that uncovers the incredible story behind the creation of the Sony PlayStation. It is an essential watch for anyone interested in video games and the history of the biggest entertainment industry on earth. The film investigates why Sony decided to enter the video games business, when it was already dominated by both Nintendo and Sega, who not only produced their own hardware but made and published fantastic games. To compete, Sony would not only have to design and build a new piece of hardware, but they would have to find a way to persuade the game development industry to take a chance and develop games for it long before it even came out!
The documentary will include interviews with some of the key figures behind PlayStation including Mark Cerny, Hideo Kojima, Shinji Mikami, David Jaffe, and Andy Gavin. All of them have contributed to PlayStation’s history from the console hardware itself to the very games that have now been enjoyed by millions globally. From Bedrooms to Billions: The PlayStation Revolution will be released on September 7th and it will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and through digital services. There is a special edition that comes with bonus features and those are:
- Creating Wipeout – RT – 10mins 31 sec (featuring game creator Nick Burcombe and Psygnosis founder Ian Hetherington)
- Creating Gran Turismo – RT – 19mins 12 secs (featuring creator Kazunori Yamauchi)
- Net Yaroze – RT – 6mins 46 secs (featuring Phil Harrison and Paul Holman)
- Audio on PS2 – 3mins 12 secs (featuring Jason Page)
- Director’s commentary with Anthony Caulfield, Nicola Caulfield, Heather Gibson & Gavin Rummery (Tomb Raider), Steve Merrett (PlayStation journo) and Shahid Ahmad (former Sony PlayStation dev commissioner)
- Photo Gallery
Crystal Dynamics has held another War Table briefing for Marvel’s Avengers, and the developer has detailed the content players will be able to access in the Marvel’s Avengers beta as well as what to expect post launch. The post launch content is led by the addition of Hawkeye and he will have his own abilities as well as mission set to play through to learn more of the Marvel’s Avengers story. Hawkeye has been a key figure in the Avengers so his inclusion is welcome though not too surprising.
In the Marvel’s Avengers beta players will be able to play through a few campaign missions, the HARM challenge rooms, and access some War Zones content. The first campaign mission will be the Golden Gate Bridge during the A-Day event. In this mission, players will be able to play as Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Black Widow as they face off against Taskmaster. The second mission is called To Find Olympia and this sees Hulk and Ms Marvel team up as they look for JARVIS. The third mission is called Missing Links and continues with players controlling Hulk and Ms Marvel.
HARM Challenge Rooms will test player skills as waves and waves of enemies come in to take down the Avengers. In the beta there are three of these rooms to play through, with completion earning a nameplate that will be available to use in the full release. When it comes to War Zones there will be five in the beta, as well as five Drop Zones which are smaller versions of War Zones. In the full game, War Zones can last anywhere between 10 minutes and two hours but it is unclear what the length of the beta ones will be. Iron Man, Hulk, Ms Marvel, and Black Widow will be the playable characters in War Zones. As you play through the missions characters will level up and you will earn gear for them. This progression will carry over through the beta weekends.
The beta dates are as follows:
- August 7th – PlayStation pre-Order beta
- August 14th – Xbox and PC pre-order beta, PlayStation open beta
- August 21st – Open beta for all platforms
Sorry Gabe Newell, you would be very much in the minority if you were living in the UK as a new survey has shown UK based gamers will be buying a PlayStation 5 next generation.
Pop culture agency Experience12 surveyed 3,000 people via the MCM Comic Con online event and 84% of them said they were excited about PlayStation 5, with just 15% looking forward to the Xbox Series X. 37% of respondents would be buying a console on day one, 9% within the first month, 12% with the next three months, and 26% within a year of the consoles hitting the shelves.
Of those surveyed, 59% owned a PS4, 16% had an Xbox One, 14% had purchased a PC, and Switch accounted for 8%. They also asked people what game they were really looking forward to, the top game is no surprise and given it was MCM Comic Con attendees the second place was to be expected.
Top 5 Most Anticipated Releases
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt)
- Marvel’s Avengers (Square-Enix)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Remaster (Activision)
- Dying Light 2 (Techland)
- Halo Infinite (Xbox Game Studios)
Microsoft do seem to be having difficulties in when it comes to getting their next gen message across, an event that was billed as showing game play videos had no gameplay videos, and the recent reveal of Halo Infinite was criticised due to the rathher last-gen graphics and pop in. The director of the Halo Infinite narrative experience,Dan Chosich, took to Twitter to comment.
“I’ve been in your shoes. I know what it’s like to have expectations built + feel let down. I want you to know your voice matters + is heard,” he said, “You’re not falling on deaf ears. I always want to live up to the legacy that Bungie pioneered. I personally care a lot about honoring that.”
Source: Experience12 via MCV
A huge hit on PC, Planet Coaster: Console Edition promises to translate the theme park creator and management sim for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X later this year. The first dev diary explores some of the high level controls and UI changes that Frontier Developments are bringing to the game.
Two of the biggest areas that Frontier have focussed on are the controls and the camera in particular. A new camera mode is being introduced to let you build your coasters from a viewpoint that follows the track as you place it. Think that bit where Gromit is laying the model train tracks, but in a video game and with less dramatic music and evil penguins.
There’s also a big console focused overhaul of the UI, with radial menus available to replace the keyboard shortcut functionality of the PC version. These will naturally be context sensitive to each mode, whether it’s creating a coaster or editing the scenery.
And to help you tap into your creative juices, there’s hundreds of new blueprints being added to the game, so you can very quickly drop great-looking buildings and scenery for their park. Of course, for perfectionists, you’ll either want to start from the ground up or heavily tweak these blueprints.
In our original Planet Coaster review, Dave wrote:
Planet Coaster feels like a step into more modern times for the genre. There are bugbears when it comes to the camera and the subsequent patience required to build your perfect theme park, but should one have the stamina to intricately design features for their park, the possibilities are nigh on endless. Managing can feel simplistic at times, but for those who want to have the amusement park of their dreams, even if they use mods from Steam Workshop to supplement their masterpiece, Planet Coaster has it in spades. Now if only the rides could be viewed in VR…
Planet Coaster: Console Edition will be out for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X later in 2020.
Source: press release
EA have released a fairly large patch for family friendly shooter Plants Vs Zombies Battle for Neighborville. As usual it’s a mix of bug fixes and tweaks to characters and weapons, here are the notes.
New Features
- Added station markers within Giddy Park to improve navigation to points of interest.
- New Weekly Events featuring playable horde characters
- Adding Private Play; available through the Multiplayer Terminal
Common
- Revive
- No longer ends Pea Suped or Space Force
- No longer ends healing if Super Savior upgrade is equipped
- Plant visual indicator now green to not get confused with Sunflower healing
- Upgrade Rough Patch
- Increase time before Overhealth starts to decay, 10->30
- Spikeweed
- Increase rate of damage so it is easier to identify if victim is ensnared
- Decrease damage to offset rate of damage from above
- Decrease arming delay 2->1 sec
- Grody Goop
- Decrease initial damage when acquiring toxic, 45->40
- Decrease duration of toxic 15->13 sec
- Toxic element is removed on victim vanquish
- Shogun Guard
- Increase projectile final velocity post drag, 420->500 m/s
- Increase shield regen rate 10->12.5 health/sec
- Decrease regen delay when lowering shield 2->1 sec
- Decrease regen delay when shield is destroyed 5->1 sec
- Increase min health requirement after shield has been destroyed 12.5->25 health
- Shuck Shot
- Increase movement speed when firing, speed multiplier 0.5->1.0
- Husk Hop
- Remove camera restriction for improved aiming
- Upgrade Happy Feet
- Fix issue with upgrade not getting removed when vanquished
- Spore Strike
- Increase accuracy, 3.2->2.8
- Increase air accuracy, additional jump angle 3->1
- Fung Fu
- Fix issue with Fung Fu being activated while in Shadow Sneak
- AI
- Fix issue with Night Cap using abilities and primary weapon while in Shadow Sneak
- Upgrade Calibrated
- Decrease decay time that upgrade is active, 0.075->0.5 per second
- Increase charge rate per damage event, 0.15->0.35
- Blue Blazes
- Adjust projectile spawn location to better match mouth location when firing
- Decrease how much movement affects projectile speed, 0.35->0%
- Decrease time until homing starts, 0.85-> 0.35 sec
- Juiced Upgrade
- Fix issue with weapon taking longer to start, deploy time 1.5->1.05
- Acorn Dash
- Now gains two charges
- Treetop Turret
- Increase damage 4.6->5
- Decrease overheat rate 0.0175->0.0115 heat/shot
- Fix issue with not dealing critical damage
- Lumber Support
- Can now grant overhealth
- Upgrade Nutty Feedback
- Update text to read “Gain ammo for Shell Shot or Wood Grief by dealing damage.” Old text did not reflect the effect on Oak’s weapon.
