While The Dawning was running over the past few weeks, Bungie was mostly on vacation and communication has been fairly dark. It broke the silence today with a huge blog post touching on its plans for Destiny 2 in 2018.
In an attempt to be less tight-lipped about plans, it's a pretty big info dump. Also, the further out things get time-wise, the less specific. In the next few weeks, we know pretty well what to expect. Past that, it's a lot of stuff like "better clan rewards" or "Trials of the Nine improvements."
If you're an Xbox Live Gold member and have somehow not played Halo 5, this coming weekend will be perfect for you. Running from today, January 11, until January 14, all currently subscribed Live Gold members will be able to download and enjoy the entirety of Halo 5: Guardians on their Xbox One's or Xbox One X's with no compromises.
This includes all the multiplayer DLC and the complete campaign mode as well as the 4K upgrade patch. If you find yourself digging the game, you will also be able to pick it up for 20% off during this promotion. You'll just need to download the client from the Xbox One dashboard and you'll be all set for when the promotion goes live.
While PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds did manage to release in 2017, the game didn't suddenly shed all of its problems. Upon release day last month, there was a problem with the BP (or battle points) system for the game's reward crates. A lot of players did not properly receive points based on their performance and PUBG Corp. has issued an apology for the occurrence.
"We would first like to offer our most sincere apologies to our users who could not fully enjoy the game because BP was not given out properly," reads the Steam Community forum post, "an issue which had occurred after the PC 1.0 launch." From now until February 9, you'll be able to boot up the game and make a claim for any lost BP you feel you were cheated out of. To be clear, after that date, you won't be able to make any claims of lost BP.
I'm not sure if many people care about lost battle points, though, as the game is still infested with cheaters. The same Steam Community post has a couple of hundred pages of people complaining about other issues with the game and asking for a region lock on Chinese servers. While a few complaints are legit (like asking for a map toggle), others just seem to be salty over a perceived lack of focus.
Whatever the case may be, at least one issue is getting solved soon. I do wish it dealt with an actual gameplay problem, however.
For nearly a decade, Border Break has been a staple of Japanese arcades. A large-scale 10 vs. 10 team battle game, players are able to create and customise their own units by picking specific classes of mecha they will use as well as unlocking more powerful weapons and cosmetics by spending in-game currency earned through playing.
The game has gone through a number of updates in its nine-year lifespan and has even had model kits of the mecha and figures of the female navigator characters to purchase, but the game itself has never reached out beyond the arcade (save for a mobile game in 2014) until now.
Announced earlier today, Border Break will be hitting PS4 in Japan in the summer with an open beta in February. It will use a free-to-play model so there will be some clear differences between this and the arcade version but for the first time, players outside of Japan will be able to give it a try and see what all the fuss is about (provided you have a Japanese PSN account).
The game is said to have a more expansive story mode as well at the expected online elements and will support DualShock 4 controls as well as mouse, to try and mimic the arcade controls which consists of a flightstick on the left and a mouse-like device on the right. It's... weird. For now, we get to check out the PV released by Sega for the game to give us an idea on what to expect but for those interested, keep your eyes peeled for the open beta next month!
Upcoming EA-backed-but-still-indie platformer Fe is releasing at the most appropriate time it can: Smack dab in the middle of February. Developer Zoink Games announced today that Fe is set for a February 16 launch -- just over a month away.
Fe has been fairly quiet ever since its June 2016 reveal. It's a gorgeous exploration game about a cub finding its way through a dark Nordic forest. There are promises of "secrets, legends, and mystical creatures" hiding in the woods, all the right sort of words to make the mysteries of the forest all the more intriguing.
From a business perspective, Fe is intriguing because it's one of a few games that are a part of Electronic Arts' "EA Originals" program -- an initiative to give promising-seeming indie titles big publisher backing. Unravel was another one of those games, and everyone knows how that turned out; it stole a lot of hearts two years ago.
