Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below not only launched with one of the worst subtitles in gaming history, but some design flaws. Some stemmed directly from latent problems with Omega Force's approach to hack-and-slash games, and others were unique to Heroes.
The sequel, with the thankfully simplified nomenclature of Dragon Quest Heroes II, does make some improvements, but keeps several of the same issues intact
Both Fox and director Ridley Scott have made bit commitments to virtual reality, and you're about to see just how those commitments are evolving... in an unsettling way. Fox has revealed that Alien: Covenant's VR experience, In Utero, will be available for Oculus Rift wearers on April 26th. As the name implies, the production shows the terror from the baby alien's (that is, neomorph's) perspective as it's born. The teaser clip doesn't show much, but it's already disconcerting -- you can hear muffled screams as the humans realize something is about to go very, very wrong.
Source: 20th Century Fox (Twitter)
Here's a Neat Little Thing to cap off your day from YouTube user Scruffy.
It's a dive into Pikmin 2's inner workings to come up with and modify a first-person view in a game that wasn't meant to have one. The results -- even in this still-experimental stage -- are impressive.
There's a lot of explanatory buildup and technical talk, albeit helped along by some darn good visual aids. With that in mind, if you'd rather just skip ahead to see what a Pikmin game can look like from Olimar's low-down perspective, that footage begins exactly 10 minutes into the video. Cool stuff.
[Via Go Nintendo]
It's hard to shake the notion of Zen Studios working on anything outside of the pinball space, but it's happened plenty of times before, and it'll happen again. For instance: Planet Minigolf. Remember that one? Its followup, Infinite Minigolf, released last year on PC and is now headed to consoles.
As you can see in this recent trailer, there's a lot of emphasis placed on the game's course editor. "The team has spent a lot of time developing better tools for players to make their own content – which was the number one request from players," says head of studio Tamas Balog. "If you enjoy minigolf as well as creating and sharing your own content, Infinite Minigolf was designed for you."
The existing PC version is still working its way through Steam Early Access, but the full release and console versions (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) should be out later this spring. And on PC and PS4, there's also virtual reality support, something I'd be especially keen to try out.
With today's PC update for Stardew Valley, it's just a little bit easier to embrace the laborious farm life while playing with a gamepad instead of a mouse and keyboard. Menu navigation now works more like you'd expect, with your cursor snapping between items, and feels smoother all around.
Better yet, for non-English players, there are new localizations. The patch notes:
It's nice to see Stardew further open itself up to a wider audience, and as for the controller tweaks, I'll look forward to them crossing over to the console versions of the game soon enough.
Stardew Valley 1.2 is out on PC! [Stardew Valley]
The original Tomb Raider may not have aged all too well, but it definitely remains an important title in the PS1's library. Not only was it one of the first mainstream titles to feature a female lead, it also introduced gamers to the concept of massive scale puzzle solving that was never seen before. It did Indiana Jones better than any of the previous licensed Jones titles.
While there are plenty of ways to relive the misery glory of the classic game, you can now do so without actually downloading the title. A modder by the name of XProger has spent the past few months working on an open source port of Tomb Raider that can now be played from within your browser of choice (although probably not Edge since Edge really sucks).
This version is called OpenLara (hehe) and it features third and first-person viewpoints for you to tinker around with. While it currently only features the second level of the game, if you happen to own the original on PC you can load in the map files and try those. This port also has native support for modern gamepads and introduces actual camera control, although it doesn't remove the tank controls. At least you can have a more comfortable time while cursing at Lara for running straight into a damn wall, which is honestly all I've ever needed.
You can play this version over on XProger's website. Its fun for a nostalgic trip, if nothing else.
Play the original Tomb Raider in your browser with unlocked FPS [PC Gamer]
A certain amount of restraint is required when analyzing teasers (or what we think might be teasers) for unofficial projects. It's easy to let the imagination run wild connecting dots that might be nothing more than coincidence or red herrings. That's especially true for something as widely longed for as another Bayonetta sequel.
