Fallout 76

“Capcom is Back!” says CEO

ISSUE 13 — 10 March 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story: DMC5 LAUNCHED — “CAPCOM IS BACK!” CEO SAYS…

Dante is back with the release of Devil May Cry 5. It has received rave reviews and many claim this to be the best the series has to offer. On Steam, the game has had the second best launch for Capcom, only being beaten out by Monster Hunter: World. DMC5’s producer, Matt Walker, has recorded the CEO of Capcom USA, Kiichiro Urata, saying:

“Capcom is back!”

In Devil May Cry 5, you get to play as three different protagonists, each bringing their own unique style of gameplay:

Nero – The Young Devil Hunter. He’s gained more experience since the incident at Fortuna and opening a Devil May Cry branch there.

V – The Mysterious One. He is Dante’s latest client. A human that seems to have demonic ties.

Dante – The Legendary Devil Hunter. He’s back with his sword Rebellion and his trusty guns Ebony and Ivory for plenty of demon-killing action.

If you’re thinking of picking the game up, there are certain things to keep in mind when it comes to different versions of the game. For example, the Deluxe Edition allows you to swap in the pre-vis live action cutscenes. It feels like you’re watching a DMC movie! Also the west’s PS4 version of the game is more censored than on PC and Xbox One. There are some scenes containing nudity that is hidden by lens flares in the PS4 version.

Shahan’s Opinion: The series looks to be in top form in the latest instalment. I love Nero’s new look. It definitely differentiates him from being the Dante lookalike he was in DMC4. Speaking of, Dante looking like a grizzly old badass is great.

ANTHEM CRASHING PS4s

Bioware’s latest game, Anthem, has had a launch that may be giving Fallout 76 a run for its money. Prior to launch, the ‘VIP demo’ (basically a beta test) revealed plenty of bugs and glitches. The launch also had plenty of bugs and glitches. And the reviews have not been great. One example of a huge bug is that the Level 1 Defender gun (a default weapon) has been discovered to be the best weapon in the game possibly due to how they’ve designed the scaling in the game. But moving on to the biggest concern right now…

There has been reports that the game has been crashing PS4s! It’s been mistakenly reported to be ‘bricking’ them. This is an incorrect term, as that would mean the PS4s are permanently broken and, hence, would basically be bricks. As the news and number of crashing PS4s became widespread, Sony started offering refunds for the game.

EA and Bioware are trying to resolve the situation. They’ve asked fans to discuss and identify the issue over on their EA Answers HQ message board. Regarding Anthem’s in-game issues, Bioware are making changes. But judging from the rioting happening by the player base over on the game’s subreddit, they are going to have to pull off a miracle to turn things around.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve actually given this game a shot a while ago. The gameplay is definitely fun and makes you feel like Iron Man! But the story is nowhere near Bioware’s best work. And the loadings screens really are ridiculous. A fan actually compared them to the infamous game Sonic ’06 and its loading screens.

AMY HENNIG’S VIEWS ON THE GAMING INDUSTRY

You know Amy Hennig? She’s the writer who’s been in the gaming industry for 30 years, which won her a Lifetime Achievement Award. She is known for her work on various games, from Legacy of Kain to Uncharted. And now, she has shared her opinion on the current state of AAA games development.

Hennig has taken a break from being part of a huge team that is common in triple-A games development and may not return to it. After hearing stories of game companies laying off hundreds of people, it’s understandable when she says that these are red flags and things are not working the way they used to. Her solution is to look to the TV and film industries. Less in-house production and more external contractors. If you want to see her views in full detail, check it out here.

If you want to know more about Amy Hennig, she’s recently shown up at the DICE Summit 2019 for an interview. That’s the video at the top of the section, by the way.

Shahan’s Opinion: One example that contradicts some of her views is Capcom. Years ago they were considered to be failing and their games were disappointing many of their fans. This was seen to be because they hired external companies to develop their games. They decided to bring everything back to work on them in-house and now they’re more popular than ever! In any case if Legacy of Kain ever returns, she needs to be on that development team!

NINTENDO CARDBOARD USED FOR VR

Remember the Nintendo Labo? No? Those kits with cardboard cut-outs that you build and then use in combination with your Nintendo Switch? For more info, check out this educational video on the construction toy.

Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit. Build it. Slot your Switch in. Buy some accessories and make a cardboard elephant for example. The release date is 12th April.

Shahan’s Opinion: Bundle this with a new Pokémon Snap. Do it Nintendo!

 

GLOSSING OVER…

Rape Day Not Coming to Steam, says Valve

Gaming publisher Valve has confirmed, after a lengthy silence and mounting controversy, that the indie game set around the violent sexual assault of women will not be released on Steam. They have claimed that the game poses unknown costs and risks.

Kamek and Dry Bones Come to Mario Tennis

The roster of characters for Mario Tennis Aces continues to grow, with the announcement of two further new players. Both of them making their debut in the sub-series, the chief Magikoopa Kamek and the undead Koopa Troopa Dry Bones will both take to the court in April and May respectively.

Annual “Return to Yharnam” Event is Underway

The two-week mass-community Bloodborne gameplay event began today. You can find out more about the event and get involved via this Reddit thread.

PLAYING THIS WEEK…

A new section we’re trying out; keeping you up-to-date with our gaming lives.

Dale has been playing… 

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE REMASTERED (2017) (PS4)

I am a total COD novice – I’ll say that now. Giving me a PS4 controller and telling me to play a first-person shooter is like giving a chainsaw to a kitten. If you care about your stats, avoid me at all costs.

All that being said, it was certainly a fun first-time experience. A lot of COD fans may not have even touched the COD: MW Remastered. Indeed, I discussed the Prop Hunt mode with a couple of my friends, who had never even heard of it!

It’s so much fun – ideal for parties where you can just pass the controllers around. One team hides, disguised as inanimate objects – depending on the map, this could be something as mundane as a barrel, a chair or a signpost, to something more zany such as a watermelon or an inflatable dolphin. The other team then has to find you, basically by shooting any and all inanimate objects on the map. Gets you thinking. “Should that toolbox be on top of that barrel? I’ll shoot it to find out”. Best one I saw: a watermelon hidden under a seat on a bus. Genius.

