Ubisoft's latest showing for The Crew 2 was a lot like its last, but I'm not complaining.
This weekend, I got another crack at the racer's open-world antics. Morphing between a car, plane, and boat in real time without losing momentum continues to delight me. Last time, I wanted to fly around and change to a car mid-air, seamlessly dropping onto a highway. That didn't go so well. Now, I have a new obsession: hurtling toward a river, shifting to a boat while still on land, and sliding right in.
Nicalis is on a roll with announcements today. Shortly after teasing a bunch of upcoming ports for the Switch, they've announced that physical pre-orders for Ittle Dew 2+ (a Zelda inspired adventure game) will come with a water resistant map. Buyers will also receive an old-school instruction manual, which is pretty damn awesome.
"I feel like Travis [Touchdown] is a part of myself, constantly there with me" Grasshopper Manufacture head Suda51 told us through a translator. "I think about him a lot, like 'Huh, I wonder what Travis is doing right now.'"
Any No More Heroes conversation is going to naturally steer toward Travis. When Jordan and I sat down with Suda this past weekend to talk about Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, I found myself captivated by another character. He's the man on the left in this concept art:
The pixel art-infused RPG Songbringer is a love letter to old-school role playing games, and we've been looking forward to its release on PlayStation 4 for a while now. The sci-fi title is out now and available on Xbox One and Windows 10, too. The game is $20 on all platforms, including PC and Mac on Steam and GoG.com, starting today.
In sudden and unexpected news, Lucasfilm announced that it has parted ways with director Colin Trevorrow. Trevorrow will no longer be directing Star Wars Episode IX. A new director for the film has yet to be named.
Here is the full brief statement:
"Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon."
[Ricky Namara attempts to explain the overarching story of BlazBlue. Set aside some time, get your reading glasses, and rev up those Drive buttons. It's a long and sordid story about the Azure. ~Marcel]
Ah, BlazBlue. Or "BraveBlue" if you're from Japan.
Or if you're one of those annoying people who needed to be super accurate about everything, "boo-ray-boo-roo."
PAX started off on the right foot this year. Traditionally a show where we focus on cool-seeming indie games, the Devolver-published High Hell is the epitome of that weirdness we try to find. "YEAH, KICK THE COKE!" is something a developer shouted at me. I honestly think it helped me break my hangover just a little bit.
High Hell is the newly-announced follow-up from the Heavy Bullets creator and music man Adam "Doseone" Drucker. Bullets are about the only connection, though. This one isn't randomly generated and it isn't permadeath. Instead, it's a controlled narrative about corporate sabotage through punk rock means. Think burning stacks of cash rather than pocketing them.
One has to wonder why people have such strong opinions about such small things, but LEGO Worlds released on Switch today and is already receiving a new icon following complaints.
I guess people were unhappy with the simple-looking icon and lucky for them the developers were listening. Below is the original icon.
I have something of a complicated relationship with Kentucky Route Zero. It's single-handedly responsible for some of my personally most memorable moments in games over the past few years. The bar scene in act three made my whole body cold with awe. The end of act two was the closest I've ever been to wanting to make my own game.
But, these moments are few and far apart because Kentucky Route Zero is few and far apart. After the third installment, I resigned myself to just waiting until the whole thing was out. It'd probably be years, but that's fine. I'd rather wait it out and replay all of it together than struggle to remember what happened 24 months ago. Best I figure, I last thought about playing this game in May 2014.
It's disappointing only because Kentucky Route Zero is so incredible. I know it's incredible because I've reserved space in my brain where my official stance is "it's incredible," but I can't remember why it's incredible apart from those few outstanding scripted moments. I look forward to revisiting its narrative approach and being reminded why I fell in love in the first place.
In a stupidly well-timed deal from LivingSocial today, the Groupon subsidiary is offering a site-wide 20% off coupon code. What's extra spicy about this discount is that it applies for quite a number of video game deals, in particular the newly minted New Nintendo 2DS XL - cutting the price on the new handheld down to a ridiculously cheap $120 after using code TODAY20 at checkout.
