You'll see in the IGN video that the Tempest has a loadout station where you can customize your character's weapons and armor, and also tweak your Nomad to your liking. You can also visit the character Peebe to buy and sell items, research items, and access the Strike team missions. Every interaction with characters on the ship changes throughout the game as you make decisions in the campaign.
Additionally, BioWare is livestreaming Andromeda gameplay right now from PAX East. You can watch the broadcast and hear directly from the developers right here on Twitch.
The Nintendo Switch was released one week ago today. It got off to a hot start, becoming the fastest-selling Nintendo console ever at launch. Its release hasn't been completely smooth, however, as there have been reports about Joy-Cons desynching and other issues. With any hardware launch, there are bound to be problems for some people, considering the sheer volume of units that get produced.
Now, Nintendo has released a statement regarding Switch support issues. In a statement to Time magazine (via NeoGAF), the company said the Switch is not facing any widespread problems. Issues that are being reported are being routed to Nintendo's Support staff to sort them out.
"At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we want our consumers to have a positive experience," Nintendo's statement said. "It is common with any new innovative consumer technology for consumers to have questions, and Nintendo Switch is no exception. There are no widespread technical problems, and all issues are being handled promptly, including the reports regarding the left Joy-Con Bluetooth connection.
"To best support our customers, we continuously update the online consumer support site and provide real-time answers to the questions we are receiving. We want our consumers to get up and running quickly to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we encourage them to contact Nintendo's Consumer Service team."
People who have specific hardware and software questions can reach out to Nintendo through its support site.
There have been reports of the Switch dock scratching the tablet's screen. This is not an issue many are facing, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told Time.
"As soon as I heard of this report, I asked my teams, 'Have we seen this in our own experience?' And the candid answer has been no," he said.
Go to Timeto hear what Fils-Aime had to say on other Nintendo Switch support issues.
Twitch is holding a Power Rangers marathon. Starting on March 14, the streaming site will kick off its broadcast of all 831 episodes of the show from across its 23 seasons. The marathon ends 17 days later, on March 30.
You can watch every episode through Twitch's TV marathon channel, twitch.tv/TwitchPresents. People who subscribe to the channel will get Power Rangers-themed emotes. Twitch is also allowing people to co-stream the event, adding their own commentary.
"Guided by feedback from our community, Twitch has been focusing on content beyond gaming that nurtures the culture around their interests, whether it be anime, art, cooking, or pop culture, in general," Twitch marketing director Annie Berrones said in a statement. "Asan iconic sci-fi, superhero franchise that achieved legacy status over the past two decades, Power Rangers fits right into our community's wheelhouse."
This Power Rangers marathon is being held in the lead-up to the new film from Lionsgate that opens on March 24.
Sega today published a new trailer for Sonic Mania that shows off a brand-new area, Green Hill Zone Act 2. It looks aesthetically similar to Green Hill Zone 1, but you'll notice that there are now new item boxes and routes to take, as well as a zipline tool for traversal. Also on display is Sonic's new ability, Drop Dash, which allows him to perform a spin dash move immediately after hitting the ground following a jump. New enemies called Hard-Boiled Heavies are also seen.
You can see the gameplay video in the embed above (via DualShockers). If you'd rather see it narrated by Sega, you can watch this video.
Sonic Mania is scheduled to come out this year for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch, though a specific release date has not been announced.
A brand-new Sonic game is also in the works, but almost nothing is known about it. We do, however, know it's coming to the same platforms and is also due out this year.
Sega has teased new Sonic reveals for South by Southwest, which takes place later this month. Sonic voice actor Roger Craig Smith and Dr. Robotnik voice actor Mike Pollock will attend a panel on March 16 to share new details.
Rock Band developer Harmonix today announced its next game--and it's probably not what you expect. DropMix is music-based game that Harmonix is working on with toy company Hasbro.
"It's completely unlike anything else you've ever played," Harmonix said in a blog post.
DropMix is a card-based music game that ties into a free iOS and Android app. Every card represents a different component of a song, including vocal tracks, guitar, bass, and drums. When you place cards on a physical game board, a custom mix of a song will play in real time.
The first announced mode for DropMix is called "Clash," which supports 1v1 or 2v2 variants.
"There's a lot of depth and strategy to Clash Mode, but the core idea is that you earn points by playing cards and it's a race to 21," Harmonix explained. "There's also an option to save your mix to your device, so when you're playing and you've got those cards sounding just right, you can save it for you and your friends to enjoy."
