CDProjekt Red

Pokémon Sword and Shield Announced

ISSUE 12 — 3 March 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story — POKÉMON SWORD AND SHIELD VERSIONS: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

The next generation of Pokémon has been announced! Pokemon Sword and Shield will be part of the core series (unlike Let’s Go Eevee and -Pikachu) and will be available late-2019 on the Nintendo Switch.

The three new starters have also been shown off in the announcement trailer. They are:

Scorbunny – A Rabbit Pokémon that is always running about, bursting with energy.

Sobble – A somewhat timid Water Lizard Pokemon that shoots out attacks as it hides itself in the water.

Grookey – A mischievous Chimp Pokemon that is full of boundless curiosity.

Sword and Shield will be set in a region called Galar. It is loosely based on the UK and promises to include many environments including “idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forests and craggy, snow-covered mountains”.

Fans are already making tons of artwork of the new games. One example being the new starters depicted as Game Boy sprites. Regarding the starters, a fan has also pointed out that they look strangely similar to the Powerpuff Girls!

A lot of jokes are also being made in relation to the game taking place in British-inspired location. As the game seems to start you off in the fields of Scotland, Scottish fans have been making phonetic dialogue for the female protagonist. A voice actor has even gone ahead and voiced some.

Shahan’s Opinion: The new region looks pretty picturesque! I initially liked Scorbunny most out of the starters but the anxiety-ridden chameleon is really growing on me. It all depends on the final evolutions of course.

Dale’s Opinion: At first glance, I’m quite excited. Haven’t enjoyed a home console Pokémon game since Colosseum! I can usually make a decision about which of the starters I’d choose, but it’s quite difficult this time around. And as for the UK-inspired setting, there had better not be any British stereotypes in there. Old-fashioned slang and so on will not be appreciated!

ISSUES ESCALATE BEYOND GAMING FOR DEVOTION

 

 

 

 

Red Candle Games, the Taiwan-based indie developer who made the award-winning game Detention, have recently released their second game Devotion. It hit the #1 position on Steam’s Top Selling chart with thousands of positive reviews, giving it an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ overall rating. The Chinese gaming community were loving it just as they did with their first game.

The Rising Political Tension

However, things start to take a turn for the worse. Certain art assets were discovered in-game that were deemed insulting by Chinese gamers. Talismans that insult mothers, as well as a political insult that brings up the comparison between the Chinese President and Winnie the Pooh.

There is also a name from a pre-launch ARG event that has been interpreted to mean the citizens of mainland China and the game is allegedly cursing them. This is dangerous as it is a time of great political tension between Taiwan (an island with its sovereignty being a major topic) and China (who view Taiwan as a province and part of their “One China”.)

On 23rd February, the review-bombing on Steam started, crashing the overall rating down to ‘Mostly Negative’. The same was done to their first game Detention. Chinese streamers and Internet personalities have changed their opinions to negative ones after hearing about what’s been discovered and talked about. Red Candle Games was considered to be politically attacking the Chinese president and people. What’s more, Chinese gamers felt backstabbed after supporting the dev and their games.

Devotion was delisted from Chinese Steam store and all mention of Steam, Devotion and Red Candle Games were removed from Chinese gaming forums completely. Afterwards, as more of Taiwan heard of the incident, Taiwanese gamers were hostile and mocked Chinese gamers. The situation continued to grow from a gaming issue to a major political one in which the general public that knew little about the dev or the issue started sharing their opinions.

Devotion’s Current Status

As of writing, the game is still not available on Steam. It was taken down to fix technical issues that are causing crashes, as well as to conduct another complete QA check. The team have also said they will check for unintended materials again so focus can be back on the game itself when it returns. Check out their official statement here.

If you want to know more about the situation, Spiel Times have made an impressive report attempting to cover the different perspectives (Chinese, Taiwanese and neutral) on the story.

Shahan’s Opinion: It’s a shame this is happening with Devotion. It is an amazing game that will resonate with fathers/parents in general. It’s also an incredible insight into Taiwanese culture as was their first game.