Prop Hunt is basically an FPS-infused game of hide-and-seek. Great fun; highly recommended.

Apex Legends: the next Fortnite!?!

ISSUE 10 — 10 February 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story — APEX LEGENDS RELEASED

Respawn Entertainment, the creators of the award-winning Titanfall series, have taken their plunge into the Battle Royale genre with the release of Apex Legends. It is free to play, has loot boxes and is available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. PS+ subscribers can also get the ‘PlayStation Plus Play Pack’.

The launch was a success with a million unique players reached in under eight hours. In 24 hours, they reached 2.5 million players, which dwarfs Fortnite’s 1 million from their first day. Now, Apex has exceeded 10 million players. Executive producer Drew McCoy has written a letter to the community discussing what their aim was, what they’ve been through and thanking all of the players.

One of the aspects that the game is being lauded for is its game mechanics and how they have dealt with some of the biggest problems in the Battle Royale genre. One mechanic being the ability to revive your teammates or be revived by them yourself. It means that time isn’t wasted watching teammates attempt to win matches that can take up to half an hour. Another that many are talking about is the in-depth ping system. It makes the language barrier a non-issue and allows anyone without a mic to contribute just as much to the team.

There’s bad news for anyone waiting for Titanfall 3 — it’s not happening. In an effort to be open and transparent, Drew McCoy has gone on record stating that the world thinks they are making Titanfall 3 but they are not and are making Apex instead.

He also said:

“We’re doing a free to play game, with essentially loot boxes, after we were bought by EA, and it’s not Titanfall 3. It’s the perfect recipe for a marketing plan to go awry, so why have that – let’s just ship the game and let players play.”

A very clever move (feels unusual for the gaming industry) that has, no doubt, avoided a lot of potential backlash. As Respawn will be working on Apex Legends as a live service game, Titanfall 3 is not likely to be seen in the near future, if at all.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve mentioned previously that Battle Royale games aren’t my thing. However, the characters are likeable; them and their ults somewhat remind me of Overwatch. Also the PS+ incentives might just about pull me in.

THE WITCHER ARRIVES TO MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD

Ciri isn’t the only one travelling between worlds. After his stint in Soulcalibur VI, Geralt has arrived in Monster Hunter: World with Doug Cockle reprising the role as voice actor. The event puts you in control of the protagonist from The Witcher series as he solves new mysteries. There’s new gear and weapons to craft for both your hunter and Palico. An upcoming quest called “Contract: Woodland Spirit” will be available for hunters over the rank of HR50 from 15th February to 1st March. This will reward you with the Ciri full armor set and matching dual blades!

This crossover (which is already being deemed a perfect combination) shows the efforts Capcom continues to display in supporting Monster Hunter: World. This event boasts enough content to match or even surpass the crossover with Final Fantasy XIV.

Shahan’s Opinion: Last year I spent literally hundreds of hours on Monster Hunter: World. I’ve still got a few gold crowns to collect before I achieve 100% completion. This event will definitely get me back on the hunt.

PHYSICAL RELEASE CONFIRMED FOR THE OUTER WORLDS

Many are waiting for Obsidian Entertainment’s sci-fi RPG, The Outer Worlds. Especially after the débâcle that is Fallout 76, which is claimed by some to possibly be unfixable. As can be seen above, the game’s official Twitter account has announced that it will be getting a physical release.

Game Informer are doing a full month of exclusive coverage on The Outer Worlds including interviews with the original creators of Fallout, Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky. Here are just a few details that have been revealed regarding the game:

  • No third-person camera view
  • No morality system, only a reputation system
  • No hacking or lock-picking mini-games
  • Everyone can be killed. (No children in the game.)
  • Companions only die on the hardest difficulty (named Supernova).
  • Companions have a side quest each. Combat ability rises upon completion.
  • Companions don’t ruin stealth.

Shahan’s Opinion: Call me old-fashioned but I like physical discs for my video games. I like them in steelbooks and I don’t have any space left on my console for these digital copies.

NORMAN REEDUS’ VIEWS ON DEATH STRANDING

Last year in March, GameCentral Metro spoke to Norman Reedus on the set of his TV show ‘Ride with Norman Reedus’. He revealed details on his experience on Hideo Kojima’s highly-anticipated Death Stranding that have been embargoed until now.

Regarding the Metal Gear creator himself, Reedus says,

“That guy is such a genius, Hideo Kojima. I’m like, ‘Oh so they’ll be playing me?’ And he’s like, ‘No they are you. We will make them cry as you.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? It’s a video game. … It’s kind of a new movie. I’ve never seen anything like what we’re doing. Guillermo Del Toro introduced me to him, who is also working on the game; he’s also a character in the game. I saw that video game director at the Video Game Music Awards, walk down the steps and they lit up underneath his feet like Michael Jackson and he goes, ‘I’m back.’ And the place is like, ‘Oh my god.’ Like grown men in tears. ‘I was like who is this god – whatever he wants to do I’ll do it. He’s a genius.”

Check out this article for more.

Norman will play the lead role and his fellow cast members include Mads Mikkelsen, Guillermo Del Toro, Lea Seydoux, Lindsay Wagner and Troy Baker.

Shahan’s Opinion: WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS GAME?

Dale’s Opinion: What Shahan said…

ASSASSIN’S CREED III IS GETTING REMASTERED

Ratonhnhaké:ton, better known as Connor Kenway, is back. Assassin’s Creed III Remastered has been announced this week for a release on March 29th for PS4, Xbox One and PC (no news for a Switch release). Relive Connor’s journey as he parkours across snow-covered tree branches and fights through the American Revolution.

In addition to AC3 you can obtain a remaster of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation. This was a PS Vita exclusive that features the female assassin Aveline de Grandpré as the protagonist. This collection also includes the fascinating Tyranny of King Washington DLC series. They all have 4K HDR upgrades and various other enhancements for PS4 Pro, Xbox One X and PC.

For anyone who’s been playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, they can pick up the entire collection for free if they have the season pass. Otherwise it can be bought standalone.

