Kotaku Saturday, October 12, 2024 11:00 AM  This week saw the release of Metaphor: ReFantazio, the long-awaited new release from the folks behind Persona. It's a game bursting with big ideas and rich themes, and we've got a lot to say, both about the things it does well, and at least one area in which it falls short of one of its predecessors. On top of that,… |
Kotaku Saturday, October 12, 2024 10:50 AM  This week, YouTuber and Kick streamer Jack Doherty crashed his $200,000 McLaren sports car while broadcasting, an event which has seen him banned from the latter platform permanently. Also, The Weather Channel used its Unreal-powered storm visualization tool to give viewers a good look at just how bad the devastation… |
Kotaku Saturday, October 12, 2024 10:15 AM  The city of Irvine, California's police department officially introduced its cringy new Tesla Cybertruck on Tuesday to the public in the most cringe way possible: a dorky video featuring theme music from "The Terminator," a franchise that famously portrays cops in a poor light. |
Kotaku Saturday, October 12, 2024 9:50 AM  Were you obsessed with "Back to the Future" growing up? Did you never grow out of that obsession? Do you quote '80s movies so frequently your wife finally left you for some guy willing to watch newer movies and eat his vegetables without being told? Well, then boy have I got the car for you — this Back to the… |
Kotaku Saturday, October 12, 2024 9:05 AM  Metaphor: ReFantazio is the latest RPG from the minds of the Persona. Like its predecessors, Metaphor is a dense game with lots to do and talk about, from its Archetype class system to Atlus' maturation as storytellers. There's even something to be said about how cool it is to skate on your sword. Our first… |
PCGamesN Saturday, October 12, 2024 12:39 PM  Starry Studio is apologizing for ongoing lag problems in Once Human, and offers up a slate of free items as compensation. There's also a three-step plan in place to remedy the free Steam game's connectivity problems, which is set to come into force in October and beyond. There have been lag issues since Once Human launched earlier this year, but their repetitive nature continues to put a dampener on the experience. Continue reading Once Human offers free rewards as compensation for lag woes MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best sandbox games, Best open-world games, Best survival games |
PCGamesN Saturday, October 12, 2024 12:11 PM  Turn-based strategy games and tactical RPGs come and go, but XCOM is forever. At least, it can certainly feel that way. It's been more than eight years since Firaxis unleashed XCOM 2 on the world, and almost six since the arrival of its masterful War of the Chosen expansion. Since then, we've seen some excellent contenders in the space - the likes of Gears Tactics, Battletech, and Warhammer 40k Battlesector come to mind - but none have become quite the cultural phenomenon that XCOM is. In the wake of its own attempt, I asked Paradox deputy CEO Mattias Lilja about trying to compete with such established titans. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: XCOM 2 tips, XCOM 2 DLC guide, XCOM 2 system requirements |
PCGamesN Saturday, October 12, 2024 11:25 AM  The Windblown demo is finally here, and I can safely say that it's already more than just a Dead Cells follow-up. The newest roguelike from Motion Twin, its Steam Early Access launch is right around the corner. MT is trading the 2D Metroidvania stylings of Dead Cells for isometric co-op action, and it's already a total blast. You don't get much in the demo, but the bones of this experience already feel incredibly healthy. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best roguelike games, All upcoming games in 2024, The best action games |
PCGamesN Saturday, October 12, 2024 10:26 AM  It's been a long time coming, but Civilization 7 finally feels real. We've still got some time to wait for the next installment in Firaxis' defining series, however, so you might be on the lookout for another strategy game to fill the gap. If so, you need to check in with Feudums, a beautiful blend of 4X and grand strategy games. With its in-development build currently available as a free demo on Steam, developer Kalamona Studios confirms that a single-player mode "will happen" as it continues to add features and functionality. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best 4X games, Best turn-based strategy games, Best grand strategy games |
PCGamesN Saturday, October 12, 2024 10:21 AM  It looks like Rocket Racing, the Rocket League spinoff available inside of Fortnite, is putting an end to adding official tracks to the game. Epic Games shared the news alongside update v31.40, saying "goodbye to Inferno Island and themed updates" while putting an emphasis on "tracks from creators." The game mode will still get new quests, items, and ranked periods, but new seasonal overhauls and official tracks appear to be no more. It's safe to say this hasn't gone down well with the community, with many players unhappy with the end of extra races and themes. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Fortnite map, Fortnite skins, Fortnite weapons |
PCGamesN Saturday, October 12, 2024 12:47 PM  Deadlock's Bebop is in the middle of a turbulent phase right now. The MOBA robot was just given a pretty big nerf that impacted how you use his hook, only for Valve to go back on many of the changes. Every one of Deadlock's heroes becomes a menace in the late game if left unchecked, but Bebop himself has just undergone quite the shift. Continue reading Valve massively nerfs Deadlock's Bebop just to buff him a day later MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Deadlock release date , Deadlock crosshair, Deadlock characters |
Siliconera Saturday, October 12, 2024 3:00 PM
For the most part, the My Hero Academia movies have been solid enough for spin-off anime feature films, but they've been nothing too special. (The sole exception of Heroes Rising, due to its phenomenal ending.) Fortunately, My Hero Academia: You're Next does enough to challenge, but not quite overtake, that particular movie with great pacing and action. It is a worthy watch.