BOWSER IS PRESIDENT AS REGGIE STEPS DOWN

 

 

Reggie Fils-Aimé has made the decision to retire from his position as President of Nintendo of America as of April 15th 2019, having been with Nintendo for 15 years. He left a message for all Nintendo fans on the Nintendo of America Twitter.

Doug Bowser 1

He will be succeeded by current Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Doug Bowser.

Yes. His surname is Bowser. While Reggie was loved by many who are sad to see him go, Nintendo fans couldn’t help but make the same jokes on social media regarding the fact that Mario’s nemesis has taken over the company.

Doug Bowser 2

Shahan’s Opinion: Not only did Reggie represent Nintendo at events with plenty of charisma, he was truly a gamer himself. He’ll be missed.

THQ NORDIC APOLOGISES FOR 8CHAN AMA

 

The publisher was invited to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on 8chan, a site that has been delisted by Google multiple times in the past. To put it into perspective, the site broke away from 4chan for being too full of censorship.

The AMA proceeded to include plenty of offensive content and questions, some of which the publisher’s employees actually responded to. Examples of what could be found in the AMA include racial slurs, Hitler references, pornography and much more.

Hours later, the PR and Marketing Manager Philipp Brock made a statement on Twitter, apologising and taking full responsibility for the decision to do this AMA. This has understandably caused damage to the publisher and developers who are owned by THQ have said they are ashamed to be associated with them as their reputations may be tarnished as well.

Shahan’s Opinion: Another gaming industry PR disaster. How does a PR manager not know anything about a site they’re going to do an AMA on? I feel sorry for the innocent devs who will be linked to this incident.

RED DEAD ONLINE’S FIRST MAJOR UPDATE

 

 

 

Rockstar has released a new update for the Red Dead Online ‘Beta’. It brings new clothing, weapons and emotes but no new missions. It also has new features that attempt to tackle the griefing issue. This includes changes to player blips, parleys and feuds as well as changes to the law and bounty system. Weapon balances have been implemented and yes that includes changes to the Varmint Rifle. Check out IGN’s RDR2 wiki to see the full list.

However, many fans are not happy. One in particular has translated Rockstar’s update and how it comes across to the community. One of the points it makes include how they’ve backpedalled and made it harder for players to make in-game money and therefore promoting their micro-transactions. Read it here.

Shahan’s Opinion: I loved Red Dead Online but soon ran out of things to do. I’m honestly disappointed with how it’s being handled and I hope Rockstar manages to breathe new life into it as I am not impressed with its current state.

CYBERPUNK 2077 CONFIRMED FOR E3 2019 SHOWING

CD Projekt Red have revealed on Cyberpunk 2077’s official Twitter that the game will have a showing at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Will there be a release date? We’ve come a long way from the teaser trailer at the beginning of 2013.

An adaptation of Cyberpunk 2020, a 1988 tabletop game by Mike Pondsmith, the highly anticipated game is set in Night City of the Free State of North California, a futuristic dystopia that continues to perpetuate the American dream.

You play as a mercenary named V, who can be greatly customised. From their gender and stats to their clothing and backstory. If you want to know more there’s the trailer from E3 last year as well as 48 minutes of alpha gameplay, which looks amazing as is but the devs are saying it’s still not indicative of the final product!

Shahan’s Opinion: This is without a doubt at the top of my list of anticipated games. I can’t wait!

GLOSSING OVER…

Anthem Tops UK Sale Chart in First Week…

…But with only half as many copies sold as BioWare’s last game, Mass Effect: Andromeda. This stat is all the more disappointing, given that Andromeda in turn sold only half as many copies in its first week than its own predecessor, Mass Effect 3. Hopefully this won’t be a pattern BioWare continues to follow in future…

Second Anniversary to Horizon Zero Dawn

And with this milestone comes another — Horizon Zero Dawn has hit the 10 million copy mark. Twice the reason to celebrate.

PS Vita Production Ends in Japan

They have been going since December 2011, and now it’s time to say goodbye to the PS Vita. Shipments for the final two models being produced in Japan ended on Friday 1st.

The Apocalypse Cometh… for the Third Time!

ISSUE 2 – 25 November 2018

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story — DARKSIDERS III IS ALMOST HERE!

