Those who've yet to purchase Capcom's acclaimed horror game Resident Evil 7 will have a chance to pick up the entire experience in one package. Today, the publisher announced Resident Evil 7: Gold Edition, which is releasing for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC this December.
Like other "definitive" collections, Gold Edition includes the base game and its three DLC expansions: Banned Footage Vol. 1, Banned Footage Vol. 2, and the forthcoming End of Zoe, which releases alongside the package. Capcom describes End of Zoe as a "shocking installment" in which players will learn the fate of Jack and Marguerite's daughter following the events of the main game. The DLC will take players through new swamp environments and pit them against new enemies.
Also releasing alongside the Gold Edition is the delayed Not a Hero DLC. This free expansion was originally slated to launch this past spring, but it was pushed back in order to improve the DLC so that it could "match the high quality of the main game," according to game director Koshi Nakanishi. Not a Hero takes place after Resident Evil 7 and stars series veteran Chris Redfield, who will have to face the "horrors that lurk underneath the Baker's mansion."
Resident Evil 7: Gold Edition and the End of Zoe DLC expansion both launch on December 12. Players who own the game's season pass will receive End of Zoe for no additional cost; everyone else will be able to purchase it separately $15/£12.
Sony has revealed the latest selection of PlayStation Store deals for the US. Headlining this week's batch of discounts is a Bandai Namco sale, which offers PS4, PS3, and Vita owners savings on many of the publisher's titles.
PS4 players have the wider range of deals to choose from. Most notably, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin and Dark Souls III are both on sale in the PlayStation Store this week. The former retails for $12, and the standard edition of the latter costs $24. PS4 owners can also pick up the Dark Souls III: Deluxe Edition for $42.49, while the game's season pass runs for $15.
Beyond those titles, RPG fans can download Tales of Berseria for $36. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is also on sale; the standard game retails for $36, while its Deluxe Edition cots $54. Some other notable discounts include:
Beyond the Bandai Namco sale, players can find discounts on the Farming Simulator series, including the latest PS4 installment, Farming Simulator 17, for $25. The sales are available until 8 AM PT/11 AM ET on September 12. You can find the full list of this week's game deals on here.
Sony has also begun its "Day 1 Digital" promotion, which gives players a 20% coupon when they purchase two or more recent or upcoming titles like Destiny 2 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy from the PlayStation Store. The offer runs until November 7; you can find a list of eligible games here.
Destiny 2 doesn't officially launch on PS4 and Xbox One until tomorrow, September 5, but some lucky players are in ahead of schedule. Bungie has apparently brought the servers online, allowing certain people to play early.
Before you go racing to your console to check, digital copies (except for those intended for reviewing the game) are exempt from this. But if you've somehow gotten your hands on an early physical copy, you can also start playing right now, according to reports from numerous players on places like Reddit. As such, you may want to be wary of spoilers, as there will undoubtedly be those who rush through the game and talk about it online. Of course, spoilers have already been circulating due to a number of leaks, including one that revealed all of Destiny 2's Exotics.
For everyone else, Destiny 2 unlocks at midnight in your respective region. That means, for instance, that those on the west coast in the United States can start playing at 9 PM PT tonight. But whether you get in early or not, everyone will be waiting for the Raid and Trials, which don't unlock until next week. The first Nightfall Strike, however, is available immediately.
Our Destiny 2 review-in-progress is now live, and we'll be playing more now that the game is live in order to deliver a full review. You can also check out our rundown on Destiny 2's five biggest changes for more of an idea for what to expect once you get online.
FIFA 18 is launching on Switch simultaneously with its PS4, Xbox One, PC, and last-gen counterparts, but because of EA's somewhat short-lived support of portable FIFA games and of Nintendo consoles in the past, some fans worried this would be the first and last football game available on the console.
However, in an interview with GameSpot, FIFA supervising producer Andrei Lazarescu said he believes the series will return to Switch after FIFA 18. When asked whether we'll see more FIFA games on Nintendo's new console after this year's edition, he replied, "I think we are going to see more FIFA on Switch in the future."
"The Journey is a mode powered by Frostbite [the engine that current-gen versions of the game run on], it only exists because of Frostbite--they are not separate. You can't just [put it on Switch] without taking the whole Frostbite engine. So because this doesn't have Frostbite, it doesn't have The Journey."
When asked if a future edition of FIFA on Switch could include the mode, Lazarescu replied: "If we moved the [Switch] game over to Frostbite, then yes it could happen. But I don't know if that's going to happen. Frostbite is a very different beast."
Finally, despite previous reports that FIFA on Switch would lose functionality seen in other versions when playing with just one Joy-Con, Lazarescu informed us that different button combinations and modifiers mean only skill moves are lost when playing with a friend.
"[When playing with one Joy-Con,] obviously you don't have the [right] stick, he said. "You don't have as many buttons, [and] you only have the two bumpers, instead of triggers and bumpers. We created a custom scheme for this, called Four Button Mode. The advantage of it, is that with just one console, you can play FIFA 1v1, without buying anything else.
"You can knock the ball ahead of you by double tapping the sprint button. [For chipped shots and finesse shots,] you can use modifiers--[but] you can't use skill moves.
"Is this the ideal way to play the game? No," Lazarescu declared. "It's just a way for people to play the game."
We played the portable version of this year's football behemoth at E3, and you can check out our FIFA 18 on Switch impressions here. The version does include Ultimate Team, which EA revealed last month. The popular multiplayer mode will include a new feature called Stories, in which classic players will receive three rare cards for different stages in their career. Lots more is coming to FUT this year--check out all the new features here.
FIFA 18 was first revealed in June, and it launches for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on September 29. Customers who preorder the Ronaldo Edition or Icon Edition will get to play it three days early, while EA Access and Origin Access members can enjoy a 10-hour trial on Xbox One/PC starting September 21.
Blood Orchid's main features include three new Operators: Ying, Lesion, and Ela. The former two match the expansion's Hong Kong theme, while Ela is a carryover from the canceled Poland update. All three are available now for Year 2 season pass holders, while everyone else will be able to purchase them beginning on September 12. The new map, Theme Park, on the other hand, is playable for free now for all players.
Alongside the new content, there's a wide variety of fixes, changes, and improvements also included in this version 3.0 update. As detailed in the Blood Orchid patch notes, weapons have been rebalanced, lighting has been improved, and facial animations (among many other visual details) have been enhanced. New servers are being implemented that "bring significant improvements to stability, connectivity, FPS, rubberbanding, and overall performance." Additionally, a new physics system will further mitigate rubberbanding, as well as teleporting.
Blood Orchid caps off Operation Health, the series of updates intended to improve nagging issues with the game. Although Operation Health will be done after this, Ubisoft vowed to continue addressing problem areas. "In the future, we are still keeping the core pillars to focus on game optimization, top community issues reported by the community, and improving player experience. The groundwork in Operation Health will help us to continue to improve the game for the distant future."
With Destiny 2's release coming up in a matter of hours, Bungie has answered more key details about the launch and more. Starting off, Bungie confirmed when the game's servers will go live: it'll be a rolling midnight release across the world. In other words, you can start playing at 12 AM on September 6 in your country. In the US, this means the servers will unlock at midnight ET, while Australia and other regions can play right now. While Destiny 2 won't unlock until September 6, people on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can begin pre-loading now.
Bungie also confirmed when Destiny 2's first Nightfall Strikes, Raid, and Trials will launch. The Nightfall Strikes will be available right away, while the Raid kicks off at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST on September 13 (3 AM AET on September 14 in Australia). Trials will become available at the same time on September 15 (16 in Australia).