DropMix is scheduled to launch in September 2017, with more than 300 cards available. As is the case with the Rock Band series, a lot of genres are represented, as you can see in the setlist image below.
On the more immediate horizon for Harmonix is Rock Band VR, which launches on March 23. A lot of new songs for the game were announced this week--see them all here.
According to the game's exploration trailer, Mass Effect: Andromeda's single-player campaign spans an entire galaxy, encompassing dozens of star systems and hundreds of planets. Though you won't be able to land on and explore every single one, the scope sounds undeniably ambitious.
Andromeda's online multiplayer, however, scales that scope down significantly, offering instead a series of tightly contained cooperative "horde mode" maps. Teams of four players must survive seven rounds, completing objectives or simply eliminating waves of varied enemies until the extraction round. Imagine a combination of Mass Effect 3's surprisingly enjoyable multiplayer and Gears of War 4's updated horde mode and you'll understand roughly what Andromeda's working towards.
During the opening hours of PAX East, I was able to play a single multiplayer match, which, while brief, showed off all the fundamental elements comprising Andromeda's co-op. Though clearly nowhere near as robust as the single-player's open-ended character customization system, you can adjust your loadout by picking a race, two weapons, and three powers. These powers range from equipment like grenades and assault turrets to biotic abilities like pull and throw. There's also a dedicated leveling system built into multiplayer, so in all likelihood, you'll unlock stronger options as you progress.
I ended up playing as a human female soldier, but I found myself fighting alongside a Krogan Vanguard and Asari Sentinel on a dusty desert outpost called Firebase Sandstorm. Surprisingly, the map actually seemed smaller than those found in Mass Effect 3, but it was dense with objects to duck behind and clamber over. If a teammate went down, darting over to his section of the map generally took just a few seconds due to both the size of the map and the jumpjet dashing that carries over from the campaign.
In the event that your teammates can't reach you, however, you can self-revive using a consumable revive pack, though these are limited. You also start each round with first aid packs, ammo packs, and Cobra RPGs, but these too are in short supply. You can refill your ammo at certain fixed locations within each map, but I never noticed any revive pack or Cobra RPG pickups. Thankfully, health regenerates quickly if you manage to stay behind cover for a few seconds, which made it relatively easy for my team to endure all seven rounds.
Our enemies did their best to make it difficult, though. Most of the bad guys were generic gun-toting soldiers or ferocious, dog-like creatures, but occasionally we'd encounter specialized units like durable mechs and sharpshooters with powerful sniper rifles (that also had conspicuous laser sights). Most interestingly, some enemies were members of various Milky Way species--at one point, I killed a particularly powerful Asari who was labeled "Assassin" in the heads-up display.
I later found out these characters were supposed to be renegade members of the Andromeda Initiative who defected, and it's up to players to bring them to justice. It's a simple but effective bit of narrative framing, though it's important to note multiplayer doesn't meaningfully tie into the main campaign's story. You can earn unspecified "rewards" that you can use when sending your NPC allies on strike missions in single-player, but you don't have to increase your Galactic Readiness like you did in Mass Effect 3. You can choose to play co-op or just ignore it completely.
Either way, the multiplayer component's focus on intimate, frantic combat could make it a welcome complement to the heavy themes and nuanced conversations of the single-player. Still, I hope co-op becomes more complex and challenging the more you play. Even the rogue Andromeda Initiative characters weren't particularly difficult to take down, and our two objective rounds--which essentially required us to reach specific points around the map and hold a button--were simplistic. Without deeper mechanics like Gears of War 4's base-building Fabricator, I worry Andromeda's co-op could end up feeling superfluous and superficial.
Mass Effect: Andromeda is due out on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on March 21 in North America and March 23 in Europe.
Look out for our Mass Effect: Andromeda documentary series next week--we'll be taking a look at Mass Effect's journey, how the original trilogy's ending sparked controversy amongst its fanbase, and to what extent Andromeda is a fresh start for the franchise. Keep an eye on GameSpot for Episode 1 on March 17 and Episode 2 on March 18.
Psyonix's hit soccer-with-cars game Rocket League has passed a new sales milestone. VP Jeremy Dunham told Kinda Funny Games that the game has now hit 10.5 million copies, with the total number of registered players hitting almost 29 million. That figure includes free copies of the game given to PlayStation Plus subscribers on PlayStation 4 at launch in July 2015, as well as split-screen players.
