Bungie's Destiny 2 fixes continue to roll in. Having addressed its communities' gripes with the game's XP system, it's now tackling another hot-button topic: the high-level content locked behind the debut Curse of Osiris DLC. In its latest blog post, the Destiny dev team acknowledges its "mistakes" and details the impending hotfix that (partly) backtracks from the existing system. But, the solution may not be to everyone's liking.
Source: Bungie
This week most series are wrapping up with fall finales, but the biggest TV show making its exit is Mr. Robot. While we wait for the new Star Wars flick this weekend, movie fans can check out Dunkirk via video on-demand services or Moonlight on 4K Blu-ray. On streaming, Netflix is back with season two of its worldwide reality TV show Ultimate Beastmaster. For gamers, Okami HD will be available Xbox One and PS4, and Yooka-Laylee is coming to Switch while PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds availability on Xbox One begins Tuesday morning at 2 AM ET. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
During its previously announced stream this morning, Bandai Namco announced the newest entry into the Super Robot Wars franchise. Titled Super Robot Wars X, the mecha crossover will be releasing on March 29, 2018 in Japan, while a version with English subtitles will be released in Southeast Asia on April 26 the same year. The game will be coming to the PlayStation 4 and Vita with physical and digital versions.
You can check out the trailer in all its glory below.
Yes, Atari's speaker-equipped hats are very much real. At the last possible minute, the game brand has started selling the Speakerhat to the masses. Pay $130 or more ($100 until January 2nd) and you too can get a cap with Bluetooth stereo speakers that put your phone's sound inches in front of your forehead. The standard models include a conventional Fuji Blackout cap as well as blue and black snapbacks, while limited edition hats commemorate Pong (above) and the nod to Atari in Blade Runner 2049.
Source: Atari
Playdead's captivating platform-adventure title Inside is on its way to iOS this Friday, December 15. The mobile version is open for pre-order, but the pricing isn't fully known; it's listed as "free."
For me, the first time through, it was an unforgettable experience. Inside had me after a few short seconds and didn't let go until I reached its astounding final moments that same night. Then I went through it all again. Finally, I got my sister to play because I just had to see how she'd take to it. (She, uh... she didn't care for the underwater segments with the super creepy you-know-what.)
Inside is too fresh on my mind for me to want to experience it again, but for those of you who haven't seen its horrors, gosh, I highly encourage getting on that. It should work fine on a phone or tablet.
My other advice? If you've managed to escape major spoilers this whole time, try to go in blind.
Inside [App Store via Wario64]
Well hello all you fine fellows. Welcome to another edition of Comments of the Week. By now all the Thanksgiving leftovers should be gone and cleaned out and all the spoils from Black Friday/Cyber Monday have been enjoyed. Now the wait for the real holidays begins and whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Krampus, or any other holiday - or even none at all - we can all get together and agree that a month of Christmas Music on the radio is insufferable.
So let's all gather together, throw on a Tom Petty album instead and check out this week's comments.
It's always something! Following complaints that Bungie had locked Destiny 2 players out of previously-accessible content (including some related Achievements/Trophies) with the release of the game's Curse of Osiris expansion, the studio has explained how it intends to address this latest situation.
Bungie will issue a hotfix tomorrow with these changes:
This is an improvement, but you can't help feeling like most of this mess was avoidable.
On a separate note, the team is adjusting the game-breakingly powerful Prometheus Lens. "Given the short window we had to make an emergency fix, it will be adjusted to be way too weak," Bungie said. "In January, this new Exotic will receive a proper, play-tested design pass."
Expansion and Season Access Update [Bungie]
PUBG is a video game phenomenon without many parallels. It has sold more than 20 million copies in less than a year. It has smashed records for concurrent players on Steam. All that success in spite of the fact that it has only been available on one platform. And it isn't even a finished game yet.