Today, Platinum uploaded a series of Bayonetta clips that each play three times before the video is over. It's just a bunch of voiced dialogue, like her saying "Now it's time to be naughty" and "Don't fuck with a witch." As a reddit user points out, these videos were posted to supplement this article on Platinum's site where it seems like Bayonetta teaches english. There's no obvious answer as to why they all loop three times.
In this instance, the notion these are teasers are actually teasers is helped along by recent circumstance. Platinum has been on a roll lately, porting the original Bayonetta to PC and seemingly ready to do the same with Vanquish. Also, we're at that pre-E3 time of the year when these sorts of things tend to materialize.
So maybe don't read too far into these videos and convince yourself that Bayonetta 3 is going to happen. But we can't blame you if you do. The heart wants what the heart wants.
PlatinumGames Inc. [YouTube via reddit]
Overwatch pro Matt "Dellor" Vaughn has been dropped by Toronto Esports after the release of the above video, wherein Vaughn, angry at an online opponent, proceeds to scream at the top of his lungs (mind your computer volume level) and then repeat the n-word for almost 30 seconds straight, adding some additional adjectives towards the end.
Vaughn was streaming on Twitch at the time and one of his viewers captured video of the 28-year-old gamer's Michael Richards moment. His Twitch channel has since been closed for violating the terms of service.
"Toronto Esports is an organization built on inclusivity, and we have always had a zero- tolerance policy for any forms of discrimination," President Ryan Pallett said in a statement. "Immediately upon learning of the incident, the player was interviewed, admitted to the offence, and was notified that his contract with the organization was being terminated."
Vaughn announced on Twitter that he is "done with esports and won't be returning."
He also wrote a longer message. "I fucked up and deserve to be dropped from Toronto Esports," it starts. Good start! "I won't try to argue or make an excuse, I don't have any," he continues, before starting on a list of excuses that includes: 1) having a bad day, 2) not getting enough sleep, 3) Twitch not working, 4) his internet lagging, 5) his opponent "blatantly cheating," 6) both teams shit-talking him. Vaughn maintains, "despite me using that word, I am not a racist." It just so happens that when he becomes uncontrollably upset he yells racial slurs for half a minute. No need to interrogate that impulse further!
Toronto Esports release Dellor for breach of contract [Toronto Esports]
Last Thursday, Stephens College made history when it officially created the first varsity-level eSports team at an all-women's school. The program's 12-player squad will begin digitally competing in collegiate Overwatch leagues this fall.
Via: Gamasutra
Source: ESPN
Japanese players are getting a batch of DLC for NieR: Automata on May 2, and hey, we are too!
The DLC known as "3C3C1D119440927" (three costumes, three colosseums, one dream, and a year/date, apparently) will also see a Western release on Tuesday, according to Square Enix.
Aside from a few throwback costumes and other cosmetic rewards, the DLC will offer battle colosseums and real-world CEO boss fights ("Immersion schmimmersion!"). Take a look.
In short: hell yes, this is good, and I need it.
I know some of you have torn through Automata already and put it back on the shelf, but for me, this DLC release is reasonably good timing. I'm about to start up my third playthrough now.
NieR: Automata [Twitter]
Earlier this year, I binged my way through Psycho-Pass and quickly declared it the best anime I'd ever seen in over a decade. Granted, it was the only anime I'd watched in over a decade as Paranoia Agent had pushed the bar to unfeasible heights, but Psycho-Pass finally hit all the right notes. Its mix of Blade Runner and Minority Report, Hannibal mind games, and a familiar criticism of Japanese isolationism made for an exciting blend of hardboiled thrills and thoughtful philosophy. Plus, people exploded, like a lot.
And despite the internet believing it was worse than 9/11, Psycho-Pass 2 wasn't all that bad (no, Psycho-Pass: The Movie was the awful one). Still, diminishing returns hasn't stopped me from wanting more of the universe, and given the show's popularity, someone also saw money in that. TV tie-ins are all but dead in today's climate, but even without my bias and Josh Tolentino's favourable review, Mandatory Happiness is a decent stab at bringing licensed games back.