 

 

The third instalment of the Darksiders series is out on PS4, Xbox One and PC in just a couple of days. The gameplay has taken influence from the Souls series by From Software, but it still retains the Zelda-like gameplay of the previous two as well.

For those not familiar, this series revolves around the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Death, Fury (in the place of Famine) and Strife (instead of Pestilence/Conquest). The end of the world occurs in the first game, and War finds himself in the battle without his siblings. There, he is killed and blamed for the Apocalypse. War vows to clear his name, so he is released back to Earth (where 100 years have passed) to search for the true culprit. In the second, you play as his brother Death during the same time period. He looks to clear War’s name for the crime and to find a way to revive mankind.

This time around, you play as the sister Fury as she hunts for the Seven Deadly Sins to restore balance as they are wreaking havoc upon Earth. Rampage (her horse) has just been revealed in the latest ‘Horse with no Name’ trailer.

And if you want to see some Darksiders III gameplay with some funny commentary, check out Funhaus’ video here.

Shahan’s Opinion: If you’re like Dale and you love anti-heroes like Ivy Valentine, you should check out Fury! Right? Am I right? I know right!

Seriously though, I enjoy the Four Horsemen thematic a lot. I prefer War over Death when comparing the first two games. But Fury may take the top spot! My heart sank when Vigil Games shut down, so I am ecstatic the series managed to continue.

Dale’s Opinion: What Shahan said…

The similarities to Ivy are quite striking!

NEXT POTENTIAL HALF-LIFE INSTALMENT TO BE… IN VIRTUAL REALITY

One of the most revered video game series may finally be returning. However, not quite in the way you may expect. A prototype VR headset with the Valve logo was leaked via Imgur. From what we can gather from the leak, this possible new Half-Life instalment looks like more of a virtual reality spin-off/prequel. This may not be the Half-Life 3 that fans of the series were hoping for.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’m not one of those still hoping for Half-Life 3. When it comes to virtual reality, I’ve been excited for the horror games that would launch for the platform. But it is the high price point of VR headsets that is putting me off.

This Week’s Popular Choice — POKÉMON: LET’S GO PIKACHU / EEVEE

 

As Spyro did for us a few weeks ago, nostalgia has taken over the gaming world again with the long-awaited release of Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu and -Eevee. Taking the 3D charm and graphical capabilities of Pokémon Go! (with which it has full compatibility) and amalgamating it into the plot of Pokémon Yellow from way-back-when. Plus reducing the Pokédex right the way back down to the original 151, plus a couple of new ones created especially.

And, of course, critics and players alike have loved it. However, some fans are looking further forward to the new core series game — totally separate and standalone — for the Switch due next year.

Shahan’s Opinion: I feel like this is a light-hearted entry and I miss the complexity of the core Pokémon series. It seems ideal for those who never got into the games and don’t want to go through the traditional RPG grind.

Dale’s Opinion: I like the idea of having the Pokémon journey transferred to the big screen for once. For me, the nostalgic element is inviting, but there’s still something lacking. Maybe I’m after a brand new plotline and fully-textured Pokémon (with fur or feathers or whatever). Let’s see what this new instalment for next year will bring.

Negative Vibes — IT GETS WORSE FOR FALLOUT 76

 

 

 

 

Fallout 76 already failed to impress its users and the official critics haven’t had much better to say about it. With only a small percentage reviews on MetaCritic being positive, you don’t need us to tell you how it has been received.

One word that keeps being used to describe it again and again: “soulless”. Other scathing remarks and comments include accusing Bethesda of betraying Fallout’s spirit, and of the game itself having no redeeming features.

Its reputation is beginning to travel, too. If Twitch is anything to go by, interest in Fallout 76 has dropped in a big way.

Shahan’s Opinion: As I mentioned last week, having no NPCs and the story told to you only through audio tapes and emails on terminals is a big letdown for me. I can understand why it is done story-wise, but still.

They are making an effort to fix things with its huge 47GB patch though. I personally feel they need to make a whole new game engine, which they are NOT doing for The Elder Scrolls VI.