The many people who have played PUBG can attest to the fact that it feels as if it were designed specifically for PC inputs. Conventional wisdom insists that shooters are better played on mouse and keyboard, but that isn't the crux of this argument. All the inventory management -- the menus, the dropping and dragging, the attaching and unattaching and attaching again -- it's all done through a flurry of clicks and swipes. Anyone with enough hours in PUBG knows the difference between efficient and inefficient inventorying. It comes long before the 170 hours my Steam account says I've played.
Basically all of the Phoenix Wright games have made the jump to mobile platforms, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Miles Edgeworth spin-off, Ace Attorney Investigations, is now available for download. Unlike all of the other ports, this doesn't seem to have been touched up with HD graphics, though maybe the portraits are sharper.
Even if they haven't been, the $11.99 asking price is pretty cheap compared to the roughly $30 the game is going for on Amazon. You can't beat that cheap admission. This could also potentially lead to a port of Ace Attorney Investigations 2, which has still yet to be officially released in English. I'm probably being too optimistic, but a mobile port of that would be neat.
Bandai Namco has put out the first batch of screenshots for One Piece: World Seeker, a new open-world action-adventure for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One due for release in 2018.
This reveal falls on the lighter side, with few details other than what you can glean from the images. Speaking generally, the company says World Seeker will let players "wage battles in an expansive and seamless world filled with castles, cities, beaches, and more exciting and diverse locations."
I feel like the art direction will take some getting used to, but perhaps the characters and environments blend better in motion. Expect to see footage as soon as this weekend at Jump Festa in Japan.
Over the weekend we heard the exciting news that Soulcalibur is sharpening its blade for a another round as Bandai Namco announced Soulcalibur VI. PlayStation sat down with game producer Motohiro Okubo to discuss the latest title in the now two-decades-old series.
In this video interview, Okubo discusses the development of the sequel, the thought-process that went into evolving the game's splendid visuals and Soulcalibur VI's "Reversal Edge" mechanic; a dramatic parry system that is new to the weapon-based fighter.
The gameplay footage on display features series' stalwarts Mitsurugi and Sophita having an extended sparring session. The Soulcalibur "feel" is definitely taking shape, in terms of movement, speed and precision striking, as well as displaying the strange mythology that embodies the characters, costumes and stages. Even at this early stage, Bandai Namco seem confident SCVI is a winner. I hope so too.
Soulcalibur VI is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2018.
I've done a lot of dumb things for this job. I jumped off the top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas once. Last week, I rode on top of a tank. I've taken to actively seeking out ridiculous scenarios because those are more fun to write about. Straight-faced discourse gets boring from time to time.
That's why I leaped at a pitch we got for GodMode dietary supplements. These are another contender in the new market of nootropics. That means, in an ironically dumbed-down way, "smart drugs." They're the sort of supplements that come with taglines like "hack your brain," as they're full of ingredients that are said to enhance your cognitive and reflexive abilities. GodMode is one that's aggressive in designating itself specifically as a gamer pill, but there could be others out there.
And I truly believe they do what they say they will. The problem is that I felt none of it after taking the pills for a month.
[Editor's Note: Before we say anything, this recap will obviously go into detail about last night's episode of The Walking Dead, so there are going to be a ton of SPOILERS. Beginning now.]
Season 8's mid-season finale put us on a high note, though perhaps not emotionally, as it ended with the type of sombre sobriety that epitomizes so much of the series. In terms of rapid developments and plot progressions however, it was great, with action jumping about wildly and things happening like you were reading The Cat in the Hat.
What a weird year for Xbox, right? The past 12 months were filled with a lot of incredible games, and a bunch of them came to Xbox. But, there's no tiptoeing around the fact that hardly any of them came exclusively to Xbox, which is all that most people really keep tabs on. (Also, ignoring the fact that all Xbox games come to Windows 10 too because that's how the Microsoft ecosystem works now.)