While you wait for something else to play on your Switch (might I suggest looking into TumbleSeed?), you could kill some time with Breath of the NES. As the name suggests, the fan-project was inspired by Nintendo's 8-bit Breath of the Wild prototype that the company divulged during a GDC panel earlier this year. This isn't a straight facsimile though. Developer WinterDrake has added modern lighting and shadows (the fireflies are particularly impressive), while keeping gameplay mostly familiar.
Via: Kotaku
Source: Micropig Gaming (YouTube), itchio
As I've covered Injustice 2 news over the past few weeks, I've bounced back and forth between ironic and actual excitement. After seeing the last of the story trailers, I think I'm officially hyped. Jeffrey Combs already seems like a great choice for Brainiac and, although much of the community considers the design ugly (How attractive is Brainiac supposed to be?), I'm all in. Especially after seeing how cheap of a character he can be.
Brainiac's monstrous reach is going to fare well against zoning/keep away characters like Dr. Fate and Deadshot. His tentacles are going everywhere and sinking themselves into every orifice on screen. I do love how cool it looks when he propels himself with them, and I can't wait to get my hands on this slippery monster in a few weeks.
Too bad about those Source Crystals though.
Injustice 2 is out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One May 16.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 certainly looks impressive, but I guess all that graphical prowess has to come at some cost. According to a recent video from Eurogamer, the latest installment in the upcoming wish fulfillment series has an initial load time for around five minutes on PS4. I could literally microwave two bowls of oatmeal in that amount of time or nuke a Hungry-man TV dinner and have time left to grab a drink.
It's easy to criticize virtual reality for being isolating and a bit anti-social, but there's a lot of potential for connection with shared VR experiences. One good example is Life of Us, the latest entry from the VR studio Within and director Chris Milk. It lets you and a friend (in my case, our Reviews Editor, Cherlynn Low) relive the story of evolution on Earth. And while it's relatively short, we found it to be fascinating.
If Chekhov’s gun is the narrative principle that if a gun is shown on a mantle in the first chapter, it must be fired by the third, then Outlast 2 runs on the principle of Chekhov’s piss. If you see a mutant hillbilly pissing into a ditch of decapitated heads and severed body parts, you can be sure that you’ll have to belly crawl your way through that filth in the next 15 minutes or so.
This is a trick Outlast 2 comes back to again and again. It shows you something horrifying, something repulsive, then it grabs you by the scruff and rubs your nose in it. Outlast 2 is not game about pulling punches or subtle implications. It’s a game about terror and cruelty. About not wanting something to happen and then being forced to endure it, inch by inch, in excruciating detail.
There is something admirable about such a direct approach to terror. The eagerness Outlast 2 has for making the player wriggle uncomfortably, for forcing them to come face-to-face with some of the most gruesome and disturbing imagery I’ve ever seen in a horror game is impressive. What is less admirable, however, is the lack of follow-through in the narrative. Outlast 2 knows it wants to shock you, but it doesn’t know exactly what it wants to say.
The surprise release of Bayonetta on PC was a wonderful gift -- both for returning fans and those who have yet to pulverize angels -- but it may only be the start. Someone hold me. I'm feeling faint!
Earlier today, a small but conspicuous update for Bayonetta showed up on Steam, adding a Vanquish avatar to the game's Extras folder. As always, the internet sees all, and Sega was surely counting on it. While a lone avatar might seem reaching, there was a similar buildup to Bayonetta's PC reveal.
What's more, this little tease follows a representative of Platinum telling PC Gamer that "if it were up to us, we'd port all of our games to PC, but it all depends on the publishers." So, yeah. Yeah.
It's gratifying to see Bayonetta on Steam's top-sellers list after all these years, and I hope the exact same fate awaits Vanquish. For all the love it gets from fans, too few people know about this game.