You may have already seen the trailers, but the general idea of this movie is it revolves around Dark Might. He is the essentially opposite version of All Might. Dark Might is a completely separate character, and I actually really like how he comes about. He is a twisted, seemingly rich man who takes All Might's signature point at the conclusion of his battle with All for One a little too seriously.
As such, Dark Might takes it upon himself to be the next All Might, except really evil for some odd reason. This premise is an intriguing one, and it is nice to explore someone who is essentially the other side of the coin from the series protagonist Deku. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to see this since the movie has swift pacing and gets off to an action-packed start.
This fourth My Hero Academia movie wastes no time whatsoever and gets straight to the action. Set between Seasons 6 and 7 of the anime, it immediately jumps from the Class 1-A students saving civilians to fighting the next big bad and his entourage of fellow villains. This movie has such a large cast with many intriguing quirks shown off throughout the constant fighting sequences.
It helps that the animation is similar to Season 7, but certainly more detailed for the silver screen. This extra layer of visual effects and boldness helps the movie to be the best-looking version of MHA thus far. This also shows off in the surprisingly colorful and vibrant areas the cast visits on board Dark Might's ship.
At its core, though, this movie is all about the action. It feels like this has the most action sequences of the movies thus far and certainly the most bombastic. There is little quiet time, except for a notable point about halfway through the movie. This might be off-putting to some, but My Hero Academia: You're Next understands how to do a spin-off well.
Almost every battle has some level of twist or emotional resonance that gives it that extra oomph. This could be a surprising quirk power or Deku's charming tactics. This is helped along by the new cast of characters. Once again, Deku has a new companion who accompanies him for most of the movie. This guy is slightly similar to World Heroes' Mission's Rody, but much more brooding and morally gray. Because of this, I liked him a bit more, too.
In addition to Deku's new pal, there is a young woman who is at the center of Dark Might's schemes. I won't say too much about her, but her part in the story is one of the better parts. And then there is Dark Might himself. He has a ton of underlings, but they are almost all forgettable. Dark Might, though, is the most stylish and memorable villain of the four memories so far.
My only issue with Dark Might is I don't think the movie, ironically, has enough of him. He starts out the film strong with his intro and it, of course, ends well with him in the final act. However, he is mostly taunting and too much in the background for everything else in between. It is a shame since he is one of the best parts of the movie with his weird personality and motives.
Even stranger than that is a significant sequence that happens in the middle. I won't spoil it, but if you watched a certain other popular action anime series' feature film, it will feel way too familiar and nearly copy-paste. And, honestly, it's not as impactful or emotional as that other movie's version of this storytelling device.
This movie also puts very little focus on the other members of Class 1-A. Sure, characters like Todoroki, Ochaco, and Bakugo all appear here. But this is pretty much about Deku and the new characters. Despite this, I genuinely enjoyed My Hero Academia: You're Next. It has arguably the best action in the four movies thus far, the best villain, and certainly the strongest animation. The pacing is on point, never wasting a moment, either. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of Heroes Rising, it is certainly my second-favorite My Hero movie.
My Hero Academia: You're Next will release in theaters in the United States on October 11, 2024.
The post My Hero Academia: You're Next Puts a Fascinating Twist on All Might appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, October 12, 2024 12:00 PM
This Monster Wants to Eat Me might call to mind The Summer Hikaru Died. After all, both manga series involve young adults dealing with potentially romantic relationships with extremely dangerous and supernatural beings. In the first volume of this yuri manga, we're presented with a lovely threat. Now in volume 2, the potential for lethal relationships increases as we learn more about those around Hinako.
Editor's Note: There will be some minor spoilers for events leading up to the climax of volume 2 of the This Monster Eats Me manga below.
This Monster Wants to Eat Me volume 2 picks up pretty much immediately where the first installment of the yuri manga left off. Hinako and Shiori are dealing with the after effects of the attack by smaller monsters. They head back to the festival they were attending, with Shiori remarking it is fine that they're bloody. Because it is monster blood, allegedly nobody will notice it.
Except someone does.
Which is a perfect way to kick off the latest mystery of "hey, who else might not be an ordinary individual or even human." Given the series establishes that there are monsters in the world, they very likely aren't friendly, and Hinako is extremely attractive to them, it stands to reason there wouldn't just be the bloodthirsty mermaid Shiori to deal with. It's the first of many loose threads that start to be built up and yanked at throughout the chapters here, yielding results.