What makes it extra weird is that this was the year of the Xbox One X. The Most Powerful Console Ever launched without a day-and-date exclusive apart from Super Lucky's Tale. It's too bad because the X really is an impressive piece of hardware. It being a non-Gears of War and non-Halo year mixed with that Crackdown delay certainly made Microsoft's release schedule feel sparse.
But also, it's not that sparse -- especially not in recent months. Despite releasing on Steam too, Cuphead was known mostly as an Xbox title. And Xbox will end the year the strongest with the release of PUBG. (If we want to get really petty, we could go full console wars with the realistic prediction that PUBG will sell better on Xbox than anything on our PS4 Game of the Year list.)
Regardless, we're left to mostly look toward multi-platform titles when considering our Xbox Game of the Year. And honestly, that's fine! These were some of our favorite games of 2017 and they shouldn't be denied recognition simply because they launched elsewhere too.
Apparently unsatisfied with consuming battery power of players' phones and the contents of their wallets, the ravening mobage devil that is Fate/Grand Order plans to further devour their whole field of vision, as well, via VR confections.
Indeed, they've just dropped a trailer for an expansion to Fate/Grand Order VR feat. Mash Kyrielight. Released for free last week on the Japanse PSN store, the short experience allowed players with PS VR headsets to ogle the game's heroine (and best kouhai) Mash Kyrielight. next year, however, promises a dose of the OG Saberface, as King Arthur herself, Artoria Pendragon - or "Altria Pendragon", going by the rather wooly official translation - takes players on a relaxing VR vacation to what looks like...some house's foyer? Based on the trailer below, the Altria "VR Drama" promises to be a bit more involved, with a voice performance by actress Ayako Kawasumi and a cameo from the Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur.
As insubstantial (and skeevy) as it was, I'm kind of jazzed to see that they're opting to expand on this experience. With luck, we'll see VR outings with all of FGO's most popular historical spouses, like nine-tailed fox wife Tamamo no Mae, or Cú Chulainn and history's huggiest blue tights.
The last several days have been rich with theories for Death Stranding as fans continue to single out details from the most recent showing and try to compare and contrast them with clues hiding in previous trailers. I'm not sure I am any closer to understanding this video game in which a baby inside of Norman Reedus gives a thumbs up, but that kind of doesn't matter. I'm happily along for the ride.
In an interview with IGN, director Hideo Kojima was surprisingly forthcoming with new insights.
"Death will never pull you out of the game," he says, noting that the surreal underwater sequence from the latest trailer is where players go when they die. While here, you'll be able to explore outside of your body from a first-person perspective. "At that point, you're not dead or alive. It's the equivalent of that screen that says 'Continue?' and a counter ticking down towards zero."
Continuing that train of thought, Kojima explained how "in the trailer, you saw the crater, and when you come back, it's still there. Most games would've taken you back to before the crater was made. So depending on the player, you might have a lot of craters all over the place -- depends on each player."
The biggest surprise, at least for me, is the mention of "Timefall," a sort of otherworldly rain. It's what made the plants grow and shrivel, and also what rapidly aged the crushed man in the trailer. In retrospect, it seems so clear. "Most people in the game are aware of the rain -- and well, Norman is quite unique in this regard," said Kojima. "I think I should stop there. I'm spilling the beans."
It's worth reading the full interview for even more details about where the newest footage falls chronologically speaking (it's early on in Death Stranding) and what's up with the baby (it apparently "relates to game mechanics as well as the story as a whole"). As for what's next, the team is "waiting for the right moment to show gameplay, but right now we're on track with the project."
Kojima Explains Death Stranding Gameplay and Lore [IGN]
Speaking to Famitsu, Ryozo Tsujimoto, producer of Capcom's upcoming Monster Hunter: World, confirmed that there are plans to add more monsters to the in-game world, post-release.
Although he originally touched upon the possibility of these free additions to the huge menagerie of monsters speaking at PlayStation Experience, Tsujimoto confirmed the plans when speaking to the Japanese publication later in the weekend.