Shahan’s Opinion: It’s often looked down upon after Connor had to follow Ezio Auditore’s life story. But I remember having a great time with it, which was impressive as Colonial America as a setting doesn’t interest me at all. The soundtrack was also phenomenal.

CRASH TEAM RACING NITRO-FUELED GAMEPLAY SURFACES

Gameplay has been shown this week for Beenox’s Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. It is a remaster of Naughty Dog’s Crash Team Racing. It’s being built from the ground up and will have new tracks, kart customisation and online play. The release date is June 21st this year and it is coming to PS4, Xbox One and even the Nintendo Switch! Once a PlayStation mascot, he will soon appear on a Nintendo console not unlike Sonic.

Check out this video to see more gameplay of the kart racer, including three different levels and how all of the characters handle. Avoid Polygon’s gameplay video as the person behind the controller is the journalist who infamously struggled with Cuphead’s tutorial for 26 minutes and caused an Internet uproar.

Shahan’s Opinion: As much as I love Crash, Mario Kart is the only kart-racer I am familiar with. I’m excited to see how this compares. The visuals are already looking incredible.

Dale’s Opinion: I do have a fair few good memories playing the original Crash Team Racing on the PS1 years and years ago. Like the Spyro remaster, this is the sort of nostalgia I’ll be looking for when I (eventually) get a PS4.

GLOSSING OVER…

Kingdom Hearts III hits 5 million mark

Shahan gave you the full lowdown in his special feature last week; it’ll come as little shock to you that the latest Kingdom Hearts instalment has already shipped over 5 million copies worldwide.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 lost out to Devil May Cry 5

Hideaki Itsuno has stated in response to queries regarding the long-awaited and long-desired Dragon’s Dogma sequel, that he chose to make Devil May Cry 5 first instead.

And the winner of Metacritic’s Best Publisher 2018 is… Capcom!

It was revealed at the beginning of this month that Capcom is the best-reviewed publisher for 2018, based on its scores on Metacritic. On average, Capcom has a score of 79.3.

 

Sora and Friends are Back! — Kingdom Hearts III Special

ISSUE 9 — 3 February 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Special Feature — KINGDOM HEARTS III

by Shahan Ahmed

KH3 1

Kingdom Hearts III has finally launched this week (or last week if you’re in Japan)! We’ve been kept in the dark for so many years we may as well be one of the Heartless ourselves! The developers went through great difficulty due to a number of issues, such as changing to Unreal Engine 4 a year into development, but they have managed to pull it off! KH3 has garnered generally positive reviews and promises to provide long-awaited answers that we’ve been waiting for.

WARNING: POTENTIAL MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

FRIENDS

Sora sets out to regain his strength after losing it all at the end of Dream Drop Distance. As you join him on his journey, he will be meeting many friends – both old and new. Sora’s childhood friends (Riku and Kairi) and best buds (Donald and Goofy) are here. You’ll fight alongside Hercules and Captain Jack Sparrow once more. Examples of new friendships being made are Buzz and Woody in the Toy Box, Hiro and Baymax at San Fransokyo and Mike and Sully at Monstropolis.

FOES

Many enemies appear to test Sora’s mettle. The series’ staples Maleficent and Pete are back. They’re on the search for a mysterious black box. Hades reverts to his original age-old plan to rule the cosmos by enlisting the aid of the Titans and attack Olympus. Xehanort and the Organization are back of course! Some past members have actually become allies. Seemingly similar to KH2, a specific member is associated with or assigned to each Disney world.

FORM CHANGES

Let’s delve into the combat for a moment. Remember the cool drive forms in KH2? Well, they are back in a new fashion! Form changes can be activated during battles and most are dependent on what keyblade you are using (three can be equipped and switched between). Each have their own special abilities and they change Sora’s clothing. ‘Second Form’ is the first one available to you and it gives access to classic KH techniques like Sonic Blade and Ars Arcanum. Remember Anti-Sora? He’s back in ‘Rage Form’! Powerful but risky, it is accessible to Sora when low on health and out of magic points.

MINI-GAMES

Kingdom Hearts III brings a wealth of mini-games. You can find one near the beginning of the game after leaving Olympus. Backtrack to the Overlook in Thebes and there’ll be the Cherry Flan; one of the Flantastic Seven! Interacting with the flan lets you ride around Thebes on the Trinity Sled knocking out flans for points. The combat itself allows you to use links and attractions that are basically minigames themselves! From Blaster Blaze to the Magic Carousel. Each one makes every battle a big spectacular show!

Shahan’s Opinion: I literally got goosebumps watching the intro. I just can’t believe it’s actually here! I doubt I’ll feel like this again until the Final Fantasy VII remake. I’ll wait and see if it will surpass my personal fave: Birth by Sleep. But it is so beautiful! Near Pixar-quality visuals in the cutscenes and the environments. It’s even more awesome to know that Hayley Joel Osment (yeah The Sixth Sense kid) would be happy to voice-act Sora forever!

Negative Vibes: ANGER AND THREATS OVER METRO EXODUS EXCLUSIVITY

Metro Exodus is all set to launch this month on 15th February. It has been available to pre-order on Steam and other stores for many months now. However, it was announced that the game will be exclusive to the Epic Store for a year.  Steam pre-orders will be honoured. Unfortunately, the last-minute change that was made for profit has angered PC gamers to the point they review-bombed the other Metro games on Steam.

To further worsen customer relations, one of the developer’s employees has threatened that if PC players announce a boycott on their game, the next Metro game will not be coming to PC.

As much as Steam needs a competitor to combat its monopoly on the PC gaming platform, many would say Epic Games are going about it the wrong way. Check out this informative article over on Rock Paper Shotgun if you want to know more.

Shahan’s Opinion: The gaming industry is not doing well when it comes to PR. Maybe it would’ve been best to stay silent and wait out the storm in this situation. This same situation also supports the argument against pre-ordering.

New Character Spotlight: SNOW VILLIERS (Dissidia Final Fantasy NT)

The villains of Dissidia Final Fantasy will have Snow Villiers from the FFXIII trilogy join their ranks. His default appearance here lends itself from how he appears in the third game – Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Snow is already available for Dissidia Final Fantasy in arcades in Japan. He will be available for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT this month.