Those of you Nintendo fans will know that discounts on Nintendo hardware are exceedingly rare and usually only happen during fluke sales event, such as the one today.
This is a today-only deal so if you're interested in any of the items below, we'll suggest acting sooner rather than later. Other noteworthy pickings include today's release of Knack 2, tomorrow's highly anticipated release of Destiny 2, and other pre-orders such as Pokken Tournament DX for the Nintendo Switch. At 20% off, it's a good alternative for those who don't have Best Buy GCU or Amazon Prime membership (because you only buy a game or two per year).
While shipping is free, don't expect Destiny 2 to arrive on your door step in time for launch. If you don't mind playing a few days after release, this is an easy way to pick up $12 off the PS4 and Xbox one copy of Destiny 2.
LivingSocial's coupon code will run until tonight before midnight Central Time. It's valid only on select deals and can only be applied towards one unit per transaction, with a maximum discount of $50 discounted.
Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.
Hollywood's been lying about movies called "The Last" for some time. In fact, ever since the Saw franchise was reopened with Jigsaw after Saw promised to end when the seventh film was called The Final Chapter we've known that series were never truly dead, much like Fred Rogers (he lives in my building, I swear). My point being, don't expect this to be the last Insidious, especially if it makes enough at the box office. And if this trailer is any indication, it will, because this is freaky.
I couldn't be more thrilled that SteamWorld Dig is getting a follow-up. I loved its core loop of digging, collecting treasure, and heading up to the surface to buy upgrades that enabled you to delve deeper and more efficiently, opening up new areas and secrets. It all clicked. My main issue? The game ended too soon. I loved it, but it fell short of its potential, something Image & Form will readily admit.
SteamWorld Dig 2 won't suffer that same fate.
At PAX, I was able to sit down and chat with Image & Form CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson, Nintendo Switch in hand. I was free to explore using an existing save file that had a bunch of far-off warp points and abilities already unlocked, allowing me to get a sense of scope (the map is varied, sprawling, and dense with secret collectibles) and traversal options (hover-boosting and hookshotting are a joy). Also, bosses. Plural! There thankfully won't just be one confrontation like in SteamWorld Dig.
There's a similar loop to the first game in that you'll still be digging, collecting, and returning to the surface to sell in town, but it looks and plays better and feels all around more ambitious.
One change I'm particularly fond of: being able to pump collectible resources into your ability upgrades and then alter them on the fly to best fit your current situation and goals. As much as I'm a fan of the original SteamWorld, it'll be tough returning to it after having just briefly tried the sequel.
It's silly to get attached to earning collectibles in a game at a convention, especially one that's due out in a matter of weeks, but SteamWorld Dig 2 got its hooks in me in that way. I couldn't help myself. Completionists are going to have a hell of a time with this one, myself happily included.
Last week we were shocked to find out that the worst box office weekend in 16 years occurred. OK, not really shocked. There were no good movies opening and there was a natural disaster and a host of other issues. People were busy in general. However, over holiday weekends people usually spend some free time checking out movies so I thought that this weekend wouldn't be too terrible relative to last weekend.
Clearly, I know nothing (GoT, reference because I'm cool and with it). With no major new films opening and not even any good films for audiences to catch up on this Labor Day weekend was the worst one since 2000, pulling in only $47.6 million. And I'll repeat what I said last week: this is without inflation taken into account. In reality that 2000 box office was waaaaaay better than this year's.
The only people who can be remotely happy about this in Hollywood is anyone involved with The Hitman's Bodyguard. Usually a movie like that drops out of the top five in two weeks, but thanks to there being nothing else to watch it's held on for three straight weeks to the number one spot. Not that that has given it much of anything but bragging rights with a total of only $54.9 million to show for it.
Pikuniku was such a fitting game to play first at PAX West. It encapsulates the show perfectly.
It was situated all the way in the back of the Indie Megabooth, an area of the show floor that has gotten increasingly (and deservedly) more crowded over the years but is still absolutely worth touring at least once. It had a cute, inviting look to its art. And best of all, it had co-op that required teamwork but also gave convention-goers the freedom to kick the shit out of each other and let off some steam.
