Jun 5, 2018 | Game ON news

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

News:: Review in Progress: Agony

Agony sucks.

Review in Progress: Agony screenshot

News:: OG Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade characters landing in Fire Emblem Heroes this week

Nintendo are taking it back to the heady days of the Game Boy Advance this week, as cast members from the original International Fire Emblem title are headed to mobile-battler Fire Emblem Heroes.

A new trailer, which you can check out below, heralds the coming of three classic warriors; former Black Fang member and expert thief, Legault, pacifistic swordswoman Karla, and cheerful young mage Nino. All three characters featured in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, which was the first Fire Emblem title to be released outside of Japan, back in 2003.

A new story chapter, The King's Demise, will also be made available alongside the heroic trio. The new event begins on June 8 at 12:00 PT / 15:00 ET / 07:00 BST. Fire Emblem Heroes is available for download now on iOS and Android devices.

OG Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade characters landing in Fire Emblem Heroes this week screenshot

News:: 'Destiny 2' lives on with 'Forsaken' this September

Destiny 2 is facing its Taken King moment: it's starting its second year with doubts about its future and players looking for a major rethink of the game mechanics. Thankfully, that appears to be on the way. Bungie has revealed Forsaken, a year two expansion for D2 that promises both a lot more content and significant changes to how the game works. It returns to the Reef (last seen in the original game), where the barons trapped in the Prison of Elders have managed to escape. It promises to be an engaging, lawless frontier with unique challenges , but it's arguably just the start of the Forsaken changes.

Source: Bungie (Twitter), Destiny, Bungie

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/06/05/destiny-2-forsaken/

News:: Far Cry 5's Vietnam expansion, 'Hour of Darkness,' is out today

I'm pretty much done with Far Cry 5 (it didn't hold my attention nearly as long as I thought it would), but I'll be popping in for the wacky expansions day and date.

If you recall, Ubisoft previously confirmed three out-there DLCs for Far Cry 5, the first of which is the Vietnam-centric "Hour of Darkness." It's a completely separate campaign (and can be bought standalone for $12), and will "transport players back in time" as "Red Redler," (who was in the core game) a resident of Hope County who is duty-bound to save his squad.

New gear is in, as well as additional abilities and two more modes after finishing up the story -- survivor (basically hard mode) and action movie (easy mode with a silly loadout). Next up is "Dead Living" (zombies) and "Lost on Mars" (space). Again, I'm in for all of them.

Far Cry 5's Vietnam expansion, 'Hour of Darkness,' is out today screenshot

News:: Can you find God of War's remaining secrets?

Even though it has only been available scant months, players have already played Sony Santa Monica smash God of War to death. Despite fans the world over maxing out almost every element of the open-world adventure, solving riddles and uncovering Easter Eggs, there may still be one more hidden gem out there.

Speaking in an interview with Gaming Bolt, God of War's Director Cory Barlog has said there is a secret that he is yet to see reported anywhere. Of course he wasn't forthcoming on said surprise, that would spoil the fun for everyone.

"I always think that people usually figure things out within hours, and the fact that we went a week without people figuring things out was impressive,” said Barlog. "But I still think there is one thing that no one has found yet that I know for certain, because I haven’t seen any stories about it. Now I’m not going to tell you what that is, but I don’t know if there’s any cinematics per se, it seems like people have been able to get all the permutations. Not one person, but everyone collectively".

There you have it. Unless you're sitting on the answer to this secret yourself, there is still a mystery out there in the wilderness, waiting to be solved by some wry lateral-thinker. As for me, I kind of fall apart once a problem isn't solved by an axe to the fo'head, so I'm tapping out on this one.

God of War is available now on PS4.

God of War Director says there is one secret no one has uncovered [Gaming Bolt]

Can you find God of War's remaining secrets? screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/can-you-find-god-of-war-s-remaining-secrets--506241.phtml

News:: Bungie announces brand new 'annual pass' scheme for Destiny 2

Directly following the announcement of the upcoming major Forsaken expansion, Bungie dropped some big news in their reveal stream -- the "season pass" concept is getting a complete overhaul.

It's actually live right now, and rather than do the whole "one big expansion, one to two small one" cadence, Bungie has shifted to three content drops. Once Forsaken arrives in September, there will be three more premium updates immediately on the horizon -- Black Armory in winter 2018, Joker's Wild in spring 2019, and Penumbra in summer 2019. In other words, the game is basically still alive through mid 2019 at the very least.