[Via NeoGAF]
Developer Tantalus had a hell of a time convincing Nintendo to let them port The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, but they did it! According to an interview with CEO Tom Crago, the head of the Australian studio, Top Gear Rally on the Game Boy Advance was their ticket inside, having worked with them in the past.
Crago explains it pretty plainly how they connected, stating, "Nintendo liked [Top Gear Rally], so they decided to publish it as a second-party title, and in the course of building that relationship, I was able to go to Kyoto a couple of times – and obviously when you get the opportunity to go to Nintendo headquarters and meet people there, these are relationships that you want to nurture when you're making video games, so that's what I did. I kind of kept those lines of communications open."
Eventually they would go on to handle Mass Effect 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the Wii U, which would cement their relationship even further. The next step? Arguing that they would do justice to a Zelda game. Crago notes: "[The process took] several months. I mean they are obviously an incredibly meticulous company, and we're talking about a beloved property – one of the most beloved properties in the whole house of Nintendo, so we approached it very diligently and carefully, and we went to Kyoto a couple of times to meet with Aonuma-san and his team, and to talk to them about the work that we'd done and what we proposed to do on Twilight Princess, and then there are a series of experiments and tests and trials and so on before you have the opportunity to actually go into full development, and we are fortunate that we got that opportunity."
From there it involved a "lot of calls between Melbourne and Kyoto," and "Aonuma-san signing off on everything." You rarely hear about Nintendo development outside of the usual pageantry, so the entire interview is worth watch if you're curious about the process.
Tom Crago [Fragments of Silicon]
I'm still miffed that Nintendo hasn't released a demo version of their prototype for Breath of the Wild. Seeing that from GDC this year makes me pine for it to be included in the otherwise paltry season pass for the game. One fan stepped up and managed to create a replica of that prototype, though.
Dubbed Breath of the NES, this fan made demo features gameplay similar to the NES classic game will taking concepts from the newest iteration. It looks like a load of fun, but will more than likely not last the day due to Nintendo being DMCA happy. Go check it out while you can!
Cosmic Star Heroine was successfully Kickstarted back in 2013, and was intended to be a throwback to latter-day 16-bit role playing games like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. Originally intended for release in December 2014, the title has been delayed repeatedly, but finally released a couple of weeks ago for the PC, Vita and PS4. You might know the developers, Zeboyd Games, from their work on the Penny Arcade role-playing series, or their own titles on Steam and Xbox Live. Cosmic Star Heroine is a huge step up from Zeboyd's earlier work, and it's pretty clear to see why this game took a lot longer than their previous titles.
Unfortunately, the delays meant that Zeboyd released Cosmic Star Heroine in the middle of one of the biggest months for RPGs I've ever seen. Was it worth the wait?
While the '80s and '90s PC eras weren't perfect, they were a breeding ground for future content creators. When developers and publishers didn't deliver, modders answered the call. Some of them turned it into a full-time gig, others were just content with giving everything away for free. But one thing is for sure now -- publishers want a slice, if not the whole pie.
So it makes sense then, why the amazing looking "Red Dead Redemption V," a Red Dead mod for GTA V, would get shut down. After being contacted by Take-Two, the lead developer on the project has stated that "We sadly have to say we are stopping this project...so thanks guys, but it isn't going to happen, sorry."
My guess is that with Red Dead Redemption 2 so close on the horizon, they didn't want to have an extra hand in the cookie jar. It's a shame though because Red Dead 2 likely could have stood on its own two feet.
Mr. Leisurewear [GTA Forums]
I should have known. I should have seen the title Office Space: Idle Profits and figured it would be another goddamn clicker game. I should have been able to look past the Fallout Shelter-esque art direction and seen this is worth neither my time nor the data it would take to download and play it. I should have known better, but when Google Play asked me if I wanted to sign up for a release notification, it took nary a second for me to click yes.