What's fascinating is how the second volume of the This Monster Wants to Eat Me manga sets up the next reveal and possible yuri relationship in such a way that the reader might initially not be sure how it is going to go. Mangaka Sai Naekawa leaves these breadcrumbs of suspicion. Is Shiori just expressing jealousy and traits of a toxic partner by investigating the person Hinako is close to? Is this her still attempting to genuinely protect her out of concern for her meal? Is there another harmful element around Hinako?
I also enjoyed how, by going in the direction these latest chapters do, Naekawa also deals with a potential plothole. We're told throughout the first volume that Hinako's blood is especially delicious and desirable to monsters and undesirable entities. We see multiple attempted attacks in the first volume, even. So… why has nothing happened until now? What's going on? But as we gradually go through this story and learn more about Hinako's life and the person Shiori is investigating, things really start to make sense in a satisfying way.
There's an "ah ha" moment, to be sure. But what's also great is that it isn't cheapened by any immediate reveal. We're given time to digest this. We get to see Hinako react to it. We also get to see a bit of the other person's response to Shiori and the situation. In so doing, it also leaves me hoping a bit that Naekawa is setting up a possible love triangle in this yuri manga. Not everything comes up at once, even though we are starting to get more answers. No, those are being saved for further down the road, which I appreciate.
It leaves me excited to see what will happen next when it comes to character development and yuri relationships in the next volume of the This Monster Wants to Eat Me manga. Because now we know there are multiple individuals around Hinako who are interested in her. We aren't sure of everyone's intentions. We don't know who we can trust. We aren't even sure how many of the people she'll get involved with will even be human. Even though this volume gets into more world-building and answers, it's still good at helping set things up.
Volume 2 of This Monster Wants to Eat Me is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 3 of the manga on January 21, 2025.
The post This Monster Wants to Eat Me Vol 2 Makes the Yuri Manga More Dramatic appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, October 12, 2024 9:00 AM
Koei Tecmo has revealed Venus Vacation Prism – Dead or Alive Xtreme, a new romance adventure game featuring several of the heroines that also appear in the original Venus Vacation free-to-play game. The revelation of this new title also all but confirmed the direction the company is taking for the Dead or Alive series.
When Koei Tecmo first teased the new game's announcement via its Japanese X account, it used the term "New Venus Vacation Project." The company eventually retained Dead or Alive Xtreme on the new game's subtitle, but the fact remains that Venus Vacation has taken over the main spotlight as if to signify that this is the new direction Koei Tecmo will focus on.
The difference in attention Koei Tecmo gave between the original fighting game and the Xtreme spin-offs has been evident in recent years. While the 2012 prequel Dead or Alive 5 enjoyed long-time support with numerous DLC and version updates for several years, the sequel did not live up to the company's expectations.
Koei Tecmo originally intended for the 2019 mainline entry Dead or Alive 6 to be featured in major tournaments, including EVO. However, the game not making its way to EVO 2019's title list was one of the major reasons for the company to cease supporting the game after just around a year in 2020.
On the contrary, the 2017 free-to-play spin-off game Venus Vacation is still under active management and even continues receiving new characters as of 2024. Following the addition of Yukino in 2023, the company has since included more original characters in Shizuku, Reika, and Meg.
As a side note, Koei Tecmo has also confirmed a PC Steam release of Venus Vacation Prism with English subtitle support. But if it's anything like the original Venus Vacation, the game will most likely be region-locked to select countries and territories in Southeast and East Asia, including Japan. In addition, the company has set up an English official site for the title. However, it appears on the company's Taiwanese website instead of the American or European sites.
Most of the long-time key staff members are also no longer working at Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja. The likes of Tomonobu Itagaki, Hiroaki Matsui, and Katsunori Ehara had long left the group. Yohei Shimbori, the main person in charge of Dead or Alive 6, also departed Koei Tecmo in 2021.
The latest organizational structure of Team Ninja does not seem to be made to support a possible new Dead or Alive fighting game either. The primary team under Fumihiko Yasuda had made action games like Nioh, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and Rise of the Ronin, but it has also received requests for a new Ninja Gaiden game. And then we have Yasunori Sakuda's team, which is in charge of not only the Venus Vacation games but also another free-to-play game in Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator.
There may still be a glimmer of hope for a new fighting game since Yosuke Hayashi still remains in the company as one of the last veteran members of Team Ninja. However, Hayashi has since been promoted to vice president of Koei Tecmo Games, and his team has also been more focused on the development of major crossover titles like Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors.
It will take a lot of convincing for Yosuke Hayashi, Team Ninja, and Koei Tecmo to consider a new Dead or Alive fighting game following the sixth entry's failure. The Xtreme spin-off series—or rather Venus Vacation now—has pretty much taken over the spotlight, so expect the company to focus more on this line for the foreseeable future.
Venus Vacation Prism – Dead or Alive Xtreme will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC in early 2025.
The post Venus Vacation Prism Completes Dead or Alive's Direction Shift appeared first on Siliconera. |
WGB Saturday, October 12, 2024 9:12 AM Hogwarts Legacy might be getting some DLC in the near future. |