Whether you're a long-time fan of 2D fighting games or new to the genre, Fantasy Strike is promising its gameplay will appeal to you. Developer Sirlin Games, whose founder was a designer on Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, is raising money on Patreon for the game.
Fantasy Strike's controls will all be single-button press, with a unique system for countering certain attacks. If your opponent goes to throw you, letting go of your controls will trigger a punishing move called a Yomi Counter. However, attempting this leaves you vulnerable to non-throw attacks. The developer says it's emphasising player decisions over dexterity, letting you do special movies easily to avoid difficult-to-execute techniques throughout the game.
"You also don't have to worry about doing moves with 1/60th of a second accuracy, as is common in fighting games. In Fantasy Strike, anytime you try to do a move, we automatically repeat your input for 8/60ths of a second to make sure it comes out, every time. The hard part should be deciding if you want to do a move, not in getting it to happen once you've decided," said the developer. Get a look at some of the beautiful early gameplay below.
The game is still in pre-alpha development, but so far there are eight playable characters (all from the card-style fighting game Yomi) and four levels with more in the works. There are several game modes, including arcade, local versus, and training mode (with online play starting this month).
"We're boiling down the genre to the fundamentals and cutting out everything that we don't need. Our game is so simple to play that even if you don't normally play fighting games, you still might love Fantasy Strike. And for fighting game veterans: this is a tournament, esport game," Sirlin Games said.
Anyone who contributes at Silver Level ($10/month) or higher gets access to the pre-alpha game and future updates. Fantasy Strike is scheduled for release in Q3 2018 and is being developed for PlayStation 4 and PC.
Thimbleweed Park, the point-and-click adventure game from Maniac Mansion creators Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, is coming to Nintendo Switch. Gilbert shared a brief video of the game running on the console on Twitter.
Terrible Toybox, the studio behind Thimbleweed Park, was set to make an announcement regarding the title next week. Gilbert had previously expressed interest in bringing the game to Switch, leading many to believe that was the topic of next week's announcement. It appears Gilbert broke the news early with a tongue-in-cheek tweet that offers a "vague, cryptic, puzzling clue" about the announcement and clearly shows him playing the game on the console.
Vague, cryptic, puzzling clue about our multiple Thimbleweed Park console announcements next week: https://t.co/gpmFwfMlKX
However, the tweet does go on to mention "multiple Thimbleweed Park console announcements." Thimbleweed Park is already available on Xbox One and PC, with mobile versions confirmed to be on the way later this year, but Gilbert's tweet hints that the game may be coming to other platforms as well.
Thimbleweed Park was initially funded through Kickstarter and is a spiritual successor to the aforementioned Maniac Mansion. The game features retro-styled pixel visuals and five playable characters that players can switch between during the course of the adventure. Gilbert says the game is a deliberate satire of the television series Twin Peaks, The X-Files, and True Detective.
No release date has been announced for the Switch and mobile releases of Thimbleweed Park, but more details will likely be revealed in next week's announcement. The game was well-received when it was initially released; GameSpot gave it 7/10 in our review and called it "a time capsule that reminds us what we love about the point-and-click genre."
Update: Yesterday's Splatoon 2 Nintendo Direct mostly offered an overview of features Nintendo had already revealed for the game. However, there were some noteworthy announcements in the presentation. Here's a rundown of the biggest news:
Nintendo revealed many other tidbits about the team-based shooter during the broadcast. As with the original Splatoon, the company announced it is planning to support the game with free content, such as new stages, weapons, and other gear, for a full year following its release. One new weapon type coming to the game post-launch is the Brella, an umbrella-shaped gun that can fire ink and doubles as a shield when players press and hold the button. Additionally, Nintendo plans to hold regular Splatfests competitions in the game for two years after its release.
Nintendo also reconfirmed that some stages from the first Splatoon will be returning in Splatoon 2. The company had already announced that an updated version of Moray Towers will appear in the game, and during the broadcast it revealed that Port Mackerel will make a comeback as well. We also got a quick glimpse at a new art studio map called Inkblot Art Academy, and one of the stages that will be added to the title as a free update is based on a pirate ship.
As in the first game, weapons in Splatoon 2 are divided into three different categories: Main, Sub, and Special. While there will be returning Main and Sub weapons alongside new ones, all of the Specials in Splatoon 2 are entirely new. Players who participated in the game's Testfire demo back in March already got to try the Tenta Missiles and Inkjet, but Nintendo revealed another new Special called the Baller, an explosive hamster ball that can roll up walls.
There was also a pseudo music video featuring two new characters, Marina and Pearl, with whom the collective internet seems quite taken. For even more information on the upcoming shooter, you can watch the full Splatoon 2 Nintendo Direct presentation below.