- Imp Blasters
- Increase rate of fire 700->725 rpm
- Increase accuracy in air, additional jump dispersion 3->1.2
- Decrease projectile velocity post drag 200->150 m/s
- Decrease accuracy when aiming, dispersion multiplier 0.5->0.65
- Decrease recoil when aiming, recoil multiplier 1.0->0.85
- Fix aim bug that was increasing rate of fire
- Gravity Grenade
- Fix gameplay effects on victims lasting after vanquish
- Mech Deploy
- Fix issue with Imp not taking damage while calling in Mech
- Brainium Basher 9001
- Charge attack doesn’t happen if caught in spikeweed
- Heroic Fists
- Fix issue with Alpha Better Shield canceling attack follow-through for each punch
- Alpha Better Shield
- Can activate sprint while shield is up, removing need to lower shield first
- Upgrade Speed Bag
- Update text to read “Heroic Fists punch faster and Brainium Basher 9001 charges faster by earning a vanquish. Upgrade can stack up to three times.” Old text did not reflect the effect on Legendary Upgrade.
- Upgrade Extra Special
- Fix issue with shield being lost post Super Ultra Ball if it was used throughout ability
- Bow Blaster
- Now has camera recoil
- Funky Bouncer
- Restrict victims from using sprint
- Orbital Strike
- Fix issue with enemy homing weapons not homing to the correct location
- Upgrade Applying Pressure
- Fix the issue with screen effects not getting removed when enemy is vanquished
- Steam Blaster
- Decrease overall damage per blast 71->60, shift damage from initial blast to latter part of blast
- Decrease ammo 5->4
- Co-Star
- Fix issue with Goatify making Wizard not attach and get stuck in Co-Star mode making him invincible
- Upgrade Two-Headed Dragon
- Fix issue with Wizard becoming stuck in Co-Star mode making him invincible
Major Bugs Fixed
- Wizard’s Upgrade Two-Headed Dragon is fixed
- Fixing Water in Turf takeover Resort
- Performance improvements to Resort TT + map being put back into playlist rotation
- Mount Steep gnome button fixed
- Wizard invincibility fix
- Wizard default gestures second fix attempt
- Action Hero: “Land Hits with the Bow Blaster” Completion Value 500 –> 250
- Scientist: “Deal Primary Weapon Damage” Completion Value 5,000 –> 3,000
- Scientist: “Revive Allies” Completion Value 20 –> 15
- Citron: “Land Hits with Spin Dash” Completion Value 100 –> 50
- Citron: “Defend with Peel Shield” Completion Value 5,000 –> 3,500
- Peashooter: “Score Direct Hits with Pea Cannon” Completion Value 200 –> 100
- Peashooter: “Pea Suped Damage” Completion Value 2,500 –> 2,000
- Pirate: “Full Charge Spyglass Shot Vanquishes” –> “Land Fully Charged Spyglass Shots” (50)
- Pirate: “Deal Damage with Barrel Blast” Completion Value 300 –> 1500
- Pirate: Deal Damage with Parrot Pal” Completion Value 800 –> 500
- Pirate: Post-Anchor Shot Vanquish Completion Value 15 –> 5
- Mushroom: Vanquish Support Heroes Completion Value 30 –> 15
- Added Wizard to viable target
- Sunflower: Sunbeam Vanquishes Completion Value 100 –> 25
- To bring the challenge more in line with Peashooter’s Pea Gatling Challenge.
Gabe Newell, head honcho at Valve, has stated Xbox Series X is better than PlayStation 5, but then doesn’t explain why, just “cos it is”. Valve have not released a game on consoles since CounterStrike: Global Offensive on PlayStation 3 in the United States way back in 2012.
You may recall that Mr. Newell also suggested that Steam Machines were going to kill consoles.
“Our perception is that customers are always going to make the best choices for what they want. We can knock down the barriers that keep PC gaming out of the living room, and then customers can decide what they want.” he said in 2015.
“So when we started pushing on this problem [with Steam Machines], there were a lot of people who said: ‘nobody wants a PC in their living room’. And we’re like ‘okay, we need to break that down into tractable problems’.” he continued.
Steam Machines did not sell well and were effectively cancelled in 2018. Gabe also had a big rant about the PlayStation 3 in 2007 calling it “a waste of everybody’s time”.
Looking at the technical specs of the machines that the Xbox Series X is slightly more powerful, but the popularity of the Switch has shown that consumers don’t always go for the most powerful machine. PC owners usually buy the most powerful machine they can which may explain Gabe’s preference.
A while back PlayStation 5 architect Mark Cerny revealed the console would include a feature that allowed you instant access to certain parts of a game and it seems that WCR 9 director Alan Jarniou and product manager Sébastien Waxin have let the cat out of the bag.
They discussed their game with GameReactor Spain who reported the following (via Google Translate):
However, it is the improvements focused on the execution of the software that can end up changing the experience completely, as WRC 9 will implement fully asynchronous and optimized loading, using the new super-fast SSD memories so that the players get behind the wheel in no time, while the function of the PlayStation 5 Activities system will propose instant ‘deeplink’ links from the start menu to directly access races or parts of the game, with the intention of “keeping players hooked”.This seems to the feature that Mark Cerny discussed with Wired a few months ago.
Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them—and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like.
GameReactor Spain have since deleted the article but there’s a cached version still available.
Source: Twitter
Your voice is a powerful thing. With it you can express your emotions, your thoughts and ideas; you can change people’s perceptions, and challenge societal wrongs; you can create music and rhythm with it through poetry and song. One Hand Clapping gives you something new to do with it, as you use your voice to control a video game, leading your avatar across a colourful 2D world. It’s a unique experience.
I think the first thing you have to do when you play One Hand Clapping is get over yourself. It might be easy to shout orders to your team via your headset’s microphone in a multiplayer game, but singing in a controlled and steady manner without feeling like a complete idiot is an utterly different skill. I’m a singer, I’ve played in bands for years, but One Hand Clapping initially tested my resolve, simply due to the alien nature of what it’s asking of you.
The next stage of One Hand Clapping is acceptance. Once you’ve got used to having to make a sonorous noise you have to become accustomed to using it to control a cute purple creature. You’ll sing a low note and the on-screen marker is low, sing a high note and it’ll move towards the top of the screen. Sing in steps and you’ll ‘sing’ a set of stairs to climb.
You don’t have to be Adele, Freddie Mercury or Bruno Mars to play. The tones you’re singing – or humming as it turns out – don’t have to be especially strong, vibrant or laced with natural vibrato, they just have to be at the pitch the game is asking you to hit. When you initially set up the game it asks you to sing a low note and a high note, gathering data on your range so that everything you’re doing should be within your abilities.
You use your voice to solve the puzzles put in front of you, helping your little purple singer move across the landscape. Where there are areas that your little guy can’t simply jump up or across, you’re able to sing a platform into existence that they can walk on. There are also flowers that will only bloom if you sing the right note, opening up to provide a jumping platform, while bigger devices appear that you have to sing a certain phrase, a bit like a musical Simon Says.
It’s strange, but it manages to also be fun. I know I gave a little chuckle every time I did anything new in this early portion of the game, and there’s a real sense of discovery and newness that you wouldn’t expect from a weary old genre like the 2D platformer. I can really see the seeds of something unique here, and I’m sure that the developers will be aiming to wring every ounce of potential out of the possibilities it affords.
The soundtrack accompanying you is ambient and relaxed, and later on when you’re singing refrains back to a floating flower lady, you follow the beat in order to know when it’s your turn to sing. It’s such a cool, if niche, set-up and if the soundtrack can support it I could see myself really getting into the swing of things. It’s not a game to play around other people though – unless they want to hear you poorly holding the same notes for any length of time.
The one shame right now is that One Hand Clapping is an incredibly short experience, with only the first level being playable in Early Access – though that’s reflected in its £2.49 price. It’s certainly unique, engaging and pleasantly presented, and I’m keen to see more of its narrative and the unusual gameplay opportunities as its development progresses.
