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!
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