Fe has the opportunity to make a similarly big splash. It looks to have the charm and aesthetic of something that ends up well-received. It has its net cast wide, too. Fe's releasing on all of the major platforms on February 16 -- PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
As of February 28, 2018, you'll no longer be able to play Pokémon Go on older iOS devices that can't upgrade to iOS 11, including iPhone 5 and 5c. Niantic is planning an update with improvements that "push the application beyond the capabilities of the operating systems on such devices."
Before you start sweating, check the full list of affected devices:
"Trainers using affected devices may no longer be able to access their Pokémon Go accounts from that device, or use their PokéCoins or other items in their Bags," meaning the end is near for some.
Here's a visual aid:
That said, if your device supports iOS 11 but you haven't upgraded (I feel ya), you won't need to do so yet. "No action is required. You will continue to be able to access Pokémon Go without interruption."
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based strategy game and Donkey Kong has patiently waited his turn. Now it's his chance to leap into action with his banana boomerangs and Simian Slams.
Today, Ubisoft revealed that there's going to be some Donkey Kong-themed DLC for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. In the announcement post, creative director Davide Soliani cites DK's raw strength and his aloof attitude as ideal traits for involving him in this add-on.
Yeah, that all checks out. It was tough to believe that Nintendo would lend the Mario property to Ubisoft to mix with Rabbids. Once that happened (in surprisingly fantastic fashion, mind you), it became a lot more realistic for other Nintendo properties to make the leap. Donkey Kong seems like a natural fit now that Mario broke down the barriers.
Ubisoft hasn't yet said much about this expansion apart from the lead role and that it includes "an original story and a new world." But, it's not hard to imagine Donkey Kong sitting on the grid, ready to pounce. Maybe he'll have the DK64 coconut gun or maybe he'll be able to do his Smash Bros. Konga Beat. Lotta possibilities here.
The Mario + Rabbids: Donkey Kong DLC releases sometime this spring and its price hasn't yet been announced.
Indie horror hit Yume Nikki landed on Steam yesterday, fourteen years after its initial release. The cult classic's lauded for its dreamy, surreal environment and non-traditional approach to gameplay.
It's easy to talk about how bizarre and intriguing Yume Nikki is, but it's even easier just to tell you to play it right now. The RPG Maker game is available for free, continuing its legacy as a freeware masterpiece.
Yume Nikki's Steam release also appears to point to another project from developer Kikiyama. Alongside the game's launch on the digital storefront, publisher Playism posted a cryptic message and countdown timer, both pointing to a new Yume Nikki project.
Shigesato Itoi is not what you would call a video game superstar. He broke into the game industry as a copywriter with a question: "What RPG would Steven Spielberg create?"
From that question, coupled with his perseverance to bring his vision to life, he created the MOTHER franchise. Sure it's only three games, two if you wanna count the ones that have seen western releases, but it cannot be denied that fans of the MOTHER series are passionate about the trilogy. But does even the greatest fan know what the first MOTHER game was an homage to?
If you don't know the answer to that last question, fear not because series creator Shigesato Itoi himself was recently interviewed by Japanese author Keiichi Tanaka about the inspiration, the arduous development process of the MOTHER,MOTHER 2/EarthBound's development and, briefly, MOTHER 3. The best part? It's all presented in comic form, which brings a great visual aid to Itoi's story. The interview could also serve as inspiration for anyone that strives to complete their goals, as it also touches on persevering through multiple failures, while still maintaining enthusiasm for your vision.
The translated interview comic can be found here and is part of a series of interviews on denfaminicogamer.jp where notable Japanese game developers are interviewed about the passion projects of the early parts of their career. So far, beside Itoi, the creators of Yakuza, and Zoids as well as the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi have also been interviewed as part of the series.
You've probably heard the terms "Meltdown" and "Spectre" a lot lately. Over the past few days the two security vulnerabilities have been everywhere in the news. Hell, you're reading about them on a video game website right now, that's usually a sign that something's gone too far.
There's a good reason for that! We're used to vulnerabilities being isolated to some software or some machines, but nothing quite this widespread. Unless you're browsing Destructoid on a Raspberry Pi or something, the device you're using to read this page right now is vulnerable. That's just how it goes.