The co-op mode was simple in terms of mechanics and solving puzzles, but that's not to say it was unengaging. Just hopping around, kicking objects (and your teammate, causing their eyes to bug way out), and flinging yourself around ledges with a grappling hook is good, silly fun.
There's been talk of a Tetris film for years, but from the looks of it, the critical failure of movies like Pixels and Battleship may have slowed Hollywood's enthusiasm for adapting toys and games that have no established narratives of their own. In this case, that's actually a shame, because the story of the development and localization of Tetris is quite fascinating. With Tetris: The Games People Play, writer and artist Box Brown recently took that story to comics, and it's one of the best novels (graphic or otherwise) that I've read in years. If you're headed back to school this month, you should ask your teachers if they might add it to their curriculum. It would work in art, history, sociology, computer science, or even psychology courses, depending on how cleverly the instructor handles the challenge.
Part of what makes the book work is how it connects so many unrelated parts together to form a greater whole. Yes, that's also what happens in a game of Tetris, but no, Box Brown isn't hammy enough to actual spell that out in the comic itself. Instead, he subtly puts each seemingly random piece of the Tetris saga next to its appropriate partner as it naturally presents itself to the equation.
Chronologically, it all starts with the creation Senet, an ancient Egyptian game of strategy. We then move forward to the formation of Nintendo, the competitive card playing company, founded by artist Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889. From there, Shigero Miyamoto, the Sega Master System, Ronald Reagan, Blasteroids, Gunpei Yoko, Kurt Lewin, the Atari 7800, Mikhail Gorbachev, Judge Fern M. Smith, and of course, Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, all end up coming together in a chain of events that's as unlikely as they come. All of them turning in just the right sequence eventually led to the release of Tetris for the original Game Boy, an event that changed the world of art and technology forever.
We were delighted (and scared silly) playing Resident Evil 7, which turned the franchise around and brought it back to its sinister, horrific roots. The game's first two Banned Footage DLC packs came out mere weeks after the main game launched back in January, but the third additional content pack, i, is finally coming out on December 12th. But if you've held off buying the game, Capcom is releasing a gold edition of the title on the same day that loops in all the DLC for an undisclosed price.
There hasn't been a game as popular as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in quite some time. The indie darling, which is still in Early Access, has hit a new milestone of 10 million copies sold. I think at this point, the development team can do no wrong. If even the introduction of loot crates can't stop the PUBG train, what will?
This milestone was highlighted by an invitational tournament held over the weekend with a bunch of various stats I don't really care about. The bigger news is that the Xbox One version now has a clearer release date. If you assumed that the game wouldn't be launching by the end of 2017, I'm sad to confirm your suspicions.
The PR email reads that PUBG is, "launching exclusively on Xbox One as part of the Xbox Game Preview program in late 2017, with the final version launching in early 2018 across the Xbox One family of devices." I suppose it can't be helped, what with the final PC version not even having a firm launch date.
I'm not sure how I personally feel about the game anymore. While I love the idea, the way in which changes to the game have been handled feels very devious to me. I don't like microtransactions in anything, but blatantly lying about their eventual inclusion rubs me the wrong way. I also don't know if we'll see regular updates like we have been when the final version launches.
It seems like only yesterday that I was asking you, my dear children, which game you'd like to see get the "Rebirth" treatment next. In reality, it was almost ten years ago that I wrote that post. Even worse, shortly after I asked the question, Konami killed off the Rebirth lines of games entirely. Hopefully this post doesn't curse Sega's budding "Mania" concept in the same way.
At least a couple of those games came into being as a response to fan outcry, so we know the people in charge of the industry are listening. So let's tell them what we want! I'm going to spit out a couple ideas for how some of my favorite franchises could return to their pixel-art roots, and I hope you do too.
Last month, PlayerUnknown's BattlegroundsovertookDota 2 as the game with the most simultaneous players on Steam and on September 1st, it hit another milestone. Today, Bluehole announced that the game has sold over 10 million units on Steam Early Access since its March launch.