The original story is below.
Nintendo is airing a new Nintendo Direct today, this one focusing entirely on the upcoming Switch shooter Splatoon 2. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 3 PM BST and can be streamed either from Nintendo's Twitch channel or via the YouTube embed below.
According to the company, today's Nintendo Direct will offer fans a "refresher" on the new features, weapons, and other content coming to the colorful team-based shooter. One such feature is Salmon Run, Splatoon 2's equivalent of a Horde mode that tasks a team of players with collecting eggs while taking on waves of new Salmonid foes. GameSpot got to try the mode during our E3 2017 stage show last month; you can watch additional footage of Salmon Run from the E3 show floor here.
We also know that Splatoon 2 will have an expanded single-player campaign, which Nintendo showcased with a trailer back in May. In this title, players are recruited to battle the resurgent Octarians and find former Squid Sister Callie, who went missing after the final Splatfest in the first Splatoon.
Splatoon 2 launches exclusively for Switch later this month, on July 21. We'll report on all the biggest updates from the broadcast as they're announced, so stay tuned for all the news from today's Nintendo Direct.
Sony has released its monthly breakdown of the best-selling games on the PlayStation Store. During a month in which there weren't many major releases, June's list of PS4 best-sellers in the US was led by Friday the 13th: The Game.
That may come as something of a surprise; Friday the 13th was released in late May, which means its launch-day sales would not have given it a boost on June's charts. The game also suffered from serious technical issues in the wake of its launch, but apparently not enough to diminish interest in its asymmetric multiplayer offering. Free DLC offered as an apology may not have hurt, either.
The No. 1 game during May, Injustice 2, fell all the way to the No. 15 spot, while much of the top 20 is comprised of games that were discounted during the month. Grand Theft Auto V continues to amaze with its consistently strong sales, occupying the No. 4 spot.
The PS3 and Vita charts, as is the norm, were also dictated largely by PSN sales throughout the month. FIFA 17 came out on top for PS3, while Vita's best seller was the God of War Collection. The PS4 lists follow below; you can check out those for other platforms on the PlayStation Blog.
June 2017's Best-Selling PS4 Games on PSN in the US
Friday the 13th: The Game
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Edition
Grand Theft Auto V
God of War III Remastered
Battlefield 1
Horizon Zero Dawn
Tekken 7
Minecraft
Rocket League
FIFA 17
NHL 17
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Need for Speed
Injustice 2
Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition
Ratchet & Clank
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
Overwatch Game of the Year Edition
Star Wars Battlefront
June 2017's Best-Selling PS4 DLC on PSN in the US
Call of Duty Black Ops III: Zombies Chronicles
Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited - ESO Plus
Black Ops III - The Giant Zombies Map
Injustice 2 Darkseid
Battlefield 1 Premium Pass
Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition Adventure Time Mash-up
Destiny 2's beta is coming up later this month for console players, and developer Bungie has now revealed what it'll feature. Whether you're interested in PvE or PvP content, there will be something for you to do.
In a new trailer, the studio announced that Destiny 2's beta will give players access to several parts of the game. You can play through the opening story mission, called Homecoming, which Bungie showed off at E3 2017. You'll also be able to play the Inverted Spire Strike mission and jump into Crucible competitive multiplayer. Check out the beta's trailer above.
In its weekly update, Bungie further detailed the content that players will be able to access. In Crucible, you can play two modes, Control and Countdown. Control is a traditional, Domination-style mode, while Countdown is an asymmetric, attack-and-defend mode. You'll be able to try out the new subclasses, as well. Finally, on July 23 at 10 AM PT/1 PM ET/ 6 PM BST, you can explore the new social space, The Farm, for one hour.
Some services won't be online yet, however. The beta won't support Destiny 2's Clan features, character progression won't be representative of the final game, and characters will be wiped before the game is released. However, if you participate in the beta, you will get a special emblem.
Destiny 2's beta opens to everyone on July 21 and runs through July 23. However, you can get early access to the beta by preordering the game. Early access begins on July 18 for PS4 players and July 19 for Xbox One players. PC players have to wait at least a month for beta access; Bungie says that the PC beta will begin in late August.
The first season of Netflix's animated series based on Castlevania launches today, and hot on its heels comes the announcement that a second season has been ordered. The second season will have a total of eight episodes, which is double the amount of episodes in the first season.
The continuation will once again be produced by Frederator Studios, which is a subsidiary of Wow! Unlimited Media. While legendary comic book writer Warren Ellis wrote the first season, as of yet it is unclear if he will return for the second. Ellis also serves as executive producer, alongside Adi Shankar, Kevin Kolde, and Fred Seibert.
