Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered Has 5 New Trophies
Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered is promising to be a meaty upgrade over the 2018 PS4 title, from new suits (which will also be added to the original game), to a new Peter Parker, and much more. One of those new additions is new Trophies- of which we now know there are going to be exactly five.
As revealed in the remaster's full Trophy list (via Exophase), these five new Trophies will require you to finish an enemy base without taking any damage, achieve of a combo of 100 hits, get the Ultimate ranking on a Taskmaster challenge, max out any Benchmark (which are in-game achievements of sorts, in case you don't know), and max out all gadgets. They all seem pretty doable.
Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered launches for PS5 on November 12, and will only be packaged with the Ultimate Edition of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Sony have no plans for an individual release, and free PS4-PS5 upgrades won't be offered.
NBA 2K21 Will Require Over 120 GB of Storage Space on Xbox Series X/S
NBA 2K21 is going to leverage the upcoming next-gen consoles by adding not only visual and performance enhancements, but also entirely new features. That stuff, it seems, is going to come at the cost of massive storage requirements.
As spotted by a Reddit user, the game's Xbox store page reveals that on the Xbox Series X/S, NBA 2K21 will require a whopping 121.7 GB of free storage space. That's a massive, massive requirement no matter how you look at it, but for Xbox Series S – which has just 364 GB of useable storage space – that's going to be a pretty big dent.
This isn't the first we've heard of massive file sizes for games on the upcoming consoles. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, for instance, has hefty storage requirements as well.
NBA 2K21 is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Stadia. It launches for Xbox Series X/S on November 10 and for PS5 on November 12.
2K recently revealed one of the biggest new additions to NBA 2K21 on next-gen consoles in the form of The City. You can also head on over here to see how the game will make use of the PS5's Activities feature.
Sony's "PlayStation Advantages" branding for exclusive PS4/PS5 content in multiplatform games drew the ire of many when it was announced that Marvel's Avengers would get Spider-Man DLC exclusively on PlayStation. That seems pretty tame in retrospect, compared to the shady exclusive stuff the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is getting.
We've already heard about the Zombies mode, Onslaught, which will be exclusive to the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game for a year. Surprisingly, however, as a new trailer highlights, PlayStation players will also get exclusive access to double XP weekends, two additional loadout slots, bonus weapon XP, and 5 bonus Battle Pass tier skips.
For a game that supports cross-platform gameplay in multiplayer, those feel less like PlayStation Advantages and more like Xbox and PC disadvantages.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 13. Check out its hefty storage requirements on different consoles through here. The game's season 1 roadmap has also been revealed- check it out through here.
Take-Two Interactive is in Talks to Acquire Codemasters
Take-Two Interactive and Codemasters have confirmed that the two are in talks for the former acquiring the latter, in a deal that Reuters states could worth up to £739.2 million.
In a statement, Take-Two says that it believes the two would be a "a highly complementary fit", and that Take-Two's global publishing business would be beneficial to Codemasters, just as Codemasters' prolific success in the racing genre would be to them.
"Take-Two believes that the combination of Take-Two and Codemasters would bring together two world-class interactive entertainment portfolios, with a highly complementary fit between Take-Two's 2K publishing label and Codemasters in the racing genre," the company writes. "In addition, Take-Two believes that it can bring benefits to Codemasters' performance by leveraging Take-Two's global distribution network and 2K's core operating expertise in publishing, including live operations, analytics, product development, and brand and performance marketing."
Take-Two says in its statement that there is "no certainty that any offer will be made", but as per VGC, should a bid be officially made, the Codemasters will unaninmously recomend that the offer is accepted.
In November 2019, it was confirmed that Codemasters had acquired Project CARS developers Slightly Mad Studios. Earlier this year, they also acquired the license for FIA World Rally Championship games from 2023 and onward.
This year, Codemasters have released F1 2020 and DiRT 5, both of which launched to critical acclaim. Read our reviews for both through the links.
Demon's Souls State of Play Video Shows a Dozen Minutes of Gameplay
With the PS5 and its launch games releasing merely days from now, Sony have been stepping up their rollout of details on the console and its launch software. Demon's Souls, as the only next-gen exclusive game releasing in the coming weeks, is looking like it's going to be the visual showcase to watch out for, and Sony recently dropped a new State of Play video showing nearly a dozen minutes of gameplay from the upcoming remake.
The focus here is solely on the game's single player offerings, with creative director Gavin Moore providing commentary. Unsurprisingly, the remake is continuing to look stunning, from a visuals perspective and a gameplay perspective, and there's plenty here for Souls fans to dive into. Take a look below.
Plenty of other new details have been revealed on Demon's Souls these past couple of weeks, from the lack of difficulty settings, to integration of PS5's UI features, to reworked audio, to the revamped character creation toolset, and much more. You can read up on more crucial details through here.
