Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity Director is Very Happy With Fan Reaction So Far
Koei Tecmo and Nintendo held another Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity stream at TGS 2020, on the Game Live Japan stream of Famitsu and Dengeki Online. Just like the first stream, this new one featured Producer Yousuke Hayashi, and Director Ryouta Matsushita. Producer Hayashi said he's pretty happy with the fan reaction from yesterday, and they'll do their best with development till release. Director Matsushita is pretty happy everyone called Impa cute.
After a short quiz and an info recap, we got to see more gameplay. They showed a different stage slightly further from the beginning of the game, with Link, Zelda, Impa, and Daruk fighting. Note that we didn't directly see Zelda gameplay.
The gameplay part focused on Impa and Daruk. Explaining how each character can use the Sheikah Slate in a different way. Time slows down a bit when triggering it too so you have the time to target the enemies.
Additionally, Nintendo published new artwork for the game, you can find it in the gallery below with the gameplay.
Zelda Musou Yakusai no Mokushiroku / Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity will launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch on November 20. You can preorder it on Amazon to support us.
The post Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity Director is Very Happy With Fan Reaction So Far by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.
Sakura Kakumei New Trailer Revealed At TGS 2020, More News Coming October 9
Sega published a new trailer for Sakura Kakumei Hanasaku Otome Tachi at TGS 2020 . The trailer teases some of the game's story. It also announces the very first Sakura Kakumei focused stream, coming on October 9, at 1200 JST. We'll be thoroughly covering it like every Sakura Taisen stream so far.
You can find the new Sakura Kakumei trailer below.
【青ヶ島司令部より】
『サクラ革命』のサービス開始に向けて、
本作の魅力をお伝えしていく公式放送「青ヶ島司令部通信」の配信が10/9(金)12:00に決定！
「青ヶ島司令部通信」特設サイトにて次回予告を公開いたしました！詳しくは→https://t.co/ds4Jpbj9kG #サクラ革命 #青ヶ島司令部通信 pic.twitter.com/St6wLdGN4R
— サクラ革命【公式】 (@sakura_kakumei) September 27, 2020
Developed by DelightWorks and Sega, Sakura Kakumei Hanasaku Otome Tachi is scheduled to launch before 2020 ends on mobile in Japan.
Developing…
The post Sakura Kakumei New Trailer Revealed At TGS 2020, More News Coming October 9 by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires, Dynasty Warriors on Mobile Revealed At TGS 2020
Koei Tecmo held a special event for the Dynasty Warriors series on the final day of TGS 2020, most notably revealing Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires. The stream featured Dynasty Warriors Producer Akihiro Suzuki. Note that this was primarily an event to celebrate the Dynasty Warriors / Shin Sangoku Musou 20th anniversary, so most of the stream was nostalgia, looking back on the series, reading messages from fans, etc. The two game announcements happened on the final part of the stream.
The first game announced was as expected a mobile game simply titled Shin Sangoku Musou, coming to iOS and Android in Japan. It'll be an action game celebrating the 20th anniversary of the series. The game will have new illustrations and costumes for the characters. The costumes will be reflected during gameplay and will also have stats as equipment. The game's story will be a brand new original one. New characters will be obtainable through gacha. Rarities are R, SR, and SSR. An official Twitter for the game was opened, and a closed beta pre registration started as well.
Next, the other game was announced: Turns out it's Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires, coming in Early 2021 to PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X, and Steam.
Producer Akihiro Suzuki explained some of the game: Shin Sangoku Musou 8 Empires / Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is the first game in the Empires spinoff series in six years. It will have upgraded visuals and gameplay systems to match Dynasty Warriors 9. The country management system was revamped. You'll still be able to customize you avatar, with a revamped Edit function.
Producer Suzuki said there are many other new things they can't tell us yet. Additional details will be coming at a later date via Famitsu, and on the game's official site. Producer Suzuki's happy they were finally able to announce the game, as with Covid-19 it was really hard to find the right timing.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires celebrates the 20th anniversary of the series. Producer Akihiro Suzuki also confirmed Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires isn't open world.
【#TGS】
＼Empiresシリーズ最新作！／『真・三國無双８ Empires』正式発表！
情報は後日公開いたしますので、お待ちください！#真・三國無双 #真・三國無双8エンパ pic.twitter.com/T9QFJJGQSE— 真・三國無双 公式 (@s_sangokumusou) September 27, 2020
Be sure to check all our TGS 2020 coverage.
The post Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires, Dynasty Warriors on Mobile Revealed At TGS 2020 by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.
