I didn’t spend my entire weekend at PAX doing business. In between a few appointments, I got the time to catch up with an old friend and walk around the show floor from a more casual perspective. Without giving away that I was there with a media badge, I wanted the chance to take a look at some games without guided tours or a specifically curated speech about the different game systems.
Through my travels, I saw a few games that I wanted to talk about, though nothing that I went in-depth enough with to write individual pieces on. Here is my slightly more pedestrian look at a few charming indie games that stuck out to me.
The uproar over in-game loot boxes is leading to some real financial penalties -- in South Korea. The country's Fair Trade Commission has fined Nexon, Netmarble and NextFloor a total of 1 billion won (about $945,200) for allegedly deceptive loot box promotions. The regulator asserted that each of the studios either hid poor odds for obtaining in-game items with the purchases, or else advertised odds that were out of step with reality. Nexon didn't reveal that the chances of obtaining some in-game items in Sudden Attack (a popular first-person shooter) was just 0.5 percent, for example, while Netmarble's Monster Taming pitched odds of 1 percent for a key creature when the actual chance of winning was as low as 0.0005 percent.
There have been rumors in recent days that Gears of War 2 would be getting a remaster a la the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. That's not quite the case, but it's not too far removed. Gears of War 2 will be looking better than it ever has before.
As a part of its Inside Xbox livestream, Xbox has revealed that it's enhancing Gears of War 2 on Xbox One X. Other Xbox 360 games that have gotten this treatment mostly took advantage of a visual overhaul. As Microsoft has said in the past, this allows for: nine times the pixels as the original games had, a 10-bit color depth rather than 8-bit, increased texture details and anti-aliasing. Performance is optimized to some degree too with framerate smoothing.
However, the enhancements likely mean the idea of Gears of War 2: Ultimate Edition is dead -- at least for now. Anyone who wants to play Gears 2 at its best needs to buy an Xbox One X, which is a much more significant investment than plopping down $60 for a remaster. But, anyone who already has an X stands to benefit.
Gears of War 2 (and all the other Gears) has been a part of the Xbox One backward compatibility program for a long time now, so the opportunity to play it is still there. Accompanying the announcement, Microsoft revealed that it's making all of Gears 2's DLC free. That should help bolster the game's multiplayer map count.
The Xbox One X enhancements went live today for Gears of War 2. Its upgrades aren't launching alone, though. Alongside Gears 2, five more titles are getting the same treatment: Red Dead Redemption, Sonic Generations, Portal 2, Darksiders, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Nintendo Switch owners won't have to wait indefinitely for Joakim Sandberg's wonderful action-adventure title Iconoclasts. As confirmed by the developer today, it's officially coming over.
Gasp, #Iconoclasts is coming to #Switch! I look forward to new people experiencing my game and thanks for support if you did already 🧡
I'll be adding to all changing difficulty as you load game, a difficulty that lets you get past harder challenges without dying and Boss Rush! pic.twitter.com/4yXbmwy7c3
The Switch version is being handled by MP2 Games, the studio behind ports of games like Noitu Love Devolution, Not a Hero, and Freedom Planet. It's said to be out "later this year."
Destructoid's own Nic Rowen gave the game a 9.5 out of 10 earlier this year, writing: "Iconoclasts might be a delightful action-adventure romp, but it's also a look at oppression, what it's like to live life outside the lines. That's where Iconoclasts lives too, outside the lines. Of its genre, its inspirations, and its expectations. It's a delightful surprise, the kind that doesn't come around often enough."
I can already tell this is just going to feel right on Switch.
Football Manager, the simulator that's all about handling a professional soccer team, is on its way to the Nintendo Switch. Engadget has confirmed the news via a person familiar with the matter at Sega, the publisher and parent company of series developer Sports Interactive.
One of my last stops at PAX East 2018 was to check out Steel Rats. The project from Tate Multimedia is being handled by a small team of no more than thirty Polish developers.
The game puts you in control of the Steel Rats biker gang making their way through a quarantined city infected by a deadly virus and filled to the brim with killer robots.
