Sunday, November 19, 2017

News:: Valkyria Chronicles 4 announced for 2018, coming to PS4, Switch, Xbox One

Earlier this year, the Valkyria franchise was in a bad state with the release of Valkyria Revolution, which released to poor scores and some of the worst sales in the history of the franchise. It seemed like it was about to be laid to rest, among the numerous IPs in the Sega graveyard, despite the success of the re-release for the original game. However, it would appear that those fears were for nothing, as the company has announced the next main entry in the franchise will be deploying in 2018.

Oh, and also that it will be coming to all major consoles instead of just Sony consoles.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 announced for 2018, coming to PS4, Switch, Xbox One screenshot

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News:: Office chair battle royale game Last Man Sitting looks dope

Kevin Suckert makes goofy games about ridiculous things. His latest creation that he’s working on, Last Man Sitting, is a battle royale-type where everyone is placed in office chairs. From what I can gather, as the name implies, the objective is to remain seated in your chair while propelling yourself across the room with various firearms and avoiding other players. It’s insanely dumb, and I love it.

This thing is barely even an idea yet, but it’s already blowing up over on Reddit. It’s got a ton of potential to be a whole lot of fun too. Everyone enjoys zipping across the room in office chairs in real life, and now you’ll be able to do it in a virtual room full of people with guns! Mr. Suckert has claimed he’s hoping to have the game released and ready to play over the next few months, so keep your eyes peeled. This could be really good.

Office chair battle royale game Last Man Sitting looks dope screenshot

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News:: Evolution's transition from cardboard to digital is looking sharp

A couple years ago, a little board game called Evolution came out of Kickstarter and made a bit of a splash at the watering hole. Its representation of the adaptation of a species to its environment and to other nearby species was spot on. Some sessions were more interesting than others depending on the luck of the draw, but each one told its own distinct narrative.

Today, developer North Star Games has one of the biggest booths at PAX Unplugged. The whole thing is dedicated to Evolution, its two expansions Flight and Climate, its two-player offshoot The Beginning, and its upcoming digital release on Android, iOS, and PC.

You could say that since the original board game release, North Star's business has really... evolved. (I'm sorry.)

Evolution's transition from cardboard to digital is looking sharp screenshot

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News:: Rainbow Six Siege is getting a third year of broken windows and shattered walls

I remember writing last year (around the same time, no less) that Rainbow Six Siege would be getting a second year of DLC. It looks like Ubisoft did well enough with that extra content that Siege will get supported into 2018, as well. Ubisoft announced today that more new maps and operators will be coming to their tactical online only shooter early next year.

Year Three will feature eight new operators from around the world, two brand new maps based in Italy and Morocco and a complete overhaul/remake of an existing map with new art direction and level design. That doesn't sound like a whole lot, but more content is always a plus. If you want to nab the Year Three Pass (which simply includes early access to each operator and map), it will become available on December 12. After that date, the Year Two pass will no longer be available for purchase and any exclusive customization items it offers will be gone.

The full reveal of each operator and both maps will be happening at the Six Invitational 2018 in Montreal, which will be held from Feburary 13th to the 18th. I think it's safe to assume we'll see the DLC sometime after that.

Rainbow Six Siege is getting a third year of broken windows and shattered walls screenshot



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News:: Game and drink pairings for the discerning to degenerate gamer

[Nothing like a fancy drink to go with the fanciest art form on earth, video games. Good thing SpielerDad has a few choice pairings and stories to share with everyone! I'm probably sticking to Pabst Dry (which is not a hipster beer no matter what mainstream media will tell you) but this was one entertaining read indeed. ~Bass]

My wife likes to read my blogs as well. It's not that she finds them incredibly interesting or witty... But rather she is checking my grammar and writing ability since she fancies herself an English teacher. (Fun Fact: she's an English teacher) 

So last week, after she told me that she read my latest blog and I asked her what she thought, she said that it was a bit more serious and somber than my usual posts and that it seemed like I wasn't trying to be funny and stupid. 

She was right. My last post was a bit of a serious entry and a departure from my normal writing style. Some may have been turned off by it. It's like going to a heavy metal concert and the band decides to play a power ballad, or some lame ass shit, and everyone decides it’s a good time to go take a piss and grab another beer. 