Bungie is intentionally not sharing any details on Destiny 2's first Raid. "If you have witnessed the race to become the first to topple the final boss, you know we keep Raid info well under wraps," Bungie said. "These are your moments to discover--your mysteries to solve. We've given you the when. You will soon discover the who, the what, and the where. Together, as a team, you might even discover the how."
We also learned that Destiny 2's Guided Games system won't be available until September 12 at 10 AM PT. This will be rolled out as part of what Bungie is calling a "soft beta," in that only some players can get in at the start. Guided Games is a new feature coming to Destiny 2 that will help solo players link up with Clans to tackle the most profound challenges in the game as a Fireteam.
"This will allow us to slowly ramp up players over the course of September (and allow Clan populations to grow) so that everyone has a great experience," Bungie said. "During the Guided Games Beta period, we need your Clans to fully test the system at scale. All Clans will be able to guide solo players, so once you've mastered the Nightfall, Fireteam up and guide solo players to the highest heights."
Here is a breakdown of when the Guided Games feature will begin:
Nightfall Guided Games Beta: September 12th, 10AM PT
30-50% of players will be given seeker access, depending on clan participation in Destiny 2 during the first week.
Nightfall and Raid Guided Games: September 26th, 10AM PT
Target: 100% of players will be given seeker access.
While we can all keep our fingers crossed for a smooth launch, Destiny 2's release is likely to be huge. As such, the influx of players may bring with it something that MMO players are used to seeing at new game or expansion launches: server queues.
With Destiny 2's servers online and more countries getting in, Bungie has warned that players may not be able to immediately access the game. In order to "regulate player population to provide stable conditions for Destiny gameplay," server queues can pop up in Destiny 2 just as they could in the previous game. In other words, you may have to wait in line before you can play.
A page on Bungie's website notes that these queues are separate from the original Destiny, so don't blame your friend still playing that game if you get stuck in line. Bungie also points out several things you'll want to be aware of--namely, that you shouldn't back out of a queue in an attempt to speed things up, because you'll then start at the back of the line. Here's what Bungie says:
If a player loses connection or is removed from the queue, their placement will not be retained
If a player reaches the front of this queue and is unable to connect to Destiny servers, they will have to re-enter the queue to try again
Queue times may vary, depending on server traffic and concurrent population
Creating a brand new Pennywise may have been the most difficult task the filmmakers behind It faced. Say what you want about the 1990 mini-series version overall, but there's no denying that Tim Curry's portrayal of the murderous clown is downright iconic.
There was one thing the 2017 movie's producers and director knew all along: They didn't want to attempt to recreate Tim Curry's version of Pennywise.
"[We knew] we were going to have to honor and not get close to the Tim Curry performance, which we all remember. I had never seen anything like that on TV. It scared the hell out of me," It Producer Seth Grahame-Smith told GameSpot during group interviews in Los Angeles. "That's an iconic performance, and that's Pennywise in people's minds."
"People did come in [to audition] with very similar takes to the Tim Curry version. It definitely was not the direction we were looking to go in," added Producer David Katzenberg. "We couldn't touch Tim Curry, and we knew that we had to reimagine what our Pennywise was going to look like and sound like."
That's where actor Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Grove, Atomic Blonde) and It director Andy Muschietti came in. Skarsgard told GameSpot he can't even remember what was going through his head when he first auditioned. "It feels like a lifetime ago," he said. But he recalled that the city of Los Angeles was buzzing about the role.
"The audition itself was something that I was really excited for. The entire city of LA, actors, were just excited about the read, because it was just room for so much creativity. I've never had a role like this," he said. "I spent three days just playing around with different things and voices and facial expressions to figure out something that was unique to me and something that I could enhance."
Muschietti gravitated to Skarsgard immediately, even before the producers came on board with his unique vision for Pennywise.
"I picked him because I saw him in the audition and he blew my mind, basically. Without any direction or anything he brought something that I was looking for, which was the madness, the sense of madness and unpredictability," Muschietti said. "[Pennywise] is bait, basically, disguising himself as something that is sweet and cute, but there's something very, very dark about him. And that's the balance that Bill brings. He's wired like that, and the performance he chose to bring to that first reading already contained that."
"For us, what jumped out about Bill was he was clearly going to commit to it in a total mind, body, and spirit manner. The things that he can do with his face, with his body, that he showed us even early on, the things that he can do with his voice," Grahame-Smith explained. "Andy saw something in him that it took the rest of us an extra beat to see."
Where Tim Curry's Pennywise is instantly recognizable by his gruff New York accent, Skarsgard's take is decidedly more infantile. His face can seem downright cherubic--before his teeth start to come out, at least. That new look is close to some concept sketches Muschietti created early on, the director said. Overall, Pennywise's new appearance and Skarsgard's performance work in tandem to lend the new Pennywise an air of innocence that makes his explosions of violence all the more terrifying.
And there's the drool, my personal favorite new dimension to Pennywise's menace. Lustrous, goopy globs of saliva drip from the clown's mouth constantly. And that was all Skarsgard.
"Just ask Jack Grazer [who played Eddie] if he's really drooling," said Grahame-Smith. "That's the first day we shot with Pennywise--in the kitchen, when he's hovering over Jack, about to bite his face off, and drooling, drooling. And this is how great our kids are: When he was drooling on Jack's face, Jack just went "PTOOEY!" and spit right in his face. These kids are not afraid!"
Skarsgard's Pennywise is terrifying, but not in the same way as Curry's. Skarsgard has his own ideas when it comes to what scares people, and he brought a unique energy to the role.
"What scares me is unpredictability," he said, yelling that last word to make the reporters in the room jump. "You know when you're about to pop a balloon?...It's this tension of explosiveness that's about to happen."
Suffice to say, Skarsgard nailed that particular aspect. See for yourself when It hits theaters this Friday, Sept. 8. Watch out for our full review soon.
In honor of Rick And Morty Season 3, we're giving away a Birdperson Funko Pop! One (1) winner will be chosen after the giveaway closes on Sunday, September 10th at 12:00PM PT.
Open to US residents only, void where prohibited. If you do not win this time, you'll be automatically entered in the next giveaway.
Enter below (the additional entries are optional to increase your chances of winning):
Today is the first Tuesday of the month, and that means new PlayStation Plus games are now available on PS4, PS3, and Vita. Plus subscribers have a lot to look forward to this month, as there is more than the usual selection of six games across the three platforms.
PS4 owners, in particular, are in for a treat, as they'll receive five games this month. Infamous: Second Son and Strike Vector EX (or Child of Light, if you're in Europe) represent the normal lineup for the platform, but both Vita games--Hatoful Boyfriend and We Are Doomed--support Cross-Buy with PS4. Additionally, PSVR game Rigs will be free for the next two months. PS3 owners, meanwhile, get just two games: Handball 16 and Truck Racer.
These games will remain free for Plus members until October 3 (except for Rigs, which will be free until November 7). As yet another added bonus on PS4, Plus members will be able to play Dead by Daylight for free from September 15-18. It will also be on sale for 30% from then until September 22. A free Neverwinter Plus pack will be available from September 16 through October 16.
You can claim September's freebies from the PlayStation Store on your system or through the official website here. A full list of games follows below.
Ubisoft has announced it's expanding its operations in Quebec and plans to create 1,000 new jobs in the Canadian province by 2027. The company made the announcement earlier today, revealing its plans to open a brand-new studio in Saguenay, east of Montreal. The studio, which plans to hire around 125 people, will focus on online services and technologies.