Dale’s Opinion: Bethesda have a rep to rebuild. And they will want to do it fast if they want the Fallout series to remain lucrative and profitable for them. If they produce another instalment without addressing all this hate, they’re going to end up with very few fans at all…

New Character Spotlight — NEEKO (League of Legends)

 

 

 

‘The Curious Chameleon’ is the latest to join Riot Games’ roster of heroes. Neeko has a passive shapeshifting ability that makes her appear like one of her allies. Lore has also been released for her, which goes into great detail. For example she is the last of an ancient tribe who managed to escape the death of her homeland thanks to her self-sacrificing tribe elders.

It has been noticed by LoL players that Neeko has a preference for the female champions of the game over the males. Riot Games’ senior narrative writer Matt Dunn has confirmed that Neeko identifies as a lesbian. This makes her the second gay League champion after Varus.

Shahan’s Opinion: She’s cute. Her VA does a great job getting across her inquisitive and quirky personality. I’m loving that theme music for her during the trailer.

KINGDOM HEARTS III GOES GOLD

Five years since it was first announced. Six since Dream Drop Distance was released. And 13 years since KH2. Kingdom Hearts III has wrapped up development and gone gold. It is out on 29th January 2019!

The latest game brings the forces of light and dark to a clash that promises to bring an end to the Xehanort saga. All while visiting Disney worlds, both old and new. From Toy Story and Pirates of the Caribbean to Frozen and Winnie the Pooh. Plus many more.

Speaking of Pooh Bear, KH3 is not officially sold in China because the President is insulted that Winnie is used as a euphemism for him. And China’s stringent censorship laws include banning anything seen as a mockery of the President.

Shahan’s Opinion: One of my most favourite series of all time. I hope we get to meet Leon and the rest of the Final Fantasy crew back at Radiant Garden. Let’s all hope the next saga this game leads to is less of a convoluted mess.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE NEXT UP AS PR PRIORITY

This month Square Enix held an event for the third anniversary of the Dissidia games, their fighting games series involving Final Fantasy heroes and villains. Tetsuya Nomura, director and character designer of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts fame, was at the event. He spoke to Famitsu and took the chance to explain:

“I just wanted to say that the current PR priority is Kingdom Hearts III, as it was during the ARTNIA event the other day, but after that it’ll be Final Fantasy VII remake, so please don’t worry.”

A Quick Reminiscence:

Let’s look back to the unveiling of the PS3 at E3 on 16th May 2005. It showcased a Final Fantasy VII tech demo that displayed a craftsmanship of incredible heights at its time. And it ignited hopes of fans across the globe that Square would remake the entirety of the original game up to this high standard. But there were no plans for them to do so. Over the years, endless rumours would arise that a remake was being worked on.

A decade passes. After a lot of doubt, the remake was announced to an incredible reaction. This, alongside the reveal of Shenmue 3, made this one of the topmost E3s of all time.

Shahan’s Opinion: Between this series and Kingdom Hearts, I am always alternating between which of the two I would put in the top spot. Incredibly excited for this.

WRECK-IT RALPH BREAKS INTO FORTNITE

Ralph has found himself in a number of fictional arcade games inspired by real games. However, he’s recently been found in the immensely popular Fortnite. He was found on an outdoor big screen in-game on a livestream by MozzzyTwitch.

This is not the first time a character owned by Disney has shown up in Fortnite. For a special event, Thanos was available as a playable character for anyone good enough to grab the Infinity Gauntlet. So is this cameo of Ralph a sign for another special event? Only time will tell…

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve never played Fortnite. The ‘Battle Royale’ genre does not appeal to me sadly. Super excited for Wreck-It Ralph 2 though! Those 3D models of all the princesses! Dayum!

GLOSSING OVER…

Ocarina of Time turns 20

Who feels old now?! I know I do… (Dale). One of the best and most popular, if not the best and most popular instalment of The Legend of Zelda games celebrated its 20th birthday last week, on 21st November.

Cyberpunk 2077 to be as Refined as Red Dead Redemption 2, says Developers

CDProjekt RED have announced their aim for high-quality games when it comes to the release of their current ongoing project, Cyberpunk 2077. Off the back of the three months it took to rid The Witcher 3 of all bugs, CEO Adam Kiciński has stated that quality will be “of paramount importance” with Cyberpunk.

