Feb 2, 2018 | Game ON news

Friday, February 2, 2018

News:: Tetris' history is a complicated mess of Soviet policy and sneaky negotiations

Along with loving video games, I'm also a huge fan of learning the history behind the industry. When I stumbled upon "The Gaming Historian" on YouTube in 2016, I had basically hit the jackpot. I've previously linked to his video on the formation of the ESRB, but his latest video about the creation and distribution of Tetris takes the cake.

Practically a feature film in length, this video goes over the humble beginnings of a Russian programmer creating things on his spare time to the heated negotiations done by ELORG vice chairman Nikolai Belikov. What ensues is a fascinating tale of tricky wording and backstabbing that would make a suitable Game of Thrones storyline...well, I guess it has less nudity, but the point still stands!

If you have any fondness for Tetris, you'd do well to watch this video.

Tetris' history is a complicated mess of Soviet policy and sneaky negotiations screenshot

News:: Destructoid Draws: Our favorite indie games!

I love indie games. I played from time to time back when Flash game sites were still hip, but two games that really got me into them were Tower of Heaven and Cave Story. Yes, I like platformers, why do you ask?

As game budgets balloon to reach higher graphical fidelity and larger game worlds, and after a year with a lot of big games I loved, my mind keeps going back to indies. Their riskier approach to gameplay and storytelling, their charming rough edges, their quirky soundtracks. I thought it would be interesting to ask the community about its favorite indie games for this special edition of Destructoid Draws.

The concept is the same as always, a month was given to the community to send me drawings related to the prompt alongside with a short explanation of their choice. Without further ado, let's check out these tributes to smaller games with big hearts.

Destructoid Draws: Our favorite indie games! screenshot

News:: The ‘King of Kong’ could be stripped of his high score

Just days after video game high score champ Todd Rogers was stripped of his Dragster title for mathematically impossible times, the man who was the Donkey Kong king for almost 20 years has also come under scrutiny. Billy Mitchell's 2010 high score for Donkey Kong has been called into question on a Twin Galaxies dispute forum by Jeremy Young, the moderator of Donkey Kong Forum (DKF). Young has presented a wealth of evidence to show that Mitchell's performance was likely faked, and has thus removed the high score from DKF's leaderboard.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/02/02/donkey-kong-billy-mitchell-high-score-fraud-allegation/

News:: Overwatch's Year of the Dog event begins Thursday

The next limited-time event for Overwatch is going to be another Lunar New Year celebration.

Last year, Blizzard celebrated the Year of the Rooster with lots of cosmetics and a Capture the Rooster game type. Come next Thursday, February 8, Overwatch will be all about the Year of the Dog.

🎊 Wishing you prosperity in the Year of the Dog! 🎊

Lunar New Year returns February 8. pic.twitter.com/DCcUSF5Urm
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 2, 2018

Game director Jeff Kaplan has said to expect "some pretty significant content" for this event.

Inspired by the Overwatch League, I've gotten back into Overwatch these past couple weeks. It's nice to have a renewed interest in the game after some time off. With that in mind, bring on the good boys!

Overwatch [Twitter]

Overwatch's Year of the Dog event begins Thursday screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/overwatch-s-year-of-the-dog-event-begins-thursday-485989.phtml

News:: PUBG Corp. explains some of the anti-cheat measures that will be coming soon

PUBG Corp. has been testing out some brand new anti-cheat methods for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on test servers for the last week or so. Whether through test results or because of fan outcry, the developers have taken to the Steam forums to explain exactly what is going on with these new solutions. To this end, the company has established a dedicated team to tackle cheating programs and will be launching another anti-cheat method on test servers next week.

Firstly, a new in-game reporting function will be added alongside faster review of reported individuals. This should allow the team to more accurately verify if an account is cheating or if network lag is the issue with a faulty death cam. Next, any modification of game files will more than likely result in your game access being blocked. This kind of flies in the face of people who have been removing the Miramar map to counter the lack of a dedicated map selector, but I suppose it makes sense.

The final step is where I start to get confused. Steam has a family sharing option that grants friends and family access to games on another account. With this, you don't need to purchase two copies of a game just to have a friend play, though limitations on when you can play limit you from just sharing everything. The post states that, "we have decided to deactivate this feature because we have identified a number of vulnerabilities that are being exploited." That sounds more like a bandage on top of massive wound instead of an actual solution.

The post wraps up by saying, "We will continue taking firm measures against the developers, distributors and users of cheats. We promise you that we will do our best every day in our battle for a fair game environment." I just wonder if these anti-cheat measures are coming at the expense of game stability, which still isn't 100% smooth. Hopefully this doesn't introduce more problems, much like how the "stability" update makes my game load 50% slower.