"We are entrusting Ubisoft Saguenay with a mandate that is resolutely focused on the future," said Yannis Mallat, CEO of the Ubisoft Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto studios. "The development of connected experiences that allow millions of players to meet and interact on online game platforms is a leading growth and innovation driver not only for Ubisoft, but for the entire video game industry as a whole."
Ubisoft's Montreal and Quebec City studios are responsible for the Assassin's Creed series and games like Far Cry Primal, Far Cry 4, and Watch Dogs 2. In today's announcement, both of those studios announced they'd be expanding with the addition of 675 and 200 jobs, respectively. Ubisoft also said it will be opening yet another studio, somewhere in Quebec, in the future.
Rockstar has announced the latest batch of rewards and bonuses for Grand Theft Auto V. This week, players can earn extra cash and RP from GTA Online's new Motor Wars mode, as well as snag discounts on some powerful cars and vehicle armor.
From today until September 11, players can earn double GTA$ and RP by playing Motor Wars, a new Adversary mode that was introduced in last week's free Smuggler's Run expansion. Motor Wars drops four teams of up to 28 players into a warzone and has them vying for control of a weaponized vehicle while the battleground shrinks around them.
All players who log in this week will receive a free Shrewsbury logo t-shirt. You can also get a 25% discount on the following vehicles and vehicle armor:
Pegassi Reaper
Progen Itali GTB (base price + upgrade)
Imponte Nightshade
Invetero Coquette Classic (both models)
Bravado Half-Track (both prices)
Body Armor
Vehicle Armor including Aircraft
Bulletproof Tires
Standard Ammo (does not include Mk II specific ammo)
Finally, the Premium Race this week is Criss Cross, which is restricted to the Ruiner 2000. As usual, all players will earn triple RP, but those who finish within the top three will earn a hefty GTA$ payout. The Time Trial during the same timeframe is Route 68. Players who manage to best the target time will receive a significant GTA$ and RP reward.
With Destiny 2's launch upon us, the release of Kotaku news editor Jason Schreier's new book, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, has dived into the rocky development of the original game. Along with many other things, it reveals an early version of Destiny apparently shared a lot in common with what would become Blizzard's Overwatch.
Known as Project Tiger at the time, Destiny went through many different forms in the late 2000s, as reported in Blood, Sweat, and Pixels. While seeking to outdo its work on the Halo series, among the concepts Bungie came up with were those that resembled Blizzard's Diablo and Overwatch--or, rather, Titan, the MMO that Blizzard was working on at the time and would ultimately be canceled, with many of its ideas turning into Overwatch.
Jaime Griesemer, a designer on the first three Halo games who came up with the idea of Bungie creating a shared-world shooter, recounted his discovery of the similarities between Titan and the early iteration of Destiny: "I went to Blizzard for a while, and played Titan, and I was like, 'Holy s***, you guys are working on the same game, down to character classes.'" Destiny would end up being a much different game, but at the time, Bungie hadn't even yet decided on a first- or third-person perspective.
Griesemer also recalled how there were multiple total resets on Destiny, as Bungie was intent on creating something that would be bigger than Halo. The game increasingly became more Halo-like, which is something Griesemer had hoped to avoid from the start. He spoke out later about perceived issued with the project, hoping to "obstruct things to the point where they're either going to have to change [the way] they're going or get rid of me." Bungie's board of directors opted for the latter, asking him to resign.
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels releases today. It dives much further into the creation of Destiny, along with nine other games, including Star Wars 1313, The Witcher 3, and Uncharted 4. It's well worth a read for anyone with an interest in game development; it's a fascinating read and doesn't require you to have any knowledge about how the industry operates. It focuses a great deal on individuals and the challenges they face, and like any look behind the curtain, it will invariably result in you wondering how games ever actually end up being released.
It's the beginning of September, which means Xbox Live Gold members can now pick up more free Xbox One and Xbox 360 games as part of the Games With Gold program. Two new games are now free, with another two coming soon.
Later in the month, Oxenfree will go free on Xbox One and Battlefield 3 for Xbox 360. Xbox 360 Games With Gold titles play on Xbox One through backwards compatibility.
Update: It turns out the reason that North America and Europe's PlayStation Plus lineups were so different is because the former list included the wrong games. All four games for PS3 and Vita were announced incorrectly; PS3 owners will actually get Truck Racer and Handball 16, while Vita owners receive We Are Doomed and Hatoful Boyfriend. Both Vita games support PS4 Cross-Buy. We've updated the list at the bottom of this post with the correct games. The original story follows.
With August drawing to a close, it's nearly time for the next batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers to arrive. Sony today announced what titles will be offered in North America next month, and it includes another six spread across PS4, PS3, and Vita.
On PS4, Plus members get Strike Vector EX and Infamous: Second Son. The former is a first-person air combat game, while Second Son is the third game in the Infamous series, and the first released on PS4. It stars a new character and isn't to be confused with its spin-off, First Light, which was free through Plus back in January 2015. Additionally, from September 5 through November 7, PSVR owners will get Rigs for free.
Both of Vita's games, Hue and Sky Force Anniversary support PS4 Cross-Buy, getting players on that platform a total of five games in September. PS3 gets three games: Monster Jam Battlegrounds and Hustle Kings, as well as Sky Force Anniversary (which also features PS3 Cross-Buy).
As an added bonus on PS4, Plus members will be able to play Dead by Daylight for free from September 15-18. It will also be on sale for 30% from then until September 22. A free Neverwinter Plus pack will be available from September 16 through October 16.
Notably, this is the first month in a while that the PS Plus list for Europe differs from the one for North America; you can see Europe's free PS Plus games for September here.
The new batch of freebies arrives next Tuesday, September 5. August's free PS Plus games remain available until then; if you haven't already, you can still claim them. There are some really fun games included, such as Just Cause 3 and Downwell.
I've spent around 20 hours playing Destiny 2, covering the majority of the story missions, dozens of side activities, a Strike, and a handful of rounds in the Crucible. I still have a lot more to go, and I'll be documenting my progress over the next few days as I play more. So far, Destiny 2 builds on the original in smart ways that make me excited to keep playing.
My first impression of Destiny 2 was that it was barely distinguishable from the first game. The things I loved about Destiny--the exhilaration of nailing a precision kill, the satisfaction of shooting each weapon--and things I didn't like as much, namely its inherently repetitive nature. But the more I played, the more I noticed that some of Destiny's other problems have been fixed.
I haven't finished the main story yet, but so far it's a clear improvement over Destiny's much-maligned storytelling. Like the beta, Destiny 2 begins with an attack on The Tower by a Cabal faction called the Red Legion. But rather than being thrust into situations with little to no context, as was so often the case in Destiny, each mission of the Red War arc has objectives that make sense within both the mission itself and the grand scheme. Locating a missing Cayde-6, for example, is important to the fight against the Red Legion, since he's a powerful Hunter. But fighting waves of Vex to get to him also makes sense, as he's trapped in a Vex teleporter, and that small bit of context makes that moment feel distinct from others where you're killing the same enemies.
Your Ghost also does a better job of introducing you to enemies like the Fallen and Vex, provided you didn't port your character over from Destiny (in which case the dialogue is supposed to be different, though we haven't tested it yet). Destiny has some fascinating and complicated lore, and giving you the foundation necessary to understand it works in Destiny 2's favor.