Shahan’s Opinion: I should point out I am a fan of the FFXIII trilogy, since I know how much it has split the fanbase. That being said, I have mixed feelings regarding Snow’s portrayal here.

I prefer the more upbeat, optimistic brawler in XIII and XIII-2 rather than the grim Lightning Return’s boss battle Snow. I also like his character design in XIII-2 the most. Sadly it is unlikely that will return, knowing each Dissidia character has two outfits each.

On the other hand, we already have Tifa to bring the punches for the good guys so Cie’th Snow on the villains’ side is still a cool way to represent the games he is from.

PIRANHA PLANT NOW AVAILABLE IN SMASH BROS.

It would be rude not to mention the update Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched this week, which meant, among other things, first DLC character Piranha Plant is now available for play.

For the most part, its addition has not caused too many problems. That is to say, it isn’t quite perfect. You can’t use it for All-Star Smash without the game crashing, for example. Hopefully that will get fixed in the next patch, which should also bring Joker with it.

Dale’s Opinion: You may remember I did a little special feature on Ultimate when it first came out. Piranha Plant was on my list of five for a potential Squad Strike, and I’m happy to say it’ll stay there. It has great recovery and battering moves, plus spitting poison and summoning Petey Piranha is its Final Smash. Surprising for something I thought was a hoax, but a pleasant surprise all the same.

DRAGON BALL PROJECT Z ANNOUNCED

It’s time to relive the story of the mysterious Dragon Balls once again! Bandai Namco have released an announcement trailer, as well as a few details for Project Z. It is being developed by CyberConnect 2, who are known for the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm and .Hack series. It is aimed to be released this year on PS4, Xbox One and PC. It will include both Japanese and English voiceovers.

Shahan’s Opinion: Massive Dragon Ball fan here. After watching Dragon Ball Super: Broly in the cinema, I hugely welcome this announcement. It’s exciting to see this is an action RPG and open-world too. It reminds me of fond memories I had playing Buu’s Fury on my Game Boy Advance SP.

POKÉMON PAIR UP IN THE TCG – TEAM UP NOW AVAILABLE!

Double battles are nothing new in the Pokémon video games but they’re here to be in the limelight in the latest trading card game expansion. Sun & Moon – Team Up features unique pairings of Pokémon to form the six new Tag Team Pokémon-GX cards. Check them out in the short video above. These cards are high-risk high reward. They have a lot of power and HP but if knocked out your opponent takes three Prize cards (six Prize cards equals a victory).

The expansion has 196 cards (including the secret rare ones) and it includes four Prism Star cards. There are also dozens of Trainer cards such as Erika’s Hospitality; the Full Art print of this card is glorious. The two theme decks for this expansion are called Relentless Flame (Charizard) and Torrential Cannon (Blastoise).

Shahan’s Opinion: It’s great that the focus is on the original 151 Pokémon. The pairings are great! I’m partial to the Latios and Latias pairing personally. If any were to be Dale’s favourite, it’s got to be the Gengar and Mimikyu duo.

Dale’s Opinion: Been a while since I even thought about Pokémon cards! But Shahan isn’t wrong – I do love my Ghost-types and Gengar (as well as Gastly and Haunter) is a personal fave.

GLOSSING OVER…

Resident Evil 2 Remake a Success

The remake of Resident Evil 2 has made it to the Top 5 Most-Played Games on Steam, a first for the franchise. Fans will also be happy to hear about three DLC stories coming soon.

Latest Fallout 76 Patch Reintroduces Old Bugs

The headline speaks for itself. Do you ever think they should just recall Fallout 76 and start again? Hasn’t been great for them so far, has it? One wonders if Bethesda are deliberately trying to alienate their players.

Sony Japan Patents New Backwards-Compatibility System

A system patented by Sony Japan is to be applied to a new console (at this time, hopefully the PS5). This system will enable that console’s CPU to interpret the central unit of previous PlayStation generations, from PS4 all the way back to the PS1.

AGDQ 2019 Comes to an End

ISSUE 6 — 13 January 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

NOTE FROM THE EDITORS: This issue covers more of what happened over the holidays. So some of the news stories here may date back two or three weeks!

Top Story — ADGQ 2019 IS COMING TO AN END

If you are not familiar with Games Done Quick, this is a charity fundraising organisation that holds an event twice a year that involves video game speedruns and marathons. They are held in January (AGDQ) and in the summer (SGDQ), each running for a week. There have also been impromptu events set up to support victims of disasters such as Hurricane Harvey and 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

In keeping with previous years, these events support the charity Prevent Cancer Foundation. At this point in writing, they are on their way to $2 million and, knowing the last day rush, it is highly likely they will continue their trend of surpassing the previous year.

Shahan’s Opinion: It’s fascinating to see experts efficiently play and literally break through games for a good cause. It was also amazing to see that during the Final Fantasy IX speedrun, there were more viewers for the classic RPG than there were Fortnite viewers.

If you want to catch the action at AGDQ, here’s where to do it…!

New Character Spotlight — NEGAN (Tekken 7)

Last month it was confirmed that the dastardly, baseball bat-wielding villain of The Walking Dead, Negan, will be joining the line-up of Tekken 7. He, along with three other characters: Tekken alum Armor King, Craig Marduk and Julia (also from The Walking Dead), are additions to the roster made available by the game’s second Season Pass.

Dale’s Opinion: Unlike when Darth Vader and Yoda were third-party guest characters in Soul Calibur IV, Negan appearing in a Tekken game actually fits. It’s not something I ever imagined happening, but when I found out, I thought, “Hmmm, that’s an interesting idea!”

FAN RECREATES THE SILENT HILLS DEMO

Years ago in the summer of 2014, Hideo Kojima (of Metal Gear Solid fame) showed off a Playable Teaser for an instalment in the Silent Hills franchise. He had been working on it in collaboration with film director Guillermo Del Toro and it included an obscurely hard-to-obtain ending featuring actor Norman Reedus. The game ended up being cancelled as Kojima left Konami. It was taken off of the PlayStation Store and Konami made it difficult to reinstall it again.