PSO2 New Genesis First Live Gameplay, Details Revealed At TGS 2020
Sega revealed new details and gameplay for Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis at TGS 2020. We saw in action the three basic Class you can choose from: Hunter, Ranger, Force, and how the game is divided between exploration and battles. Note that while the gameplay sequences linked below are on the Japanese stream, there was a live translated English version of the stream you can catch here.
As a reminder, PSO2 New Genesis was first announced in July. New Genesis is accessible within PSO2 itself and isn't a separate game. All of existing PSO2 will be upgraded with the new engine used by New Genesis as well, and you can freely switch between PSO2 original blocks or New Genesis blocks. Read more on the game here.
The stream started by reintroducing Phantasy Star elements for those unfamiliar with it, starting with the races Human, Newman, Cast, and Dewman (horns + heterochromia, not featured in the video but already playable in PSO2):
Following that, the three base Class were introduced, Hunter, Ranger, and Force.
Hunter are balanced classes between close-ranged attacks and defense. They can use close-ranged Photon Arts. The Hunter Class is still based on these same concepts as usual. The novelty here is that the normal attack combo is five hits long, with the last hit being more powerful. One thing that disappeared compared to regular PSO2 and PSO1 is the Just Attack. When you pressed the attack button at the right moment during the combo, you'd do more damage. They explained that they removed it so you can focus more on the action itself.
Hunter characters can also guard with their Sword, and if you guard at the right moment and attack right after, you trigger a counter attack equivalent to the more powerful, last attack of a normal five hit combo.
Playing a Hunter character with a Sword weapon is the recommended thing to do for beginners.
PSO2 NGS Hunter Gameplay:
The Ranger Class is the usual long range specialist. Like in current PSO2, as you shoot normal attacks you regain PP to activate Photon Arts. To deal the maximum amount of damage with the Rifle normal attack, you need to stay in mid range. If you're too close or too far, you won't deal as much damage. You can tell you do the max amount of damage when there's a slash like effect on the enemies you hit. Rifle weapons have a special action called Slide Shot which lets you quickly correct your distance with enemies. Like in PSO2, you can switch to TPS mode with a target cursor to aim specific enemy parts.
PSO2 NGS Ranger Gameplay:
Lastly we have the Force Class, long range specialist. They shoot bullet attacks with their Rod weapon to restore PP, and then spend PP to use Techniques, with the usual Techniques coming back. In PSO2 New Genesis, Techniques change whether you charge them or not.
We have Foie, the fire Technique which deals high damage. If you use Foie as is, it'll launch a fireball. If you charge Foie, it'll summon an explosion directly on the locked enemy.
Next we have Barta, the usual ice Technique. When you shoot it normally, if it hits the enemy, it'll make ice crystals appear. When you charge Barta, it'll deal heavy damage to the enemy if they had ice crystals on them.
Note that they didn't introduce traditional lightning Technique Zonde.
Like Hunter Class characters using Sword weapons, Force Class characters using Rod weapons can guard at the right timing to negate enemy attacks. It's a pretty surprising change as Force in basic PSO2 didn't have a guard action like this.
PSO2 NGS Force Gameplay:
Besides Sword, Rifle, and Rod, many more weapons for each Class are included in New Genesis, and will be revealed later on.
Next, we saw some of the new gameplay features. PSO2 NGS is described as an "Open Field", it's made of multiple large areas connected together. The gameplay is divided in two "Sections", the Exploration Section and the Battle Section.
During Exploration, you can explore areas and gather items that will be useful for your adventures. Like fruits on trees. You can also fight big enemies named Teins on the field to get materials. They aren't strong but run away when you start attacking them, so they'll get away if you're not careful. Overall it's a revamped version of the Gathering system already present in normal PSO2.
PSO2 NGS Exploration Section Gameplay:
Next, we got to see Battle Section gameplay, with an explanation of the Party System.
Rather than meeting up with people at the quest counter, you meet them directly at the (seamless) entrances of Battle Sections and form a party of four players in total. Enemies appear randomly on the map, but are indicated with yellow E markers, with a number showing how far they are. We got introduced to the different Dolls, the monsters in PSO2 NGS. The smallest ones are called Fwan, they're small enemies who fly around. Once you defeat enemies, there's a certain percentage of chance that a Trial will trigger. This is the same thing as Emergency Trial in normal PSO2. If a Trial is triggered, the game will show you where with a blue T marker. The Trial has various conditions and most of the time like in PSO2 it'll be defeating a set number of enemies.