Nicalis has been slowly and steadily porting over its catalog of indie classics to the Switch. We already have some pretty big names with Cave Story+ and The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth +, so the anticipation for what might be next is pretty high. After this weekend's PAX West, Nicalis took to Twitter to post a teaser image of what games might be heading to the system soon.
When it comes to video games starring the Gundam franchise, it stands in an odd spot.
Despite the anime being popular around the world, the games, which cover numerous genres and come out frequently in Japan, are nowhere to be seen internationally. With the last home console game, Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn, having been released three years ago, fans have been hungry for more Gundam. Namco appears to have heard their cries with the release of Gundam Versus for PlayStation 4 planned for later this month. As you can probably tell, I'm very excited for it.
A beta was released that ran over the course of September 2 to September 4. I roped in our own Bass to give the demo a try. He hasn't tried anything in the franchise whatsoever, only heard snippets through me, so I thought it'd be interesting to get an outsider's opinion on the matter. That way you can get the perspective of someone who likes Gundam, and someone who would be more focused on whether the gameplay appeals to him.
I was standing in a makeshift room at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital with a couple dozen people. Some of them were young children battling cancer, others were family and friends there to spend time with them. There was a handful of hospital staff. Spread out across the room were a young woman unknowingly about to get a scholarship, a social worker who had paid for a child's cable bill so that he could have some comfort in his last few weeks of life and team members of a charity who had brought everyone there so that sick children could have a little bit of fun for a few hours. It was an event that was both solemn and uplifting, and it was all centered around video games.
Ever wanted to walk around the Raccoon City Police Department? What do you mean "I've done that fifty times already"? Well, now you can do it in VR, thanks to Unreal 4 artist CryingHorn.
In the video below, Youtuber Virtual Reality Oasis tries out a tech demo by CryingHorn, which contains a VR recreation of the reception area of the ill-fated police station, complete with a terrifying Licker, lurking in the corner.
Though it doesn't feature real-time movement, it has some fun interactive moments, such as with the game-saving typewriter. It's also a pretty authentic build, capturing the gothic ambience and isolation of possibly the most famous cop shop in video game history.
Little more will likely come of this. As far as I know, CryingHorn isn't planning to make a full-on, litigation-baiting remake. But it's impressive work and a reminder of the possibilities Virtual Reality can explore in the hands of talented creators.
We could even see a VR Resident Evil game! Wouldn't that be something?.. wait...
Being a fan of both Unlimited Adventure and Unlimited Cruise, both Wii exclusive, I was excited when One Piece: Unlimited World Red was announced back in 2013. Back then a western release wasn’t even planned yet, and because I already had plans to import a Japanese 3DS, I pre-ordered the Red Straw Hat Edition 3DS, which I still use to this day for my Japanese-only needs.
Around a year later after its original announcement, the game got ported to PS Vita, Wii U, and PS3 in Japan, and then released in the west for all four systems. They also came with a new mode called Battle Coliseum which includes four different modes: Duel, Scramble, Battle Royale, and Battle Rush.
Speaking at a PAX panel this weekend, it was confirmed by Xbox/Windows gaming VP Mike Ybarra that support for keyboard and mouse is on its way to Xbox One.
A lot of players have been asking for the alternate control style for years now, but the delay has generally been in the interest of fair play. Keyboard/Mouse players, as a general rule, always have an advantage over control pad players in terms of accuracy and reaction speeds (one of the reasons cited why Overwatch doesn't have cross-platform play.)
No specific titles were named that would feature support for the control method, although Ybarra did state that the feature would be arriving "soon". Ybarra's full confirmation of the feature, and the issues it raises, can be seen below.
YouTube announced a handful of new features available now for its livestream function. The changes, including reduced latency and simpler chat moderation, are aimed at making YouTube Live a more functional and efficient feature for users.
Tomb Raider has been around for just over 20 years and despite all our great memories of the original trilogy, they haven't exactly held up visually. However, a small group of independent developers has taken on the task of remastering a classic Tomb Raider title.
Chief developer Nicobass has been leading a small development team in remastering Tomb Raider II for several years. Check out the video below to see the game's Great Wall of China level redone in Unreal Engine 4.