Although it definitely hasn’t fallen off our radars, some may be surprised to learn that Marvel’s Avengers is just over a month away from launch.
The ambitious cinematic superhero video game is set to release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on September 4th but there are those fans of Marvel comics and the MCU who still might not be able to wrap their head around Square Enix’s next big AAA game.
That’s what their series of Marvel’s Avengers War Table streams are for. Instead of showcasing the game at big industry events and press conferences, Tomb Raider developers Crystal Dynamics have gone for the deep dive approach with these broadcasts, the next one due later today.
If you intend on watching this latest Avengers War Table then here are the times you’ll need to tune in. The stream will go live today, July 29th, at 10 AM Pacific Time (that’s 6PM for folks in the UK, and 7PM for those in Central Europe). The stream will go live via the YouTube video above so if you want to save yourself some time then bookmark this page and come back later.
The previous 25-minute Avengers War Table stream in June gave us a deeper look at the singleplayer campaign with some fresh Thor gameplay while also properly introducing us to the MODOK, the game’s main antagonist. We also got to see a number of bonus character costumes based on famous and popular comic book arcs with Crystal Dynamics also explaining how new content will be added in future.
So what can we expect from today’s Avengers broadcast? For a start, we’ll get a better idea of how the game’s online co-op will work. Where Hero Missions are strictly solo, story-based affairs, War Zones are where you can team up with other Avengers to complete objectives and level up your characters. The developers will also explain Challenge Rooms as well as how to access the game’s upcoming beta. Here’s a quick breakdown of beta phases and dates.
- August 7th – PlayStation pre-Order beta
- August 14th – Xbox and PC pre-order beta, PlayStation open beta
- August 21st – Open beta for all platforms
The Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise is the biggest cash cow for Idea Factory and Compile Heart by far. Starting in 2010 on the PS3 as a quaint little fourth-wall-breaking JRPG about humanized versions of video game consoles, the series has gone on to spawn anime, manga, mobile games, and tons of merchandise. There’s even been a new game in the series every year since it debuted, but with the wild naming conventions of the series, it’s hard to remember that there hasn’t actually been a main entry in the series in over half a decade.
New genre-swapping spinoffs launch yearly, but the last true mainline entry in the Neptunia franchise was Megadimension Neptunia VII (actually the fourth main game in the series). It isn’t clear when another direct sequel in the hyperactive JRPG series will arrive, but in the meantime, Idea Factory is helping a new wave of gamers discover the series by porting this most recent mainline entry onto the Nintendo Switch.
Admittedly, Megadimension Neptunia VII is a bit of an awkward pick to be someone’s first Neptunia game. After an oh-so-brief introduction to the world of Gamindustri – a peaceful near-future society ruled over by four gaming goddesses – protagonist Neptune and her sister Nepgear are immediately sucked into a destroyed Dreamcast-like console that warps them into a war-torn alternate reality being ripped apart by a gigantic demonic threat. For someone new to the franchise, it might take a little while to wrap your head around the dynamic of the world and the characters, but the fact that so much of Megadimension Neptunia VII focuses on brand new dimensions and characters actually helps make it a little easier to get into.
It also helps that the game makes you feel like you’re always on the same page as the heroes thanks to the fourth-wall shattering nature of Neptune. Every other line out of her mouth is either a jab at generic JRPG tropes or a hilariously casual and brief lore dump. For existing fans, her wit and charm is cranked up to 11 in this game, and for newcomers, the casual way she guides you through the characters and lore is a fun way to get caught up on the ride without reams of droning explanations.
Megadimension Neptunia VII gets just as inventive when it comes to the gameplay, opting for a combat system that’s far more than just a traditional turn-based affair. On a character’s turn, you can freely move around the field within a certain amount of steps, similar to Valkyria Chronicles. Line your aim up with an enemy and you can use the face-button to dish out a variety of basic attack combos, or opt to deliver a powerful special command instead.
As the game progresses, a variety of mechanics become available to you that stack on engaging new layers. Characters can transform into a powerful CPU mode, and then transform again into a new NEXT mode. If every character is at the same transformation stage, you can surround a foe and activate special group-attacks that deal wild amounts of damage. Even characters you haven’t brought into combat can be useful, as you’re able to buddy-up unused party members with active combatants in order to gain some stat boosts. With a lack of a punishing grind and a wealth of customization options and ability choices, Megadimension Neptunia VII is an easy game to get sucked into.
It’s a shame that the Nintendo Switch port has so many issues that hamper the experience. I thought it was odd that the settings menu for Megadimension Neptunia VII gave me the ability to enable or disable Shadows, Outlines, and in-game Effects. I figured enabling these might simply be for aesthetic purposes, but it turns out that activating all of these options drops the framerate by a staggering degree. Navigating dungeons felt like I was watching a slideshow, and combat only ran slightly smoother. Disabling all three effects is the only way to get the game to run at a smooth and consistent framerate, but loading into battles or dungeons still presented brief moments of stuttering.
The game ends up looking on par with other Nintendo Switch JRPGs with these settings disabled thanks to the crisp and colorful art style, but it boggles my mind that they would make these options available to enable when it results in such a wildly choppy experience.
There’s also a lack of some quality of life features like auto-saving or quick saves, which make this slightly less than ideal as an on-the-go JRPG.
Netflix has announced that there will be a spin off series for The Witcher, with the new series called The Witcher: Blood Origin. This new show is set 1200 years before the events of The Witcher and the adventures of Geralt of Rivia. Instead, this story is all about the first Witcher. That is not all as the story will focus on the merging of spheres where the worlds of elves, men, and monsters all joined to become one world.
Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich are the minds behind the new series, which will be in six parts. Declan De Barra has worked as a writer on The Originals, Iron Fist, and also wrote The Witcher episode ‘Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials.’ Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has been a producer on The Witcher, The Umbrella Academy, Daredevil. The Defenders, and Power. That is quite the impressive list of shows to work on.
The Witcher Season Two has already been confirmed with Henry Cavill once again donning the role of Geralt. Joining him this time around is father figure Vesemir, who will be played by Kim Bodnia, whose recent credits include Killing Eve as well as the original version of The Bridge.
Season two has no confirmed release date though it won’t be hitting Netflix in 2020. Other actors confirmed to be joining the cast include Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones’ Tormund Giantbane) as Nivellen, Yasen Atour as Coen, and Paul Bullion as Lambert among others.
Overall we were pretty pleased with how the TV adaptation turned out. It might not have had the same budget as a certain other fantasy series though it managed to capture the essence of The Witcher world and its characters, even if that meant inflicting us with a catchy bard’s ditty.
Nic goes into more detail about what he liked and disliked about it, perhaps focusing a little too much on Triss’ hair colour.
In other Witcher news, Netflix plans to release an animated film that will focus on Vesemir titled “Nightmare of the Wolf”.
Source: Netflix
Last week, the studio Rabbit & Bear announced a Kickstarter for the game Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. It was notable as the game is from Yoshitaka Murayama and Junko Kawano, who worked on Suikoden 1, 2, and 4, and a number of developers that worked on the Suikoden games. They have pitched Eiyuden Chronicle as a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series and that message seemed to have resonate. The Kickstarter went live on July 27th with a goal of approximately $500,000, and within 3 hours that target was met.
Here’s the message from the team thanking people for backing the project:
Thank you so much to all our backers for the incredible outpour of support! Within an incredibly short amount of time, we’ve been able to hit our minimum goal here on Kickstarter, which means that Eiyuden Chronicle will be a reality! We really apologize that Kickstarter was unavailable for a long period of time. It seems our backers crashed the site 3 separate times! As Murayama-san said on Twitter,
This is far from the end, though. We’ve got a whole set of incredible stretch goals to make Eiyuden Chronicle even better, so be sure to check out the stretch goals on the campaign page!
As we’re burning through the Rebuild the Town Discord social goal, now is a good time to mention that we’re looking for members of the Eiyuden community to join our community moderation team. If you’re interested in joining our team to make the Eiyuden Chronicle community the best it can be, click this link and fill out the form!
Let’s make Eiyuden Chronicle the best possible JRPG it can be!
Rabbit & Bear has announced that it will take around 2 to 3 years before release, and it will be developing the game for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC. Oh, and the next generation Nintendo console though the team does not know what that will entail.