Red Dead Redemption 2 might not launch for several months, but Microsoft is giving you the next best thing. The company has added Xbox One X visual enhancements to six classic Xbox 360 games, including the original Red Dead Redemption. If you've wanted to revisit John Marston's saga on your 4K TV, this is likely as good as it gets until the sequel arrives. Not that the other games are obscure -- Darksiders, Gears of War 2, Portal 2, Sonic Generations (the first time it's available on Xbox One, in fact) and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed are making the leap as well.
After plenty of teasing, the Overwatch team revealed the game's next event, Retribution, would feature a mode telling the story of some of the game's ruthless heroes. Now it's live, and until April 30th, players can dive in to explore when the shadowy BlackWatch squad went up against operatives from the rival Talon organization. And, of course, earn a bunch of new skins.
With the latest Overwatch event now live, Retribution is up and running alongside last year's co-op mission, Uprising. First things first, though: there are loads of new cosmetics, including skins for Reaper, Lúcio, Doomfist, Hanzo, Mei, Moira, Sombra, and Winston. You can see 'em all here.
Retribution presents another short but compelling bit of backstory and, as ever, I hope Blizzard keeps making more of these "archive" missions. They're a fantastic complement to the regular PvP matches.
This time, it's Reaper (Reyes), McCree, Moira, and Genji trying to make it out of Venice alive after their Blackwatch mission -- securing a high-ranking member of Talon -- goes south. The four characters work well together (though it's also possible to play an "any hero" version of Retribution) and will have little trouble cutting through cannon-fodder grunts on the way to their extraction point.
Things get a bit more dicey when hero-like enemies show up to sow chaos. There's a relentless sniper that's smart enough to flee and reposition, a particularly bullet sponge-y tank that can charge like Reinhardt, and a quick-footed assassin that'll single one of you out and pin you down. Just like in regular Overwatch matches, in Retribution, you're better off not straying too far away from one another.
On my first attempt, we made it to the final section of the mission and could extract at any time -- but screw that! We were too in the moment and wanted to keep going for the sake of a high score.
Talon forces poured in. We inadvertently split up. And, one by one, each of us got surrounded and picked off. Hubris got the better of us. My second attempt with a less bold crew went much more smoothly, though I dread thinking about how hard Retribution will get on its highest difficulty setting.
You can (and should!) play Retribution and Uprising until April 30, 2018.
Klei's next game is outside the studio's comfort zone. For more than a decade, the Vancouver-based developer has found a reasonable amount of success with its 2D action adventure games. The upcoming Hot Lava is Klei's first attempt at a 3D title -- and it has a first-person perspective, to boot.
Sometimes you have to step outside your comfort zone to do something truly great.
Hot Lava is a Mirror's Edge-styled 3D platformer from the imaginative viewpoint of a schoolkid. As the childhood game went, "the floor is lava." That's what Hot Lava is. It takes the idea of bounding across your parents' furniture without touching the carpet, and it expands the concept by turning the entire world into a giant obstacle course. Don't touch the lava because this lava is literal lava.
Here's a video of me playing Hot Lava (mostly poorly). It's the tutorial and the first level, which are both set in what seems to be a middle school -- although it could probably be a high school or maybe even an elementary school. It has been a long time since I was a student. Regardless, learning happens here.
And learning happened in my playthrough too. There's a lot about platformers that are intuitive. Like, just get from Point A to Point B. Land on your targets instead of not landing on your targets. That's generally a good formula for Platformer Success.
But there's a side to Hot Lava that isn't necessarily intuitive. Maintaining momentum is the key to speeding through this game, but I often found myself unwilling to commit to barreling full speed ahead. That would mean certain death and Hot Lava is too difficult to warrant sacrificing progress. Instead, I subconsciously slowed down and did some pathfinding before moving forward. Getting the lay of the land is always a good idea.
To that end, it seems like there isn't just one set route through Hot Lava's levels. There are enough objects to jump on that it feels as if shortcuts are hidden in plain sight. So, maybe slowing down and looking around is smart in that sense. It'll likely just take a better-timed jump to pull off that tricky time-saver. (Also, as I learned the hard way, the shift key isn't for running; it just slows you down and that took a while for my brain to process.)