That goes well in tandem with Destiny 2's new-and-improved Patrol zones. There are four new destinations: Earth's European Dead Zone, Nessus, Titan, and Io. When you touch down, you have many more options for what to do, and it's surprising how far that goes toward breaking up the repetition. You can do a regular, quick-and-dirty Patrol, or you can embark on a longer Adventure, completing a series of objectives for better rewards. There are also the new Lost Sectors, which are essentially dungeons that forgo structured objectives for bosses and loot chests.
Both Adventures and Lost Sectors take you to far-flung areas of the map and often include a healthy bit of backstory. Because of that, it feels like you're doing something of substance, rather than a series of menial tasks. One Adventure had me setting up comms for refugees of the Last City, which then led me to fighting off a horde of Fallen that were jamming the signals. It felt more important than just killing a Fallen Leader in some random area of the map with no purpose other than to get XP and a bit of loot.
My favorite change, though, is a small one that greatly impacted how I play. The old weapon categories--primary, special, and heavy--have been replaced by kinetic, energy, and power. Weapons are sorted a bit differently, and what were previously primary weapons can show up in both your kinetic and energy slots. Kinetics have no special attributes, while energy weapons can take on the arc, solar, or void energies and are better for taking down enemies' shields. For me, this meant switching my weapon more often based on the situation and using weapon types I never used in Destiny 1. I already loved the feedback loop of Destiny's shooting and spongy enemies, and that small bit of variety made me love it even more. (This is subject to change the more I play, however.)
Of course, all of this still feels like Destiny. The new social space, the Farm, is functionally the same as the Tower in the original. Finding loot and switching out your old gear still takes up a significant portion of your time. Enemies have been tweaked, but they're not wildly different, either. That's not necessarily bad, but it also makes me wonder if I'll see Destiny 2 as a sequel, rather than a half-step forward, the longer I play and the more I grind and repeat.
Because my time with the game began prior to launch at a Bungie event, I am starting fresh at launch like everyone else. After I've caught up to my previous progress, I can finally look forward to finishing the campaign and seeing how the story wraps up. Of course, I also need to spend a significant amount of time with Strikes, the Crucible, and eventually the Raid. In short, there's a lot of Destiny 2 left to play before I can deliver my final review. Until then, check GameSpot every day for a brief look at my progress and thoughts on Destiny 2 as I go.
Disclosure: Kallie played Destiny 2 at a three-day event in Seattle, WA organized by Activision. GameSpot paid for travel and accommodations.
If there's a single word to describe Destiny 2, it's disruption. In the sequel to Bungie's popular shared-world shooter, the Guardians of Earth have finally met their match with a new villain who's got his eyes on The Traveler. Our heroes, with their powers stripped away and all their gear destroyed, are pushed back to square one and have to relearn what it means to be a true Guardian of the Light. Though it's sad to see our valuable Exotics fade into the ether, this turns out to be a blessing, as the next adventure for our characters will bring new challenges, new rewards, and an even greater feeling of satisfaction when succeeding in the next big battle.
Though the general grind in Destiny 2 is the same as in the previous game, there are a number of major differences. During our extensive hands-on time before the launch of the game, we saw the many tweaks and additions coming to the game's core pillars, and how different it'll be compared to the years spent in the original Destiny. Let's take a look at five of the biggest changes in Destiny 2.
1. A More Directed and Focused Story
In Destiny 1, the story focused on re-establishing the influence of the Guardians, while battling the different enemy factions and dealing with the looming presence of the enigmatic force known as The Darkness. While its narrative was undoubtedly built on a universe with a vast history that had a lot of thought put into it, the story often struggled with conveying those ideas, opting for a more fragmented and episodic take to telling its story. With the sequel, Bungie has gone with a traditional approach for a more consistent narrative--gradually fleshing out its key characters and locales, and giving them the moments they deserve.
First referenced in The Taken King mission "Outbound Signal," the main antagonist of Destiny 2 is the Cabal Emperor Dominus Ghaul. Unlike the first game, which struggled to fully convey what role The Darkness played in the broader story--the warlord behind the Red Legion is a tangible character with story beats revealing why he came to Earth to find the Traveler, and what his plans are with its power. If you're a returning Guardian, the story will essentially pick up where you left off after Rise of Iron--assuming you already know who is who, and what you're fighting for. For the new Guardians, you'll gradually be introduced to the enemy factions and allies with slightly altered dialog and scenes to accommodate first timers to the Destiny fiction. In addition to a more well-rounded and developed campaign, finishing the main story will open up Destiny 2's broader end-game content, which the developers claim is where the story and many of its plot setups will pay off.
2. Rebalanced Gear and Engram System
To say that Destiny had a somewhat troubled approach to rewarding players would be putting it mildly. Players would famously come up with odd solutions to game the system, even going as far as to endlessly shoot into a cave filled with monsters to collect the clutter of engrams amassing on the ground. Destiny went through several overhauls over its first year and beyond--making great strides in The Taken King expansion--before it found a sense of equilibrium. In Destiny 2, the loot system has been revised even further, focusing more on keeping players in the action. Better gear comes in a steady stream, and generally won't come encrypted--enabling Guardians to improve their loadout on the fly, lessening the hassle of dragging loads of encrypted engrams to the Cryptarch.
Moreover, random rolls for weapons and armor have been dropped, ditching the frustration of finding a rare weapon with lousy perks. There are also more opportunities and ways to find new gear: Rewards come from high-profile targets that drop loot cases, Lost Sectors, along with turning in tokens and completing tasks for each planet's faction. When unlocking loot, you'll no longer have to undergo bizarre rituals to ensure you get the best outcome. Overall gear power in your entire inventory will be factored in, making switching over to your most powerful gear unnecessary. Furthermore, encrypted engrams are more rare, and only a maximum of ten can be held at any given time. Encrypted engrams only come in the form of Legendary, Exotic, and the new Bright Engrams, which we'll get into later.
3. Exploration
When it comes to exploration, Destiny 2 will make better use of your time in the open areas on each planet. While one of the main draws of Destiny 1 was about the exploration of planets and interstellar locales--and of course shooting tons of enemies--it often felt limited in scope with its focus on repeating daily missions and Patrols. Places like Destiny 2's European Dead Zone--the largest map in a Destiny game--are filled with new diversions and opportunities that make each location feel more fleshed out and convenient. With public quests and other activities shown clearly on the director map--along with timers for upcoming events, rally flags to summon Guardians, and an extremely helpful fast-travel option at key sites around the map--there's much less busy work when trying to figure out what to do next. Furthermore, the new Lost Sector dungeons offer dangerous foes--including elite variants of powerful enemies--and rare, exclusive rewards.
While there are still plenty of Patrol and story missions taking you around the various game worlds, the new adventure missions are more directed quests given out by allies in the field. Focusing on the history of the planet and its people, they'll send you to the more obscure and bizarre reaches of the world, providing an opportunity to learn more about the setting and the characters who inhabit it. During an adventure mission on Nessus, you and your Ghost will be joined by another ally named Failsafe--an AI that possesses two unique and conflicting personalities. These missions can often be humorous and thrilling, and offer a nice break from the more epic, set-piece focused story missions as well as the plain objectives of the Patrols.
4. Customization
Though the original game had customization with its various shaders, ships, sparrows, and unique pieces of class armor to unlock, it often felt rudimentary--making the sight of a similar type of Guardian a common occurrence. The sequel will offer more variation and change up a number of systems that made the accessories and options feel constrained. On top of this, the Eververse will have more use aside from being the designated microtransaction shop. Bright Engrams are a special new type of loot drop that yield a variety of cosmetic and gameplay items, including shaders--which are now consumables applied to single pieces of gear--and brand-new ships for your Guardian.