Source: Kickstarter
Google has announced the five games that Google Stadia Pro subscribers will be able to get in August. Those four games are Metro 2033 Redux, Strange Brigade, Kona, Rock of Ages 3, and Just Shapes and Beats. These will be available on August 1st. Except, Rock of Ages 3 that is which will be available from August 14th. That means Stadia Pro subscribers have until August 1st to claim Zombie Army 4: Dead War.
In our review for Strange Brigade, Tuffcub wrote:
“Strange Brigade is a jolly good wheeze. The 1930’s matinee cinema styling makes it unlike any other game on market and that’s a rare treat. The campaign, although dragging in a few spots, is just the right length and has replayability thanks to the many hidden treats to discover, while the score attack mode and horde modes are pleasant, if rather flimsy, distractions. Tuning the accuracy of the weapons would make me very chuffed, but as it stands this is a sterling effort from Rebellion. I look forward to the further thrilling adventures of (dramatic pause) The Strange Brigade! Tally ho!”
In our review for Kona, Jim wrote:
“Spanning several hours and sporting a number of more traditional game features, Kona feels far meatier compared to your average walking sim. The combination of nonlinear design and survival mechanics certainly help to dispel some of the issues I have with the genre. That said, the vagueness surrounding some puzzles, frequent backtracking, and a somewhat dissatisfying finale left me with mixed feelings despite introducing some welcome changes to the formula.”
In our review for Just Shapes and Beats, Dom wrote:
“Just Shapes & Beats is the best EDM compilation album you can play, and assuming the music floats your ear-shaped boat, it’s an absolute treat. Challenging, engrossing and exhibiting a purity we so often forget, this is a genre mash-up where everybody wins.”
In our review for Rock of Ages 3, Stefan wrote:
“Rock of Ages 3 stretches the series’ core concept to the limit, but this tower defence and boulder platforming hybrid has still got some legs. Adding a few new game modes and the new level creation tool extends the game’s longevity, but ACE Team could do with refining a few of the rougher edges still in the game.”
We don’t have a review for Metro 2033 Redux, but in my opinion, it is a very good game.
Source: Google
A major update for Red Dead Online is out today, with The Naturalist expanding Red Dead Redemption 2’s multiplayer with the titular new wildlife-focussed Role, new charactes, new missions, legendary animal hunting, and plenty more besides.
The update follows the Bounty Hunter, Collector, Trader and Moonshiner updates, adding another facet to Red Dead Online.
This new Frontier Pursuit sees you come into contact with conservationist Harriet Davenport, looking for players who will track down specimens and increase her knowledge of the wildlife found in the game. She’d rather that you sedate them, but on the other hand, there’s always retired big game hunter Gus Macmillan, who will compensate with quality clothing and gear for hunting these animals. Harriet will be a bit peeved if you help him out.
Both will be found in the Welcome Center of the town of Strawberry, and you can track your progress in the new Animal Field Guide, which logs your tracking, photographing and sampling of animals. The Naturalist Role will then gradually open up new items, skills and gameplay to explore. So you could get a new Naturalist assisting breed of horse, bespoke clothing and accessories, weight loss and weight gain tonics, animal reviving tonics, and plenty more.
You’ll want the help of those tonics when you start to encounter Legendary Animals, which can be found both in Free Roam and through Animal Sighting assignments. It’s just up to you whether you help Harriet out or poach them for Gus instead…
Beyond this is a new Advanced Camera, available from the catalogue, and new weapons including the Improved Bow and Elephant Rifle. New Free Roam activities include Legendary Animal Protection and Wild Animal Tagging.
If you’re knee deep in Red Dead Online, you might be tempted by the Outlaw Pass No. 3, which has a track of rewards that include up to 40 Gold Bars and a bunch of other Offers and Rewards. The Outlaw Pass is available through to 19th October.
To get things going, there’s a bunch of bonuses and rewards:
Double Rewards and Payouts
Until 3rd August, Naturalists will earn 2X payouts on Tier 3 Legendary Animal Samples and Whole Carcass Sales. Additionally, there’s the following rewards:- Become a Naturalist and get a Reward for a free Role Accessory, Outfit or Emote
- Sedate and sample any animal and get the Gila Monster Camp Flag
- Complete a Legendary Animal Sighting Mission and get a Reward for a unique colorway of the Farnholme Double Bandolier
- Pitch a Wilderness Camp and get a Reward for a Treasure Map
New Bonus Offers and Rewards
- Offer for 30% off any Novice or Promising Item in the Naturalist Role
- Reward for 2,000 Naturalist XP
- Reward for Free Sedative Varmint Cartridges
- Reward for a Free Legendary Animal Pheromone
- Offer for 30% off a Revolver
- Reward for a Free Ability Card
PlayStation 4 Early Access Benefits
Free Gifts:- 10x Sedative Varmint Cartridges
- 5x Animal Revivers
- 5x Blending Tonics
- Woodcote Poncho
- The Legendary Gabbro Horn Ram
- Legendary Chalk Horn Ram
- Legendary Rutile Horn Ram
- Three Fossil Collection sets
Twitch Prime Benefits
- 5 Free Legendary Animal Pheromones
- 6,000 Naturalist XP
- Free Wilderness Camp
- Offer for 50% off a Camp Dog
- Offer for 50% off a Tent
- Offer for 50% off a Vest below Rank 15
- 10x Special Health Cures
- 10x Special Snake Oil
- 10x Special Miracle Tonic
- 10x Special Bitters
Source: press release
Microsoft have revealed the slate of freebies being bundled together for Xbox Live’s Games with Gold in August. As always there’s two Xbox One games and a pair of backward compatible games, with this month’s pair both coming from the original Xbox.
Heading the line up from Xbox One are Portal Knights and Override Mech City Brawl, but you might prefer to boot up a pair of games from the early 2000s with MX Unleashed and Red Faction 2.
The games and their availability are as follows:
- Portal Knights – 1st to 31st August
- Override: Mech City Brawl – 16th August to 15th September
- MX Unleashed – 1st to 15th August
- Red Faction II – 16th to 31st August
In our Portal Knights review, Gareth said:
Portal Knights aims to put RPG elements and Zelda-style combat into a Minecraft-like game. Minecraft works because everything is systemic. It’s huge, but everything you can find conforms to particular conditions – diamond only appears below a certain height, sugar cane is found on sand next to water, etc. – so you know where to look. When you remove these systems, you have a Portal Knights island; the resources are all over the place, at any height, and if you can’t see them, you want you need another island. It removes the incentive to explore, because there is nothing to find.
Meanwhile Override: Mech City Brawl fared better, as Dom wrote:
Override: Mech City Brawl is an indie mech arena brawler that gets a lot of things right. The single player is often a little on the easy side, but the great character designs and weighty combat help to make up for it, with local multiplayer proving to be a hell of a lot of fun. It’s perfect for fans of giant mechs and kaiju brawling, and easily one of the best additions to the genre in a while.
Don’t forget that you can still pick up some of July’s games:
- WRC 8 – until 31st July
- Dunk Lords – until 15th August
- Juju – until 31st July
Studio MDHR’s have confirmed that their boss-rush run & gun platformer Cuphead is coming out for PlayStation 4… today!
That’s right, the acclaimed game with all its 1930s cartoon visual styling goodness is coming to PlayStation despite having been an Xbox One exclusive, and a pretty firm exclusive at that.
In the run up to the game’s original release, Studio MDHR said the game was a “100 per cent lifetime PC/Microsoft exclusive”. It arrived as a bit critical success in late 2017 for Xbox One and PC, but was then brought to Nintendo Switch in 2019, with Microsoft using the game as a bit of a testbed for bringing other games, like Hellblade, to Nintendo’s hybrid console.
Of course, coming to a Nintendo console, who is rarely seen as a direct competitor to Xbox and PlayStation, and coming to PlayStation 4 are completely different matters. However, the game was never published by Microsoft. Studio MDHR always retained the IP rights and self-published the game on all platforms and so, despite that prior statement, there was always the possibility to reconsider down the road.
Insert wise-crack about all Xbox games being timed exclusives here.
Studio MDHR Co-Director Chad Moldenhauer said:
“Many of us on the team grew up exploring the worlds of classic PlayStation titles, from Resident Evil to Vandal Hearts. It’s surreal to think about players adventuring through the Inkwell Isles with a PlayStation controller in hand. To all the impassioned PlayStation fans who’ve sent us messages over the years: we’re so excited for you to get a chance to experience Cuphead firsthand.Studio MDHR also announced that there would be a free update for the game on Xbox One, bringing a digital art gallery, behind the scenese commentary and playable soundtrack. “We own the Cuphead IP.”