When it was revealed that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds would make its console debut on Xbox One, it was easy enough to predict incredible sales numbers. The most popular game in the world is coming to a more accessible platform. It doesn't take much insight to assume that's the formula for a success story.
And it has been so far! Xbox revealed today that PUBG ended the year with 3 million Xbox One players (not all necessarily purchased copies, but the vast majority surely are). Considering the December 12 release date, that's 3 million in 19 days. A lot of publishers would be proud of their game getting 3 million sales total, and they'd be ecstatic if those were just one platform's numbers.
But, by virtue of how staggeringly popular PUBG is, it's kind of just a normal-sounding figure. SteamSpy estimates there are about 28 million people who own the PC version now. It has had 2.6 million concurrent players today, which is approaching the entire Xbox install base. The Xbox statistics will only continue to grow but 3 million (and that's a big number!) manages to feel like a drop in the bucket when it should be rather impressive. Success sure has a funny way of influencing your perspective and moving the goalposts.
Steam Spy has been very useful when it comes to gleaning various Steam trends. Whether it's concurrent or total users for games or total sales, glancing at public information can help a lot of people out when it comes to market research or more consumer-friendly stuff like "does this game have a community anymore and will I be able to play online?"
One decidedly unsettling number was just released though -- 7,672 games were released on Steam last year. That's 21 games per day on average. Valve has been somewhat fighting the shovelware epidemic by curbing Greenlight, but outside of shedding Silicon Echo Studios (which released a series of notorious asset flipped titles).
Ultimately, it all goes back to the bottom line. Much like YouTube or any other content provider, cutting anything, whether it's for vague morality clause reasons or quality control, impacts their revenue stream. While long term benefits like consumer loyalty and curation do play a factor, companies can really drag their feet when it comes to snipping out large swaths of their marketplaces. Valve, known for its stubbornness, might have a tougher time with this than most.
Arc System Works have released a little more detail on their upcoming mobile title BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War, which is coming to iOS and Android in Japan later this year.
The game was first announced with a teaser site back in August of last year. Since then there has been little information on the game, it's concept, or gameplay style. The site was updated today with something, namely a character reveal and some dramatic words. This noble-looking gal is Ciel Sulphur, and she will support the player on their... quest? deck-building? farming endeavors?
Perhaps MCU show runner Kevin Feige looked at the little DCEU 2017 summer blockbuster, Wonder Woman, and finally had a realization: there is money to be made from films with fan-favorite female leads. Little known fact: Wonder Woman helmer Patty Jenkins was briefly attached as the director of Thor: The Dark World. Whoops.
Celeste, the new game from TowerFall creator Matt Thorson, is out soon. If it's not on your radar already, I hope it finds a spot before the January 25, 2018 launch on PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
This is a "pure action platformer," as Darren puts it, also noting that it's "punishing in all the right ways." You'll jump, climb, and air-dash your way up a treacherous mountain comprised of 600+ levels.
I've been intimidated by Celeste (particularly with mention of "hidden B-Side chapters that will truly test the limits of [your] skill"), but we'll have options. As Thorson explains on the PlayStation Blog, Assist Mode will allow you to "toggle some powerful accessibility features to tune the game's difficulty to whatever suits you. You can give yourself extra air dashes, slow the game speed, and more."
"We certainly designed Celeste to be a challenge," he adds, "but we understand that every player is different and we want allow players from a wide range of skill levels to enjoy it."
Everyone's favorite excuse about not getting into Monster Hunter is how obtrusive and obtuse it is to glean information. Am I even doing damage? What do these numbers mean? What are these skills? It's not the only reason but it's certainly one of the bigger ones.
If you were envious of Europe's Dark Souls trilogy vinyl set, you might explode when you see what's on the horizon in Japan. (Thankfully, I'm still glowing from today's news so I'm not too bothered.)