Game and drink pairings for the discerning to degenerate gamer screenshot

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News:: Pokemon Go is having a global catch challenge this week

Niantic has announced that they will be holding a global catch challenge over the Thanksgiving holiday week for the hit mobile game Pokemon Go. Along with that, the company has started an initiative called "Pokemon Go Travel," in which Niantic has selected a group of inspirational trainers and flown them to Japan to partake in this new event. Each trainer will be chronicling their travels on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook for the whole world to see.

The catch challenge tasks players from every region to catch three billion Pokemon in the next week. From November 20th till the 26th, everyone playing Pokemon Go and catching little monsters will be contributing to unlocking new rewards for other players. Some of the things hinted at include Pokemon like Farfetch'd and Kanghaskhan (which are both region exclusive creatures) and XP boosts.

The official website for Travel is super limited, but it does include a video that sums up the whole event in less than a minute.

Pokemon Go is having a global catch challenge this week screenshot

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News:: Splatoon 2's battle of Sci-Fi vs Fantasy comes to an end

The paint has dried once again on another hard-fought Splatfest. Players across the USA fought it out this weekend on Nintendo's team-based shooter Splatoon 2, determined to decree which was the better genre: Sci-Fi or Fantasy.

In the end, Marina took a 2-1 victory with Team Fantasy, as witches, warlocks and woodland nymphs proved victorious in both the public vote and solo play, with a singular point, accrued from Team Play, supporting Pearl's choice, Sci-Fi.

The public vote went 57% in Fantasy's favour, which is actually far less divisive than I expected the vote to be. This win will make Marina fans very happy, as she has been pretty successful in recent weeks. Looks like everyone's favourite octopus DJ is definitely back in the game.

I'm not sure I agree with this outcome, but at least y'all were right about toilet paper.

Splatoon 2's battle of Sci-Fi vs Fantasy comes to an end screenshot

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News:: For International Men's Day, let's honor BJ Blazkowicz, gaming's greatest guy

Back in March, for Women’s History Month, I wrote about the world’s greatest thief, Carmen Sandiego, and declared her the greatest woman ever in gaming. She’s a badass and she taught me so much about all the different countries we’re going to go to war with over the next seven years. At the end of the piece I promised we’d talk about men in gaming, and just like a gay bachelor party, this list is going to be a total sausage fest.

Today is International Men’s Day – because you know, men need a day that’s all about them – so what better time than now to for me to rap about the swaggiest swag swag in gaming, BJ Blazkowicz.

First, let me say I am neither drunk nor Polish enough to properly pronounce his last name, and I really don’t want to type it any more than that one time, so I’ll stick to calling him BJ for the rest of this. After all, who doesn’t love BJ’s? They have an outstanding menu and the best Cobb salad I’ve ever tasted.

Anyway, BJ has been killing Nazis since Nazis were the most uncontroversial enemies you could plug into a game. Good golly how times have changed. BJ is the ultimate American success story: he is the son of Polish immigrants, he served his country during World War II and he shot Hitler in the face. If he came home from the war and started a successful small business he’d in the spank bank of every Ayn Rand disciple. In comparison, last week I ate a cheese puff I found on the floor.  

Also… look he shot Hitler in the fucking face, what else do you need? Here he is killing Hitler:

For International Men's Day, let's honor BJ Blazkowicz, gaming's greatest guy screenshot

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News:: ProphetCare: A look at health insurance in the Covenant

[If you don't live in North America, then know that the debate on health care rages on. I can at least take solace that the Covenant probably has just as bad health care. ~Marcel]

This is the Spec Ops Commander of the Elites, featured in Halo 2. Aside from being a complete and utter badass on every level, he teaches us about health insurance inside the Covenant.

ProphetCare: A look at health insurance in the Covenant screenshot

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News:: Why we should celebrate extra options in games

Right – let me start this article by exposing my biases. Namely, one of the first games I played to the point of obsession was The Sims, and as everyone knows, The Sims is a highly modular game. Since the very beginning, the Sims series has featured masses of extra content that even requires extra payment, such as expansion packs and, later, the Stuff packs. This kind of spoiled me for other games, where the pathway was more linear and the player's experience was kept on a tight leash by the developers.

