Returnal's First 45 Minutes Revealed
At the end of the month, we'll get our next PS5 exclusive from Sony and Housemarque with Returnal. It's one very unique looking new property and we've gotten a look at it from various angles such as the multiple enemies you'll face off against, and the heavy narrative direction it'll take, a first for Housemarque. Now, we get a long look at the game, specifically how it'll begin.
Via GrizGaming, we get to see a playthrough of roughly the first 45 minutes of the game. Here you get the opening cinematic that sets up Selene's time looping journey. We get our first looks at some of the weapon and enemy encounters. You also see parasites and alien glyphs near the end. Keep in mind that this just the opening moments, so a lot of the crazier stuff we've seen in previews isn't here, but it'll give you a good idea of how things start out.
Returnal will release on April 30th as a PS5 exclusive. You can check out the game's full trophy list through here if you don't mind some mild spoilers ahead of time.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles Comes Westward July 27 For PS4, Switch, And PC
The Ace Attorney franchise was an interesting one to look back on. Largely releasing on handhelds, the series helped to popularize the visual novel adventure game hybrid following Phoenix Wright as he solves a variety of cases and crosses paths with many colorful characters. However, there is something of a 'lost' subseries, The Great Ace Attorney. It encompasses two different games originally released on 3DS that were never localized outside Japan. Now, that is changing.
In a new message from Creator Shu Takumi, it was announced both titles would be coming westward for the first time in a collection. The two games in question are The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve. Instead of following the main cast, they are instead set in 19th century Japan and England, but have the same set up of investigating cases in a combination of adventure game and visual novel.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles will release on PlayStation 4, Switch and PC on July 27th.
Resident Evil 4 VR Gets New Details And Gameplay Footage
While all eyes are glued on Resident Evil Village, the latest mainline entry in the survival horror series that will launch next month, we also recently got the announcement that we would be able to revisit another beloved part of the franchise with a VR version of Resident Evil 4. The game was announced as coming as exclusive to the Oculus Quest 2, and is looking to be more than just a simple port with more details shown today.
At the Oculus Gaming Showcase, we got a few more details about the game. Alongside gameplay footage, we got to see how this brings a new spin on the classic title that originally released way back in 2005. The first obvious difference is this version is in first person, but there is also changes to how the menu and weapon switching operates to be suited more to the VR medium. It also has some improved gameplay textures and various movement options. Check it out in full below.
Resident Evil 4 in VR will launch on the Oculus Quest 2 sometime later this year.
Total War: Rome Remastered Details Features In Latest Trailer
At the end of the month, you'll be able to go back and experience Total War: Rome with a new remaster. The game is one of the early ones in the beloved strategy series. Sega and Creative Assembly have been marketing the game ahead of release, including showing a comparison between it and the original as well as some changes you can expect in the update. Now, get a look at the various features for the game.
A new trailer was released, which you can see in full below, is a full feature guide for the game. While some of it will be familiar, it's also a way for fans who have only played the newer games in the franchise to get introduced to some things that are a little different than what you are used to. Of course, if you aren't familiar with it at all, it's a good general breakdown of how to play.
Total War Rome: Remastered will release on April 29th exclusively for PC.
Outriders Player Who Lost Their Items Will Get Them Back, But Better, People Can Fly Confirms
Outriders is doing really well, but it's had its share of issues, most notably a bug that wiped players' inventories. While People Can Fly has released a patch that should keep it from ever happening again, they'll still haven't returned players' lost items.
While People Can Fly hasn't announced a release date for the upcoming patch, the studio revealed on Reddit that when the items do come back, they "will have the same attribute combinations but with God Roll values." Simply put, that means the items "will be at least the same if not better quality than the originally lost items."
The reason the process is taking so long is because players are separated into three groups: those who have characters with an invalid inventory, characters that do not have invalid inventories but have lost gear, and players whose characters are perfectly fine. Because the groups are so large, the restoration process "involves analyzing every Outriders player profile in existence and scanning it for possible inventory corruption."