63 Amiibo Figures to be Released in Limited-Edition Box Set

Nintendo fans will be eagerly awaiting the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in a couple of weeks’ time. The major fans will certainly enjoy the special Smash Bros. amiibo box set that was revealed this week, containing a whopping 63 figures. Some of which, we might add, have not been previously released. Better keep those savings aside…

Thank you for reading!

Please come back next week for more gaming news and views.

K/DA Single Hits No. 1 on Chart

ISSUE 1 – 18 November 2018

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story — RIOT GAMES’ K/DA SINGLE “POP/STARS” TOPS CHART

IT may seem a little strange to hear that a fictional K-Pop group, created by a video game company, could have a single out; let alone one hit Number One in a chart! But they have done it all the same. The guys behind League of Legends – Riot Games – created K/DA as a promotional device for the release of new skins and cosmetics for four playable heroes from the game.

The song, POP/STARS, which debuted with the group at the live opening ceremony of the League of Legends 2018 World Championship finals has since topped the Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart.  The performance even included the four aforementioned playable heroes showing up as augmented reality holograms.

K/DA is actually formed of professional singers, two of whom are part of the K-Pop group (G)-Idle.

Shahan’s Opinion: Awesome! I’m loving it for modelling and animation reasons of course! Nothing else… Honest…! *cough* Ahem…

This Week’s Popular Choice — SPYRO’S REIGNITED TRILOGY

AFTER a couple of months’ delay, everyone’s favourite purple dragon has finally arrived back on our screens with Spyro’s Reignited Trilogy. And the reviews have been, for the most part, very favourable.

Let’s face it — as Crash Bandicoot’s remaster proved last year, that nostalgia from childhood is never going to fail. In the UK, at least — given it’s currently at No. 1 on their chart, beating Red Dead Redemption 2.

One somewhat negative point worth mentioning, however: like Red Dead Redemption 2, the game’s physical copy comes on multiple discs. If you have a bad internet connection, it will take a while to install.

Shahan’s Opinion: It looks absolutely stunning and the characters look full of life! A must-play, especially if Spyro is a part of your childhood. Even if he wasn’t and you grew up with Crash/Jak/Ratchet/Sly Cooper/whoever, Spyro is one of those gaming series that has an important place in gaming history.

Dale’s Opinion: When Crash came back last year, I was already pretty tempted to get a PS4 purely for that reason. I resisted, saying that only if they did the same to Spyro, would I definitely buy one. I guess I know what I’m getting for Christmas now…

Negative Vibes — FALLOUT 76 FALLS THROUGH

THE online-only multiplayer outing for the Fallout series has failed to impress users, with over 500 negative reviews on Metacritic alone. It hasn’t been all doom and gloom from some of the more loyal fans of the series, who have stated the negativity has come from perfectionists and “balance maniacs”.

A Beta version had been released beforehand, alongside a letter from creators Bethesda to their fans to ask their help in finding the important issues to fix. Both of these were met with mixed reviews.

Shahan’s Opinion: When it comes to Fallout, the main draw for me is the stories that it tells in its apocalyptic setting. After the news broke that there were no NPCs in the game, my interest took a nosedive. But it seems like fun can be had with a group of friends if you can wade through the bugs and glitches.

New Character Spotlight — ASHE (Overwatch)

ADDING to the ever-growing cast of the Overwatch universe comes the white-haired outlaw, Ashe. Looking past the débâcle at Blizzcon this year with Diablo Immortal, Jeff Kaplan unveiled a new animated origin story trailer for Overwatch’s latest playable character.

Without giving too much away, Ashe is the leader of the Deadlock Gang, who has a history with McCree. The rest, you’ll have to watch and play to find out for yourselves…

Shahan’s Opinion: This wild-west inspired hero and animated short is perfectly timed after the release of the cowboy simulator known as Red Dead Redemption 2. I’ve tried playing as Ashe and she is a blast to play. As Bob was one of the main highlights of the animated short, it was also great to see him implemented in the game as Ashe’s ultimate ability. On the other hand, I’ll probably lose interest again afterwards until the next event/hero. I just want more lore.