The Hot Lava beta just started today, and it looks as if signups are still open. Go see for yourself how ruthless this platformer can be. When there's no margin for error, the heat really gets turned up.
Call of Duty: WWII had one DLC to its name until today, which cemented the formula of three maps, one operation, and a zombie romp. It's a nice little change of pace despite the fact that every single subseries is overrun by zombies now, but overall Sledgehammer has done a decent job in its four years with Call of Duty.
The War Machine is a testament to Sledgehammer's commitment to staying the course -- for better or worse.
I saw an unbelievable amount of rogue-lite games at PAX East. I felt like I was drowning in the damn things, but developer Superscarysnakes' Black Future '88 and its giant colorful booth made it stand out in the sea of indie titles.
I spoke with the game's creative director, Don Bellenger, about what sets Black Future apart from other 2D platforming rogue-lite games.
Due Process is a five-on-five tactical shooter that lets you pore over the map, converse with your team, and draw up a literal plan John Madden-style before heading into your match. We covered the game several years ago but now it's back looking better than ever under publisher Annapurna Interactive.
The art has undergone a big makeover, with creator Giant Enemy Crab citing Time Crisis as inspiration.
One team is on offense, the other on defense, and maps are procedurally generated to make Due Process "more about outsmarting your opponent than memorizing a map."
It's coming soon to PC and while I think I'll be absolutely terrible at it, the concept is neat.
God of War releases in a mere 10 days, but developer Sony Santa Monica did some last-minute scrambling recently. After showing a new gameplay video last week, many viewers fixated on one thing: This game looks dang good, but that on-screen display is kinda in the way.
So, to compensate, Sony has added the option to turn off the HUD entirely. In a post on the game's site, Sony reveals that God of War now has something called Immersion Mode. That means all HUD elements are eliminated and your eyes are free to fixate on Kratos' rockin' dad bod. Or, for those who aren't willing to sacrifice the display entirely, there's also an option to tap the touch bar to bring up the HUD temporarily before it fades out again.
Alongside the Immersion Mode news, Sony also details God of War's difficulties. The easiest is "Give Me a Story" which is ultra-forgiving as far as combat goes, making sure players are able to see the narrative through. There's "Give Me a Balanced Experience" which is what Sony considers normal mode. There's "Give Me a Challenge" which is clearly more difficult. And then there's "Give Me God of War" which is the toughest mode, but it also supposedly varies enemy attack patterns and placements to make everything extra taxing.
It's not long now until we learn how Norse God of War stacks up compared to the Greek God of Wars. Our review will go live later this week -- on April 12 at 12:01am Pacific, to be exact.
As the release of Atlus rhythm-action games Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night in Japan draws ever-nearer, Sega have opened a poll asking fans what crossover costumes they'd like to see come to the dance sequel's beloved roster.
Your picks appear to be limited to three of Sega's famous franchises, which are (listed in this order below) Yakuza, Virtua Fighter and Sonic the Hedgehog. As of this writing, two of those three franchises are neck and neck.
So if you'd like to see, I dunno, Mitsuru rocking a Goro Majima look, or perhaps Morgana as Wolf Hawkfield, or even Chie as Coldsteel the Hedgehog, make sure to lock your vote in below. Right, now all we need is the game to actually get a localisation announcement...
Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night are both set for release in Japan May 24 on PS4 and PS Vita.
One of the highlights of Microsoft's E3 2017 was the reveal that original Xbox games would come to Xbox One through the backward compatibility program. However, it has been a relatively slow process. We're now 10 months removed from the announcement and there are only 13 titles to choose from. That number seems like it'll grow imminently.
Last week, Microsoft teased a "big update" to original Xbox backward compatibility as part of today's Inside Xbox show. Thanks to some well-timed leaks, we're reasonably sure we know what to expect. Listings for Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Destroy All Humans, MX Unleashed, Panzer Elite Action, and Full Spectrum Warrior all appeared on the Xbox store today. They have since been pulled.