About a fourth of the 29 million registered players (around 7 million) played Rocket League in February, Dunham said. More than a year-and-a-half after launch, the game's playerbase continues to grow, he said, which is part of the reason why Psyonix is not going to make Rocket League 2 anytime soon.
"Why would we want to take this huge community that we've already built, that's still growing, and say, 'What you're playing now is going to be irrelevant in 12 months, but we want you to stop what you're doing, giving us money all over again, and move over to this other game,'" Dunham explained. "That's not the right way to do things. I think that era of games has passed."
Dunham added: "Our goal was to keep making Rocket League better and better so that we don't lose any of the people that want to play. If they're playing our game, we're not going to penalize them and make them buy our game again just because we want to add a couple new features. We want to let them know we're in it for the long haul, if they're in it for the long haul."
The executive went on to say that Psyonix is thinking of new features for Rocket League that are one or two years away from release, so you can expect ongoing support for a while to come.
Also in the interview, Dunham said that Psyonix is approached by publishers on a regular basis regarding partnerships. With an influx of resources from Rocket League's ongoing sales, Psyonix does not necessarily need to partner with outside companies as much as it used to, Dunham said. Before breaking out with Rocket League, Psyonix did a lot of contract work, included contributing to the multiplayer modes for Bulletstorm and Mass Effect 3.
Rocket League is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The footage shows off the classic Crash Bandicoot 2 level Hang Eight, which is based around a bunch of waterfalls and rapids. Enemies such as the Venus Fly Trap are featured, as are a mid-level switch to a 2D segment and some classic platforming action--who doesn't love hopping on the back of a hippo? Take a look at the full video below.
Check out the first gameplay of the 'Hang Eight' level from Crash Bandicoot 2, now fully remastered in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy! pic.twitter.com/JbhLrDLnnw
The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy includes three old-school Crash games: Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. They were all originally made by Naughty Dog, though Activision's Vicarious Visions is making the PlayStation 4 game.
Vicarious Visions used the original games' level geometry, but the gameplay is rebuilt from scratch. Some new features for the updated versions include a unified checkpoint and save system (including manual and auto-saving), as well as a unified menu system. There will also time trials available for each game.
After ending its run in theaters, the video game film Assassin's Creed arrives on home video today, March 10. The game is available on digital stores, with a Blu-ray/DVD version coming on March 21.
The home video comes with 90 minutes of bonus features, including a five-part documentary series about how the movie was made. Another bonus feature sees director Justin Kurzel and stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard talk about adapting the video game for the big screen.
There are also deleted scenes, as well as a gallery of images for things like costumes and concept art. You can see a full rundown of what's in the home video version here in GameSpot's previous coverage.
Assassin's Creed, which came out at the end of December, made more than $211.6 million at the worldwide box office. It performed much better internationally, taking in $157 million from foreign markets, compared to $54 million in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo.
The PC MMO Tera is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this year, publisher En Masse Entertainment announced today. Like the PC edition, the console version will be free-to-play, supported by microtransactions.
Tera bills itself as the only MMORPG that offers "true action combat." The PS4/Xbox One edition has been "redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up" for gamepad controls, the publisher said.
"The past five years of Tera have been fantastic," En Masse Entertainment CEO Sam Kim said in a statement. "We have an amazing and ever-growing player base on PC and we can't wait to share Terawith a brand-new audience on consoles."
More details about Tera's console edition, including information about a closed beta, will be discussed in the coming months. You can register for a place in the beta here on Tera's website.
The console edition of Tera is in development at Bluehole, which is the same studio that works on the PC version. The game originally launched in South Korea in 2011 before coming to North America the next year. The game was relaunched in 2013 as Tera: Rising, adopting a free-to-play business model.
The video highlights how humanity and Andromeda's other species are capable of working together and fighting each other. It also heavily features the song "Human" by British singer Rag'n'Bone Man. Take a look at the trailer for yourself below.
A video game based on Quentin Tarantino's 1992 breakout hit crime movie Reservoir Dogs is in the works, it was announced today. The game, a top-down shooter called Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days, aims to combine "all the drama and tension of the movie" with a gameplay feature called "Time Back."
This gameplay mechanic lets players rewind time, allowing them to "control each and every tactical move and splattering shot for all members of the team." When players rewind time, the outcome of the game's heist missions can change.