“We’re also hugely thankful to the wonderful team at Xbox, who continue to empower us to bring our game and our story to new audiences.”
The team are still hard at work on its The Delicious Last Course DLC, which was planned for 2019 but delayed into 2020 last summer.
In our original Cuphead review, Dave wrote:
“Cuphead was well worth waiting for. It provided exactly what Studio MDHR said it would be – a boss rush with plenty of well-designed bosses and gorgeous presentation that mimics the Fleisher brothers’ art style. Depending on how used to 2D platformers with difficult bosses you are, there’s a decent amount on offer, though with limited side attractions beyond the bosses, it could all be done before you know it. It’s a swell ol’ time though.”
Source: press release
Ubisoft have released their newest mid-season update for the hugely popular Rainbow Six Siege. This latest patch – now available for PC players – brings a raft of fresh changes to the tactical Tom Clancy shooter including bug fixes, gameplay features, and of course, a new wave of Operator balancing.
The latest Rainbow Six Siege is now available to download and install. Note that you will need to do this first before you’re about to log into the game and start playing. For those playing R6 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, this update will be coming later in the week so hold tight!
Key changes for the Rainbow Six Siege Y5S2.3 update include minor buffs for Operators Gridlock, Oryx, and Fuze. Gridlock’s Caltrop gadget has been improved along with Oryx’s dash ability, while Fuze now has 4 cluster charges as opposed to 3.
Operator balancing is a constant labour with teams at Ubisoft poring over a steady barrage of pick/ban and player data. For a more detailed breakdown of the decisions behind these reworks, you can check the Designer’s Notes for yourselves.
In the meantime, you can view the latest patch notes below. Rainbow Six Siege is currently in its second season of Year 5 (Y5S2) dubbed Operation: Steel Wave. It introduced two new Operators, ACE and Melusi, alongside a map rework of House and other features.
Rainbow Six Siege Y5S2.3 Update Patch Notes
IN-GAME NOTIFICATIONS
Some updates to the notifications system to help make future popups less spammy.APAC 2SV
After August 11, 2020, 2-Step Verification will be mandatory for ranked on PC in APAC. If you have not activated 2SV prior to this date you will be locked out of the Ranked queue until 2SV is activated on your account.Go activate 2SV under the account management section at https://account.ubisoft.com!
GAMEPLAY UPDATES
For more information on balancing changes, see our Designer’s Notes.BALANCING
GRIDLOCK
If you’ve ever stepped on a Lego…this hurts worse.By making her gadget a bit more enjoyable to use, we’re looking to make Gridlock players’ lives a bit easier.
- Lowered Gridlock’s Caltrop deployment time to 9s (down from 13s).
- Lowered the individual Caltrops deployment time to 0.45s (down from 0.7s).
- Lowered the range of random deploy variation to 0.05s (down from 0.1s).
- Added a delay of 0.45s before the deployment sequence starts (previously no delay).
ORYX
The Rainbow
has goat to dash.We want to let Oryx make more use of his dash, and added mobility and durability will hopefully make him a bit more fun to play.
- Using his dash through a soft wall will not deplete all the dash charges.
- Increased Dash refresh time to 12s (up from 8s).
- Dash recovery time for all dashes is now 0.5s. (Previous recovery times: soft wall = 1s, enemy = 0.7s).
FUZE
Hide the hostages!Giving Fuze a bit more presence and utility with an additional charge.
- Increased the number of cluster charges to 4 (up from 3)
GAMEPLAY
PUSHBACK MECHANICS
To maintain consistency with softwall interactions, we’re giving enemies that are pushed through walls the same feedback as when Oryx dashes through them.- When pushed through a wall by Nomad’s airjabs or Oryx’s dash, players will receive the same feedback and rtake the same damage (5 hp) as when Oryx dashes through a soft wall.
BUG FIXES
- FIXED – Missing anchoring decals from Ace’s SELMA.
- FIXED – Ace’s SELMA can get stuck when thrown in a certain way at some beams, becoming unrecoverable.
- FIXED – While grappling through a window or hatch, Amaru can aim faster with her LMG if she times her sprint and ADS buttons just prior to landing.
- FIXED – IQ’s gadget will not display the outline and distance of Melusi’s Banshees.
- FIXED – Zofia’s concussion grenades are impacted by external explosions and can bounce away from the target location.
- FIXED – Flattening the doorframes and windows on all maps.
- FIXED – Floating and indestructible wooden squares after destroying some walls on Yacht.
- FIXED – Gunshot sounds are muffled when shooting from inside 1F Technical Seating of Plane.
- FIXED – Various menu/UI fixes.
- FIXED – Various cosmetics fixes.
- FIXED – Various Lighting issues on maps.
- FIXED – Various shop visual and cosmetic fixes.
- FIXED – (PvE) Interaction between Ace’s gadget and AI.
Source: Ubisoft
Koei Tecmo, the Japanese publisher behind popular video game series such as Dynasty Warriors and Dead Or Alive, are having a strong 2020 according to the company’s latest financial results.
As spotted by Twinfinite, during their first quarter (between April 1st and June 30th) Koei Tecmo reported a 68.2% year on year increase in entertainment sales while entertainment profits soared by a whopping 484.7%. Meanwhile, amusement sales were down by 22.4% with amusement profits dropping 89.1%.
This shift in numbers for Koei Tecmo’s entertainment and amusement sectors is no doubt influenced by the COVID-19 outbreak and ensuing lockdown which has led to a sharp rise of video game sales across the industry. Naturally, the ongoing pandemic has had a devastating impact on amusement arcades.
You can find the official Koei Tecmo Q1 financial highlights here for a more detailed breakdown.
In the past year or so, the publisher have launched a number of sequels including fighting game sequel, Dead or Alive 6, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, Atelier Dusk Trilogy Deluxe Pack, and Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle.
In 2020 we also had Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV and, of course, Nioh 2, which shipped a million copies in its launch month of May. Jason review the PlayStation 4 exclusive, awarding it a magnificent 9/10:
Nioh 2 builds on the excellence of the original with a fistful of new twists and ideas, from new Yokai abilities to full-on co-op through the entire game. Nioh 2 might well be the best Soulslike that isn’t a FromSoftware game, and it’s easily one of my personal contenders for Game of the Year.As for what Koei Tecmo have coming next, their Gust-developed adaptation of the popular anime Fairy Tail is due to launch this week. Further down the line, however, things get a little murkier. We’re still waiting to hear what the publisher has planned for the next generation of home consoles. It’s been a while since a new mainline instalment in their Warriors franchise was announced.
Dynasty Warriors 9 launched more than two years ago, failing to strike a chord with fans or critics with its shift to a open-world formula. Usually, each Dynasty Warriors game is followed up with ports and expansions though DW9 received no such treatment – hopefully Koei Tecmo and Omega Force are busy working on a next-gen sequel.
Source: Koei Tecmo (via Twinfinite)
EA have revealed the first batch of ratings for the real world fighters to be featured in UFC 4. The game is coming out on 14th August for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, sporting a new five star rating system for ranking all of the fighters in the game.
The new rating system builds on the fighter grade system from UFC 3’s online ranked championships, which grouped fighters into letter-based grades from a number-based OVR. The thing is that this was a little bit too specific, so EA have made it a little more vague to allow them to better group similarly good fighters together.
In addition to an overall star rating, each fighter also has a star rating for their stand up, ground game, health, and moves. In theory this should allow you to find better match ups, or let you focus on a specific area that suits your playstyle.
There’s some new attributes that are being counted toward these – Punch / Kick Speed, Punch / Kick Power, Clinch Striking, Ground Striking, Cardio and Recovery. The attribute system will now be live to track how fighters improve or decline in the real world. Fighter updates will come alongside major UFC events with new attribute and move updates for fighters.