You can still do the Step Action too, with a faster attack called Step Attack triggering if you attack right after Step Action. If you Step Attack at the right time, evading enemy blows, you'll trigger a powerful counterattack. You can do Step Attack with Hunter + Sword or Ranger + Rifle.
We saw multiple type of enemies, each with their strength and weaknesses, like enemies who nullify damage from the front. Some monsters are also weak to specific elements of Force Techniques. If you attack them with the correct element, you can stun them for a bit with a "Element Down" effect.
PSO2 NGS Battle Section Gameplay
Later on in a press release, Sega explained additional details. Up to 8 players / two parties of 4 players can fight in the same Section together. The traditional Lobby system is still there too, with up to 100 players in a lobby. In Sections, you can also recover HP at specific points called Resta Sign.
Be sure to check out our schedule for TGS 2020 and our specific schedule for Sega Atlus events to keep track of everything.
Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis is coming in 2021. In Japan it'll be on the same platforms as PSO2, PC, PS4, Switch via Cloud. In the west it'll be on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Windows 10, and on Steam.
The post PSO2 New Genesis First Live Gameplay, Details Revealed At TGS 2020 by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.
Super Mario Bros. It's-a Me, Mario Action Figure is Wahoo-ing to a Store Near You
Nintendo has yet again found a way to capitalize on the insane popularity and marketability of their flagship character Mario. The official Nintendo of America Twitter account posted a status update promoting their brand new merchandise: the Super Mario Bros. It's-a Me, Mario Action Figure:
Don't slip up, get your Super Mario Bros. It's-a Me, Mario Action Figure today! With over 30 phrases and sound effects, you and Mario will both be saying wahoo!
: https://t.co/j2gxB08jR2 pic.twitter.com/I4VETEksj4
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 25, 2020
The official website the action figure makes over 30 Mario phrases and game sounds. There are 15 points of articulation, with five of those poses activating game songs.
According to the official site's description: "Bring Super Mario to life with the ultimate figure, It's-a-me, Mario! Kids of all ages will have endless fun with the 12-inch tall Mario, packed with over 30 phrases and sound effects from the games. Includes the voice of Mario with iconic phrases like 'woo-hoo,' 'it's-a-me' and many others! Trigger points on Mario's hands, feet, and hat activate the sound effects and phrases. Pose Mario in five different ways to unlock game music — there are five songs to reveal. Lifting Mario quickly even activates his jumping sound. This authentically detailed and poseable figure has 15 points of articulation. It's the perfect addition for every Super Mario fan." You can order the action figure here for $49.99 at Amazon, Gamestop, Target, and Walmart.
The most recent Mario title to release is 3D All-Stars was announced by Nintendo earlier this month as part of the company's celebrations for Mario's 35th anniversary, which also included a mixed-reality Mario Kart title, a new Mario battle royale-esque game, and the Switch release of Super Mario 3D World in February. The company also announced a variety of Mario-themed events taking place in recent Switch and mobile titles such as Mario Kart Tour and Super Mario Maker 2.
The 3D All-Stars collection was rumored for some time until Nintendo's confirmation, and it was also revealed that 3D All-Stars is a limited time release until March 31st, 2021 for both the physical and digital versions of the game. And according to the UK sales so far, it's debuted as the third biggest game launch of 2020 in the UK, with The Last of Us Part II and Animal Crossing: New Horizons as the only two titles for the year ranked above it.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars is available now on Nintendo Switch for a limited time. Check out why we think this release will be the start of something bigger for Mario fans. You can also check out our definitive rankings of all the 3D Mario titles, which is pretty solid if I do say so myself.
The post Super Mario Bros. It's-a Me, Mario Action Figure is Wahoo-ing to a Store Near You by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.
How Does the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S Taste?
Here's a question… how does the next generation of Xbox taste? While others are asking around to find out how it will stack up graphically to the PS5, or what the UI looks like, we are asking the tough questions. Without an Xbox Series X on-hand, it's a bit tougher to dig into these answers but our dedicated band of journalists
have their ways to get these answers.
News comes from a conversation between Windows Central's Tech Editor Jez Cordon and DualShockers' Senior Staff Writer Benjamin Bayliss. In the Tweet below, Jez highlights some of of Windows Central's upcoming coverage on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series X:
Sneak peek at the video @MilesDompier @WCGamingTweets is working on for y'all❎ pic.twitter.com/k3tWn5Dm7Q
— Jez (@JezCorden) September 26, 2020
However, while this was a strong visual showcase of the current gen and next gen consoles, we could tell that Jez was hiding something: what exactly the Microsoft machines tasted like. Everyone knows that as soon as you get a new piece of hardware (or software), you remove the shrink wrap and pop that bad boy in your mouth. I mean… how else would people have found out that the Nintendo Switch cartridges have a terrible-tasting protective coat?
