Nintendo Labo

BAFTA Games Awards 2019 Special

ISSUE 17 — 7 April 2019

by Shahan Ahmed and Dale Hurst

Special Feature: BAFTA GAMES AWARDS 2019

The 15th British Academy Games Awards was held this week at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. The event was hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain. This year, a new category was introduced: the EE Mobile Game of the Year award. It may be similar to the Mobile Game award, but unlike it and the other categories, this one is voted for by the public instead of the BAFTA committee and the trophy is a solid yellow rather than the standard golden mask.

God of War took home the most awards (with a total of five) including the coveted Best Game award. The list below shows the winner of each category. Check this page for all of the nominees that came close to winning an award.

Award

Winner
Artistic Achievement Return of the Obra Dinn
Audio Achievement God of War
Best Game God of War
British Game Forza Horizon 4
Debut Game Yoku’s Island Express
Evolving Game Fortnite
Family Nintendo Labo
Game Beyond Entertainment My Child Lebensborn
Game Design Return of the Obra Dinn
Game Innovation Nintendo Labo
Mobile Game  Florence
Multiplayer A Way Out
Music God of War
Narrative God of War
Original Property Into the Breach
Performer Jeremy Davis
EE Mobile Game of the Year (voted for by the public) Old School Runescape

Shahan’s Opinion: It has reminded me to try and get around to certain games (God of War and A Way Out) as well as putting some on my radar (Return of the Obra Dinn and Florence).

Dale’s Opinion: Working for or at least being involved with BAFTA is something of a dream job for me so it has been good to look at the Games section of their awards. I’ll be keeping a close eye in future…

New Character Spotlight: KOLLECTOR (Mortal Kombat 11)

The newest fighter to join the day one roster of Mortal Kombat 11 has been shown. Kollector will make his debut in MK11, which releases on the 23rd of this month. He is said to value his own wealth and status.

Kollector works for Shao Kahn and collects tributes for him like a form of tax. Similar to Goro and Kintaro, he has four arms. Two are out in front while the other two are in his backpack ready to bring out what he has collected to fight his opponent with. Not afraid to get close while also having ranged attacks plus the ability to teleport? Kollector will no doubt be a strong fighter to contend with.

Right before Kollector, another character was shown this week. Namely, Cetrion – an Elder Goddess with control over the elements. Her power to use ice, fire and earth comes from her bond to the Earth. Check her out on this GameInformer video.

Shahan’s Opinion: Kollector is one of the more unique characters in the MK11’s roster and Cetrion’s fatality is out of this world!

Dale’s Opinion: He is definitely a character I can see me playing a lot. That is, if I get the game when it comes out…

BORDERLANDS 3 IS AN EPIC STORE EXCLUSIVE

After the positive reactions to Borderlands 3’s unveiling, some bad news has arisen. Epic Games continues to upset PC gamers as they acquire exclusivity rights to Borderlands 3’s launch. Steam users will still be able to obtain the game, but they’ll have to wait six months after BL3’s release date of 19th September 2019. To be clear, console gamers are unaffected.

Shortly the review bombing was underway on Borderlands 2’s Steam page. However, for the first time, Valve is now actually taking action against it. They have introduced a system to mark ‘off-topic review activity’ that excludes reviews that are deemed to be review bombs. Users are able to disable this feature in their settings. Valve has promised to manually check detected review bombs for any reviews that shouldn’t be hidden.

Going back to some good news for Borderlands. After the trailer for Borderlands 3 dropped, the player count on all Borderlands games on Steam increased by over quadruple. Also BL3’s box art and its different editions have been revealed and ready for pre-orders.

Shahan’s Opinion: Even though I’ll be getting this on console for the split-screen co-op, the Epic Store exclusivity is a bummer. This is likely going to be a continuing trend for PC releases in the near-future. Will Valve do anything to entice publishers and developers and prevent delayed releases to Steam…? Time will tell.

BIOWARE’S ISSUES WITH ANTHEM AND THE PRESS

Kotaku has done an impressive article covering Bioware’s woes regarding Anthem. Stemming from the project initially being named Beyond; a name with meaning that was relevant to the premise. Changing it to Anthem caused confusion amongst those who worked on the game. The article goes on to discuss more last-minute changes like this, as well as the game’s being panned by fans and critics alike, plus many more issues. From understaffed departments to tension between two studio locations, difficulties with EA’s Frostbite engine and much more. Staff went on stress leave and some never came back; they were termed as ‘stress casualties’. It was also quoted that:

“Depression and anxiety are an epidemic within Bioware…”

Read the story for more — it’s a long but fascinating read.

In response to the article, the studio’s management did not discuss the topic with members of staff. Rather, the company sent out emails saying, “Don’t talk to the press.” Following this revelation, Bioware’s Casey Hudson sent out an email to all in the studio that an all-hands meeting will take place discussing all of the raised issues.

Bioware has written a response to the article that you can read here. But it has been speculated that the time they had posted their response means that they must not have read the lengthy piece. Polygon have also weighed in on the issue.

Shahan’s Opinion: Revealing such damaging work environments is important otherwise nothing will be done for the well-being of those who work in the gaming industry.

ENTER THE GUNGEON: A FAREWELL TO ARMS LAUNCHES

Dodge Roll’s bullet hell dungeon crawler got its final update: Enter the Gungeon: A Farewell to Arms. The update is free and available on all platforms you can play the game on (PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One). New features include:

  • Two new characters: The Paradox and The Gunslinger.
  • New guns, items and synergies.
  • Rainbow Mode – community inspired mode where each floor offers a rainbow chest but only one gun/item can be picked.
  • New secret floor w/ unique enemies and boss.
  • Starting weapons have new alternate art to unlock.
  • New Beholster shrine.
  • Pet the dog!

Various changes and improvements have been made to the gameplay as well.

Shahan’s Opinion: I don’t have the precision or reflexes for bullet hell games like Enter the Gungeon. Nevertheless, it is awesome to see games getting additional content without the devs charging for every new character or weapon. Excited to see what their next project will be.

GLOSSING OVER…

Netflix Announces “Playing Hard”

A documentary will be released on Netflix later this year entitled Playing Hard. It will be an in-depth look into the four-year production process of the game For Honor.

Yet Another UK Game Setting

Not only will the setting for the upcoming Pokémon games be loosely based on the UK; Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 3 has also been announced to be set in London.

Microsoft to Investigate Historic Sexual Harassment Claims

A recent employee uproar and human resources nightmare has gone on at Microsoft recently. Relating to historic and otherwise-overlooked sexual harassment complaints. In response, Microsoft has begun investigations into these claims.

PLAYING THIS WEEK…

Dale has been playing…

PIKMIN (2001) (GAMECUBE)

On a real GameCube nostalgia trip these days. When I found and played ZooCube a couple of weeks ago, I also found the disc for Pikmin in there, which to my amazement worked just fine. It had been aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages since I played it last so it was virtually all new to me again. And then I remembered it is so addictive, so fun and so infuriating all at the same time.

“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.