Assuming this list is accurate, it has some highly-regarded games from the early 2000s. Also, it'll mean that the past three Elder Scrolls titles are all available on the same console. We'll find out later today if this leak pans out, and we'll update the article accordingly.
Juggler Games' My Memory of Us was demoing at PAX East this past weekend, so I dropped by to take a look at the classic-style adventure game.
My Memory of Us is set in a fairy-tale version of Warsaw Poland during World War II. Naturally, it tackles heavy subjects like the invasion of the Nazis but does so through the innocent eyes of two children.
Activision have released two new videos in their nifty new "Map Briefings" series. The videos take a look at upcoming Call of Duty: WWII multiplayer maps, with some of the game's developers pointing out some early strategies so you can hit the ground running.
These new videos look at Dunkirk and V2, both of which are coming as part of new DLC pack The War Machine. Dunkirk is, of course, the location of one of the most famous operations of WWII, wherein over 300,000 Allied troops were evacuated from increasing Nazi pressure.
The second map, V2, will see players running round a missile base, which includes the launch pad of a towering V2 rocket. Though it may seem like a perfect sniper vantage point, it's pretty exposed. Players should also be aware that the rocket's thrusters can be fired, leading to total obliteration for any poor soul dawdling below.
Call of Duty: WWII is available now on PS4, Xbox One and PC. The War Machine DLC is live on PS4 now, with other platforms to follow soon thereafter.
This past week, folks were pretty stoked to learn from Sega COO Kenji Matsubara (by way of Yahoo! Japan) that Sega would be releasing "a new console" in the region.
As most of us expected a new, actual Sega console is not going to happen. Rather, Matsubara was referring to the existing AtGames Sega Genesis Flashback -- a sort of NES/SNES Mini competitor that comes pre-loaded with 85 games, and can accept game carts. Matsubara notes that Sega is "considering" bringing the device east to sell in Japan. The thing is, the Flashback is a pretty polarizing piece of hardware. Some folks like it just fine, others have found numerous emulation issues with it.
Either way, the seemingly big news is that Sega wants to potentially import a device that emulates their own games. If that's the case, then there's no real incentive for them to create an official, quality "Genesis Mini" anytime soon.
To celebrate Mega Man's 30th anniversary and Mega Man 11coming out this year, Capcom planned a re-release of two bundles collecting the first ten games for the Switch. But the company must have heard fans crying out to play titles from the franchise's sister series, Mega Man X, set in a grim alternate future. Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 & 2 will be released simultaneously on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC on July 24th.
At PAX East this weekend, SNK announced that their 2009 PSP shooter, Metal Slug XX, will be making its lead-slinging way to the PS4 sometime this Summer.
Metal Slug XX is a revamped version of Nintendo DS title, Metal Slug 7. XX was tweaked in its transition to the PSP, including new sounds, crisper visuals and new enemies, training missions and hidden secrets. It also included online co-op. Best of all, for a buck, you were able to add King of Fighters veteran and Best Girl of All Time, Leona Heidern, to the roster of selectable characters.
Metal Slug XX was later re-released on the Xbox 360, it is also playable on Xbox One via backwards compatibility. The PS4 release will arrive sometime this Summer. You can check out the trailer for the Xbox 360 release below.
I still remember the rush I got when I played as Gray Fox for the first time in Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions...and the subsequent disappointment that came after I realized it was only three levels long. Still, Gray Fox has had a lasting legacy on the series as a whole, which is why you see him even today in random merch like this statue.
Japanese toy company Gecco just plopped some photos of their work in progress Gray Fox statue, which is evidently a 1/6 scale creation. Sculpted by Yuta Fuke, the statue went on display at Wonder Festival Shanghai, and will be released later this year sometime.
No pricing or western release details were shared, but the pain scheme will be shown off "shortly." If you're hyper interested in this thing, following their Facebook page would be a good start!
NIS America have announced yet another release date for the troubled PC port of last year's excellent RPG title, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. The game is scheduled to launch on Steam and GOG on April 16.