"We are thinking about free, post-launch updates for Monster Hunter: World. What I can specifically say is that we plan to (add) new monsters and such, in hopes that users play for a long time," said Tsujimoto. "As for what kind of monsters will be added and so on, information will be shared later on, so please look forward to it."
Capcom have had a pretty good week for news. A handful of exciting Mega Man announcements hit a few days back, followed up by the reveal of an amazing Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. Sakura and other classic characters are coming to Street Fighter V, the beta for Monster Hunter: World is receiving positive feedback, and now Capcom are considering adding some DLC to their titles for free? That's a lot of positives right there.
Monster Hunter: World launches on PS4 and Xbox One on January 26, with a PC version to follow sometime after. The beta is currently underway on PS4, ending December 12.
More monsters coming to Monster Hunter: World after launch [Famitsu]
After Josef Fares' stellar drunken rant at the Game Awards last week, I didn't think there was going to be any piece of news on the upcoming A Way Out that would get me more excited than that. I already thought Fares was pretty damn dedicated when we first saw the game at E3, but now I'm convinced this man just wants people to play this game.
Gladio and Ignis share dad roles for the Final Fantasy XV party, and that's pretty evident in the latter's latest DLC trailer. Episode Ignis, still set to debut on December 13, will close out the major parts of the season pass as Square Enix continues to work on other elements like multiplayer and campaign updates.
This most recent video will give you a quick look at Ignis' playstyle, which includes magic, traversal abilities, and most importantly -- quick cooking in a pinch. For those of you who never picked up XV -- when the PC/GOTY editions roll out, you all are going to have a lot to play.
This has been a great year for video games in general, and a particularly excellent year for Sony as a platform holder. Keeping up with notable PlayStation 4 releases throughout 2017 was no small feat thanks in large part to Japan. Even now, in mid-December, I'm struggling to catch back up.
A whole new audience of players learned how draining it feels to become emotionally invested in characters penned by Yoko Taro. Nioh filled the Souls-sized hole in our hearts with yokai. The latest Persona made it to the West. Somehow, Gravity Rush got a full-fledged sequel. And, as if that weren't enough, this was the year I finally fell in love with the enthralling criminal world of Yakuza.
Now all that's left is to take those experiences and whittle them away until only one remains...
With all the commotion over who would voice Pikachu in the Detective Pikachu movie, I had forgotten there was a 3DS game that only saw a release in Japan. It's rushing back to me now, though. Ah yes.
Based on a recent PEGI listing for Detective Pikachu, it would seem the mystery-solving 3DS title is moving toward a release in Europe (and the rest of the world). The ratings board has a placeholder launch date, so the timing is still up in the air, but the 3DS will stick around for a while yet.
If you've never really paid much attention to Detective Pikachu, just skip to any old spot in this playthrough of the first case and hear the iconic Pokémon chat away. It's...surprising.
I'll be curious to see how the localization goes for this one.
Serebii.net [Twitter]
Noclip has been low key making some great documentaries recently, including my favorite, the redemption story of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. The channel's latest centers around a tight-knit Grand Theft Auto Online community called Hillbilly Agenda, which consists of all sorts of players with different backgrounds, who meet up in person and form a family of sorts.
When Warren "KnoxNerd" Scott came back from the navy, he put his passion for gaming to good use and created a 3,000 square foot gaming location. From there he started playing Red Dead Redemption online and learned about "crews" from family members, before eventually getting into Grand Theft Auto Online and creating his own crew.
He also hosts a giant soiree for his GTA crew Hillbilly Agenda, in Knoxville, Tennessee each year via his friend's gigantic house. This short forty minute video is worth watching as it perfectly encapsulates the phenomenon and the benefits of online communities.
The beta for Arika's "mysterious fighting game", which we now know as Fighting EX Layer, is available to download on PS4 from the PlayStation Store. The beta is open to all PlayStation Plus members.