Bandai Namco is putting together a Dark Souls Trilogy Box Set for PlayStation 4 featuring the newly-announced Dark Souls Remastered plus Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, Dark Souls III: The Fire Fades Edition, and all three game soundtracks (with background music) on CD.
Along with those core items, the box set squeezes in a pair of bookends, an encyclopedia, and artwork. As you would expect, this won't come cheap -- it's priced at 49,800 yen (roughly $448 USD).
I'll stick to admiring this from a distance, thanks.
In other Dark Souls merch news, Fangamer is teasing "figurines, apparel, and more" this spring.
Remember when Goofy almost died in Kingdom Hearts II? I mean, what if Square Enix wrote that script, hoping to get it approved, and Disney shot it down? I'm surprised they even allowed him to have a near death experience to be honest. Imagine being Bill Farmer, who's played the character for close to 30 years now, and reading that script.
Whatever the case may be, Goofy survived, and now he can be sold forever more in action figure form. Bluefin just released the latest info on their Kingdom Hearts S.H.Figuarts line in fact, and you'll be able to pick up Donald for $45 and Goofy himself for $55.
The site has a lot of details on how poseable they are, which includes action poses and a few facial expressions to "re-create all sorts of scenes," like Goofy's death!
In three weeks, you'll be able to revisit Final Fantasy XII yet again when Square Enix brings last year's The Zodiac Age remaster to Steam. This sounds like the way to play, at least on paper.
60FPS - Ivalice will look better than ever with the game running at 60FPS.
Compatible with 21:9 ultra-wide monitors - Up to three HD monitors can be used for a potential 48(16x3):9 experience.
New Game Plus and New Game Minus - Post-game content modes are now accessible from the beginning of the game.
Three background music options – The original, re-orchestrated and soundtrack versions are now available from the beginning of the game.
Maximized License Points and Gil - New functionality added to grant players max License Points and Gil from the configuration screen.
Full controller support, Steam Trading Cards and more to optimize the PC player experience.
I, too, love to fast-forward.
FFXII: The Zodiac Age will cost $50 when it launches on February 1, with a 20 percent discount available during the first week. Square Enix is also prepping a $150 Collector's Edition for PC.
Activision have announced the closure of their one remaining U.S warehouse and distribution centre, leading to speculation that the publisher is taking steps toward gaming's looming all-digital future.
The centre, which operated in Fresno, CA, closed its doors on January 5, unfortunately laying of its entire staff of some fifty employees. The site was responsible for the packaging and distribution of many of Activision/Blizzard's top titles, including Call of Duty and StarCraft, which it then shipped throughout the U.S, Canada and Australia.
Analysts have seen this as yet another sign that video game is pushing toward an all-digital future, with companies cutting the costs of running retail-based operations and outlets. Not to mention slashing the budget dividend for producing millions of physical copies.
An Activision spokesperson, however, has stated that said reasoning "is unrelated," saying that the Fresno centre was closed as a part of an effort to consolidate the industry giant's distribution methods. The distribution that would have been done in Fresno is to be picked up by a third-party company, with whom Activision have a previously established relationship.
Regardless of Activision's reasoning, whether video gaming is inevitably heading toward an inevitable download-only future remains a long-running debate. For what it's worth, in my own meagre experience, most of the stores I worked for in two decades of gaming retail have since closed their doors, putting an end not only to people's jobs, but also to an alternative outlet for comparable prices, pre-owned products, part-exchange deals and rare retro finds.
When your outlet becomes the only game in town, who's to stop you dictating the price?
Taito and Degica have been teasing something Steam-releated for Space Invaders' 40th anniversary. I kept my expectations in check, hoping for ports of the more recent games. That's happening!
Space Invaders Extreme is up first with a February launch on Steam that includes "a brand new World Ranking System for Arcade Mode." If you never played this on Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, or Xbox 360, it's a treat. I've always loved more modern takes on classic arcade games like this and Pac-Man Championship Edition. Hopefully the sequel will follow if PC players embrace this port.
Another Taito game, Groove Coaster, will release on Steam later this year. It's also a Space Invaders spin-off like Extreme, but it's much more of its own thing -- it's a straight-up rhythm game.