Reservoir Dogs the movie told the story of a heist gone wrong, with viewers piecing together what happened as the plot unfolds. It was Tarantino's first full-length movie, and starred Michael Madsen, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Tim Roth, and Chris Penn.
The game lets you play as characters from the movie, including Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, and Mr. White. There are "several" heists based on the movie in the game.
Bloody Days is in development at Big Star Games through a partnership with film company Lionsgate, which holds the rights to the movie.
The game is scheduled to launch this year, first on PC through Steam and later on Xbox One. There was no mention of a PlayStation 4 version.
"As huge fans of Reservoir Dogs, we're very focused on creating a highly addictive experience that stays true to the tense, dramatic vibe of this unforgettable movie," Big Star Games CEO Liam Patton said in a statement. "By taking control of different characters for overlapping bursts of time, players must utilize the strengths of each squad member to carry out the game's missions, with every move and shot creating a butterfly effect on the overall outcome."
You can see Bloody Days in action through the gameplay video above. If you're attending PAX East this weekend in Boston, you can play the game at Dell's booth on the show floor.
Androids are a vital part of the Alien movies, and the latest addition to the franchise's roster of robots is Walter. The character will feature in the upcoming Alien: Covenant, played by Michael Fassbender. He is the subject of a new promotional video--check it out below:
Walter is from the same line of androids as Prometheus's David, also played by Fassbender. In an interview last year, the actor revealed that David would make an appearance in Alien: Covenant too.
Alien: Covenant stars also Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demian Bichir, and Danny McBride. It hits theaters on May 19 in the US and May 12 in the UK. Check out the latest trailer here.
With Kong: Skull Island in theaters today, Warner Bros. has released a new featurette for the monster movie that highlights one of the filming locations, Vietnam. In the behind-the-scenes video, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and some of the cast talk about the importance of on-location shooting and the beauty of Vietnam's landscape.
"Jordan was very keen on that Skull Island should be made up of places on this planet," lead actor Tom Hiddleston said in the video about Earth. It's also mentioned that Skull Island is among the first Hollywood movies of its scope to film in Vietnam. The film also filmed in Hawaii and Australia.
As you'll see, Vietnam has a beautiful, exotic-looking landscape, including lush forests, high peaks, and winding rivers. "We're trying to get nature in its raw form and its wildness and show the diversity of the island," actress Brie Larson said.
The Hollywood Reporter has a cool interview up with Terry Notary, who plays the massive CG beast King Kong in Kong Skull: Island, which is in theaters today. The whole interview is an illuminating read, touching on his process (which included studying real apes) and more. The interview also has a news nugget about the next Avengers movie. In discussing what he's doing next, Notary revealed that he's playing the right-hand man to Josh Brolin's Thanos in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War.
"I can't say the name of the character or I think Marvel will sever my head, but I apply those same principals of what it means to drop bullsh** and just play a character truly evil. And it's working. [Laughs] It's truly working," he said.
Notary will play one of Thanos' three henchmen, though the names of the characters or the actors playing them have yet to be confirmed.
Also in THR's interview, Notary talked about how King Kong may grow as a character in a Skull Island sequel, if there is to be one.
"I think he's going to grow into this real protector, a noble man," Notary said. "The next one he'll be in his prime and he'll be a budding gentleman. [Laughs] A budding warrior who has even more responsibility and more to deal with now that everything else has been unleashed. Again, the burden is the real juice of the character. That's what drives him, that's what keeps him from just being this wavering, 'What do I do with myself,' guy. He's lost his family, he's lost everything. He's got to uphold this sense of duty. With that responsibility comes the depth and the richness that I think is going to grow into the character."
Notary also discussed his relationship with Andy Serkis, the actor known for his legendary CG character performances for Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
"Andy and I are best buddies," Notary said. "We've done nine films together and counting, so it was cool. I just said, 'Hey, they want me to play Kong. That's your character, dude,' and he just said, 'Nah, you do it. I'm handing the reigns over to you.' He's a buddy, he's a true gentleman and amazing person."
The Vietnamese premiere of Kong: Skull Island has been disrupted by a fire. A five-meter-tall model of King Kong used to promote the movie burst into flames before the film started--check out the footage below:
As reported by Sky News, the premiere was taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. Fire from a nearby volcano prop hit the huge Kong model outside the theater, causing it to immediately ignite. The site reports that within minutes the entire stage where Kong had been placed was engulfed in flame.