Bright Engrams are found through quests, chests, and random drop from foes. After reaching level 20, each time you fill the EXP bar after will grant a new Bright Engram--replacing Mote of Light rewards--making new accessories more available than ever. These are joined by new items called Auras, a dedicated option for visual effects such as flames and other distinct designs that are applied to your characters. Cosmetics now come in a variety of tiers, such an odd Exotic Emote that allows the Guardian to summon a table made of multi-colored lights and flip it over. Moving over to weapons, there are ways to further customize your loadouts as well. In addition to the various shaders, new weapon mods are obtainable. These mods have strange effects such as altering elemental properties, turning a Void auto-rifle into an arc damage weapon.
5. Social
While the Destiny community is resilient for keeping up with the first game, there were a distinct lack of systems to support players in the long run. Several websites popped up to fill in such gaps: such as helping track public events, enabling clan support, and finding players with "looking for group" databases. While clever, they're the result of a lack of systems to help keep up with certain aspects in the game. In Destiny 2, Bungie has made great strides with integrating these features into the game. Matchmaking is now available for solo players looking to get into high-end content such as raids and nightfalls, pairing them up with clans and other fireteams looking for members. With the updated Destiny Companion app, you'll be able to keep track of your current progress with your characters, their gear, while checking in on the Destiny community's forums and fan-art collectives. The app also includes an integrated group finder tool that helps to coordinate games with others.
Along with regular updates and posts from the developers detailing hot-fixes and upcoming updates, the app's the recruitment options allow Guardians to organize groups for Strikes, Nightfalls, Crucible matches, and general questing. There is now also dedicated clan support, giving players the chance to create a group on Bungie's official site and invite members of the community to join. Along with creating unique banners, and having Clan-dedicated chats and forums, a Clan will also work together to gain unique rewards and bonuses through their journey--which are cumulatively added up among members. These rewards come in many forms, such as unique emblems and auras, but will constantly change depending on the weekly refresh.
For those returning to the series, Destiny 2 will be an experience that is familiar but more refined in its approach to building up a unique character. And for both existing players and those coming in fresh, Bungie's sequel looks to offer a stunning and broad game world to explore--along with tons of loot to find and monsters to shoot.
As an unabashed fan of Twin Peaks, I never seriously believed the series would return. It had been too long, and it was a show too weird, to imagine it could come back, even amidst a flurry of remakes and reboots. That never stopped me from imagining a third season, but those daydreams never came with any belief that I would be proven right or wrong. I was floored to learn the series would indeed make a comeback after about 25 years--appropriately enough, given the prophetic, "I'll see you again in 25 years," line of Laura Palmer's from the original series. Twin Peaks: The Return has ended up being radically different from anything I imagined. And yet, despite subverting my every expectation, it's turned out to be one of the best seasons of television I've ever seen, providing surprises at what feels like every turn. [Spoilers ahead.]
When The Return's massive cast list was announced, it was unclear how the show could support it. We'd be getting 18 full hours, sure, but the town of Twin Peaks is only so big. One of the many ways in which The Return has surprised is how much time has been spent outside of Twin Peaks. Co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost have expertly expanded on the show's mythology, broadening a show that had been about nothing but a small town in Washington to primarily focus on storylines in New York, North Dakota, and Las Vegas.
Vegas proved to be especially notable. The Return didn't feature the proper reappearance of protagonist Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) until Part 16, a bold move in light of expectations that this season would give us the long (long!)-awaited return of a fan-favorite character. Instead, we had Dougie Jones, the tulpa within which Cooper found himself trapped for much of the season. Dougie and the entire Vegas storyline by all rights should have been a source of frustration for viewers. It not only went on much longer than most anticipated, but it also stood in the way of Cooper's return--though Dougie certainly did his best to make up for Cooper's absence with his passion for coffee and cherry pie.
It's a testament to Lynch and Frost's writing--and persistence--that the Vegas storyline was among the season's many highlights. Nowhere else did The Return as effectively nail that distinctive Twin Peaks mix of mystery, drama, and comedy. A common theme in Lynch's work is an exploration of the dark side of what otherwise appears to be a normal, wholesome town (think Blue Velvet or the original Twin Peaks). Like so much else this season, Vegas defied expectations. While it does indeed feature the inevitable dark underbelly of a place associated with greed and debauchery, what's surprising is how we also see the inverse of that. Loan sharks are after Dougie and his family, yet they are not the villainous figures you'd think, as Janey-E (Naomi Watts) is able to intimidate them easily enough. Insurance salesman Anthony Sinclair (Tom Sizemore) is involved in shady dealings, conspiring to commit fraud and murder but is reduced to tears by Dougie when it comes to poisoning him. The Mitchum brothers show themselves to be violent, murderous individuals, and yet, as Cooper says, they turn out to have hearts of gold--best summed up when Bradley (Jim Belushi) adorably says of Candie to his brother, "We fire her, she has no place to go." (That Lynch made me not only like the scenes starring Jim Belushi, but actively look forward to them, is perhaps his greatest feat this season.)
MacLachlan puts on not one but three terrific performances. His doppelganger version of Cooper, Mr. C, was menacing and disturbing, believably portraying him as someone hell-bent on achieving his goal while also being willing to screw around with a gang leader in an arm-wrestling match. When the good Cooper reappears, there's no sign that it's been 25 years since MacLachlan last played him. He's able to instantly recapture the character's quirky speech cadence with his request for sandwiches before hitting us with his triumphant, "I am the FBI."
But it was MacLachlan's work as Dougie Jones that was most impressive. Despite being unable to speak beyond repeating the occasional word spoken to him, MacLachlan is able to carry scenes that often comprise nothing more than his blank stares. Naomi Watts as his wife, Janey-E, also deserves a great deal of credit, essentially having to act with what amounts to a mannequin. She goes on quite the emotional rollercoaster over the season, having to deal with her husband's infidelity, gambling problem, gambling winnings, attempted murder, coma, and indefinite departure (just as things were looking up). After such an exhausting journey, it was pleasant to see Lynch provide us with the closure of the Jones family being reunited.
Being a work of Lynch, there was no shortage of his trademark quirky (and often inexplicable) tangential scenes in The Return. After the gun goes off outside of the Double R Diner, there's the screaming woman with a seemingly possessed child who vomits all over the car (a sequence that is somehow simultaneously disturbing, confounding, and hilarious). Candie is always out of it. Everything involving Dr. Amp. Shelly's boyfriend, the drug dealer Red, is seemingly an amateur magician in his spare time. We get a scene where a man literally sweeps up at a bar for roughly 150 seconds. Best of all was Michael Cera's cameo as Wally Brando, the son of Andy and Lucy, whose sole appearance was perfection. None of this, or the many other examples littered through these 18 hours, serve any real plot function. And yet, little by little, these Lynchian moments contribute to the mood that help to distinguish Lynch's episodes of Twin Peaks from those in Season 2 that he was not involved with. (The weirdness was not by any means relegated to side stories: Part 17 featured a showdown between a floating orb representing the main antagonist and a man whose glove turns him into a superhero of sorts. Yeah.)
For as funny as The Return could be--and it could be downright hilarious while also telling you everything you needed to know about a character--it was also capable of emotional devastation. Diane (Laura Dern) recollecting her rape at the hands of who she thought was her friend was chilling. In numerous other moments, Lynch and Frost were frequently exploring mortality, from Harry Truman's struggles with illness (used as a cover for actor Michael Ontkean not coming back) to Frank Truman's patience with his wife's outbursts (revealed later to be due to the suicide of their son). On a meta level, they also played with our real-world knowledge that actress Catherine Coulson, who plays Margaret Lanterman (the Log Lady), had passed away from cancer in 2015, further amplifying scenes that showed her as a sickly old woman.