EA have revealed the first 10 fighters, starting at rank 50 and working their way up to the best fighters in the world.
| Rank | Fighter | Weight Class | Overall | Striking OVR | Grapple OVR | Health OVR |
| 50 | Darren Till | Male Middleweight | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 3. STAR | 4 STAR |
| 49 | Paulo Costa | Male Middleweight | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 3 STAR | 4.5 STAR |
| 48 | Anthony Johnson | Male Light Heavyweight | 4 STAR | 5 STAR | 3.5 STAR | 4 STAR |
| 47 | Dominick Reyes | Male Light Heavyweight | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 3.5 STAR | 4.5 STAR |
| 46 | Cody Garbrandt | Male Bantamweight | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 4 STAR | 4 STAR |
| 45 | Tatiana Suarez | Female Strawweight | 4 STAR | 3.5 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 4.5 STAR |
| 44 | Dustin Poirier | Male Lightweight | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR |
| 43 | Ronda Rousey | Female Bantamweight | 4 STAR | 3.5 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 4.5 STAR |
| 42 | Rafael Dos Anjos | Male Welterweight | 4.5 STAR | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 4.5 STAR |
| 41 | Leon Edwards | Male Welterweight | 4.5 STAR | 4.5 STAR | 4 STAR | 4.5 STAR |
We spoke to them about how they’re trying to make the game more responsive than ever, and how there’s a real focus on letting you take your custom fighters into any game mode – find the full interview here. We also checked in on why they were ditching Ultimate Team for the game, and if and how they will be adding support for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
For now, UFC 4 will only be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 14th August.
Source: EA
The Wave 2 Summer Update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been revealed, with some major new additions and features coming to the game this week on 30th July. Fireworks, Dream Suite and island backups here we come!
Making a return from previous entries in the series is the new weekly fireworks show. This will take place at 7PM every Sunday through August, with a fireworks festival let you shoot your little rockets up into the sky. These can have custom-designed patterns that you’ve made. Redd will also be coming back on shore and appear in the plaza to sell items in Redd’s Raffle.
In addition this will be the much anticipated and requested Dream Suite, another returning feature that was last seen in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Except… it’s not so really a suite or a new building. Instead you go to sleep in a bed in your home, at which point a character called Luna. She will let you share your island with a Dream Address, or let you visit the dream islands of other players.
This allows for offline island visits where you have much more freedom compared to visiting another player’s live island. Nothing is saved and nothing is permanent, so you can explore and mess around as much as you like while dreaming.
Finally, there’s the island backup and restoration service. Animal Crossing: New Horizons does not work with Nintendo Switch Online’s traditional cloud saves and system transfer infrastructure, but this will let you now back up your island in case your Switch is lost or broken. You will need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to use this feature, and island recoveries cannot be don independently. Instead, if your Switch is lost, damaged or stolen, you can contact Nintendo Consumer Support and a representative will be able to restore the island and save data to a new or repaired Switch.
And extra-finally, there was a little teaser for what’s coming after August, with a glimpse of Jack the pumpkin and what looks like it will be an autumnal and Halloween themed set of seasonal events.
Animal Crossing Guides from TheSixthAxis
- How to go swimming and diving in New Horizons
- How to meet Pascal and collect the Mermaid DIY recipes in New Horizons
- Leif’s Garden Shop and how to plant shrubs and bushes
- Quick start guide to your new island life
- Bringing Isabelle to your island and upgrade the Resident Services Building
- Blathers and Museum opening guide
- How to help Gulliver find his communicator parts
- Daisy Mae and the Stalk Market guide
- Change up your appearance and outfit
- How to use Amiibo with the Campsite & Photopia
- The 10 best new island names for Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- How to import custom clothes & art with NookLink QR Codes
Horror games don’t have to be gory to be effective. Establishing an atmosphere of dread and discomfort through setting and sound design can go a long way towards creating a successfully frightening experience. There are moments of visceral violence here but these are infrequent and used for emphasis. Maid of Sker definitely aims for a horror approach that emphasises vulnerability and player fragility rather than confrontation and combat as you rely on your sense of hearing to avoid the sinister residents of the Sker Hotel.
As far as locations go, Victorian Wales is a refreshingly original one. Such a historical setting also emphasises the feeling of isolation and paranoia that the game creates – there is no technological assistance or escape to be found here. Cutting edge during this time meant phonographs and internal domestic communications rather than GPS and Wi-Fi. The sense of its place in time is excellently established though the game’s introductory sequence which sees you rushing to your beloved’s assistance on a Victorian train. Alighting from the train, the dilapidated rural location of Sker brings to mind classic horror stories such as The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. This is a horror on a local domestic level rather than the wide cosmic terrors of HP Lovecraft. The intimacy of this threat makes for an effective sense of dread.
Based on a relatively obscure Welsh folktale, the narrative of Maid of Sker unfolds masterfully. Playing as composer Thomas Evans as you tentatively explore the Sker Hotel, the true nature of the threat that faces you is revealed slowly and keeps you guessing right up to the obligatory choice at the game’s conclusion. Hints and information are gradually introduced through collectable notes, recordings on the phonographs that are the game’s equivalent of Resident Evil’s typewriters, and calls on the internal phone contraption from Elizabeth, your beloved. This steady drip of information leads the player through the events without excessive exposition or backstory needed.
Maid of Sker is moody and atmospheric throughout. Obviously the majority of the game is dark and encased in shadow, but there is some spectacular use of lighting and a real sense of authenticity in the Victorian décor. Enemies are a little lacking in variety, but given that they are Victorian men with sacks on their heads I’m not sure how this could have been avoided. The leading figures in their midsts are nicely distinguished through their costumes and all have a suitably menacing appearance as they stalk around corridors and environs of the hotel.
The real selling point of Maid of Sker is the way in which it handles sound. As you explore the hotel and try to avoid the threats, you’ll need to listen out for their footsteps and take cover when needed. Although blind, the enemies will react to the slightest sound (particularly at higher difficulty levels) so a careful approach is required. I did encounter a few inconsistencies in the early review build as enemies would sometimes walk straight past me inches away, but would other times run towards me from far away.
Once you reach the second floor of the hotel, you’ll constantly be chased down by Elizabeth’s uncle, a bowler hat wearing figure whose heavy tread and persistence recalls the Tyrant from Resident Evil 2 Remake. Whilst clearly amplifying the threat level, I actually felt this undermined the careful stealth system, as I’d often run straight into other enemies while trying to avoid him.
Speaking of evil residences, Maid of Sker follows a traditional survival horror path as you explore the hotel and find a series of keys to access locked areas. This is certainly not original but is handled well enough to make any genre fan feel at home. You’ll eventually find a mysterious object that can produce a loud noise to disorientate enemies, though it has limited charges and choosing when to use it becomes something to carefully consider. Managing the noise that you make and controlling your breathing is key throughout, and you’ll find yourself holding your breath as you walk through dust and smoke whilst resisting the urge to cough.
The twisting storyline will have you scouring every inch of the hotel and its surroundings, avoiding enemies and solving environmental puzzles to try and counteract the curse that has been cast over Sker. The puzzles aren’t especially taxing but will require some deductive reasoning to solve. Aside from the occasional inconsistency in enemy’s detection range, the game isn’t overly difficult once you get in the rhythm of hiding and sneaking down, but there will be moments when you become trapped in a corner and will have no choice but to reload. Mostly you’ll find such deaths useful as you can scout out an area when being pursued and plan your approach better for the next time.
I’m not a huge fan of stealth in games, but the atmosphere and setting of Maid of Sker was enough to keep me engaged. It does feel like an odd decision by Wales Interactive not to include traditional hiding mechanics. Yes, the blind enemies shouldn’t be hard to shake, but once they hear you they seemed to display uncanny abilities to track you down. At the same time, the hotel is filled with cupboards, wardrobes, and chests that all look like perfect hiding locations but are frustratingly relegated to background details.
The latest edition of Game Informer has let another next-gen secret out of the bag. Reddit user 77good123 has posted an image from the magazine that explains “Miles Morales isn’t a traditional sequel, since it comes bundled with a remastered version of Insoniac’s Spider-Man that takes full advantage of the PS5 hardware.”
As good as that sounds, we should take it with a pinch of salt. Print magazines like Game Informer have a long lead time, and so they could be working off information that is at least a little bit behind the times. Shortly after the PlayStation 5 reveal event, there was confusion from Sony exec Simon Rutter calling this new Miles Morales game an expansion, and that “within the game as well there’s been major enhancements to the game and the game engine, obviously deploying some of the major PlayStation 5 technology and features.”
Sony and Insomniac quickly clarified that this would be a standalone game, with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reporting that it would be comparable to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy in scope, as it builds off the foundations of the 2018 game. Then again, if Sony and Insomniac were to include an enhanced version of the original game, that would help them justify a $60 price point over a more budget $40 price.
