15 Video Games That Did Something Unique With Their Genre

Ours is an industry that, like any other, is built upon iteration. Ideas are pioneered, others pick them up, build upon them, and take them to greater heights with new and more fleshed out efforts. But every once in a while, rather than following the norm, some developers choose to break tradition, and try new and unique things, putting fresh spins on ideas that have existed for years, and in the process giving them a completely different look and feel. In this feature, we're going to talk about fifteen games that did just that.

SUPER SMASH BROS. 

The fighting genre is nearly as old as the medium of video games itself, and in a genre that is as ubiquitous and constant as this one, it's hard to innovate. When Super Smash Bros. came out for the N64 in 1999, however, that was exactly what it did. How exactly? Well, on paper, the idea was a simple one- rather than knocking your opponent's health down to zero, you just… knock them off the stage. And yet that simple idea completely changed how we approached the game, injecting a kind of chaotic and frenetic energy into the proceedings the way not many fighters do.

Soulcalibur 6 – Hwang Joins the Roster on December 2nd

Soulcalibur 6 - Hwang

After being absent from Soulcalibur 4 and 5, Hwang returns for Soulcalibur 6. He'll be available on December 2nd as a new DLC character in Season Pass 2. Check out the trailer below to see him in action and appreciate the new look.

As part of the initial roster in Soul Edge, Hwang is wielding a new weapon called Dark Thunder and seemingly a demon hunter/exorcist. He's still incredibly skilled with the blade and chaining together martial arts though. Along with Hwang, a new update will also launch that adds the new Motien Pass Ruins.

Seong Mi-na's classic costume parts and new episodes for Mitsurugi and Nightmare are also coming. Then there's the Character Creation Set F which will allow for even more character customization. Soulcalibur 6 is currently available for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. With Season Pass 2 coming to a close, it should be interesting to see if any more support is planned. Stay tuned, as always, for more details.

Second Extinction Gets in the Festive Mood With New Trailer

second extinction

Systemic Reaction's co-op first person shooter Second Extinction has looked like an interesting prospect since it was first revealed back in May, thanks to some interesting ideas such as it community-driven progression, and the fact that the game's all about blowing up super-mutant dinosaurs with fast and flashy action.

Now, the developer has released a brief new trailer for the game. It's less than half a minute long, so it's not the beefiest trailer you're going to see, but it captures the tone the game is going for quite well. Duke Nukem voice actor Jon St. John gets festive with a song sung in the background, while the on-screen action shows dinosaurs getting shot in the face with bullets and rockets. Check it out below.

Second Extinction is currently available in early access on Steam. When it launches in full, it will also be available on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. You can get more details on the game in our interview with the developer through here.

Silent Hill 3 – 10 Reasons Why It Was One Hell of a Game

Whenever people think of Silent Hill, it's either Silent Hill 2 or P.T. that come to mind. As such, Silent Hill 3 should be considered in the same regard, especially coming off of Silent Hill 2. But what made it so special? Here are ten key reasons. Be warned of spoilers, especially when it comes to the major twists.

The Protagonist

silent hill 3

Following the introspective look at James Sunderland and his actions in Silent Hill 2, it's interesting to shift to Heather Mason as the new "hero." From the outset, Heather is aloof and sarcastic, almost distant from the horrors unfolding around her. She's conflicted about her existence. But following a tragedy that befalls her before venturing to Silent Hill, there is a resolve that builds, a determination to fight against The Cult. Perhaps most appealing is that in the midst of all this, Heather doesn't come across as a typical "hero" but as an empathetic figure who seeks to stop The Order's plans, like her father before her had done.

Apex Legends Developer Reveals Top 5 Most Played Characters in Season 7

apex legends

Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends has seen some ups and downs this season, mostly due to its Battle Pass progression. Nevertheless, the free to play battle royale shooter is still going strong. In a new tweet, the development team revealed the top 5 most played characters in Season 7: Ascension.

Surprising no one, Wraith is in first place, followed by Bloodhound. New Legend Horizon, who can use gravity to reach higher places and congregate enemies together, is in third. Speedster Octane is in fourth place with Lifeline rounding out the list in fifth.

It's interesting to see that three of the five most played characters this season have been available since the game's launch in February 2019. Aside from Horizon, Octane is the only new Legend to be in the list with newcomers like Revenant, Loba, Crypto and Rampart being omitted. Whether things will change in the coming weeks or next season remains to be seen so stay tuned.

Immortals Fenyx Rising – Monster Hunt Twitch Extension Revealed

immortals fenyx rising

Before the launch of Immortals Fenyx Rising, Ubisoft has revealed a new "Monster Hunt" Twitch extension. The extension allows for catching monsters, surely enough, and completing challenges. These confer in-game rewards – check out the trailer below to see the extension in action.