Thankfully no injuries were sustained. Fire fighters were quick to attend to the scene, and the premiere continued as planned.
The next James Bond movie has found its writers, apparently. 007 series veterans Robert Wade and Neil Purvis have been hired to write the story for the 25th 007 movie, according to a report from the UK's Daily Mail (via Variety).
Wade and Purvis are no stranger to the James Bond series, as they wrote for Skyfall and the latest entry in the super-spy series, Spectre. In all, the pair has written for six Bond movies over the years.
Another big question around the next 007 movie is who will play James Bond. Daniel Craig has not yet committed to coming back, but Daily Mail reports that the rumor is Craig is "keener to do it than not."
Filming for Bond 25 won't start until fall 2018 "at the earliest," according to the report. A recent report from another source said filming could begin in Croatia as early as this year.
This year's Star Wars Celebration fan event will be the last one until 2019. There will not be a Star Wars Celebration event in 2018, Lucasfilm confirmed in a post on Celebration's website.
"The next official Celebration is slated for a location and date soon-to-be announced, in 2019," reads a statement on the site (via Inside The Magic).
As Inside The Magic explains, the Star Wars Celebration event started in 1999 to mark the launch of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The show has never had a set schedule, as events were held with the release of the new prequels and then biennially or annually.
Things are different these days with the Star Wars film series, as new installments in the franchise come out every year. The Force Awakens premiered in 2015, with Rogue One following in 2016. This year's movie is The Last Jedi, while the untitled Han Solo movie will come in 2018. No Star Wars Celebration in 2018 means this year's is the last before the Han Solo movie, though of course Disney does not need a dedicated event to market and promote a film.
This year's Star Wars Celebration takes place April 13-16 in Orlando, Florida. While not confirmed, the event would seem to be a likely place for Lucasfilm to release the first trailer for The Last Jedi. Writer-director Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy will appear on a panel together to talk about the new film. Special guests and surprises have been teased for the event.
As rumored, The Wire and Assassin's Creed actor Michael Kenneth Williams is joining next year's Han Solo Star Wars movie, Lucasfilm has confirmed. In a blog post, the movie company said Williams brings "charisma, humanity, and nobility to all his performances."
The untitled Han Solo movie will focus on Han Solo's "early encounters" with Lando Calrissian and is currently in production.
Han Solo is played by Alden Ehrenreich, while Donald Glover portrays Lando Calrissian. Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is also in the movie, alongside Hunger Games actor Woody Harrelson, both in unspecified roles. Westworld actress Thandie Newton and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge will appear in the movie as well, though their parts have not been announced.
"Watching such inspired people from all over the world, with such unique voices, come together for the sole purpose of making art, is nothing short of miraculous," directors Chris Lord and Phil Miller said in a statement. "We can't think of anything funny to say, because we just feel really moved, and really lucky."
The Han Solo movie opens on May 25, 2018. The next entry in the series is this year's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which picks up immediately after 2015's The Force Awakens. Footage from the film was shown at a Disney shareholder meeting this week.
With Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast due in theaters next week, the company is of course giving that movie a ton of attention and promotion. But looking ahead, one of the company's big live-action adaptations is Aladdin, and now that film is moving forward with an open casting call
The casting call also mentions that actors need to be able to sing, and that's because, like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin will featuring singing scenes as the animated original did. The ability to dance is a "plus." Auditions start in April. Successful candidates will film their scenes over an approximately six-month period, from July 2017 through January 2018 in the UK.
Jasmine and Aladdin were voiced by Linda Larkin and Scott Weinger respectively in the 1992 animated movie. Robin Williams voiced Genie, Jonathan Freeman portrayed the villainous Jafar, and Gilbert Gottfried voiced the parrot Iago.
The live-action Aladdin is being directed by Guy Ritchie (Snatch, The Man From Uncle) from a script penned by Big Fish's John August.
Looking for something new to play this weekend? Ubisoft's extreme sports game Steep is completely free to download and play today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC for a limited time.
Depending on your platform and where you live, Steep's free version may already be available. Check out the image below to find out more about global availability. The free play weekend wraps up on Monday, March 13.
As announced previously, the free version of Steep comes with access to the entire game, which includes courses in the Alps and in Alaska, a region that was added in a recent free update. The game lets you ski, snowboard, wingsuit, and paraglide in an open-world, sandbox-style environment.