Insomniac has confirmed the new game’s setting by saying it is set a year after the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man and will be taking place in winter. The area of focus will be Miles’ neighbourhood of Harlem which will be the central area of the new story. In Spider-Man: Miles Morales awar between an energy corporation and a high-tech criminal army has broken out, putting the whole city at risk.
Insomniac have also announced one of the visual settings that will be available in Spider-Man: Miles Morales when it launches on PS5, and that setting is Performance mode. When choosing performance mode players will be able to experience Spider-Man: Miles Morales in 4K and running at 60 frames per second. Presumably the remastered game will also include this mode.
In our review, Gareth wrote:
Marvel’s Spider-Man does a spectacular job of making you feel like the ultimate Spider-Man. From swinging through the city at high speed to fighting off legions of enemies by zipping between them and pulling them into the air, its gameplay looks like a scene from the films. It’s remarkably well realised in terms of its world, design, and even technically, with short loading times and a rock solid framerate even on the base PlayStation 4. If Spider-Man is your thing then this is an essential purchase.
You can read the full review here.
Source: Reddit
We’re just months away from the next generation of home consoles yet here we are still talking about upcoming remasters of games from the early 2010s.
For those who weren’t aware, the obscure action RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (our review), is being remastered for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC with a release date of September 8th.
Cleverly dubbed “Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning”, the game is being published by THQ Nordic and developed by Kaiko whose recent games include Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered, Legend of Kay Anniversary Edition, and the Darksiders remasters.
For fans wondering just how much space Re-Reckoning will eat up on their hard-drives, the official Xbox listing for the game may have the answer. According to the Microsoft store page, the approximate download file size is 29.97 GB. Fairly large, sure, though pretty standard for games of this scope and still only a fraction of those megaliths such as Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us Part II, and of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. For reference, the file size for the PlayStation 3 version of the original Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is listed as 13.42 GB.
Those extra bytes will account for remastered assets, giving Re-Reckoning a noticeable boost in terms of visual fidelity. THQ Nordic have also confirmed “gameplay refinements” for the revived RPG while cramming in all the DLC and bonuses released after the original game’s 2012 launch.
Perhaps even more surprising than the remasters announcement, THQ also confirmed a brand new expansion – Fatesworm – coming in 2021.
Here’s the publisher’s official description via the official Xbox store page:
The hit RPG returns! From the minds of the bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston, comes Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning. Remastered with stunning visuals and refined gameplay Re-Reckoning delivers intense, customizable RPG combat inside a sprawling game world. ———- Uncover the secrets of Amalur, from the vibrant city of Rathir to the vast region of Dalentarth to the grim dungeons of the Brigand Hall Caverns. Rescue a world torn apart by a vicious war and control the keys to immortality as the first warrior ever to be resurrected from the grips of death.This year THQ have been on a tear with their remasters, having recently launched SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated and Destroy All Humans!.
Source: Microsoft Store (via TwistedVoxel)
EA Sports have taken to the pitch with a new FIFA 20 title update. Available now across all available platforms, you will need to download this latest FIFA 20 patch in order to access online features including multiplayer and FUT.
Update 1.24 doesn’t make any major changes to FIFA 20 with no new content or features added as part of this small download. Instead it makes the following quick fix to EA’s annualised footie sequel:
“Removed TOTW and FUT Champions Bronze Player Item rarities from displaying on the Special Quality Filter as these items are not present in-game.”
FIFA 20 scored an 8/10 in our review, Aran writing:
FIFA 20 is pretty much what you’d expect from a new FIFA game. FIFA Ultimate Team continues to march on and grow, card packs and all, while the core gameplay has been tweaked, making attacking play feel great as you rip defences apart. The big new feature is Volta Football, and while it’s a fun distraction, it’s not quite as engaging as its FIFA Street predecessors.With FIFA 21 having been announced with a release date of October 9th, support for last year’s instalment is slowly winding down as EA refocus their efforts. Of course they will continue to support FIFA 20 with future updates, fixes, and ongoing online support though the team is no doubt knuckling down for the cross-gen release of FIFA 21.
This year’s entry will be aiming for an entire spread of platforms including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (via Steam and Origin) with a FIFA 21 Legacy Edition coming to the Nintendo Switch. The world-beating football franchise is also set to make its Google Stadia debut, too.
However, more importantly, FIFA 21 will be coming to next generation systems – namely the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Those wanting the game on PS5 or Microsoft’s upcoming console will be able to upgrade their current-gen digital versions at no additional cross, EA have confirmed. This promotion is available until the launch of FIFA 22, giving you plenty of time to make that jump.
You can catch the debut trailer for FIFA 21 above, Kylian Mbappé having recently been confirmed as this year’s cover star for the game.
A while back PlayStation 5 architect Mark Cerny revealed the console would include a feature that allowed you instant access to certain parts of a game and it seems that WCR 9 director Alan Jarniou and product manager Sébastien Waxin have let the cat out of the bag.
They discussed their game with GameReactor Spain who reported the following (via Google Translate):
However, it is the improvements focused on the execution of the software that can end up changing the experience completely, as WRC 9 will implement fully asynchronous and optimized loading, using the new super-fast SSD memories so that the players get behind the wheel in no time, while the function of the PlayStation 5 Activities system will propose instant ‘deeplink’ links from the start menu to directly access races or parts of the game, with the intention of “keeping players hooked”.This seems to the feature that Mark Cerny discussed with Wired a few months ago.
Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them—and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like.GameReactor Spain have since deleted the article but there’s a cached version still available.
Sony’s Matt Maclaurin, VP of UX Design at PlayStation, has revealed this to be a “100% overhaul of the PS4 UI”, which will contrast with Microsoft’s decision to keep the Xbox Series X system UI the same as the Xbox One.
He describes it as “A little more pragmatic, but a 100% overhaul of PS4 UI and some very different new concepts.” This includes “Largely cleaning up core functionality, but some key new bets that you’ll see soon,” though that still means there’s “a whole new visual language and a complete rearchitecting of the user interface.”
Source: GameReactor / WCCFtech
The Eastern Front of World War 1 is an ideal historical setting for an online tactical first person shooter. Unlike the static and relatively unmoving trench warfare on the Western Front, there was far more troop movement to the east. Vast distances had to be crossed by both forces, resulting in a conflict where the victor was often decided by decisive tactical manoeuvring, and it is this strategic element, of utilising tactics to out manoeuvre your enemy, that forms the gameplay foundations of Tannenberg.
Tannenberg is the follow up to the earlier Verdun, and the similarities are clear to see. Both games share a bleak colour palette, each hampered by antiquated visuals and elevated by killer sound design. They also both take tremendous risks with their gameplay choices, attempting to offer a more historically ‘authentic’ experience than their genre rivals. Neither game is a fast-paced action fest, instead providing a slow and methodical combat experience, but whilst Verdun became bogged down in repetitive trench warfare, Tannenberg goes in the opposite direction. This is a game that attempts to bring movement and momentum to the Verdun formula, whilst also retaining the attempts at realism. Sadly, the end result isn’t entirely successful.
There’s three game modes on offer. A standard deathmatch and a team based variant are joined by the far more interesting Manoeuvre mode. Here two teams of twenty (or thirty-two on PC) are pitted against one another, each force vying for the control over one of the nine impressively large maps. They’ll achieve victory by capturing different zones that provide boosts to stats, access to artillery fire or bonus points. Once you’ve got them, you’ll need to hold them against counter attacks, whittle down the opposing sides resource meter and win the battle. For particularly daring teams, you can attempt to control the zones around the enemy HQ, and doing so allows you to launch a final and decisive offensive in an attempt to secure their base.
In contrast to the predominantly ‘everyone for themselves’ chaos of an entry in the Battlefield series, Tannenberg attempts the Sisyphean task of getting people online to work together as a team. It mostly manages it too. Each four player squad consists of complementary roles; an officer to command, assault and long range specialists for combat, and a support to provide ammunition. It’s vital that the squad works together, as just one or two shots are enough to put anyone down in Tannenberg, uttering some very convincing screams and moans as your avatar crumples to the ground.
Tannenberg encourages teamwork by having squad spawns be by far the easiest and most effective method to return to battle. There’s also instructions, commands and observations to be yelled, though sadly these are selected by controls far too fiddly to be of any actual use. For the most part your team mates will be silent, other than the screaming of their death throes or the gruesome sound of the air leaking from their pierced lung – the sound design really is horribly effective.