Blizzard has a lot to celebrate over with everything they've accomplished with Overwatch. What was once a new, uncertain IP is now a juggernaut in the eSports realm, commanding a new stadium in Los Angeles and an entire league built around it. Whether all of their investments are going to pay off is yet to be seen, but so far the production value of the league has already impressed a lot of people. On the Overwatch League's first day (of Stage 1 - Week 1), the Twitch stream peaked at 415,000 concurrent viewers.
Yesterday was mostly filled with shutouts. The Los Angeles valiant beat out the San Francisco Shock 4-0. It was the same 4-0 streak with the Los Angeles Gladiators winning against the Shanghai Dragons, and the Seoul Dynasty managed to nab a win 2-1 against the Dallas Fuel. You can catch each round individually here. One big highlight was definitely Fleta of the Seoul Dynasty, who brought his Pharah and rocked it so hard with direct rocket hits that there was discussion of him being the best DPS player currently in the league. Just like any other league, expect to see hard stats equivalent to batting averages and QBRs come out as the season progresses.
Later today three more matches are set to happen starting at 5PM PST, and the festivities will run through Saturday night, concluding the first week of the League. It'll pick back up on January 17 running through Saturday yet again.
Nintendo revealed another slew of titles that will come to the Switch, from old favorites and cult classics to, uh, Dark Souls. In today's Nintendo Direct video, the company announced new Kirby and Mario Tennis games headed to the console, plus a couple indie games and re-releases. There's also DLC coming for some of the console's best games, including Super Mario Odyssey, Pokkén Tournament DX and Mario + Rabbids.
A few minutes into Furi's new Nintendo Switch port and all the moments of pain, satisfaction, and calming relief came rushing back to me. The Game Bakers' hybrid melee action and twin-stick shooting game has made the transition about as well as I'd hoped -- and my ability to recognize tells and parry attacks isn't quite as sad as expected given how totally out of practice I am.
The idea of a boss-rush adventure in which you've got all your abilities from moment one still really speaks to me. That foundation is just excellent, and the distinct cast, imaginative floating worlds, adrenaline-inducing synth soundtrack, and surprisingly curious story bolster it further. It's one of those games that strives to carve out a unique identity for itself and does so in spades.
I found Furi perfectly functional in handheld mode but much preferred playing on a big screen with the better-feeling Pro Controller. A significant portion of the game uses a fairly zoomed-out camera, and it can be a tad hard to clearly make out all the details. On the other hand, Furi isn't as crisp on a larger display; it's not an identical-looking port. By the second fight, though, my eyes had adjusted.
I also encountered the occasional hitch during heated boss fights. These hiccups weren't distracting enough to disrupt my flow, but they were still perceivable all the same. With those graphical and performance quibbles in mind, I'd recommend Furi on other platforms first and foremost -- unless you're geared up to play this as a handheld title, in which case, go for it. You'll come away happy.
This version includes everything released on other platforms to date including an extra boss, The Flame. At $20, it's also right in line with the others. I think that's a fitting price so long as you're willing to practice, practice, practice. Furi isn't the type of game you can fumble your way through.
And for all you newcomers, a word of advice: don't let the sewer boss get you down. He's a jerk!
[This impressions piece is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
Earlier this week, the Switch beat out the Wii U's lifetime sales in Japan. The same Switch that's been out for 10 months against the Wii U's five plus years. That same milestone is now happening all over the world it seems, as the Switch just pushed 911,000 units in France, which beat out the Wii U's 832,000 lifetime. Nintendo of Italy has also revealed that it's the fastest-selling console of all time in the region.
Let's break this down a bit. Right now, the Wii U is hovering around 10 million units sold as a conservative estimate, as full figures haven't been released yet post-holidays. The Wii U, which is now discontinued, dead, and buried, sold 13.56 million units. When all of the sales numbers come in we could find out that the Switch has already outsold the Wii U. But right now, it's probably just a matter of weeks at maximum.