Anti-Cheat Update [Steam Community]

PUBG Corp. explains some of the anti-cheat measures that will be coming soon screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/pubg-corp-explains-some-of-the-anti-cheat-measures-that-will-be-coming-soon-485983.phtml

News:: Phantom Pain players will get an eyepatch in Metal Gear Survive

Konami is giving Metal Gear Survive beta players a few accessories for the full version, including a bandana, Fox Hound name plate, and Metal Gear Rex headpiece. That was already known, but there are a few other new bonuses lined up specifically for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain players.

Along with the almighty eyepatch, Phantom Pain players who use their same account to play Survive will score a Metal Gear Ray head and nameplates themed around Diamond Dogs and MGO3.

Here's how it all looks:

Metal Gear Survive is two weeks out. As much as I think it'll be a fun hangout-with-friends game, I doubt I'll be able to tear myself from Monster Hunter World anytime soon. Eyepatch or no eyepatch.

Get Special Items from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain [Konami]

Phantom Pain players will get an eyepatch in Metal Gear Survive screenshot

News:: Cyanide's turn-based Space Hulk: Tactics will have a Genestealer campaign

Games Workshop is giving Space Hulk another go this year. The latest adaptation of the board game is Space Hulk: Tactics, a turn-based title from Blood Bowl and Styx maker Cyanide Studio.

As usual, you'll manage a squad of hulking Terminators, but there's also going to be a second narrative campaign that lets you play as the creepy-crawly Genestealers themselves. Now we're talking!

In multiplayer, Tactics will offer the ability to form a custom squad of units from the Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Ultramarines, and Dark Angels, and Cyanide is planning a map maker as well.

The game is due out later this year on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The screens look great, but that's usually the case for these sorts of Warhammer 40,000 adaptations. Fingers crossed.

Cyanide's turn-based Space Hulk: Tactics will have a Genestealer campaign screenshot

News:: Join the Flixist staff and revel in the mysterious world of ninjas

Hello, Internet.

We're looking for some writers for Flixist. If you're the type of person who can string some words together in a coherent sentence, and also enjoys watching movies then we may want you! If you live in LA that would be even better as we've got a host of opportunities for screening movies out there, and no one on staff who lives in la la land.

To apply for a position we'll want to see what you can do. To get the ball rolling simply send an email to matthew@flixist.com with your basic info and why you want to write for the site. You need to be 18 to apply. That's in terms of actual age. Most of us on staff never grew up mentally beyond the age of five.

For all those considering applying, please realize that this is a time commitment and while it pays, it is minimal. It is, however, awesomely fun, and you'll learn the secret handshake that everyone who writes for Niero knows. So that's nice.

Join the Flixist staff and revel in the mysterious world of ninjas screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/join-the-flixist-staff-and-revel-in-the-mysterious-world-of-ninjas-485275.phtml

News:: Review: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (Patch 4.2)

The Final Fantasy XIV team has one hell of a way of dropping a patch on its playerbase. The notes for 4.2 basically comprise a short story, detailing myriad quality-of-life improvements like more bag space, as well as ancillary content like more costumes and mounts.

But 4.2 (titled "Rise of a New Sun") is a lot more than just a cosmetic update -- it's one of the biggest content drops in the history of the game now that Square Enix is giving us the Savage (hard) version of the raid on day one.

Review: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (Patch 4.2) screenshot

News:: Feed those hungry, stretchy dogs with Puzzle Puppers, hitting Switch this February

I've written about games featuring cats before. Cats are alright, I suppose. A bit finicky. Morose. Horrible, sometimes. Dogs, though? Dogs are where it's at. They're loyal, they drool on your head when you're sleeping and lie on top of you even though they're 50 lbs. and it's really not comfortable. But oh well, they're dogs so nobody cares. They're truly the best.

So here's good news for fellow dog lovers and Switch owners: Puzzle Puppers is coming to the Switch!

Feed those hungry, stretchy dogs with Puzzle Puppers, hitting Switch this February screenshot

News:: 'Destiny 2' March update brings the thrill back to competitive play

Bungie has spent much of its recent time addressing gripes with Destiny 2's story and cooperative play, but players in the competitive Crucible mode? Not so much -- some have complained that the Crucible just isn't that exciting, and the infamous Prometheus Lens incident arguably wouldn't have happened if Bungie had been paying closer attention to Crucible gameplay. You might not have that complaint for much longer, though. The studio has detailed some of the changes coming with the March 27th update, and a large chunk of them are designed to ratchet up the intensity of player-versus-player fights.