Demon's Souls launches for the PS5 on November 12.
Microsoft Has Reportedly Approached "Several" Japanese Developers for Acquisition Talks
Microsoft's first part portfolio will grow dramatically when the ZeniMax acquisition goes through a few months from now, adding eight new studios to their already sizeable Xbox Game Studios family. But that doesn't mean they're done with acquisitions just yet.
Microsoft has been talking about wanting to acquire an Asian or Japanese studio for a while now, and as per a new report by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, efforts for the same are underway. As per the report, Microsoft has approached several small and big Japanese studios with acquisition talks already, though these studios have allegedly refused to talk about how the talks went, for obvious reasons.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Hinton, head of Xbox operations in Asia has also told Bloomberg that "Microsoft is always open to discussions with creators that are a good fit", adding that acquisitions are a possibility, but that Microsoft has nothing to announce just yet.
Once the Bethesda deal goes through, Microsoft will gain a Japanese first party studio with The Evil Within and GhostWire: Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks, though it should be interesting to see who else Microsoft might tap up in the region.
Next Mass Effect is in the "Early Stages" of Development, BioWare Confirms
After the critical and commercial failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda, there were many who wondered if the series had a future anymore, especially after the game's planned expansions were cancelled. BioWare, however, have remained adamant that the series still has life in it yet, and that there's stories in that universe that they still want to tell.
About a year ago, we heard reports that the next Mass Effect was in very early development, and now, BioWare have officially confirmed it. In the update on their blog where they announced Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the developer has confirmed that a "veteran team" is working on the next game in the series.
"A veteran team has been hard at work envisioning the next chapter of the Mass Effect universe," the developer wrote. "We are in early stages on the project and can't say any more just yet, but we're looking forward to sharing our vision for where we'll be going next."
It's probably going to be several years before we hear anything concrete about this game, much less see it get released, given the fact that BioWare are currently focused on the Anthem overhaul and on the next Dragon Age (both of which also don't seem to be very far along in development). Either way, we'll keep our ear to the ground, so stay tuned for more updates.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Launches in Spring 2021
After months of leaks and speculation and recent teases, BioWare decided to celebrate N7 Day yesterday by making an announcement that fans have been awaiting for a long, long time. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition has been officially announced, and launches in Spring of next year.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will compile remasters of the original trilogy, and all single player expansions and DLC released for each game. The game will benefit from 4K visuals, faster frame rates, as well as updated textures, shaders, models, effects, and more.
BioWare made it pretty clear in their announcement that this is not a remake, but instead an update version of the original three games. "Our goal was not to remake or reimagine the original games, but to modernize the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form," the developer wrote.
"As game developers, we always hope that our games will transcend their original platforms. Having the opportunity to remaster the trilogy means that the fruits of a decade of our work will live on, and will be experienced better and clearer than ever before."
When Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launches in Spring 2021, it will be available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and will be forward compatible for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S with "targeted enhancements." BioWare says more information will be coming next year, so stay tuned for that.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla Pre-Load Times And Day One Update Detailed
It's only a few days now until the next entry in Ubisoft's premier adventure franchise, Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The franchise took a year off from a full retail release, but it's back and Ubisoft is in the process of advertising now with plenty of commercials and TV spots to get the blood flowing. Now, they've released everything you'll need to know for both day one and pre-loading before.
Ubisoft posted the times for pre-loads across regions as well as exact launch times for every one. You can check out the full list below for each of the many systems it'll be available on. They also give some details on what to expect with the day one update, which will include additional language packs, game improvements and the animus database. This is in addition to the recently revealed photo mode that will be available at launch.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla will launch on November 10th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC and Stadia.
Four days left until launch! Assassin's Creed Valhalla pre-load & launch times
#AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/GgQitWNdlp
— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) November 6, 2020
PS5 Will Feature Accolades System Online To Encourage "Positive Influences"
It was a big information dump for Sony's PS5 today. Embargoes are starting to lift now and a lot of outlets are sharing their thoughts as well as the features we may or may not have known. For instance, the PS5 will keep a pretty detailed time play log of the games you play, we know the trophy situation is about the same as the PS4 and game downloads are said to be a step up from its predecessor. We also know a bit about the online, too, with a new system that's all about them good vibes.
As revealed by Gamespot, Sony has a new little subsystem in their online called Accolades. These are awards that can be given to players you meet online in three categories: Helpful, Welcoming, and Good Sport. Helpful will be for those that were effective and team-oriented, Welcoming is for those who were friendly and Good Sport is for those who are shown to be honorable and respectful. These Accolades will be displayed on your profiles. Sony even explicitly says this is to "help encourage our best members and recognize positive influences." Which, you know, that's nice. I think most know that online gaming is filled mostly with human sewage so good on Sony for trying to bring some positivity.
The PS5 will launch on November 12th in some regions with a full worldwide release on the 19th.