The Return's structure was a curious thing. Lynch warned us that he viewed this as an 18-hour movie, but that's a notion that Hollywood often likes to throw out with little meaning. In this case, it does feel accurate. While almost always feeling like Twin Peaks, there was often little consistency from one part to the next in terms of story or structure. Not that it stopped anyone from speculating, but there was legitimately no telling what the next part would hold--you couldn't even count on seeing any single character in a given week. (Never was that more apparent than in Part 8, easily the most bizarre hour in Twin Peaks history.) The inconsistency also served to incite the sense of dread that the show so adeptly summons in viewers; you can never count on a reprieve from the frightening, tense scenes, as Lynch is unafraid to give a scene the time it needs to truly invoke the emotion it aspires to.
That all brings us to Sunday's two-part finale. Oh, that finale. If you found yourself shocked, as I was at first, it's really our own fault--we should have seen this coming. Lynch and Frost were famously pressured into revealing Laura Palmer's killer back in Season 2 by ABC; had they not been, the mystery might have lingered for longer (if not forever). Season 2's cliffhanger ending may not have been their intended conclusion to the series--ABC canceled the show at that point--but Lynch didn't go out of his way to neatly tie things up when given the chance with the subsequent movie, Fire Walk With Me. It should be no surprise that The Return leaves many things unresolved.
More shocking was the sight of Laura Palmer, apparently alive, and now stuck with Cooper in Twin Peaks--or some version of it, perhaps having sacrificed their lives to alter the events of the series to this point. The characters' fates, much like the secret Laura whispers to Cooper in the Red Room, is unknowable but sure to be the source of speculation for another 25 years.
(Throughout these two episodes, it was hard not to smirk as the characters' reactions reflected those of the audience, acknowledging both our excitement and our befuddlement. Andy and Lucy look positively giddy to see Cooper, just as we are. Following a crazy scene, Bobby asks, "What's going on around here?" And Cooper fittingly tells a confused Laura, "It's difficult to explain.")
The Return leaves us with so many unanswered questions even beyond those involving Cooper and Laura: Is Audrey in a mental institution, or some part of the Black Lodge? What was with that bug/frog thing that crawled into the girl's mouth all the way back in Part 8? Why has Phillip Jeffries become a giant teapot? Who is Judy? Did the Detectives Fusco go to Sunday dinner with their mother? And seriously, what's with the possessed girl vomiting in that car? Some questions could be addressed in co-writer Mark Frost's next book, coming out in October, or in some future Blu-ray special feature. But lingering questions are par for the course with Twin Peaks; anything else just wouldn't feel right.
I don't expect to see Twin Peaks on television again. Despite being a boon for Showtime's streaming service, broadcast ratings were poor, and the show remains too niche to imagine another network providing David Lynch with the type of resources he'd likely require if he felt compelled to continue (please prove me wrong, Netflix!).
Before it aired, I imagined this season would provide us with 18 more hours with one of my all-time favorite fictional characters in Dale Cooper--it is, after all, called The Return. To think we got less than three would seem like a guaranteed recipe for disappointment. But much in the same way that the original Twin Peaks--a bizarre, supernatural, soap opera-inspired mystery show about a high school girl's murder--delivered something I never could have thought to ask for, The Return filled a void that I did not know existed. Just as with the conclusion of the original series (and Fire Walk With Me), there will be days, weeks, months, and likely years of speculating, interpreting, and theorizing in the wake of The Return. And in that way, we are the ones who have truly returned to Twin Peaks.
Full disclosure: Twin Peaks: The Return aired on Showtime, a subsidiary of GameSpot parent company CBS.
With the game now available, reviews have started to go live for the PS4 exclusive. Overall, most critics seem to agree Knack 2 is an improvement over the original, and you can see a review roundup below. Alternatively, for a wider view on critical opinion, you can take a look at GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
Game: Knack 2
Developer / Publisher: Sony Japan Studio / Sony
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release: Out now (NA), September 6 (Europe, Australia)
Price: US $40 / £30 / AU $55
Polygon -- 7.5/10
"Knack 2 is an entertaining platform game like those of yesteryear. It's been created with due care and attention. Sure, it's old fashioned, and its story is appalling. But it's a reminder that the character-led platform combat game is still alive and well. Despite its good looks, it's more a work of engineering than it is a work of art. But, as my kid said to me after we'd mashed our way through a co-op level, it's kinda fun." -- Colin Campbell [Full review]
IGN -- 7.2/10
"Knack 2 is lacking in a number of areas, but its strengths outweigh its weaknesses. The pacing is spot-on, the combat satisfying, and the gameplay varied. Co-op is genuinely good fun too, and most definitely the best way for younger gamers to get into the action. Knack 2 is definitely a step up from the original, then, but until the writing and characterisation improve drastically, it's not going to be a true first-party titan." -- Cam Shea [Full review]
Destructoid -- 5.5/10
"Knack 2 has the bones of a good platformer and a hint of charm but it just doesn't execute. I'm not sure what the Knack series attempted to accomplish, but after a sequel, it stands as one of the most missable franchises Sony has ever crafted. Maybe one day Sony can combine both of these together on the PS5 as a free PS Plus item and call it the 'Knack Pack.' That one's free." -- Chris Carter [Full review]
GamesRadar+ -- 3/5
"Ultimately the game's appeal boils down to one simple question: did you like the first Knack? If you did, then rejoice, because this is basically the same experience with a new plot and a few new features thrown in. Anyone who wasn't already a fan of this franchise will find absolutely nothing to convince them to part with their money this time round." -- Nick Cowen [Full review]
VentureBeat -- 80/100
"The comfort is that the story barely takes up any time. Dialogue sequences never drag on for long before you're thrust back into running a gauntlet of traps and evil robots. The action is still so fundamentally joyful that it doesn't really matter what the context for it is. Why can Knack absorb some materials and not others? Why is it okay for the humans to be generally awful to goblins? Who hid a treasure inside an air duct of the museum? Who cares? Jump across a moving lift in the middle of a jungle already. Don't worry about it. That casual flow lets the essential video gameness of Knack 2 to shine. Even the hoariest tropes feel good in Knack 2. I had to push boxes around a room to open a locked door like I would have had to do in some budget mascot machine from 1997, but here it still felt just right.
"In the absence of an epic tale, a torrent of doodads to collect, or some time-devouring crafting system--all the fixtures big business gaming says you need to survive today--Knack 2 just works." -- John Agnello [Full review]
Iconic Italian gaming character Mario is not in fact a plumber, at least not currently. While he might have worked on pipes and drainage solutions at one point in time, he has since moved on to focus more on "everything cool," according to Nintendo.
The newly updated Mario profile page on Nintendo's Japanese website says Mario is no longer doing professional plumbing work. The page explains Mario thusly (via Kotaku):
"All around sporty, whether it's tennis or baseball, soccer or car racing, [Mario] does everything cool. As a matter of fact, he also seems to have worked as a plumber a long time ago..."
Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto previously referred to Mario in a 2010 USA Today interview as "basically a carpenter" in 1981's Donkey Kong. In 1983's Super Mario Bros., a lot of the action took place underground and among pipes, so "we decided he could be a plumber," Miyamoto said.