During the free weekend, Steep's standard edition will be 50 percent off. The Gold Edition will be 40 percent off on Xbox Live until March 13 and until March 20 for PS4. Ubisoft's own Ubisoft Store will discount the game's standard and gold editions by 50 percent until March 14.
All progress from the free weekend will carry forward if you decide to buy the game. You can read more about Steep's free weekend here on the game's website.
Steep launched in December and has been updated multiple times. In addition to the free Alaska DLC, the game has added things like new camera angles and the ability to record replays without the HUD. The game exceeded Ubisoft's sales expectations, though the company never said what it was projecting the game to sell or how many copies it's moved to date.
Undead Labs has shared yet another piece of State of Decay 2 concept art. Posted on the game's website, this art shows a gorgeous sunset scene.
"This was us testing out different light levels in order to make the most effective 2016 E3 trailer," the studio explained. "We ultimately decided on a little more past sunset than this."
Undead Labs has been sharing new State of Decay concept art on a weekly basis for a long time now, but the campaign ends with this image. You can see the previous pieces of art here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
We've repromoted this story today, March 10, now that Kong: Skull Island is out.
The new monster movie Kong: Skull Island comes to theaters this Friday, March 10. Ahead of that, reviews for the film have started to show up.
To help you get an idea if the movie is worth your time and money, we've rounded up excerpts from a number of publication's reviews; you can see them below. Go to GameSpot sister site Metacritic to see a wider look at reviews for Skull Island.
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson
Directed By: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 118 minutes
GameSpot
"Skull Island's most memorable moments come from spending time with Kong, and it's a success because of that. Seeing the giant gorilla in quiet moments as he tends to his wounds and helps out other island inhabitants are as enjoyable to watch as the moments where he's trying to tear apart the skull of a really big lizard. This is a film where philosophical quandaries are taken for granted; we know man is the real animal, we know beauty tames the beast. Kong: Skull Island revels in the magnificence of the big ape, and for the majority of its runtime, leans on its strengths of pitting man against ape, ape against monsters, and being a fun, over-the-top spectacle." -- Edmond Tran [Full review]
Variety
"A reboot set entirely on the great ape's jungle island proves to be a better creature feature than either of the previous remakes." -- Owen Gleiberman [Full review]
Empire
"King Kong lives! But only just. This is an uneven adventure that's saved by the spectacle of its towering title character and the various beasts with whom he shares his island home." -- Jonathan Pile [Full review]
Polygon
"Kong: Skull Island gets what so many monster movies before it get wrong: There is humanity in the creatures, even if they can seem gigantic and monstrous at first. Vogt-Roberts understands what type of movie he's trying to create, and succeeds in pulling that off. Despite Skull Island being riddled with flaws, it's pretty hard not to have a smile on your face when Kong is on screen." -- Julia Alexander [Full review]
IGN
"There's a moment in Kong: Skull Island when one of the soldiers plays some '70s music for Reilly's Marlow, who responds by asking, 'How can you swing to this?,' confused by the heavy emphasis on electric guitars rather than a piano or saxophone. Some King Kong purists may feel that same frustration with Skull Island, but while the aesthetic of this new adventure may be very different, it ends up evoking the same feeling that made King Kong such an icon in the first place. Even if this time, it's coming to you with roaring electric guitars and napalm rather than Empire State Buildings and damsels in distress." -- Alex Welch [Full review]
SlashFilm
"Overall, Kong: Skull Island is one gnarly monster movie that doesn't hide the monsters in the darkness or create tension by having them lurk in the background. Instead, it puts monsters front and center in the spotlight, and they come through with shining colors. Kong has never been more thrilling, and his nasty opponents make for such compelling monster fights that you'll be even more disappointed in the fact that we didn't get to see Godzilla do this much in his own return in 2014." -- Ethan Anderton [Full review]
Dead Men Tell No Tales stars Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow once more, with Geoffrey Rush returning as Barbossa. Javier Bardem will play the evil Captain Salazar--outside the US, the movie will be released as Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge.
"Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar, escape from the Devil's Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea… including him. Captain Jack's only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas."
The roguelike will be released both physically and digitally, with boxed versions coming with a reversible cover, 20-page color instruction manual, and a limited edition sticker sheet. The title will set you back $40.
Afterbirth+ is an expansion to the base Binding of Isaac game. The DLC pack launched in January on PC, and is also coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Nicalis has not stated whether those versions were still on track for their "Spring 2017" release window.