Source: Bungie

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/02/02/destiny-2-march-update-revamps-crucible/

News:: Review: Nantucket

A few months back I read a book about whaling in the 19th century called The North Water. It was dark, grisly, and at times made it hard to continue because of its graphic imagery. I also couldn't put it down so after it was finished I was kinda left hanging in the breeze with a new obsession with whaling.

Almost as if hearing my pleas for something whaling related in the gaming world, Nantucket came out last month silently like a whale beneath the waves. While it is not without its flaws, it is one of the more engaging strategic role-playing games I've seen in recent years.

Review: Nantucket screenshot

News:: You can grab Dialga or Palkia right now in Pokemon as the 2018 legendary event kicks off

Nintendo and the Pokemon Company are starting off the 2018 "Legendary Distribution event" today with Dialga and Palkia. Just like the original anniversary celebration each month will see a new legendary, but this time they're doing it in pairs.

You can pick up the aforementioned legendary duo until February 28, and each copy of Pokemon can net one. In other words if you have multiple copies of Sun, Moon, or either Ultra edition you can get them both.

This one is live at GameStop and EB Games locations in the form of a distribution code. Next month will see Regigias and Heatran.

You can grab Dialga or Palkia right now in Pokemon as the 2018 legendary event kicks off screenshot

News:: The Forest is finally coming out of Steam Early Access

The Forest has always looked like one of the better survival games to me with its freaky cannibal mutants, but I wanted to wait until it left Steam Early Access. Nearly four years later, that's happening -- the game is pushing toward a full launch in April, which will coincide with a price increase to $20.

Endnight Games broke down some of its plans for the 1.0 release:

Languages and controller support will be improved and officially supported. We're going to be adding new reasons and resources for killing the creepies.
There will be a rethinking of the cold and warmth system, including a new warm suit. New buildables will be added.
There will be some big performance optimizations especially for late game saves.
Changes and improvements to how multiplayer save games work and along with this a bunch of dedicated server improvements.
The multiplayer clothing system is being improved and expanded, with a new system to allow you to switch outfits.
We'll also give some details about a VR game mode when we are closer to release.
Along with a bunch more we don’t have room to include here, we have some really crazy and fun surprises in store, especially regarding the ending and are really excited to see what people think.

The developer also expects to bring out a PlayStation 4 version of The Forest this year.

I need to talk Ray into teaming up with me. Hopefully we'll fare better than we did in Rust.

V0.73 and release plans [Steam]

The Forest is finally coming out of Steam Early Access screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/the-forest-is-finally-coming-out-of-steam-early-access-485949.phtml

News:: 'Far Cry 5' season pass takes you to Mars and Vietnam

It's almost time to head to Hope County, Montana. In addition to Far Cry 5's American vibes, there will be more to explore if you pony up for the game's season pass. The trio of adventures will have you battling the undead in "Dead Living Zombies," the Viet Cong in "Hours of Darkness" and gigantic spiders in "Lost on Mars." Sure, aside from "Hours of Darkness" these sound pretty over-the-top, but they aren't out of the ordinary for the series. For example, Far Cry 3 had the awesome, '80s-inspired "Blood Dragon" add-on pack that starred Michael Biehn.

Source: Ubiblog

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/02/02/far-cry-5-season-pass/

News:: The ink-hungry 96 Gal Deco returns to Splatoon 2 this evening

Another weapon returns to the colourful arsenal of Nintendo's Splatoon 2. This weekend sees the gem-encrusted .96 Gal Deco back in the game and ready for action.

The .96 Gal Deco is a mid/longe range weapon with a steady rate of fire. Though it gobbles up ammo at speed, it's a fairly powerful weapon, splatting an unfortunate opponent in a couple of shots. It isnt the most accurate of weapons, with shots spreading as the range increases. The/96 Gal Deco's design resembles that of a gas-grenade launcher, albeit one that is looking fabulous.

The ink-hungry 96 Gal Deco returns to Splatoon 2 this evening screenshot

News:: Yakuza 6 gets a delay into April

It is with a heavy heart that I have to type this next sentence, but I'm just going to have to bite the bullet. Yakuza 6 has been delayed in the West until April 17, 2018. While no reason was stated for the delay, Sega is assuring fans it was a "tough business decision" the company didn't take lightly.