A new piece of information about the next Indiana Jones movie has come to light. Writer David Koepp said in a new interview that Shia LaBeouf's character from 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Mutt Williams, is not going to be in the follow-up.
Koepp told Entertainment Weekly that while Harrison Ford is coming back to play Indiana Jones himself, LaBeouf's character won't be there. "Harrison plays Indiana Jones, that I can certainly say," Koepp said. "And the Shia LaBeouf character is not in the film."
Williams AKA Henry Jones III, is the son of Indiana Jones in the movie's fiction. There had been some speculation that LaBeouf's character might take over as the new lead when Ford eventually stopped playing the lead in Indiana Jones movies.
Koepp went on to say that he and director Steven Spielberg are "mostly happy" with the current draft for the new Indiana Jones movie. The film will follow "some precious artifact that they're all looking for," Koepp said, though no other details are available.
As for when the movie might start actual production, Koepp said that will be decided by Spielberg and Ford. Koepp said he hopes the new Indiana Jones is Spielberg's next movie after The Post, which recently finished shooting, apparently.
LaBeouf criticised Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In 2010 Los Angeles Times interview, LaBeouf said, "I feel like I dropped the ball on the legacy that people loved and cherished." Speaking to Variety, LaBeouf said of Spielberg, "I grew up with this idea, if you got to Spielberg, that's where it is. You get there, and you realize you're not meeting the Spielberg you dream of. You're meeting a different Spielberg, who is in a different stage in his career. He's less a director than he is a f**king company."
The metal/rock band Mastodon have a long history with the HBO fantasy show Game of Thrones. Members of the group have appeared on it over the past few seasons, most recently in the Season 7 finale, and showrunner D.B. Weiss is a big fan of the group. Now guitarist/singer Brent Hinds has opened up a little on what it was like filming his scene as a member of the Wildlings clan for his first cameo, in 2015.
Hinds and Mastodon members Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher also appeared in the episode as Wildlings. Hinds told Revolver that getting to see how Game of Thrones is made did not ruin the magic for him, though he acknowledged it was "pretty exhausting" filming all day. And his character didn't even get killed, which would have made the shoot longer.
"It's neat being behind the scenes, and seeing how all the smoke and mirrors goes down," Hinds said. "But it didn't ruin it for me. I love the show too much. We were just honored to be a part of it, you know?"
"I didn't get to get killed, but Brann did," Hinds added. "And when you get killed, you have to get killed from 57 different angles, from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. It's pretty exhausting--to do one of the tiniest scenes in the whole entire bit took us a whole day."
Hinds went on to say that Mastodon's appearance on Game of Thrones "boosted our popularity a little bit." But at the same time, people have approached him to say they enjoy Game of Thrones but not Mastodon. You take the good with the not-so-good.
Mastodon's connection to Game of Thrones runs deeper than its members appearing on the show. The group also wrote an original song for the Game of Thrones mixtape, Catch the Throne Vol. 2.
In addition to the members of Mastodon, musicians Ed Sheeran and Sigur Ros have appeared on Game of Thrones. Coldplay drummer Will Champion and members of the band Bastille were also on the show.
Mastodon are currently on tour in support of their new album, Emperor Sand. That album only came out in June, but fans are getting new music soon, as the four-track EP Cold Dark Place comes out on September 22. You can stream the killer new track from it, "Toe to Toes," right now on Spotify and elsewhere.
Hideo Kojima is one of the most veteran and esteemed developers in all of gaming. So it's almost always interesting with the Metal Gear creator and now Death Stranding director speaks (his food tweets are good, too). Today, Kojima unleashed a barrage of tweets that give fans an idea for how the man thinks as it relates to game development.
Specifically, he spoke about the differences between game development and filmmaking, using a hallway scene in a game as an example. A hallway scene might sound easy and straightforward, there are many elements to consider, Kojima said, like if the doors can be opened and if there is anyone else around. Also, it's important to consider how the player may be feeling at any point in time, the developer said.
His tweets appear be centered around the idea that outsourcing game development tasks, at least for a bigger action game, can be a tricky prospect. "An action game can never be completed by ordering from a blueprint and assembling parts off a factory line," he said.
"If decision making and supervision are delayed, production efficiency drops, and that leads to redoing work. In order to avoid this trap, one must make small daily adjustment on site while creating the game," Kojima said. "When everything is outsourced, the parts that come back just don't fit together. That is why it's important to take charge of the little details every day."
Kojima never mentions Death Stranding by name, so it sounds like these are more of high-level commentary about game design, though there is certainly some crossover and applicability with Death Stranding.
"Game creation is different from film making. Let's say we imagine "a hallway the player is meant to walk down according to the game design. The hallway has meaning in the plot as well as the game design. Is the purpose to deliver the story, to practice the controls, to show the scenery, or to add rhythm to the game play? A variety of possibilities exist.
As the game development proceeds, the details need to be fleshed out. How about the lighting, the walls of the hallway, how long is it and how high is the ceiling?
Can doors be opened? Who else walks down the hallway? How does player feel at this moment in the game? There is a never ending stream of revisions based on the plot, gameplay, the map layout, as well as dealing with technical hurdles.
There are other various details to consider, like adding a crank turn to the hallway, is it possible to add NPCs, how to fix poor gameplay tempo, making the characters stand out, or even whether to show the ceiling in cutscenes.
Almost everyday revisions are made depending on the point in the game development process. An action game can never be completed by ordering from a blueprint and assembling parts off a factory line.
If decision making and supervision are delayed, production efficiency drops, and that leads to redoing work. In order to avoid this trap, one must make small daily adjustment on site while creating the game. When everything is outsourced, the parts that come back just don't fit together. That is why it's important to take charge of the little details every day.
The feeling of gameplay in a single hallway, the concept, the visuals, the controls, the story hints, the map, the sound, the directions, all those are important to the overall game. Scripts and gimmicks change everyday.
This is what it means to make games, a process completely different from the concept ->script->game design->preproduction ->shooting->postproduction process of film."
The Call of Duty series used to tell its stories in the World War II time period but moved forward in time and eventually in the future with newer games like Advanced Warfare and Infinite Warfare. The juggernaut shooter series returns to its roots this year with Call of Duty: WWII, which will feature a D-Day mission and more from the historical period.
Is the game a one-off, or does Activision plan to continue making World War II games or others from different time periods? That's the question Game Informer put to Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, the man who is heavily involved in the future direction of all of Activision's franchises.
He teased that Call of Duty: WWII could be just the first in a new era of historical Call of Duty games.
"Well, you know I can't reveal things on the slate that are several years off," he said. "But no I don't necessarily see it as a one-off; I think that World War II and historical settings more broadly are very rich territory, and I think there's every possibility that that could become an area that we explore more than once."
The newest Call of Duty games, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, were all set in the future. Hirshberg said part of the reason why Activision pushed into the future was because players were becoming "fatigued" with historical settings and wanted something new. However, Infinite Warfare underperformed, and Hirshberg said in the interview that "we might have had one more future game than we needed [laughs]," referring to Infinite Warfare.
"Not to make any comment on the quality of the game from last year, but I think that while there were a lot of innovations and a lot of fun new things that players got to do, it was one future game too many," he admitted.
According to newly released figures, the Nintendo Switch has reached 1.5 million sales in Nintendo's home country of Japan since launch in March. That's a big number, and to put it in context, it's significantly better than the start for the PlayStation 4 in 2013.
The Switch reached 1.5 million sales after 26 weeks in Japan. By comparison, after the PS4's first 26 weeks on sale in Japan, the console sold around 665,000 units. It took the PS4 69 weeks to reach 1.5 million units sold in Japan.