The Reddit thread also talks about other problems with the game and answers player questions, so it's worth checking out if you're having issues. Hopefully, People Can Fly gets things fixed soon.
New RWBY: Grimm Eclipse – Definitive Edition Trailer Shows Gameplay, New Additions
Aspyr Media and Rooster Teeth Games have released a new gameplay trailer for RWBY: Grimm Eclipse – Definitive Edition, a remaster of the 2016 game of the same name.
The trailer shows RWBY characters Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang hacking and slashing their way through the forces of the Grimm and the evil Dr. Merlot. The trailer also shows off the game's local and online co-op, Horde mode, skill trees, and new outfits that are exclusive to the Definitive Edition.
Here's a bit more on what to expect from RWBY: Grimm Eclipse – Definitive Edition, straight from Aspyr Media.
In RWBY: Grimm Eclipse – Definitive Edition, join your friends in intense combat action as one of eight students of Beacon Academy and stop the evil forces of the Grimm and Doctor Merlot. Level up your favorite RWBY character and traverse Remnant in new storylines or the Grimm Gauntlet mode. Recruit your friends and team-up to save Remnant!
Key Features
- Become the Ultimate Team – Team up with your friends in either two-player couch co-op or four-player online co-op and utilize powerful team attacks.
- Play as Your Favorite Characters – Play as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Team JNPR and unlock each character's unique abilities and upgrades.
- Customize Your Style – Want to fight in the new Volume 7 outfits? Wonder what it's like to run around Remnant in pajamas? Maybe you'd prefer to try out the exclusive, never-before-seen Power Armor? No matter your style, there's plenty of outfit options for every RWBY fan.
- Immerse Yourself in the World of RWBY – Experience an exclusive and fully canon storyline with full voiceover from the cast of the show and an original score from RWBY's composer.
- Conquer the Grimm Gauntlet & Horde Mode – Prove you're the ultimate Huntsman or Huntress by defeating waves of enemies and building defense turrets in challenging alternate game modes.
While the original game released on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 to middling reviews, this version is only releasing on the Switch. It comes out May 13th.
Check out the trailer below, courtesy of Aspyr Media.
The Call of Duty Series Has Sold More Than 400 Million Copies Since 2003, Activision Announces
It's a good time to be Activision, and an especially good time to own Call of Duty. In addition to announcing that Call of Duty: Warzone had surpassed 100 million players today, Activision also revealed another eye-popping figure: the Call of Duty series has sold more than 400 million premium games since the original Call of Duty launched in October of 2003. For those doing the math at home, that means the series had sold, on average, more than 22 million copies a year, every year, for almost two decades.
The best-selling game in the series is 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which had sold over 30 million copies as of May of last year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops are the second and third best-selling games in the series, respectively, both with over 26 million copies sold.
400 million puts Call of Duty in impressive company. It's good enough to make the series the third best-selling game series of all time, beating Pokemon (4th at 386 million copies), Super Mario (5th at 350 million), and Grand Theft Auto (6th at 320 million copies). The only two series that have sold more copies are Tetris (2nd at 495 million) and the overall Mario franchise (1st at 680 million).
Interestingly, Call of Duty's success is largely built on a quantity approach. With 18 main series titles, and 26 across consoles and handhelds, the series has proven it can sustain success despite the franchise fatigue that generally accompanies long-running series. But no Call of Duty game has come close to rivaling the best-selling game of all time in individual sales. That would be Minecraft, with 200 million copies.
Ninja Gaiden Master Collection "Action" Trailer Brings the Violence
Tecmo-Koei and Team Ninja released a new trailer for the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection today. Appropriately titled "Action," the trailer shows off the many techniques, weapons, and ninpo skills Ryu Hayabusa can use to cut a bloody swath through his enemies. As you'd expect from Ninja Gaiden, the action looks fast, smooth, and utterly brutal.