On the bright side, we will be able to play Yakuza 6 a little earlier than anticipated. Sega will be releasing a demo for the game on February 27 that will let users bring their saves into the main game. Whether this means we're getting the first chapter or just a demo with unlockable items remains to be seen, but at least it is something to tide us over.

Hopefully this delay is used to further polish the game, which is stated to have some rocky performance issues on base PS4's. I'm almost tempted to get a Pro just to play the game, but I'm still uncertain if one game is worth an upgrade.

Yakuza 6 gets a delay into April screenshot

News:: Sephiroth is making an appearance in Mobius Final Fantasy because he's Sephiroth, and can crossover whenever he pleases

All Square Enix needs to do is play the first bit of the One Winged Angel theme and they've already hooked thousands of Sephiroth fans.

For his next trick he'll appear in Mobius Final Fantasy, theme and all, until March 31. Basically all you need to do is select a specific encounter and you'll be temporarily changed into a playable Sephiroth. The game is also getting a new job, the "Flower Girl of Midgar," a clear Aerith/Aeris reference.

He follows a series of crossovers going back to 2017 for Mobius, which already hosted Cloud (and Sephiroth for that matter in another form), and Tidus. As a reminder Mobius Final Fantasy was released in 2015 on mobile devices and 2016 on PC. It's a free-to-play game that's garnered a mixed reaction due to its microtransactions.

Sephiroth is making an appearance in Mobius Final Fantasy because he's Sephiroth, and can crossover whenever he pleases screenshot

News:: 'Yakuza 6: The Song of Life' launch date pushed back to April 17th

One more month, folks. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is due to land in the United States, Europe and elsewhere around the world on April 17th, a one-month delay from its original release date. To soften the blow of this announcement, publisher Sega also revealed the launch date for the Yakuza 6 demo: It'll go live on PlayStation 4 on February 27th, and save data will transfer to the full game.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/02/02/yakuza-6-delay-april-17-demo-february-ps4/

News:: Sony is adding a supersampling option to PS4 Pro

Sony is testing a system-wide supersampling feature for PlayStation 4 Pro owners.

As spotted in the PS4 update 5.50 beta, "Supersampling Mode can improve the image quality of some games on a TV with 2K resolution or lower." Much like last year's Boost Mode update for the console, you'll be able to toggle supersampling on and off and "results may differ depending on the games. In some games, image quality may not improve, or the frame rate may change."

This will be a welcome addition. As is, certain games with 4K support on PS4 Pro don't offer benefits to players with 1080p displays. (Here's a good running list from ResetEra's Vashetti.) That's where this new mode comes in for titles like Dishonored 2 that don't offer built-in downsampling.

Microsoft already has a solution in place on Xbox One X, so it's nice to see Sony catch up here.

System wide supersampling added in PS4 system update 5.50 [ResetEra]

Sony is adding a supersampling option to PS4 Pro screenshot

News:: Samurai Shodown II hits Switch, while Samurai Showdown III lands on PS4 and Xbox One

Retro-game enthusiasts Hamster have launched the latest title's in their ongoing range of classic Neo Geo titles. This week sees the sword and sorcery of Samurai Shodown II available for the Nintendo Switch, while PS4 and Xbox One owners can pick up its direct sequel, Samurai Shodown III.

Samurai Shodown II originally launched in the arcades and on the Neo Geo platform in 1994. Overhauling almost every element of the original title's gameplay, SSII include new evasive movement and a new meter system, as well as popularising both the Hop and Parry elements we still see in many fighters today. Rather than just being a straight sequel, SamSho II was an entirely new entity in fighting games. Today it remains a great title.

It was followed (naturally) by Samurai Shodown III a scant year later. While SamSho III didn't re-invent the wheel as its predecessor did, the game did undergo a style overhaul to give it a darker, grittier tone This was perhaps in-line with the rising success of the Mortal Kombat franchise. Each character received a "dark" variant, known as Burst, and move cancels were given more emphasis to allow for a wider variety of combos.

Both titles are good games, with SamSho II deserving more praise than it receives today for its innovation in movement and strategy, which would influence some of the titles that would supersede it, such as the excellent Street Fighter III: Third Strike. These Hamster re-releases unfortunately do not feature online support.

Samurai Shodown II is available on Nintendo Switch now. Samurai Shodown III is also available for download on PS4 and Xbox One. Both are priced at $8.

Samurai Shodown II hits Switch, while Samurai Showdown III lands on PS4 and Xbox One screenshot

News:: Counter-Strike's co-creator has been arrested for 'sexual exploitation of a child'

Reports from Seattle news station KIRO 7 are stating that Counter-Strike co-creator Jess Cliffe has been arrested for "sexual exploitation of a child." He was booked at 1:17 am on Thursday, February 1 at King County Jail and has been denied bail. Local police claim he hasn't been charged with a crime yet.