Fast-forward to the present. RadiusGordello, a fan and developer, spent the last nine months recreating Silent Hills PT from scratch in the Unreal engine (the original was made in the Fox engine). Radius has provided VR support in addition to keyboard/mouse and PS4/XB1 controllers. However there seems to be issues with the game when exploring the haunted hallways in virtual reality. Radius has made this available on itch.io for free so get it quickly before it becomes much more difficult to find once Konami takes it down in due course.

If you’d rather squint through your fingers and watch a play-through of the remake, check out GTLive’s video here. This is especially good for anyone who hasn’t experienced the original as MatPat and Steph haven’t either.

Shahan’s Opinion: Grabbed it straight away. I’m going to scare friends and family all month! The original was literally genre-defining and makes you wonder what could’ve been. It has inspired many indie developers to put their own twist on the concept. This fan remake is incredibly close to being just as good, which is remarkable for being made by a single human. Silent Hills PT had an entire development team behind it after all!

BETHESDA SETTLES WESTWORLD LAWSUIT

Cast your minds back to the announcement of Fallout 4 on June 2015. It was a huge surprise. They revealed that Fallout 4 would launch in a matter of months. Unheard of in the gaming industry! Not only that, they released a mobile app available to download immediately! It kept fans talking until F4’s November release. The mobile game was called Fallout Shelter. A resource management game that had you in charge of a vault (one of the series’ infamous underground shelters) and the residents within.

Now, fast-forward to 2018. Warner Bros. Interactive hires Behaviour Interactive, who helped develop Fallout Shelter, to help create a Westworld mobile game. It was launched in time for the finale of Season 2. On that same day, Bethesda filed a lawsuit claiming it was a blatant rip-off, using the same code plus similar game design, art style, animations, etc.

It has now been confirmed a settlement has been made but no details have been revealed. Bethesda and WB Interactive have reached an amicable agreement and Bethesda dismissed their claims.

Fallout 76 Catch-Up – Nuka Dark and the Dev Room Thefts

While we’re on the subject of Bethesda, here’s what’s been happening with Fallout 76 since the last issue of Warp Point Weekly.

If you weren’t aware, the special edition of Fallout 76 promised a bottle of rum as one of its goodies. Branded as ‘Nuka Dark’ following the series’ iconic ‘Nuka Cola’, they started to ship out towards the end of last month after delays. Lo and behold, fans were not happy with what they have received. The bottles are a plastic covering with a shorter glass bottle inside (adding pouring issues to the disappointment). It should be pointed out that usable Nuka bottles can be bought from Etsy at a fraction of the price.

Regarding the video game itself, F76 players have found a secret developer room within the game. D rooms are nothing new. They give developers space in-game to conduct tests. They are in Bethesda’s previous games; Skyrim and Fallout 4. World of Warcraft had an entire dev island for example. The Fallout 76 dev room was discovered to contain plans for every single in-game item as well as unreleased content that is to come in a future update. There are reports of players swiftly moving the stolen items to other accounts and/or selling them on eBay. Bethesda are suspending accounts of anyone who enter the room. The biggest surprise of all in the dev room is that an NPC can be found there! Could actual voiced characters be coming to the post-apocalyptic West Virgina of Fallout 76!?!

Shahan’s Opinion: Fallout Shelter was a fun mobile game. I personally had no idea there was a Westworld one! The best thing about Fallout Shelter were the pick-up lines the little characters would say to each other before they would procreate and pump out another vault dweller.

BOWSETTE CONFIRMED NON-CANON BY NINTENDO

Bowsette — the fan-made character that took over Japan and set the Internet ablaze at the tail end of last year. He/she has been indirectly confirmed to be non-canon by Nintendo. Bowsette was born from Bowser donning the newly-introduced Super Crown. However on the official website for New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, it confirms that only Toadette can use this item.

The website explains, “Super Crown – When Toadette finds one of these, she can transform into the super-powered Peachette. (Sorry Luigi – only Toadette can use this item!)”

Mentioning Luigi is likely a reference to the two times he has dressed up as Peach, (i.e. in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and the comic Super Mario Adventures.)

Shahan’s Opinion: Toadette is adorable in Super Mario Party. Peach is my best girl. Combine the two together? Hnnggg.

Dale’s Opinion: I’ve never quite been convinced what the fuss has been about regarding Toadette and this Super Crown, much less the whole Bowsette thing! Personally, I think they could have given a playable role to a much more prominent character like Wario.

SOULJA BOY STILL SELLING BOOTLEG CONSOLES

Soulja Boy has resurfaced by selling bootleg video game consoles. The Crank That rapper, who self-proclaims that he has made the biggest comeback of 2018, started selling ‘fake’ consoles that are available on Amazon or AliExpress. He slapped on his own brand on them and sold them at a much higher price on his website. These consoles boasted having hundreds and thousands of games pre-installed. These games are old classics from popular IPs (Mario, Crash, Pokémon, Final Fantasy and many more) alongside some knock-off games too. The issue is this has clearly been done without any licensing done by Soulja Boy. So, it is essentially theft.

On Twitter, Soulja Boy has responded to this. To paraphrase, he claimed Nintendo aren’t going to do anything and they would’ve done something the first day. He isn’t scared of Nintendo or any “nerds making YouTube videos”. A few weeks later, they are no longer on his website. Rumours are that Nintendo were looking into taking action.

But now he is back at it again! His newest ‘SouljaGame handheld’ looks just like the PlayStation Vita. Next he’ll have Sony’s lawyers in pursuit. It is priced at $99.99 while the original bootleg (that sounded silly to say) is half the price on Amazon and even cheaper on AliExpress.

Shahan’s Opinion: Wow. The sad thing is that one of them actually sold out. There must’ve been a lot of casual gamers who were taken advantage of. Or there are a lot of Soulja Boy fans showing their support…

JACK BLACK IS A GAMING YOUTUBER!?!