We reviewed the base game back in 2011. "Through smart design and simple mechanics, The Binding of Isaac manages to feel approachable despite its difficulty," said critic Maxwell McGee. "Superfluous elements have been stripped out, and what remains is a tightly focused game that continues to feel fresh even after multiple completions. While it does lack some of the extra bells and whistles of other modern games, The Binding of Isaac remains an enjoyable (and demented) adventure."
Ghost Recon: Wildlands launches on March 7, and as such reviews have started to go live. However, since much of the game is enhanced by online co-op, many publications have elected to delay their final reviews until public servers are live and reviewers have had a little more time to explore Wildlands' Bolivian setting.
GameSpot is one such publication. You can read critic Miguel Concepcion's thoughts here, or read on for a roundup of critics' opinions below. We will continue to update this roundup as more final reviews surface.
"There's comfort in falling into a tactical routine with your buddies as you reach the perimeter of every enemy outpost. This infiltration cycle begins when you use your tiny drone to survey the stronghold and mark all visible enemies. The ability to track marked enemies through multiple walls feels like cheating, though it hasn't diminished the appeal of the many other Tom Clancy games that use this feature. The openness of Wildlands makes this feature all the more essential and helps your team decide on the best strategy. It remains to be seen whether Wildlands retains the same gadget appeal of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier later on in the game, though perhaps a drone is all the advanced tech you need in Bolivia." -- Miguel Concepcion [Full review in progress]
IGN -- 7.9/10
"This huge, wide-open shooter constantly shows its flaws in its mission variety and vehicle physics, but its strong, sandbox-style gameplay and seamless co-op kept me coming back for more madness. If you must repeat experiences over and over, you could far worse than helicopter chases, assassination missions, or drug busts gone wildly wrong." -- Brian Albert [Full review]
PC Gamer -- 67/100
"I like a lot of aspects about Wildlands, specifically its co-op experience. It's easy to assume that any game can be fun with some friends, but Wildlands makes specific, clever design decisions that make for a better multiplayer experience--albeit to the detriment of solo players. If that consistency of vision had run through the entire game, Wildlands could have been something special. Unfortunately, there are too many mitigating factors--from design and tone, to performance and AI. Wildlands is often good, and infrequently great. In the main, though, it's a bit of a mess." -- Phil Savage [Full review]
GamesRadar+ -- 4.5/5
"None of those recurring glitches or other, one-time bugs I experienced were game-breaking, and most of the time they resulted in a fit of laughter rather than any actual frustration, but they're definitely present. Still, it's hard to look at those shortcomings as anything other than the small unwanted side effects of building a game as massive, detailed, and rich as Wildlands is. In fact, Wildlands is so far removed from what most have come to expect from a Ghost Recon title that it could have benefitted from shedding its sub-franchise namesake and simply standing on its own. It's certainly got the legs for it." -- Mike Wehner [Full review]
Destructoid -- No score (Review in progress)
"If Wildlands proves to be a solid co-op experience, it might be an easier sell as a multiplayer game and not an immersive epic. But as a single player experience, which is the way I've been playing the game, it has the misfortune of sharing a release window with two other expansive sandbox titles. Hopefully I'll be able to definitively answer this question the closer I get to finishing this game--Wildlands might be a long one. Should you absolutely need an answer right now, based on what I've seen from all three games: Zelda > Horizon > Wildlands. Take that how you will, especially since I've spent the most time with Zelda and the least with Wildlands.
"Since I haven't seen even half of what Ghost Recon has to offer, there's no point in writing a full review at this juncture. It's a fun game, but I'm only just starting to comprehend the sheer breadth of these wild lands. The cartel mechanic makes for a slick opening, but if the campaign is as long as I suspect, there's a chance I'll be sick of it by the time the credits roll. If Wildlands can keep things interesting (and the co-op works as advertised), then I'll probably have a great time in the wilds of Bolivia." -- Mike Cosimano [Full review in progress]
Nintendo has released a new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe trailer, highlighting the game's new battle modes--and showing Donkey Kong pulling off a sick dab.
The video, which you can watch below, also showcases the game's extensive roster of 48 tracks and "over 40 racers." That includes all Mario Kart 8's DLC tracks and characters, plus new drivers King Boo, Dry Bones, Bowser Jr, and both Inkling Boy and Inkling Girl from Splatoon.