Dale’s Opinion: I see a lot of Soul Calibur’s Ivy Valentine in Ashe. They’re both from wealthy families but otherwise somewhat secluded individuals. Not to mention, they’re both anti-heroines. Those sorts of characters are my not-so-guilty pleasures to play. She’ll get a good share of my attention should I get around to playing Overwatch.

Detective Pikachu is voiced by… RYAN REYNOLDS?!?

POKÉMON has been all over the gaming news, with the release of Let’s Go Pikachu and -Eevee just yesterday. But attention to that is shoved into second place compared to the first full trailer for Detective Pikachu. Featuring the voice of Ryan Reynolds, no less (though let’s just hope he doesn’t play this as Deadpool dressed in a Pikachu costume…) The nerd from the second Jurassic World movie, and a scarily cool-looking Charizard are also featured.

Shahan’s Opinion: I like the style of the 3D models. The humour is what didn’t hit the spot for me as much as I am a fan of Ryan Reynolds. But I’ve seen bad trailers for movies I ended up enjoying immensely. Also seeing grumpy Jigglypuff gave me Pokémon cartoon flashbacks of Jigglypuff getting mad and drawing on Ash Ketchum and friend’s faces after they fall asleep to her singing. If the trailer showed her revealing her pen, I would’ve been 100% sold. Maybe she will in the film.

Dale’s Opinion: Everyone from our generation should remember seeing Mewtwo Strikes Back in the cinemas way back when, but this is a Pokémon movie of an entirely different kind. The creatures in realistic, 3D textures – Pikachu is SO FLUFFY! I don’t care how old I am — I will see this film!

DELTARUNE – NOT A SEQUEL TO UNDERTALE?

Toby Fox, developer of the indie game Undertale that gained a cult following, has released the first chapter of a game that he says is not a sequel to his much-loved RPG (even though they are anagrams and involve the same in-game characters). Predicting the questions that will arise, he pre-emptively says that Undertale’s world and Deltarune’s world are different. Your ending in Undertale will be untouched. This isn’t a sequel or a spin-off.

“It’s just a game you can play after you complete UNDERTALE, if you want to.”

In fact, he explains that although Undertale was released first, Deltarune is the one he wanted to create originally. It took a few months to make the demo of Undertale but it took a few years to make the demo of Deltarune!

Shahan’s Opinion: Undertale is one of the most charming RPGs in recent times. If the characters have the same amount of life and personality in Deltarune as they did in Undertale, it’s going to be another gem by the ‘Annoying Dog’. Let’s just hope he’ll be able to assemble and lead a team well enough to bring this project to fruition.

 

GLOSSING OVER…

Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4 Next DLC Incoming

The trailer for ‘Turf Wars’, the second downloadable content of Marvel’s Spider-Man, has been released. The DLC itself comes out 20th November. It involves Hammerhead and the Maggia crime family.

We did think of doing a small tribute to Stan Lee here…

…but what obituary or tribute could really do him justice?

Sony will be a no-show for E3 2019!?!

The best-loved and looked-forward-to event in the gaming calendar – E3 – will be 25 years old next year. For the first time in the its history, Sony will not be attending. This adds on to their announcement in September that they are cancelling this year’s PSX (PlayStation Experience) in December because they feel they don’t have enough to show.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales Disappoints CDProjekt Red

CDProjekt Red has gained many fans with the success of The Witcher 3, who many claim it to be the greatest game of all time. Even more are excited for a futuristic in-development title ‘Cyberpunk 2077’. However it seems not as many fans were interested in this spin-off. Adam Kiciński, a joint-CEO of CDProjekt Red, has stated in a financial call a couple days ago that, “The game appealed to the community, which drove up our expectations regarding sales. Unfortunately, as yet, these expectations have not been fulfilled …”

…AND FINALLY… WELCOME!

This is the first in what will hopefully be many weekly instalments of gaming news and views. We would love to hear any suggestions for features, content and other such. Therefore, we invite you to comment.

Hope to see you again next week!