The collection remasters Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden: Razor's Edge in 4K and at 60 FPS and includes most of the previously released digital content. While missing DLC is always a concern when companies tout their remasters as the definitive versions of the games they contain, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection has a different problem. It collects the Sigma versions of the first two titles, not Ninja Gaiden Black or Ninja Gaiden 2, making the collection incomplete at best and worse versions of the aforementioned games at worst.
While Ninja Gaiden Black is widely considered the definitive version of the original game and one of the best action games ever made, the original Sigma isn't a bad title. It just isn't Ninja Gaiden Black. The larger problem comes from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, which toned down Ninja Gaiden 2's much larger enemy count, replaced the game's blood with purple mist, changes certain abilities, and even removes entire sections of levels and boss battles. Sigma 2 does run better because of the removal of enemies in certain sections and add additional playable characters with their own levels, but reception to these additions were mixed at best, and the Ninja Gaiden community generally regards Ninja Gaiden 2 as the superior release. It's not a stretch to say that Ninja Gaiden 2 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 often feel like completely different games.
It's unfortunate that the Master Collection won't feature Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 (Team Ninja claims the original games weren't salvageable, though there are examples of other studios reverse engineering games thought lost with time and effort) , but what's here does look good. If nothing else, it will give players who have never played the original releases a chance to experience the series. Fortunately, those who want to play Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 still have options. Both games are backwards compatible on Xbox One X and Xbox Series X, and have received significant technical upgrades.
For everyone else, Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection releases on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on June 10th. You can check out the "Action" Trailer below, courtesy of Tecmo-Koei.
Xbox Game Pass Now Has More Than 23 Million Subscribers
Xbox Game Pass is the best deal in gaming, so it's no surprise that Microsoft's ace in the hole continues to rack up subscribers. After the PS4 utterly dominated the previous console generation, Microsoft realized what they were doing wasn't. Xbox has bet heavily on Game Pass this generation and it continues to pay off.
According to Jez Corden of Windows Central, Game Pass now has more than 23 million subscribers. If that reporting is accurate, and there's no reason to believe it isn't, that means that Game Pass has gained five million subscribers in the last three months. Microsoft reported that the service had 18 million subscribers in January.
Adding five million subscribers in three months is impressive, but when you consider the context coming to the service, it makes sense. 20 Bethesda games were added to Game Pass after Microsoft bought the publisher, EA Play was added for free last year, Grand Theft Auto 5 recently returned to the service, Outriders was on Game Pass at release, and MLB: The Show, a Sony first-party developed series that has always been exclusive to PlayStation, came to Game Pass at launch. Game Pass also gives subscribers access to every Xbox exclusive game at launch, as well as hundreds of other games. Microsoft is also allegedly trying to get Ubisoft Plus added to the service.
At this point, the question isn't whether you should subscribe to the service or not. It's how much it's going to change the industry, and what companies like Sony and Nintendo are going to do to compete against it.
23 million as of April 20! https://t.co/Jjs65UaTNw
— Jez(@JezCorden) April 21, 2021
Life is Strange: True Colors Trailer Showcases Alex's Opening Scene
The Life is Strange franchise makes a return this year with Life is Strange: True Colors, developed by Deck Nine Games. It tells the story of Alex Chen who travels to Haven Springs and reunites with Gabe, her brother, after eight years apart. Before that, Alex was in foster care and the opening scene with her social worker sets up her unique "ability." Check it out below.
Alex's ability involves seeing the emotions of others as different colored auras. She can be infected by their emotions though, allowing her to glimpse into their memories. So when Gabe dies, Alex must use her power to investigate Haven Springs and find out the truth.
Life is Strange: True Colors is out on September 10th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia. The entire story will be playable from launch instead of being spread out over multiple episodes. As events unfold, Alex can also pursue different romantic interests, including Steph from Life is Strange 1. Stay tuned for more details on the title in the coming months.