Cliffe doesn't have a previous criminal record, but KIRO 7 found that Cliffe had an assault case against him in 2013 that was dismissed from court. A spokesperson for Valve told Kotaku, "We are still learning details of what actually happened. Reports suggest he has been arrested for a felony offense. As such, we have suspended his employment until we know more."

Counter-Strike video game co-creator Jess Cliffe arrested for sexual exploitation of a child [KIRO 7]

Counter-Strike Co-Creator Arrested For Sexual Exploitation Of A Child [UPDATE: Valve Suspends] [Kotaku]

Counter-Strike's co-creator has been arrested for 'sexual exploitation of a child' screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/counter-strike-s-co-creator-has-been-arrested-for-sexual-exploitation-of-a-child--485935.phtml

News:: Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age's PC launch trailer proves how timeless FFXII is

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age was a fine way to bring back XII, and after sitting on my thoughts of the original for around 11 years at the point of the PS4 edition's release, I finally started to appreciate it outside of the trend-setting gambit system and MMO influences.

Now you can find Zodiac Age on PC as of this week. The PC edition runs at 60FPS, works on 21:9 ultra wide monitors, has multiple music options, cheats, controller support, and multiple post-game modes. I know PC ports from Japanese developers are kind of touch and go, but people seem to be taking to it on Steam.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age's PC launch trailer proves how timeless FFXII is screenshot

News:: Treadnauts looks like pure chaotic fun

Treadnauts is a bouncy, high-flying tank combat multiplayer game that brings back fond memories of Scorched Earth and Death Tank. It's really been coming together since we touched on it last year, and it's now primed for Steam Early Access. There's even a smash-the-target challenge mode!

Some of these concepts have been explored before, but the presentation, characters, and charm make Treadnauts stand out in my eyes. Here's the content breakdown for Early Access per Topstitch Games:

Four playable zones, each with unique mechanics and physics objects
Couch competitive mode for 2-4 local players
Online multiplayer for single pilots or duos (Beta!)
Single-player Target Test mode with medals and global leaderboards
20+ funky modifiers to shake things up!

"For the most part, the game plays the way that it will on launch day! The next six months of Treadnauts dev is focused on bug fixes, console ports, and improvements suggested by our community."

They're aiming for a full launch on Steam and consoles by summer 2018.

Treadnauts [Steam Early Access]

Treadnauts looks like pure chaotic fun screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/treadnauts-looks-like-pure-chaotic-fun-485151.phtml

News:: Hyrule Warriors Switch gets new screens, official site

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is due "sometime in the second quarter of 2018" in the west (and a firm March 22 in Japan), which is incredibly nebulous for a port everyone would probably just hunker down and play right now.

While we wait the official site just opened up, and a heap of new screens are available, showcasing the visual upgrades and some of the 3DS DLC that's headed into the HD realm. It's hard to believe that the original Hyrule Warriors dropped in 2014 on Wii U. That's...quite a while ago! I'll really miss the ability to mess around with the "one player on Wii U, one on the TV" setup, but I'll be happy enough going at it solo.

Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition [GameCity]

Hyrule Warriors Switch gets new screens, official site screenshot

News:: XCOM 2 Collection out now on PC, coming to PS4 and Xbox One

Firaxis Games have put out a tweet announcing that intense strategy title XCOM 2 Collection is now available on PC, Mac and Linux, with PS4 and Xbox One editions to follow sometime in the future.

For those less-inclined, XCOM 2 sees the Earth in dire straits after losing control of the planet in an intergalactic invasion. XCOM, the division formerly tasked within preventing such an occurrence, have been driven underground and now operate as a revolutionary force, striving to overthrow the occupation of Earth and its rulers, ADVENT.

The turn-based tactical title is well-known for its intense, strategic play and need for precise carefully-planned attack. It's also notorious for its uncomfortable decision making elements, both politically and on the battlefield, which often requires the sacrifice of the few for the many. XCOM 2 Collection features the base game, along with the War of the Chosen expansion and four previously-available DLC packs, which include new soldier classes, weaponry and cosmetic options.

XCOM 2 Collection is available now on PC, Mac and Linux formats. A PS4 and Xbox One release is scheduled, but there is no specific release date as of yet.

XCOM 2 Collection out now on PC, coming to PS4 and Xbox One screenshot

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Friday, February 2, 2018