Not long before Christmas, Jack Black amusingly threw forward his gauntlet as he called out PewDiePie and Ninja. He is now a gaming YouTuber, with his son being one of the editors. Jack and junior have played at the arcades but have yet to make a real gameplay video. He promises they are coming soon. Videos on the channel are posted every Friday.

This is not Jack Black’s first foray into the world of gaming. In terms of YouTube, he and his son had a taste of the infamous Five Nights at Freddy’s series in a video with Markiplier (a prominent gaming YouTuber). Jack Black also stars as axe-toting and guitar-strumming roadie Eddie Riggs; the protagonist of Double Fine’s Brütal Legend.

Shahan’s Opinion: Nachoooooooo- ahem. I like Jack Black. It was great seeing him in that Gorillaz music video last year. And Brütal Legend was righteous! Until it reached a point where it became an RTS…

GLOSSING OVER…

Smash Bros. Ultimate Smashes Sales Records in Japan

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate already took its huge fan-base by storm when it was first released, but as confirmed by Twitter, it took them five weeks to do what its 3DS predecessor did in three years! It is confirmed to be the bestselling title of the series in Japan.

Money Trouble Drama for Odd Tale Games

The developers of the highly-anticipated indie game The Last Night confirmed in a string of Tweets on New Year’s Eve last year their recent financial difficulty. This even forced them to cancel a new trailer at 2018’s The Game Awards.

It’s Divorce for Bungie and Activision!

On Thursday, it was confirmed that gaming developer Bungie and publisher Activision will be going their separate ways. Bringing an eight-year association to an end, but also leaving their project Destiny solely in Bungie’s hands.

 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Special

ISSUE 4 — 9 December 2018

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Special Feature — SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE

by Dale Hurst

It is the game that all Nintendo fans have been looking forward to all year. On Friday, the latest instalment in the much-loved crossover fighting series Super Smash Bros. was released and the praise has pretty much been non-stop.

I have enjoyed Super Smash Bros. since Melee back in 2002, and almost religiously followed the series from there on in. This one brings back a lot of the favourite elements from previous games, while introducing further new concepts. Here are my top 3…

EVERY CHARACTER FROM THE PREVIOUS GAMES IS PLAYABLE – I love a huge playable character roster. Not just in the Super Smash Bros. series, but in all fighting games. Take Tekken, Mortal Kombat and Soul Calibur, to name a couple. But this must be the first time a Nintendo game attempted something so ambitious. By the time the six DLC characters are released, a roster of over 80 characters will be featured. I have a hard enough time deciding who I want to play in the older games, so now I’m REALLY screwed!

WORLD OF LIGHT STORY MODE – That trailer was emotional enough (when Sonic tries to save Pikachu (sniff)). Brawl’s Subspace Emissary storyline was okay, I guess. But I do hope this new story mode outranks it severely. I have high hopes.

NEW BATTLE MODE: SQUAD STRIKE – Ever play Team Matches in Soul Calibur? I loved them, since you could choose up to five of your favourite fighters and battle with them one after the other. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is doing the same thing, with either three-on-three or five-on-five matches. Who would be in your Squad? I got mine and Shahan has his as below:

smash bros squad

New Character Spotlight: JOKER (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

Here seems as good a place as any to reveal the latest in the line-up for the next Smash Bros. game. Another third-party débutante – Joker from the Persona series. His forthcoming appearance in Smash as one of six DLC characters was announced during The Game Awards.

Unfortunately, as of yet, no information as to his moves, powers or Final Smash has been revealed. So, really, it’s just a reveal trailer for you to enjoy!

Dale’s Opinion: Must get a Switch. Must get a Switch. Must get a Switch.

Shahan’s Opinion: Whoa! Looking cool, Joker!

Special Feature — THE GAME AWARDS 2018

by Shahan Ahmed

This year’s TGA had some memorable moments. Reggie Fils-Aimé, Phil Spencer and Shawn Layden of The Big 3 shared the stage to deliver a speech. Alita: Battle Angel co-stars Christoph Waltz and Rosa Salazar arguing about controllers versus keyboard and mouse. Josef Fares of last year’s TGA fame (F*** the Oscars!) was back being his lovable self. Kratos tells Atreus to “Read it Boy” right on stage!

AWARD WINNERS

Red Dead Redemption 2 won the most awards: Best Narrative, Score/Music and Audio Design. Roger Clark, voice of protagonist Arthur Morgan, also won Best Performance. God of War takes home the one that was most waited for; the Game of the Year Award. It also won Best Game Direction and Best Action/Adventure Game. Celeste won Best Independent Game as well as the Games for Impact award. Something worth noting is that SonicFox (professional fighting games pro) winning E-sports Player of the Year has caused online debates of what competitive gaming genre takes more skill. If you want to see the full list of award winners and nominees, check out Polygon’s complete list.

WORLD PREMIERES

The show played host to some exciting world premieres this year. Nintendo Switch got plenty of love. A stylish game called Sayonara Wild Hearts, involving motorcycles and funky music, is making its way to the console. The Ultimate Alliance series is returning exclusively to the Switch with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. And Reggie presented an announcement that Bayonetta 3 is confirmed to be currently in development.

RPG lovers should be hyped for The Outer Worlds. It’s brought to you by the original creators of Fallout and developers of Fallout: New Vegas. This seems to be perfect timing as Bethesda continues to make blunder after blunder with Fallout 76. Bioware revealed a teaser for Dragon Age 4, which includes the voice of returning character Solas from DA: Inquisition. For fans of FPS games, post-apocalyptic trailers of Far Cry: New Dawn and Rage 2 were shown. Prefer fighting games? A gruesome cinematic befitting Mortal Kombat 11 revealed its April 23rd release date.

Taking a quick trip down memory lane, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is getting the remaster treatment and the Double Fine fans waiting for Psychonauts’ sequel need to see the story trailer if they haven’t already.