The fact that the Switch sold a lot faster than the PS4 in Japan might sound surprising, given the enormous popularity of Sony's console. However, as GI.biz mentions, mobile gaming is ultra-popular in Japan, so the Switch--with its hybrid nature--might have been a more attractive option than the purely home console that is the PS4.
The 3DS sold slightly faster than the Switch in Japan, but that's not a perfect comparison either given that the Switch is more expensive.
Nintendo last officially reported Switch sales figures for the period covering launch through June 30, with 4.7 million consoles and 13.6 million games sold. Nintendo is expected to disclose a new Switch sales number in October as part of its next earnings report, though an announcement could come sooner.
After two weekends, the Call of Duty: WWII beta has ended. In a blog post, developer Sledgehammer Games thanked fans for participating and sending in their feedback, and the studio also outlined some of the changes it's making for the final launch in November.
First, the score limit for Team Deathmatch was raised from 75 to 100 for the second weekend, and after the second testing phase, it sounds like Sledgehammer is going to drop the limit back down. "We're looking to lock the decision, so please let us know your thoughts," Sledgehammer said.
I played multiple matches with full sides and on occasion, we did not reach the 100 score limit by the end of the round. So it might be that 100 is too high a score limit, if indeed this was the feedback that more people sent in.
Additionally, the new Aachen map drew criticism about its lack of opportunities to shoot at range. It's a somewhat close-quarter map with medium sightlines, which some surely enjoyed, but for the final version, Sledgehammer "may make some map changes."
On top of that, Sledgehammer has already made changes to the sprintout ADS times, after the values drew some amount of criticism from players. For the final release, Sledgehammer might tweak this further and also make adjustments to "flinch." However, nothing is locked down yet as it pertains to potential changes.
Here are some of the other key pieces of feedback that Sledgehammer responded to:
The M1928 is getting a lot of love. It is one of the most iconic weapons of WWII, and it's great to see it in match. We're glad you are enjoying playing with it. It's a popular SMG at the studio. Though not the most popular. The Airborne Division prestige unlock weapon is pretty gassed.
A lot of you have expressed that you love the main menu music. Thank you so much for noticing all the extra creative touches we've added. We had a lot of amazing recording sessions with a phenomenal orchestra at a premier symphony location in Nashville. I know they will be glad to hear about all the positive reactions the music is receiving!
We rolled out an update that includes an important fix to some audio timing on weapon fire rates. There is no actual changes to the weapon tuning, but the audio may sound different on certain weapons.
Borderlands studio Gearbox has given a strong hint that Borderlands 3 is on the way. Speaking at PAX West this weekend, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford teased that around 90 percent of the company's production staff are "working on the thing I think most of you guys want us to be working on," according to DualShockers.
This isn't a guarantee of Borderlands 3, of course, and Pitchford added, "A product does not exist until it's announced (via PCGamesN)."
Pitchford confirmed that a new Borderlands was in development last year, though it won't necessarily be called Borderlands 3. At GDC this year, Pitchford showed off a tech demo for development techniques that could be used in a future game--like a new Borderlands game.
Last month, Take-Two Interactive, which owns Borderlands publisher 2K Games, said that a "highly anticipated new title from one of 2K's biggest franchises" is due out in fiscal 2019. That could be a reference to a new Borderlands title. Whatever the case, Take-Two's fiscal 2019 runs April 2018 through March 2019.
The new Stephen King movie, It, opens in theatres this week. An adaptation of King's book about a killer clown who terrorises kids in small-town Maine, the film takes a number of creative liberties, director Andres Muschietti told Deadline.
There is one scene in particular in the book where the children engage in an act that would be shocking to see in a big tentpole release from a big studio like Warner Bros. This scene didn't make the cut, and Muschietti said he "wasn't interested in that part" anyway.
"My emotional experience with the book did not regard that scene at all, and I think in general it's an unnecessary metaphor at the end of the story of a rite of passage," he explained. "That actually was talked about during the whole story, but it was a bit unnecessary. It's great in the book. I love Stephen King's style, his way of shocking people with those tonal swings and unexpected intensity, but I think while it was jarring in the book, it wasn't necessary in the movie adaptation. For me it was about engaging the audience from an emotional point of view with the characters."
"I think the group scene was a bit of unnecessary broad metaphor of that rite of passage."
Muschietti's sister, producer Barbara Muschietti, said when former director Cary Fukunaga dropped out, there were no scenes in the script about the group sequence. That being said, Barbara Muschietti said Warner Bros. never came to them to say "stay away from this." Instead, the scene "just wasn't a natural way into the story."
Also in the interview, Andres Muschietti said Stephen King is his "literary hero," going back to Pet Semetary. "My first reaction, when offered the opportunity to direct [It], was basically to go back to my emotional experience reading the book when I was a child, and translating that into a movie that would blow my mind as an adult," he said. "Those were the big ideas when approaching the making of this movie."
Additionally, Andres Muschietti talked about sending a handwritten letter to King "asking for forgiveness" for all the ways the movie departs from the book. But thankfully for him, the famous author was OK with the changes. "He wrote me an email expressing how much he had liked it and that I shouldn't worry because all the changes were approved," he said.
Game developer American McGee, who led the development of American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns, wants to make a third entry in the series. In a blog post, the developer said he is planning to start a proposal for a third game, tentatively titled "Alice: Asylum." The pitch will be sent to Electronic Arts, which has the Alice rights.
"This proposal will include artwork, design outline, and financial/business model. When this proposal is finished (and assuming all the numbers and constraints make sense) it'll be sent to EA," the blog post said (via Destructoid).
Updates on the project's development will be shared on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, in addition to weekly livestreams on YouTube. "Let's show EA how many people want a new Alice game!" the post goes on to say.
People can also send in money through PayPal to support the proposal's progress, but there is no word on how exactly funds will be spent.
Back in 2014, McGee announced that he was gauging interest in a third Alice game, so this new development appears to signal that he received some amount of interest.
If McGee and EA are to work together again, they'll do so in the wake of criticisms that McGee levied against the publisher. In 2014, McGee bemoaned EA's marketing of Alice: Madness Returns. On Reddit, he claimed EA intentionally created trailers for the game that would "trick" gamers into thinking the game was a hardcore horror title.
McGee's Alice games, which were made by his Chinese studio Spicy Horse, are set in Wonderland--but a darker version of the one may recall from fairy tales.
[UPDATE] A 2K Sports representative confirmed that NBA 2K18 will not offer Amiibo support.
The original story is below.
With NBA 2K18's release coming up soon, some new details about the pro basketball's features on Nintendo Switch have been revealed. According to US Gamer, the Switch edition will be "feature complete and identical" to the PlayStation 4 (and presumably Xbox One) versions.
This means NBA 2K18 on Switch will offer MyGM team-management, MyLeague, MyCareer, and Story mode, just as the other versions do.
Perhaps more intriguing is word that NBA 2K18 for Switch will have Amiibo support of some kind. We don't yet know how this will work, but presumably it'll let you tap a figure onto the console to unlock ... something in the game. Are NBA 2K Amiibo figures coming, maybe one for cover star Kyrie Irving? We don't know, but that would be pretty cool. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.
NBA 2K18's cover is sort ruined. Kyrie Irving, announced for the cover when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has been traded to the Boston Celtics. 2K will offer a cover with Irving in a Celtics jersey at a later date.
In addition to Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, NBA 2K18 is coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
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