Knowing the burning question was on everyone's mind, Bayliss quickly asked if we could get a taste test:
Can we get a taste test?
People tasted the Switch cards, so I want taste tests of the Xbox consoles AND expansion cards. Thank you.
— Ben Bayliss (@Ben_Bayliss) September 26, 2020
Thankfully, Cordon was able to get back to us quickly. In a surprise reveal, Microsoft — while pulling out all their stops on acquisitions and messaging — has made a fatal error. According to Cordon, the Xbox Series S|X "tastes pretty bland/neutral." In a year of back-to-back PR successes for Microsoft, this is a killing blow and their first real misstep of next gen:
Can confirm Xbox Series S|X tastes pretty bland/neutral. . . https://t.co/abSe8uJor9
— Jez (@JezCorden) September 26, 2020
For anyone who isn't immediately turned off from the news, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X will officially release on November 8, 2020 — though currently sold out, you should keep an eye on Amazon for restocks to help support DualShockers.
The post How Does the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S Taste? by James Gournalist appeared first on DualShockers.
Street Fighter V Previews Upcoming Fighter Dan in New Gameplay Trailer
Capcom's Special Program TGS livestream debuted a new Street Fighter V gameplay trailer for upcoming season 5 fighter Dan. The video demonstrates his entire moveset, as well as his taunts, and it seems like the resident joke character is still up to his old tricks again. Which I'm sure hardcore Dan fans will be happy to hear.
Dan and a host of new content hit SFV in winter 2020. This includes a stage, some costumes, and a new battle mechanic. In spring 2021, Rose fans will be happy to see her join the crew, with Oro and Akira releasing in summer 2021. Those updates will also drop new stages and costumes, and it seems that Dan is getting the biggest slice of the content pie.
Currently, the team is still keeping the fifth and final fighter under wraps. While we know they're coming during winter 2021, we have no idea who it is at this time. Make sure to stay tuned for then that info becomes available.
Street Fighter V: Champion Edition launched earlier this year on February 14th. The Champion Edition included 40 characters, 34 stages, over 200 costumes, and all the modes released so far for the title. In addition, Gill — the main villain of Street Fighter 3 — was added to the roster either through the Champion Edition in February 2020. Seth from Street Fighter IV also made his debut with a complete redesign.
However, poor netcode continues to be a long running issue among players. Back in January a subredditor by the name of Altimor took to fixing it on the PC side, showing that it could be done in two days. Unfortunately the code did not work for PS4 and broke crossplay between the console and PC. Then on February 12th, Street Fighter V Executive Producer Yoshinori Ono announced on Twitter that Capcom was working on a netcode adjustment for a later release. Six days later, that patch came out and the results have been muddled, to say the least.
You still have time to snatch up Street Fighter V as one of the free PS Plus Games for this month, until October 5th. So if you have a membership, now's a good time to take the game out for a test drive.
The post Street Fighter V Previews Upcoming Fighter Dan in New Gameplay Trailer by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Livestream Details Story and Characters
During another Capcom Special Program stream at Tokyo Game Show 2020, more gameplay details were revealed for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. The livestream reconfirms that Red is not the player but is considered a legendary Monster Rider in the world. The Stories 2 protagonist is a descendant of Red (the grandson) and you'll be able to customize your protagonist in very different ways.
You can also chose from the main weapons in the mainline Monster Hunter series (sword and shield, hammer, hunting horn, and longsword), and four more weapons will be revealed at a later date.
Ena (a Wyverian girl) accompanies the protagonist and has been entrusted with an egg by a Ratha; she possesses a Kinship stone which is used by riders to bond with their mounts. Which is strange because she's not a rider herself, but this contradiction seems to be key to the story (though details are still unknown).
There will collaboration content between Stories 2 and Monster Hunter Rise, with more details on that content coming soon. Monster Hunter Rise launches worldwide on March 26, 2021 on Switch. Stories 2 is coming on Switch worldwide in Summer 2021. There will also be three amiibo figures depicting the new riding companion Palamute, the classic fighting companion Palico, and the flagship monster of the game Magnamalo.