On the indie games front, Hello Games shows off their next charming game, The Last Campfire. Supergiant Games announced that Hades is available now in early access with more content to come post-launch. These were not all the premieres as this year’s Game Awards was laden with great reveals.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’m loving RDR2 and glad to see it collecting trophies. I’m happy that Monster Hunter Worlds won an award (it shouldn’t have been the RPG award) yet sad that our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man didn’t. The web-crawler seems to be this year’s Horizon: Zero Dawn. The world premiere that interested me the most is Hades by Supergiant Games. Transistor is my favourite indie game and their artwork is always beautiful to look at. Greek mythology looks incredible in their art style. Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds is a close second. New Vegas’ story, characters and their dialogue had so much character, so I can’t wait to see what their space opera brings to the table.

See all The Game Awards 2018’s finest moments here.

EPIC GAMES STORE TO USURP STEAM’S PC THRONE?

Epic Games Store is live! Could it be a viable competitor to the Steam marketplace? Can it disrupt the monopoly that Valve has on the PC platform? It has a real chance at doing this, especially since they have a huge user base thanks to Fortnite. Epic Games Store offers incentives to developers such as a 12% cut/commission from sales (Steam takes 30%) and it does not require digital rights management.

The Fortnite developer has also stated that they aim to provide a free game every fortnight. The first three games already available on the store (not including Fortnite and Unreal) are Ashen, Hades and Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek. Darksiders III is also on its way there on December 14th. Furthermore, Subnautica and Super Meat Boy will be playable for free for two weeks each. As if all that weren’t enough, Journey, the acclaimed game by thatgamecompany, will soon be branching out from its PS3/PS4 roots. It is confirmed to be coming to the Epic Games Store but no release date has been given yet.

If you’re a regular user of Steam, you may have heard of Steam Spy. It’s a site run by Sergey Galyonkin as a hobby. A site he uses to provide various statistics after taking in publicly-available data from Steam profiles since 2015. It turns out Sergey lives up to his site’s name as he has been working on the Epic Games Store for the past several years as Director of Publishing Strategy. His side project has given him valuable insight on Steam’s pitfalls, which has had direct influence in the layout and features that are and will be on Epic Games Store. For example, there are no forums available because developers did not want them due to the toxicity they bring.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve got the Epic Games Launcher installed due to tinkering with Unreal Engine 4. I’ll definitely be checking out the regular free games that’ll be available. If Hades for some reason never comes to PS4, then I’ll be getting it on the Epic Games Store I guess.

STRANGER THINGS SEASON 3: THE GAME

The hit Netflix show’s third season will be getting a game in a retro 16-bit graphic style. You play as the characters from the show, and it will follow the same events of Season 3 but with its own surprises.

This isn’t the first Stranger Things game. The developer of this game, BonusXP, made Stranger Things: The Game for the mobile platform. However, this new game will also be available on consoles. A release date hasn’t been given as yet, but it’s a fair bet to say it’ll be available in time for the show’s next season.

Shahan’s Opinion: I still need to see the show! I know I know… Well if you’re looking for a video game with a similar ‘80s vibe to Stranger Things, you need to check out Stories Untold! Four creepy short stories that’ll unnerve you like no other. I dare you to play it in the dark!

COUNTER STRIKE DOES BATTLE ROYALE

The success of Fortnite brought with it multiple games that have done their own take on the Battle Royale genre. Ring of Elysium adds a cool snowboarding twist to the formula. Cuisine Royale started off as an April Fool’s joke with all its kitchenware covering your body but it proved to gain its own fans. Even Call of Duty is following the trend with Blackout.

And so the era of Battle Royale games continues. Counter Strike has launched its own Battle Royale mode this week: CS:GO – Danger Zone. Alongside this release, Counter Strike: Global Offensive goes free-to-play as well. But they have added a new Prime status that you can upgrade your account to.

Shahan’s Opinion: Even though Battle Royale games don’t appeal to me personally, CS:GO Danger Zone’s use of drones is something I find legitimately cool. They are a form of supply drop you can order to you when you need equipment or ammo. But they show up on the map and are clearly visible in-game. So your enemies can spend precious bullets shooting it down to prevent you from getting much-needed supplies or follow it to confront you directly. It adds an interesting layer to the game.

GLOSSING OVER…

Bethesda Messes Up… AGAIN!

Bethesda Support has had a major digital security blunder. Several Fallout 76 customers’ personal information, including names, addresses, phone numbers and card details, have all been leaked.

Announcing: JP Games

Hajime Tabata (Final Fantasy XV Director and former studio head of Square Enix’s Luminous Productions) announces the establishment of a new company, JP Games. The business launch is intended for January 2019.

And the bestselling VR Headset is…

According to SuperData, PSVR has been announced as the year’s bestselling VR headset so far.

Thanks ever so much for reading!

We hope you have enjoyed reading our articles so far. Check us out again next week with more gaming news and views.

Red Dead Online Arrives

ISSUE 3 — 2 December 2018

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Top Story — RED DEAD ONLINE IS HERE!

The beta for Red Dead Online has now been rolled out to all players of Rockstar’s Wild West epic. The character creation element, in which you can make your own cowboy or -girl, is a great improvement from Grand Theft Auto Online’s ancestry system. It’s also a complete change from the first RDR’s online component.

On the other hand, the in-game economy has irked many fans. Various items in the online mode cost a lot more than in single-player and you don’t make that much money either. Reddit user ConvictedWaffles has pointed out in the Red Dead Redemption sub-reddit, the fact that you can sell a gold wedding ring for $1.15, but a can of baked beans costs $1.50!

In the near future there will be micro-transactions for Red Dead Online. Gold bars are a premium currency that will be purchasable with real money to pay for what you want in RDO. Gold bars can be obtained in-game, but it has been calculated by reddit user UnavailableIDs that it takes approximately 8-9 hours to earn 100 gold nuggets, which equates to a single gold bar. Be prepared for a long grind if you’re going to avoid spending real money on this in the future. Micro-transactions have been a worry for fans since GTA Online and the rising prices of its cars and items over the last five years. However, it is only in beta, so changes are likely to occur.

By the way, lassoing has finally made it into the multiplayer mode. Take a look for yourself in these clips!