Lacrismosa of Dana launched on PS4 and PS Vita in the West last Fall, but was subject to a ton of bugs and localisation problems. Although these were taken care of through various rewrites and patches. The PC port was delayedagain and again, with NIS America even offering refunds for those who had pre-ordered.
However, it looks like everything's good to go, with the game finally hitting the PC platform next week. The new port will feature all the content (including the improved localisation) from the PS4 version. Users picking up the game in its first week will even get a few extra goodies, including a digital art-book, soundtrack sampler and some in-game items.
Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana launches on PC April 16. It is coming to Nintendo Switch in June.
Minecon is returning to a livestream near you. On September 29th, the virtual fan convention will broadcast a 90-minute show featuring panels, a costume contest and news. To participate in the first two, you just need to fill out an application form and submit photos, respectively, and if the judging committee is impressed with your ideas, you could get flown to the filming location and be a part of the show.
For months I've been anticipating Moonlighter, a beautiful looking top-down action RPG that deals with dungeon delving and shopkeeping. The latter has been done before but not as often as it should be, and now we only have to wait a month and change to see it happen again.
Developer Digital Sun Games has announced that Moonlighter will arrive on May 29 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, for $19.99. You can also spring for a retail edition which comes in a special flavor -- and includes a double-sided medallion, a poster, and a "squishy Jelly-Monster."
As we know Moonlighter is set for Switch, but will not arrive with the initial May salvo -- the exact wording that's used is "coming in the future."
This week's UK Charts saw very little change, with more than half of the Top Ten's entries maintaining their slot from last week. Leading the charge was Ubisoft's Far Cry 5, which is selling by the bucketful, EA's FIFA 18 and Microsoft's swashbuckling Sea of Thieves, which all held their premier positions firmly.
Elsewhere in the charts, EA's controversial Star Wars Battlefront II made a huge re-entry, reappearing in the Top 40 at number 16. Bethesda's DOOM and Fallout 4, which perpetually feature as a part of in-store sales, also both managed to push back into the Top Twenty, proving themselves two of the most consistently selling titles of recent years.
It's in the best interest of GameStop's executives to puff up all the product they can, but a recent comment from their CEO shed some light on what's to come this year on Switch.
We know a few huge things are in the pipeline, like a new Smash, another Metroid Prime, and even another Zelda, but GameStop CEO Mike K. Mauler stated on an earnings call that this will be a banner year for the Switch due to some unreleased titles that are coming up.
Mauler states: "We know what happened with the Wii U. I'd say this is definitely a whole different platform that we saw in the past. We have visibility to the software... So, last year was a tremendous year for their software as well as hardware, between Zelda and Mario Odyssey and all the games that they had, it really drove a lot of hardware sales as well as software. I think, this year, when we look at the slate of titles -- many of which haven't been announced yet -- this year looks also very, very strong. So, I think, at least for 2018, we'll continue to see the strong software slate drive additional install based on the hardware and increase attach rate. We don't have, really, visibility for '19 yet, but for '18, it should play out that way."
Remember when any number of western entities (most notably EA) had such "great admiration" for Nintendo and went hog wild at the start of a platform's lifecycle and then promptly pulled out? I kind of get that snake oil pitch here. But the Switch is already proven, having surpassed the Wii U's lifetime sales in under a year, and now we know that there's likely more on the way for 2018.
The official German Facebook page for Nintendo's popular team-shooter Splatoon 2 listed a release date for the game' exciting Octo Expansion DLC, which was first revealed last month during Nintendo Direct.
According to the site's banner, Octo Expansion will be coming to paint your world on July 13, which is in keeping with Nintendo's original release window of Summer. The expansion will feature a whole new story campaign, following the adventures of new character Agent 8.
Along with the single-player content, an abundance of new gear and clothing for your player characters, as well as the option to play as a male or female Octoling. There will will be 80 new missions to challenge your top-tier inking skills.
There has be no official announcement by The Big N as of yet, but given this is the official Facebook page, it's looking pretty concrete. Octo Expansion launches for Splatoon 2 this Summer. Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion date appears on German Facebook [switch-reviews.de]