The most recent entry in the Monster Hunter franchise was Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Its latest developer diary starred executive/art director Kaname Fujioka and director Ichihara Daisuke and covered a slew of topics and updates for the title. It includes Rajang, Layered Armor, a new volcanic region for the Guiding Lands, and more. Players also received two new patches called update versions 11.00 and 11.01, which included bug fixes and balance adjustments among other gameplay improvements.
Overall Monster Hunter World has sold over 14 million copies, including sales of the recent expansion pack Iceborne. In other news Resident Evil 2 came to Iceborne back in November along with some hilariously out of place Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy costumes. Of course the series has always been rather touch-in-cheek about these things, so it's definitely part of its weird sense of humor.
Monster Hunter World is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Iceborne expansion for the title we found to be phenomenal and is available now on consoles. The expansion came out for PC in January and you can check out our review for that here.
The post Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Livestream Details Story and Characters by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.
Warzone is Getting a Subway System to Use as Fast-Travel
Part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's season 6 includes a fast travel system for Warzone. The battle royal map will get a new subway system titled the Metro. It will allow players to swiftly move between seven different subway stations all across the map.
Players will need to find one of the new stations and run down the staircase. Hop over the turnstiles and proceed down further. Each station has two different directions you can take that both include small rooms with ladders that can be used to escape back up to the surface. If you would like to catch a ride, proceed down to the main platform where you will have to wait for the train.
The subway will not move if there is fighting on board, essentially making the Metro a safe haven in the game. However, if you step onto the tracks, it is instant death and your teammates will not be able to revive you or pick up your loot.
I think the Metro will be a nice change of pace for Warzone. I am sure players will change their playstyles around the new system and figure out new tricks that might help out their chances. It could also be a great "we got to get the hell out of here" tool that players can use.
On top of that, the subway will allow players to engage in combat at close quarters. Wesley Yin-Poole from Eurogamer had a great point stating that shotguns might actually be useful now in Warzone. It might actually be the most useful weapon if the circle ends on top of a subway station.
The post Warzone is Getting a Subway System to Use as Fast-Travel by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.
Monster Hunter Rise Live Gameplay Shows More Palamute and Waterbug Mechanics
During another Capcom Special Program stream at Tokyo Game Show 2020, more gameplay details were revealed for Monster Hunter Rise, as well as live gameplay. The new gameplay shows off the Shrine ruins, utilizing the wire bug, using a Palamut and a Palico, and a fight with a monster that demonstrates how the new mechanics come into play.
The Action Slider lets you issue commands to your Palamute but you can also use a shortcut menu to issue quick commands and mount it as well. The most important fact we learned is that the Palamute will never die, if it gets too injured it will run for a bit and recuperate before returning to battle.
The wirebug adds a ton of different options for exploration such as being able to stick to walls and scale them. Normally wirebugs require a timed recharge and you can only use two at once. But through a sidequest, you can increase the amount of wirebugs from two to three. You can also use wirebugs to make massive jumps and increase the range of your exploration, and these points can be found around the map. Every weapon has their own unique attack combinations and mobility moves in conjunction with the wirebug, which players can discover.
However, veterans can easily jump right into the fray without worrying about mastering these new features. And as a nod to old fans, some past monsters will be making an appearance in this game too.
A collectable buff will be available around the map, which will boost stamina/health. The protagonist will also speak more, however, players can adjust this in the menu and essentially make him a silent hero.
You can watch the full gameplay video below (courtesy of GamersPrey for the footage):
Monster Hunter Rise launches worldwide on March 26, 2021 on Switch. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is coming on Switch worldwide in Summer 2021. Pre-orders for Rise will include a layered armor for golden retriever and forest cat, along with the novice talisman. There will also be three amiibo figures depicting the new riding companion Palamute, the classic fighting companion Palico, and the flagship monster of the game Magnamalo.
The most recent entry in the Monster Hunter franchise was Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Its latest developer diary starred executive/art director Kaname Fujioka and director Ichihara Daisuke and covered a slew of topics and updates for the title. It includes Rajang, Layered Armor, a new volcanic region for the Guiding Lands, and more. Players also received two new patches called update versions 11.00 and 11.01, which included bug fixes and balance adjustments among other gameplay improvements.
Overall Monster Hunter World has sold over 14 million copies, including sales of the recent expansion pack Iceborne. In other news Resident Evil 2 came to Iceborne back in November along with some hilariously out of place Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy costumes. Of course the series has always been rather touch-in-cheek about these things, so it's definitely part of its weird sense of humor.
Monster Hunter World is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Iceborne expansion for the title we found to be phenomenal and is available now on consoles. The expansion came out for PC in January and you can check out our review for that here.
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