RDO1
RDO2
RDO3

Shahan’s Opinion: Lookit! My pretty outlaw! Quick story: She’s alone at Twin Rocks looting the place for any worthwhile goods. After picking up some hair pomade off the table indoors, a guy tackles my cowgirl out of nowhere and chokes her out! Vengeance became top priority. After respawning, a headshot is inflicted on the perpetrator with the Carbine Repeater. It seems the fool had a friend, so she heads for the hills. They attempt to play smart and head for her from opposite directions. The Pump-Action Shotgun proves to be the perfect tool for the situation as they’re both summarily obliterated. She then rides off to start the next story mission. Conclusion: Griefers are very annoying but killing them is INCREDIBLY satisfying. And on occasion, they can be pretty funny too!

This Week’s Popular Choice — DARKSIDERS III

It made our headline last issue, and a couple of days later, it was released for purchase. The third instalment of the Darksiders series, with Fury and her steed Rampage taking the lead in the story, was released on 27th November. And the reviews, both from users and critics alike, have been very positive.

Many have praised the gameplay, though there seems to be a divide in opinion about the simplicity, with some reviews calling the game demanding, others remarking on its refreshing easiness. FromSoftware are infamous for their games’ challenging nature, in an age where many video games seem to hold their players’ hands. Perhaps they’ve acted on the feedback?

Shahan’s Opinion: I must confess. I’ve already spoiled a certain moment in the story by watching it on YouTube. I couldn’t help myself! I HAD to see them show off the fourth Horseman, Strife. He’s a badass. I have to get this.

Dale’s Opinion: I have to get this game, and the two before it. I love the sound of what Gunfire Games have done with the idea of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Plus, as was pointed out in last week’s issue, I have a bit of a thing for anti-heroines. And Fury is no exception…

New Character Spotlight — LUMA, BOOM BOOM AND PAULINE (Mario Tennis Aces)

The playable character roster for the Switch’s instalment of Mario Tennis is expanding further. A new wave of DLC characters was unveiled for Mario Tennis Aces earlier this week, revealing that Rosalina’s little friend Luma will be returning to the court, plus playable debuts for both Bowser’s henchman Boom Boom and the mayor of New Donk City herself, Pauline. All three are expected to be available for purchase from early 2019.

Shahan’s Opinion: Seeing how great this Mario sports games is looking, it makes me want Mario Strikers to return. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not much of a football fan. I don’t care for FIFA. But I remember having a blast with Mario Strikers Charged. Good times.

Dale’s Opinion: I have always loved the Mario sports spin-offs since I was a kid, primarily because they give you a chance to play characters you wouldn’t otherwise get to. Now that she’s back in the mainstream series, it was only a matter of time before Pauline became playable. Surprised we haven’t seen her slated for a Smash Bros. slot. I mean… if they’re giving it to a Piranha Plant…

PVP BATTLES IN POKÉMON GO

The popular augmented reality mobile game has been missing one of the most quintessential parts of the Pokémon experience; battling your fellow trainers. Niantic has announced via Twitter that PvP trainer battles are coming soon. Trainers will be using three of their Pokémon to go head-to-head against one another. Niantic has also shown that there will be three leagues to choose from and take part in; two of which have CP limits.

For anyone not up-to-date with Pokémon Go, Niantic added the ability to trade Pokémon in June and Generation IV Pokémon were introduced to the game back in October.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’ve not opened the app in a long while. Never caught a Dratini. Never got myself a Dragonair…

Dale’s Opinion: If and when I can be persuaded to get Pokémon Go, this idea will probably appeal to me. I was always in it for the head-to-head battles. Getting my competitive streak on.

UPCOMING GAMES TEASED IN THE GAME AWARDS TRAILER

The Game Awards are going to take place next week, hosted by its creator, Geoff Keighley of gaming journalism fame. He has posted a video to tease what’s in store for the big event. The clip contains snippets of the most hyped games that many gamers are waiting for, including Cyberpunk 2077, The Last of Us 2 and Death Stranding. The Game Awards this year will include appearances from Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz, the Russo Brothers (directors of The Avengers), the Duffer Brothers (creators of Stranger Things) and gaming YouTubers/streamers Pokimane, Ninja and Jacksepticeye, as well as other key figures of the gaming industry.

Shahan’s Opinion: I’m rooting for RDR2, Spider-Man and Monster Hunter World to win awards. I’ll have my fingers crossed for more details on Cyberpunk 2077. Maybe, just maybe even a release date!

STARDEW VALLEY DEVELOPER MOVING TO SELF-PUBLISHING

Concerned Ape, creator of Stardew Valley (one of the most popular indie games of the generation), is going to take up the role of publisher, in addition to being the developer. Specifically, he will be the publisher of Stardew Valley on the PC, Xbox, PS4 and PSVita platforms.

Chucklefish, his publisher beforehand, will continue in their role for the game on Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms. You can read the announcement including a statement from Chucklefish on the Stardew Valley developer blog.

Shahan’s Opinion: This can be seen as a success story for anyone who’s creating a game by their lonesome. I’ve not played Stardew Valley myself. I would not have thought it’d be a game for me but that was before Dale introduced me to the incredibly charming Animal Crossing series. The farming aspect and my soft spot for classic RPG graphics makes Stardew Valley a game I NEED to get to at some point!

GLOSSING OVER…

No Superman game from Rocksteady

The developers of the acclaimed Batman Arkham series have made it clear they will not be making an announcement at The Game Awards. Sefton Hill, game director and co-founder of Rocksteady Games, has tweeted as such and he also pointed out that whenever their current project is ready to show, it will prove not to be a Superman game.

Telltale’s Minecraft: Story Mode launches on Netflix

This is Telltale Games’ final project: a Netflix version of their episodic take on Minecraft. It has been adapted to be playable on the streaming service, so characters can’t be controlled and there are no QTEs to get through. The focus is on the decisions you make during the story.

Bethesda Continue to Make Mistakes?

It just keeps getting better for Bethesda. Consumers are now disappointed with the bag that comes with the Power Armor Edition of Fallout 76. As an apology, Bethesda are offering 500 Atoms (virtual currency) to affected accounts with proof of purchase.

Thank you for reading!

Please visit us again next week when we’ll have more gaming news and views for you. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read so far, please like and comment!

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!