Check out that dab from the big gorilla at 2:44.
Featured heavily in the overview is the revamped Battle Mode. The less racing-focused, more smashing-focused way of playing was criticized in Mario Kart 8's original release, but Nintendo has overhauled it and introduced a multitude of options for the Switch version. Balloon Battle, a returning Mario Kart favorite, is one such option, as are Renegade Roundup, Bob-omb Blast, Shine Thief, and Coin Runners. You can play Deluxe's Battle Modes on eight dedicated courses--including one based on Splatoon--as opposed to the cut-down versions of main game tracks that the Wii U version included.
Lastly, the trailer confirms the Joy-Con wheel peripherals will launch the same day as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, April 28, while revealing that Gold Mario will be unlocked for anyone who beats every track at 200cc.
The original game, which released on Wii U in 2014, went down well with our reviewer: critic Tom McShea awarded it an 8/10. Find out why in our full Mario Kart 8 review.
The Greens party of Australia today announced a plan to deliver a $4 million AUD injection into video game development in the state of Western Australia, under an improved version of the Australian Interactive Games Fund (AIGF). The plan, entitled "Level Up WA", comes as Western Australia prepares to enter a State Election on Saturday, March 11.
Western Australia Greens Senator Scott Ludlum
If passed, the proposed amount would be devoted over a period of 4 years, and contribute to assisting small independent development studios in their ongoing business costs.
Scott Ludlum, Greens Communications spokesperson and Senator for Western Australia, stated in a press release that, "The average Australian gamer is now indistinguishable from the average Australian - they are one and the same. The video games industry is the fastest-growing entertainment industry in the world."
"The massive success of mobile gaming, and the emerging technology of VR, present huge opportunities for the industry, and with just a few key measures, we could see a considerable amount of that work undertaken in Western Australia."
Senator Ludlum pointed to a number of schemes in other Australian states as examples of positive initiatives for game development, that the Greens hope to replicate in Western Australia.
Examples cited were: "the Arcade co-working space in Melbourne, funded in part by the Victorian Government; a soft grants scheme with low interest or zero interest loans, similar to the current Queensland scheme; the 'living salary' grant scheme to pay modest wage for the crucial first stage of development, similar to the current Victorian scheme; and a marketing assistance fund for game makers, that enables them to travel interstate and overseas to showcase their work."
Starhammer: The Vanguard Prophecy (2015) from Western Australia-based Black Lab Games
The full plan for the Greens' proposed Australian Interactive Games Fund can be viewed on their website.
Video game industry veteran John Carmack has filed a lawsuit against ZeniMax, claiming his former employer owes him millions of dollars. According to Dallas Morning News (via Kotaku), Carmack filed the federal lawsuit this week, seeking $22.5 million from ZeniMax.
According to Carmack's lawsuit, ZeniMax paid $150 million to buy id Software. "Now, nearly eight years after the sale, it says ZeniMax refuses to pay the final installment of cash it owes Carmack or let him convert it into shares of stock," Dallas Morning News reported.
The report goes on: "At the time of the sale, the lawsuit says Carmack was the majority shareholder of id Software and received a convertible promissory note valued at more than $45.1 million. He converted half of that into shares of ZeniMax stock, which he received."
A ZeniMax spokesperson said in a statement to Dallas Morning News that Carmack's claims are "completely without merit."
"Apparently lacking in remorse, and disregarding the evidence of his many faithless acts and violations of law, Mr. Carmack has decided to try again," the statement said.
This lawsuit follows a decision in February when a jury awarded ZeniMax $500 million in a lawsuit over the Oculus Rift. A key issue in the case was whether work done by Carmack while at id enabled the creation of the Oculus Rift. ZeniMax, as you'd suspect, believes it did and argued that code used to power the Oculus features indications it stems from ZeniMax work.
Sony did not have a statement to share, but a representative confirmed that the PS4 was the No. 1 overall home console in the US in terms of sales for February.
In its own statement, Microsoft said global Xbox One game hours in February jumped 11 percent year-over-year, while global unique multiplayer users reached 35 percent-plus growth compared to last year. Xbox marketing boss Mike Nichols called out Halo Wars 2, For Honor, and Grand Theft Auto IV (in backwards compatibility) as helping drive engagement on Xbox One during the month.
A week from today, the NPD Group will announce the top-selling games for February 2017. We'll report back with more details as they become available.
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