These DLCs will include "endgame challenges, new pinnacle activities, new weapons/armor/vanity rewards, new triumph records, returning and previous exotics, and new lore." Bungie promises that smaller free updates will still exist, and they also provided a brand new road map that you can view in the gallery below.

It all looks good! Given that 90% of my friends have left the game I'm excited for a portion of them to come back in September.

Bungie [Twitch]

Bungie announces brand new 'annual pass' scheme for Destiny 2 screenshot

News:: After a polarizing first year, Bungie has revealed Destiny 2's ambitious Year 2 plans

Bungie has revealed the new expansion for Destiny 2, dubbed "Forstaken," and it looks like the first substantial update since launch.

It takes place on the Tangled Shore (part of the Reef), and deals with a horde of prisoners -- as Bungie calls them "worst of the worst criminals." Over-the-top boss archetypes are teased, including a sniper specific battle and a melee stompy big bad. Bows are also in, and each class seems to be getting significant reworks -- "anime" style Void Warlock teleports were highlighted as the standout alteration. Bungie has added a beefier Triumph tracker as well as a collection mode, which adds in the MMO staple of titles for reaching certain achievements.

That "new game-changing mode?" It seems to be Gambit. Bungie notes how it combines PVP and PVE (much like many other shooters have done in the past), and pits teams of Guardians against each other, with objective play and NPCs in the mix. The new actual raid (not a "raid lair!") is called the Dreaming City, and will contain a completely new destination (the Awoken homeland) with "more bosses than any raid before," and some sort of evolving level of content (it seems like incremental secrets are in).

Do I see...actual new models in there? Much like The Taken King this doesn't look like a half-assed DLC. For now, we wait with a partially finished game until this Year 2 update possibly salvages Destiny 2 -- history repeats! Bungie has effectively demonstrated in the past four years: "wait an entire year until you buy our games."

Bungie [Twitch]

After a polarizing first year, Bungie has revealed Destiny 2's ambitious Year 2 plans screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/after-a-polarizing-first-year-bungie-has-revealed-destiny-2-s-ambitious-year-2-plans-506267.phtml

News:: Nintendo adds 'featured' section to Switch eShop

Every week for the past five years or so I've written up the Nintendo Download column, so I tend to notice certain trends. It's no secret though that the Switch is piling on release after release, sometimes to the point where Nintendo is hosting no less than 20 games per week, all shoved into that woeful Switch eShop interface.

The bare-bones nature of the UI and the lack of catchy music are two major complaints for the beloved system, and Nintendo is kinda sorta addressing the former with a new eShop update. In short, after booting up your Switch and heading to the eShop, you'll notice a new "featured" tab that highlights big games and upcoming titles. Previously that info was split between "recent releases" and "coming soon," both of which are still a part of the eShop.

Basically it's just another list to sift through beyond the two aforementioned options and the charts.

Nintendo adds 'featured' section to Switch eShop screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-adds-featured-section-to-switch-eshop-506218.phtml

News:: Valve adds more flexibility to 'Dota 2' pro competitions

The world of eSports is growing at a rapid pace. Games like League of Legends and CS:GO are becoming more mainstream by the day. While Dota 2 holds the record for the highest total eSports prize money but Valve feels its competitive scene has lacked structure. To rectify that, it's unveiled a number of changes that it hopes will legitimize its Dota Pro Circuit (DPC).

Via: ESPN

Source: Valve

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/06/05/valve-adds-flexibility-dota-2-pro-competitions/

News:: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom poster has dinosaurs, is a clusterf@%k

Team Dtoid, I wanted - no, I really wanted, to make fun of this official poster for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Let's be honest, if a Summer flick delivers a poster that's just too confusing to understand, it is fair game for internet commentary and jaded haters like me.

Only, it turns out that this homage-like 80s recreation poster is fan work, selected by director J.A. Bayona, Universal Pictures and the producers of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The fact that a franchise, a major motion picture, would do something like this is incredibly cool. Credit is due and I'm paying it out. On top of that, instead of creating a potentially cheesy situation, they selected a legitimate fan artist, Nima Nakhshab, who was able to create something believable enough to pass for real.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom poster has dinosaurs, is a clusterf@%k screenshot

News:: Review: Riddled Corpses EX

Nine hours into Riddled Corpses EX, I've seen everything there is to see. I've fought, tooth and nail, through each of the levels, found myself humbled by the endless Survival Mode, made it pretty damn far into the Arcade Mode, and leveled-up three of the six available characters to a point where they mow down waves of zombies with ease.