I started to think more about my highly customisable, "optional" experience of games when I read some of the backlash surrounding the re-release of SOMA for the Xbox One. On one of the posts I read, I saw a lot of complaints about the "safe mode" that is being sold with the game, which allows you to traverse the underwater research base without so much as a whiff of a nasty beastie. There are no deaths to side-step – just untapped potential for exploration. According to some, it was watering down the game (heh), changing it into something limper and less worthy of respect.

I have to admit, this view baffled me somewhat. As I said while chatting to other Destructoid writers, this gripe feels like going into a restaurant and complaining that they sell pasta, which you don't like, even though you can just order a pizza, which you do like, instead. While tacking on random options that have nothing at all to do with the purpose and plot of the game can feel cheap and unfocused, I strongly feel that this kind of addition should be welcomed as a way to experience the game from another angle.

Mmm, now I want pizza. Time for a pizza interlude.

Why we should celebrate extra options in games screenshot

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News:: PREPARE TO FRIENDSHIP: Dtoid's Master Gaming Contact List

[It's almost the beginning of the holiday shopping season! The time of year that Secret Santas stat to mysteriously spring up around DToid. I don't know who will lead the charge this year, but it's always fun to watch. The Master List will keep on updating until I run out of things to do  -Panda]

Good morning/afteroon/tomorrow, my friends/robots/Gardevoir/Current Dtoid Meme Here

It has been made aware to me that, just perhaps, you all enjoy video games. It might even be said that you... like to game with others? Now now, don't be that way, I don't mean to lump you into some sort of box. You're all just such lovely folks, it pains me to watch you, struggling in vain to connect with each other, striving to engage in...

PREPARE TO FRIENDSHIP: Dtoid's Master Gaming Contact List screenshot

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News:: Ben Heck's Xbox One X teardown

There's no greater feeling than tearing into the latest and greatest games console, cracking open the case, breaking the warranty and staring at its spinning, sparkly, electronic innards. This week, Ben takes apart the Xbox One X, comparing it to previous iterations while giving his usual quips over its design changes. Do you prefer Microsoft's mechanical and electrical design? Or are you a bigger fan of Sony's lineup? Let us know over on the element14 Community.



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News:: GameStop's early Sony Black Friday sale: $40 PS Plus, $199 PS VR, $20 Horizon Zero Dawn

Black Friday has arrived early for select Sony products at GameStop. The gaming retailer has launched a sale dubbed "Sony Black Friday Week" and you'll find a number of pretty great deals. Everything from cheap PlayStation Plus membership to $20 Triple-A Sony exclusive titles, and even $100 off PlayStation VR bundles. While GameStop is calling it "Sony Week" - the sale expiration date is listed to end later this Wednesday.

What's likely to happen though is that on Thanksgiving (aka the new Black Friday), you'll see a continuation of these deals along with additional "Doorbuster" offerings tossed in. For example, as of writing, you can now pick up a PlayStation 4 Slim 1TB console for $199. But come November 23 through November 26, you'll be able to score the same system with an additional $50 GameStop gift card bonus. That's a pretty swell deal in our opinion. From leaked ads, you'll also find a similar offer for PS4 Pro 1TB systems - which will include the same $50 gift card for a sale price of $350.

Our top pick in ths current sale is the $39.99 PlayStation Plus 1 year digital code, it will arrive in your inbox immediately after purchase for some instant gratification. For those looking to pick up a PlayStation VR bundle this holiday, you'll also find $100 off a Skyrim or Gran Turismo Sport PS VR bundles. Finally, for those who have missed out on $20 Horizon Zero Dawn during Best Buy's early Black Friday sale you now have a second chance thanks to GameStop.

GameStop's Sony Black Friday Week

PS4 & PS Plus

PS VR

PS4 Games

DualShock 4 Controllers

Shipping is free automatically for all orders above $24.99. Sale runs through November 22, 2017, or while supplies last. We're fairly certain most of the deals above will extend through Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

Spot anything else we missed? Let us know in the comments and we'll add 'em to the list when we feel like it. After all, you're not the boss of us.

Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.

GameStop's early Sony Black Friday sale: $40 PS Plus, $199 PS VR, $20 Horizon Zero Dawn screenshot

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