Office Space: Idle Profits is based around the penny stealing scheme from the movie, you know, the one from Superman III. The object here is to upload the virus that would steal those pennies into the different floors of Initech, from Milton’s desk in the basement all the way up to the boardroom. The building is quite small, only 10 floors tall and you unlock all of them quickly. This being the clicker game that it is, you’re routinely encouraged to burn that mother down, starting fresh from the bottom but earning money more quickly.
The floors are occupied by either random characters or those from the movie, whom you can level up to earn more money. The screen where you can do the actual clicking recreates moments from the movie, like Tom’s blow up with the Bobs. Then there is… you know what? It’s a fucking clicker. If you don’t know what that means consider yourself lucky.
At some point in Persona 5, and I won't reveal too much as I know it's a long ass game, the crew has access to a blog called a "Phan-Site," which covers their goings on. Naturally someone decided to create their own real Phan-Site, and while the openness of it allows for some not safe for work and spoilery stuff, it has some funny in-character ramblings and a small forum.
I can't stress enough that you shouldn't go to it unless you've fully cleared the game as even the slightest peek could reveal a big spoiler, but then again, it's possible Atlus will attempt to get it shut down knowing their position on spoilers for Persona 5 -- a game that's been out for months on end in Japan already.
Phantom Aficionado Website [Phan-Site]
I remember the first time I played Tetris on my (lately acquired in the early '90s) Game Boy -- I sucked at it. It was one of those moments where no matter how much technical prowess I had at platformers and encyclopedic knowledge I acquired from RPGs, nothing could have prepared me for Tetris' mathematical complexity.
But over the course of the following few years I stuck with it until I ran into a boy genius in elementary school (who ended up skipping grades) that taught me the fundamentals. Thanks David, you prepared me for Puyo Puyo Tetris.
You'd think that after playing World of Warcraft for nearly 13 years I'd be tired of it, but I'm still plugging away at the Legion expansion. I'd also happily give this NES demake a go, if it were real that is. YouTube channel Rkade Soup re-created this loving mockup, complete with commentary on meaningless world side quests, a trip through Wailing Caverns, and the perils of putting your trust in complete strangers.
The retro-tinted Orc starting area vaguely reminds me of the canceled Warcraft Adventures game -- which, based on its history, is probably best left dead (though you can grab a leaked version if you know where to look).
Even if you don’t like visual novels, I think you should give the Danganronpa games a look. If that’s the answer you came here looking for, and you want to go into the series completely unspoiled, you have my blessing to grab a copy of Danganronpa 1-2 Reload (the collection we’ll be looking at today) without reading the rest of the review. If you have even the slightest respect for story in video games, you’ll have a good time.
Consider that your “doctor’s letter.” Show that opening paragraph to your partner, your parent, or your banker -- whoever you need to ask for permission. If they look up the game and see a bunch of anime high school girls, tell them to relax. It’s okay, you can buy a visual novel with heavy anime influences, and I won’t look down on you. Since both of the core Danganronpa games are available on just about every platform (including the PSP), the franchise's chosen genre has become its greatest hurdle.
It sucks that, in this untamed post-genre video game landscape, I have to sit here and absolve the visual novel on the off chance someone will dismiss Danganronpa because it’s got a lot of reading -- but here we are! I’ve said before that every genre will have something you like, and I suspect that Danganronpa will fill that need for a lot of people. For my money, there hasn’t been a cast of characters this engaging since Mass Effect 2 – even if you don’t fully gel with Danganronpa’s mechanics, this is a story worth seeing.
Don't talk to Bronson Pinchot. Don't cross the street without consulting two gays. Don't Instagram wild animals. Don't work at a video game blog. And never miss your rent payment because you bought a $1200 video card. Especially this one.
When Nvidia shipped a Titan-killing 1080 Ti for $699 last month, we knew it was only a matter of time before a new king would be crowned. Preorders are now available on the Nvidia site exclusively, and (at the time of writing) the card appear to be ready for shipment within 3 days.