I've done and seen it all, and if this were any other game I'd recall the good times I had playing before deleting it off my tiny Vita memory card. But this one's staying put because I think I found the perfect game to play on the train.

Review: Riddled Corpses EX screenshot

News:: Here's the first teaser trailer for Transformers prequel Bumblebee

Did you think that the pit of despair that was Transformers: The Last Knight might give us a reprieve from Transformers movies for a little while? Ha! You fool. They'll never stop. We will be awash in cars that are more than meets the eye for all eternity.

Paramount is attempting to expand the Transformers universe from a single stream of sequels to a -- wait for it -- cinematic universe! And Bumblebee, for which we have the first teaser right here, is the first step. It's a prequel set to all the other films that is set in the 80s and involves Hailee Steinfeld finding the titular transformer in a junkyard where HE HAS ACTUAL BUMBLEBEES ON HIM. Looks like Michael Bay's inability to do anything subtly is making its way over here just fine.

OK, now let me be less jaded for a second. This could also work. Travis Knight of the incredible Kubo and the Two Strings, is directing and that seems like a really good fit for the Bumblebee character. Also, it's not Michael Bay. Knight has a touch for personal stories as he's shown with all his work with the animation studio LAIKA so hopefully that actually transfers over. On top of that, the retro redesign of Bumblebee is fantastic, peeling back the five movie's worth of horrendous redesigns that eventually led all the Transformers to look like jagged pieces of scrap metal someone had glued together. The new poster is far more charming then it deserves to be as well. This is all kind of promising.

Then again, it's a Transformers movie.

Bumblebee opens on December 31st nationwide.

Here's the first teaser trailer for Transformers prequel Bumblebee screenshot

News:: Review: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

Arc has quietly been juggling a lot of properties, both in and out of their jurisdiction, for some time. Just when you think all they have up their sleeve is fighters, bam, Hard Corps: Uprising, a collaboration with Konami, hits you. Then just one year later, bam, a Persona fighting game with Atlus' help.

They even have recent Dragon Ball portable and console fighters under their belts, and now they're just letting it all hang loose for a full-on massive crossover event in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.

Review: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle screenshot

News:: Nintendo's 'Mario Tennis Aces' combines charm with surprising depth

Before Mario Tennis Aces appears in stores and on your Switch, Nintendo offered up a weekend of tournament play to whet appetites and convince you to preorder its first in-house sport title for the Switch.

The demo sticks to purely tournament play, and while we didn't get the chance to play one another, there's something addictive here. That is, once you've figured out what the heck's going on. Two editors offer their very early impressions.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/06/05/nintendo-switch-mario-tennis-aces-preview/

News:: Capcom of Europe says Mega Man 11 won't be released in the region physically, 'no amiibo plans'

Globilization as it pertains to digital goods is strange. One region could have a version of a game that's localized entirely in your language, and because of potential region locking hardware or just plain old rights issues, you'd never get to play it unless you felt like doing a lot of legwork. This case isn't quite so extreme, but it's a bummer.

Although the US and Japan are getting Mega Man 11 and the amiibo physically on Switch, Capcom of Europe has announced that UK and European residents will get nothing of the sort. Not only is Mega Man 11 right out in terms of a physical release, but Capcom currently has "no announcement" when it comes to the distribution of the new figure.

In other words, it's looking like you'll need to import the game if you either want a hard copy or the figure itself -- which presumably interacts with the game. That...sucks? There's no other way to say it.

Mega Man 11 and Mega Man amiibo to launch on 2 October [The Nintendo Channel]

Capcom of Europe says Mega Man 11 won't be released in the region physically, 'no amiibo plans' screenshot

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/capcom-of-europe-says-mega-man-11-won-t-be-released-in-the-region-physically-no-amiibo-plans--506217.phtml

News:: The Morning After: iOS 12 is unveiled

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

It's time. Over the last 24 hours, we've been flooded by news coming out of Apple's WWDC and the Computex trade show in Asia. Here are the highlights, plus some of the most important tech news that has nothing to do with either event.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/06/05/the-morning-after-ios-12-is-unveiled/

News:: Review: OnRush

I miss the feeling of booting up silly arcade racers. The on-demand wheelies from the Cruis'n series, the larger-than-life tracks from San Francisco Rush -- they weren't just a big part of my childhood, they were swift moments of escapist entertainment, far from the realm of the generally sim-heavy genre.

OnRush brings that mentality back with a simple focus on driving, boosting, and not-really-braking.

Review: OnRush screenshot

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Tuesday, June 5, 2018