What works far better is the mini-map, a tool that allows you to select points of attack or defence with ease. Even better is the fact that your suggested approach is marked with a big green arrow. You can even see the other squads direction of attack too. This simple mechanic means you can actually coordinate and carry out tactics with your teammates. You’ll be successfully initiating flanking manoeuvres and unleashing sneak attacks in no time. If I could marry this mini-map I would; it’s everything I ever wanted from one.
This is an online shooter that actually has tactics then, rather than just running and gunning. Tannenberg has little running, nor indeed, gunning. The historical weapons are, as you would expect considering the period the game is set in, an absolute chore to aim and reload. On one hand I’m impressed in the attempt at realism – forcing players to expend an entire ammo clip before they can manually reload is a bold choice – but there’s really no excuse for the lack of heft, weight and sense of impact that the guns provide. Often it feels like you’re wielding a ‘Laser Quest’ rifle. And not one of the good ones, one of the faulty packs with a dodgy sensor that means you never hit anyone.
All of which makes the combat feel very samey and a bit boring. Even the melee weapons offer little excitement – hacking off limbs with a sabre, bonking a bonce with binoculars or slugging a foe with a shovel all result in the same accidental and borderline embarrassing ‘flailing technique’. As such it often looks like an enemy has collapsed due to some long-term health condition, rather than because of anything you’re doing.
Matters aren’t helped by a curious lack of anything for the different squad roles to actually do. Officers can call in artillery attacks (awesome), but everyone else on the squad is limited to the uninspired combat or plopping out an occasional ammo crate. There’s also little to interact with on the battlefields other than machine gun nests – I found myself pining for a biplane to fly or longing for a horse to ride just to shake the combat up a bit. Instead I had a plethora of only slightly different but entirely historically accurate bolt-action rifles to shoot.
If ever a game was hampered by its attempts at authenticity then it’s Tannenberg. M2H and BlackMill Games were so in pursuit of realism that they sacrificed too much fun in the process, resulting in a samey shooter that often ends up being a bit dull. There’s some great tactical elements to Tannenberg but boring combat does not a good online shooter make. Despite its budget price this is a far too limited experience, after a few hours of online play you’ll have seen everything Tannenberg has to offer and have little reason to return for more.
Codemasters have released update 1.06 for F1 2020, adding the black Mercedes W11 livery and driver suits to the game, alongside other tweaks and fixes.
With the absolute shambles that is 2020, F1’s 2020 season got off to a much, much delayed start earlier this month. With the teams having to navigate the tricky waters of financing during the global pandemic, this saw a number of livery changes compared to those that would have been used at the planned season opener in Australia, with Codemasters having to make changes to the game after release.
Better late than never, the black livery looks as good in game as it does in real life:
The updated livery comes just in time for this weekend’s British Grand Prix. While it’s a few weeks after the game’s release, the timing is great to emphasise the reason for the livery change. It’s Lewis Hamilton’s home grand prix, and it was his position as the sport’s only black driver and influence within the sport that saw Mercedes make the change from their traditional silver livery. The black livery is a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement and comes alongside a commitment to improve diversity within the team and sport.
The black livery isn’t everything in this patch, here’s what else is in update 1.06:
If it wasn’t for the addition of My Team, F1 2020 would go down as being great for newcomers, but past the best before date for those who have enjoyed recent iterations. Some elements are now very tired, but being able to oversee the running of your own team proves to be incredibly satisfying and just enough of a distraction – for now. F1 2020 highlights just how much of a team sport Formula 1 is, and that can only be a good thing.
Source: Codemasters
- Mercedes car and driver suits updated to the black livery.
- Fixed an issue in unranked multiplayer where a host disconnection resulted in AI having unrealistic lap times.
- Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll now wear the correct gloves.
- Fixed a progression issue in My Team career which could occur after an Invitational event.
- Fixed a progression issue in My Team career which could occur at the end of a season.
- The Savant sponsor will now correctly pay out.
- Various other stability and bug fixes.
If it wasn’t for the addition of My Team, F1 2020 would go down as being great for newcomers, but past the best before date for those who have enjoyed recent iterations. Some elements are now very tired, but being able to oversee the running of your own team proves to be incredibly satisfying and just enough of a distraction – for now. F1 2020 highlights just how much of a team sport Formula 1 is, and that can only be a good thing.
Source: Codemasters
The next-gen console wars are over before they have even started according to sources in the supply chains that are manufacturing the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Digitimes, a publication that covers global ICT supply chains for technology, has a report based on the “backend supply chain in Taiwan” for the consoles and reports that PS5 is aiming to ship 120 million consoles, roughly twice the number they say the Xbox Series X will sell.
They also suggest the life span of the PS5 will be shorter than that of previous consoles.
The life cycle for household game consoles may be shortened to five years from 6-7 years, and PS5 shipments may challenge 120-170 million units when its 5-year cycle expires, compared to 110 million units registered to date for PS4 launched in November 2013, the sources said, adding that Sony has recently boosted its PS5 shipment estimate for 2020 to near 10 million units.While it’s clearly far to early to speculate on sales the information comes from sources in the supply chains and Sony will have placed orders for components for a good few years ahead so that will give a rough indication of production plans.
Amazon recently put up placeholder listings for the PlayStation 5 console and they suggest that you may need to reinforce your shelving as the console weighs 4.78kg. For reference, that’s only slightly heavier that the launch model ‘fat’ PlayStation 3 console, and over 2kg heavier than the current PlayStation 4.
We now know what the PlayStation 5 will look like, and have seen plenty of games that will be running on next-gen consoles, but what about the stuff that lives between the games and the hardware? Sony’s Matt Maclaurin, VP of UX Design at PlayStation, has revealed this to be a “100% overhaul of the PS4 UI”, which will contrast with Microsoft’s decision to keep the Xbox Series X system UI the same as the Xbox One.
MacLaurin has been responding to questions via LinkedIn – an unusual avenue to talk to console gamers, to be sure – digging into some of the philosophies of the next-gen system software, but without really going into too much detail ahead of its reveal.
He describes it as “A little more pragmatice, but a 100% overhaul of PS4 UI and some very different new concepts.” This includes “Largely cleaning up core functionality, but some key new bets that you’ll see soon,” though that still means there’s “a whole new visual language and a complete rearchitecting of the user interface.”
Most important for a lot of PS4 fans (and fans hoping that the PS5 doesn’t just sound of fans) is that the “experience goals measured in milliseconds across the entire UI.”
Source: Digitimes
With the reveal of Remedy’s CrossfireX single player campaign at last week’s Xbox Games Showcase, we got to see a glimpse of what will be one of the biggest console exclusive titles heading to Xbox One and Xbox Series X in 2020.
But how will you get to play it? A few eyebrows were raised by the small print on the trailer that said “CrossfireX multiplayer is free to play (Xbox Live Gold required). Single player not in Xbox Game Pass (sold separately).” This stood out as an exception to Microsoft’s general rule that everything on show would be available in Xbox Game Pass. So what’s the dish?
Simply put, everything during the Xbox Games Showcase will be in Xbox Game Pass… or it’s a free to play game. So with CrossfireX’s multiplayer being free to play, the single player can be released outside of Game Pass. This has been revealed that CrossfireX’s campaign will be available in a “Premium Battle Pass” at launch, coming alongside the free to play multiplayer modes.
We got a behind the scenes look at a mission from the CrossfireX campaign and the work that Remedy have done with their first first person shooter, twisting their Northlight engine to a new use. You can read some of our thoughts and impressions, alongside input from the game’s creators in our CrossfireX campaign preview.
CrossfireX is the console oriented follow up to the hugely popular PC original, which has managed to amass a staggering 650 million players. It features two warring PMC factions, the Global Risk and Black List, and it’s their globetrotting escapades that the single player campaign will tell. Operation Spectre is the first of these, telling the store of Luis Torres as he’s transformed from a petty thief into the Ghost, a super soldier for the Black List.
The first gameplay teaser for CrossfireX came at XO19 last year, following on from the E3 2019 announcement. At the time it was only confirmed for Xbox One, but with mention of “Xbox consoles” plural, it teased that the game would be coming natively to Xbox Series X (which was still codenamed Project Scarlett at the time).
CrossfireX is coming as a timed exclusive to Xbox One and Xbox Series X this year – a “console launch exclusive” as revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase. The multiplayer will be free-to-play, with Remedy’s single player story campaign sold separately.
Source: Xbox Wire