The demo features six characters from the upcoming one-one-one scrapper: Kairi, Garuda, Allen Snider, Shirase, Darun Mister and the one and only Skullomania. As is often the case for fighting game betas, the only modes available are training mode and online battles against other opponents, hence the need for the Plus account.
The beta is currently scheduled to run for two weeks, that's a real chunk o' time to get to grips with Arika's return to the fighting game forum. The studio will be using this time to test online connectivity and to gather fan feedback on the intriguing new contender.
Fighting EX Layer launches in 2018.
I've heard the phrase "that's it, 1v1, heads-up!" so many times when it comes to video games, mostly with the Halo series. You don't normally think that it's a thing for professional League of Legends players, but there actually is a duel mode in place. Two people pick Champions, play on the ARAM one-lane map, and battle it out for first to 100 minions, first kill, or first tower destruction (the main difference is that you can recall, unlike ARAM).
That very style of match happened last weekend with pros Faker and VVvert during the 2017 All-Star Event, with the former displaying an extreme level of dominance that some players have refereed to as BMing (bad manners). Just several minions away from a win, Faker dives VVert's tower with Nasus (VVert was playing Varus), and makes him the 100th minion.
Despite the fact that Faker's team lost the last world championship, he's still at the top of his game. You can watch the full encounter below, starting at the 7:02:00 mark (with the match ending near 7:09:24).
It's the week before Star Wars and that means no movie is really dumb enough to open up over the past weekend just to have its second week box office destroyed by everyone seeing Star Wars. As such the box office sucked and there's nothing much to talk about so I'm going to give away this Star Wars: The Last Jedi prize pack we've got instead.
Included in the pack are two Fandango cash vouchers to see the film (worth $21 each, which should get you into the movie in most formats), a cinch bag for carrying stuff that needs to be cinched, a t-shirt for when you need to go out in public, some temporary tattoos for when you want to temporarily be a bad ass, and a mini-poster for when you want a poster but you don't want to to be too big. You'll get all these things mailed to you nice and quick when you win
Just think some day, in the distant future, when you're dead and your great grandkids are unpacking your attic they'll stumble across a sheet of unused The Last Jedi tattoos. A rarity to be sure, and a boon to collectors. They'll sell them for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, and buy a small business with the money. In turn they'll turn that business into a global corporation that controls everything, and your last name will become synonymous with success. All this because you entered this contest.
But how to win. How to win indeed. I... ummm... I don't know. Contests are hard, especially for the fate of humanity's corporate future.
Leave a comment about any of the movies that are not Star Wars in the top ten. We'll select a winner this afternoon and have an email out to you soon. Good luck!
The Xbox One X and S both allow you to watch 4K video, but the consoles didn't have a way to watch YouTube in 4K. That is, until now. This week, Microsoft is rolling out an app for both versions of the Xbox One console that provides support for 4K videos at up to 60 fps -- but not HDR.
Via: The Verge
Source: Microsoft Store
I like to gush about how good I think Doom 2016 is. Some naysayers on the sidelines like to point out its flaws, and I respect that; nothing is perfect, and I could write a doctorate on the fundamental differences between new and old Doom and why I still believe the original is a superior game. But sitting down with a remake/sequel/whatever decades after the original came out and saying aloud, “holy shit, they didn’t fuck this up” is as remarkable achievement as any, and I’ll be playing it long after people have forgotten it exists - if the developers let us forget, since it will likely be re-released eight hundred times, a trend which is already apparently beginning.
Being a bit of a VR advocate and loving Doom meant I was pretty excited to see how Doom VFR would turn out. So it’s utterly disappointing to me that I have to be writing this now with borderline annoyed negativity, because for me personally, Doom VFR is a let down. There may be a decent experience there. It might be as good a transition to VR as is possible. But for the first time ever playing a game on the HTC Vive, I experienced all of the negative effects people complain about - including crippling, shock-like nausea which cut my total play time down to under a single miserable, unplayable hour.