Along with a Potion Resources Pack, players can also unlock weapon skins. The extension is available until December 14th as part of a limited time event so if you really, really want some icy skins for your bow, sword and giant hammer, it might be worth getting into.

Immortals Fenyx Rising is out on December 3rd for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Google Stadia. More content is planned for post-launch including free cosmetics, daily and weekly quests and Vault Challenges. Season Pass owners will have access to three new expansions with new story content and playable characters. Stay tuned for more details on the game in the coming days.

Creative Assembly FPS Still in Development, Sega Exec Confirms

creative assembly

Thanks to countless stellar Total War games and the incredible survival horror title Alien Isolation, Creative Assembly has firmly established itself as a top developer, and one of Sega's best assets. And though the studio has largely been known as a developer of strategy games over the years, soon, it's going to be ready to branch out.

We've been hearing about a new IP that's in the works at Creative Assembly – a tactical first person shooter – for a while now, which was confirmed by the developer itself last year. But though we know of its existence, very little has been said about the game so far (we don't even know it's name, or even if it has one yet), and updates on it have been scant these last few months.

Sega Europe's Chief Studios Officer Tim Heaton, however, assures that the game is still very much in development. Speaking to GamesIndustry about Sega's two-pronged approach to fostering established properties and building up new IP, Heaton said that Creative Assembly are still chipping away on their first person shooter.

"Each one of our studios really does own a franchise, and they're all mature now by and large," Heaton said. "So what we're trying to do now is look at new IP. There's a new FPS game coming from Creative Assembly, and they're growing teams around new IPs. Our internal studios have this two-pronged strategy: do more with what you've got, and think about new IP."

There's little that anyone can say about this game for now, other than the fact that it exists. Job listings in the past have suggested that it may have live service elements, but that's pretty much all we have to go on for now. Here's hoping we get a reveal sooner rather than later.

Control Teased for Xbox Game Pass in December

Between launching two major next-gen consoles this month and adding EA Play to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft has had its work cut out for it. Nevertheless, there's apparently more to look forward to in December, at least for Game Pass subscribers. The service's official Twitter tweeted another image talking about a new "redacted" game coming next month.

It's something that "fans won't stop mentioning" and features a "sinister red light" (which represents The Hiss in-game). Both of these point to Remedy Entertainment's Control, especially given past rumors about it coming to the service. Unlike the tease for DOOM Eternal on Game Pass, there's no secret confirmation for fans to discern here.

What about Control Ultimate Edition, which is out early next year for Xbox Series X/S and PS5? Will this be the regular Xbox One version playable through backwards compatibility? Whatever the case may be, stay tuned for more details and other exciting announcements for Game Pass. You can also read our review for Control here.

Yakuza Lifetime Sales at 14 Million

yakuza like a dragon

Along with updated lifetime sales numbers for Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, Sega Sammy also revealed that the Yakuza series hit 14 million sales in its lifetime. The company noted that the series was "highly evaluated by overseas users." However, Sega feels that it's still a niche series meant for a select market of players.

Thus, the current strategy going forward is to release for multiple platforms and services worldwide, with the PC platform playing a big part. This can be seen in the release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon which launched earlier this month for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One and PC. Whether we can expect future titles to follow suit remains to be seen.

For that matter, it's unknown whether Yakuza 3 to 5 and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will be coming to PC or Xbox platforms in the near future. Ryu ga Gotoku Studio will host a livestream event on December 8th with announcements for "future developments" so we could receive more details there. Stay tuned in the meantime and check out our review of Yakuza: Like a Dragon here.

Persona Series Hits 13.1 Million in Sales

Persona 4 Golden

In Sega Sammy's annual integrated report for the year, the company provided an update on lifetime sales numbers for its various franchises. Some of the most noteworthy figures include Persona, which has crossed 13.1 million sales since the first game debuted in 1996. This is in part due to the success of titles like Persona 5 (the Royal edition achieved "record sales" in the West) and Persona 4 Golden on PC.

Shin Megami Tensei lifetime sales are at 17.4 million with its first title launched in 1992. Sales account for all 30 titles in the series along with the free to play games. Despite issues with the recent Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster, Shin Megami Tensei V is also on the horizon for the Switch. Both titles arrive in the West next year.

It should be interesting to see Sega's strategies going forward especially with the success of the Persona series on PC. Plans to release more ports, remakes and remasters of Atlus games across "various platforms" were already revealed earlier this month so time will tell. Stay tuned for more details and updates until then.