The episodes available now on Netflix were previously billed as part one of season one, suggesting a second part would follow. However, it may be that the second part is now being treated as a new season.
Aymar has also confirmed that Ubisoft is involved with the project. He also shared some little details and noted that Shanker's work on the Castlevania series "is a good reference" for what Ubisoft is aiming for. He later added that it was the "tone, dialogue, intended audience, and voice acting" in particular that will be reflected int he Assassin's Creed series.
ZeniMax--the parent company of Fallout 4 publisher Bethesda--is being sued over ads that the claimant says are "repugnant and morally indefensible." The lawsuit comes from singer-songwriter Dion DiMucci, whose song "The Wanderer" is used in the trailer in question. You can take a look at it above.
The California lawsuit says: "Defendant's commercials were objectionable because they featured repeated homicides in a dark, dystopian landscape, where violence is glorified as sport. The killings and physical violence were not to protect innocent life, but instead were repugnant and morally indefensible images designed to appeal to young consumers."
DiMucci apparently entered an agreement with record label Universal Music Group that his song could be used in Fallout 4 ads. Under the terms of the agreement, DiMucci argues he had the right to prohibit the use of his song unless his terms were met first. However, the suit says ZeniMax failed to bargain with DiMucci separately and did not obtain his permission, meaning DiMucci did not have the chance to request scripting changes "so that, for instance, they instead told the story of a post-apocalyptic struggle for survival without craven violence."
"Alternately," the suit continues, "he could have priced into his fee adequate compensation to safeguard himself against the potential loss of goodwill from being associated with the immoral images in Defendant's scripts."
The suit seeks damages "in excess of $1 million." GameSpot has contacted Bethesda for comment.
The track record for film adaptations of video games remains poor, to say the least, but we've seen curiously few attempts at turning games into TV shows. We're getting one such show today, with a new animated series based on Castlevania making its debut.
Season 1, Part 1 of Castlevania is now available on Netflix. This is comprised of four episodes, each running about 23 minutes long, meaning you've got roughly an hour and a half's worth of episodes to check out. The first trailer for it (above) was surprisingly promising.
"Inspired by the classic video game series, Castlevania is a dark medieval fantasy following the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepes himself," an official description reads.
Castlevania's voice cast includes a pair of stars from the Hobbit films, Richard Armitage (who plays Trevor Belmont here) and Graham McTavish (Dracula). You can check out the full Castlevania cast here.
Coming 10 years after the release of the series' debut installment, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Mystery Journey puts players not in the role of the titular professor, but his daughter Katrielle, who is following in her father's footsteps by opening a detective agency. While searching for the missing professor, she takes on various cases and becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that she must untangle with the aid of her talking basset hound, Sherl.
Mystery Journey is the first mainline Layton game to be developed for smartphones. Level-5 says it was built "from the ground up for mobile devices" and "is the most accessible game in the Professor Layton series yet." Like previous installments, Mystery Journey features a large collection of mind-bending puzzles to solve, and this time players will also be able to customize the Layton Detective Agency and change Katrielle's outfits.
Layton's Mystery Journey is releasing on iOS and Android devices later this month, on July 20, for $16. The game will also come to 3DS sometime this fall. We got a chance to speak with Layton creator and Level-5 president Akihiro Hino last month. Among other topics, we asked him about the series' approach to marrying puzzles with story and his love of Sherlock Holmes. You can read our full interview with Hino here.
Whether or not the recently concluded Steam Summer sale got you to open up your wallet, Steam has something for you to play this weekend. A pair of games are currently in the midst of a free weekend event, letting you play them in their entirety for a limited time.
Steam's other current freebie is Battlesloths 2025: The Great Pizza Wars. It's a competitive twin-stick shooter where you play as sloths who can be dressed up and eat pizza. It's a multiplayer-focused game, though a new patch has been released to coincide with the free weekend event that includes a new single-player challenge mode. Battlesloths was only just released last month, so this is a good chance to check out a new game; if you like it, it's on sale for $10 (down from $15).
Both games can be played in their entirety from now until the afternoon of Sunday, July 9. The discount on Shadow of Mordor runs until July 10, while Battlesloths is on sale until July 17.
You can grab the games through the Steam links below.
Nintendo revealed via Twitter today that a third Zelda art book is in the works. Unlike the previous two, this one will focus entirely on the series' most recent installment, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
While the company didn't announce a release date for the new art book, it did share a few sample images of it on its Twitter account. One shows early sketches of the popular Zora prince, Sidon, whose early designs look much different from the one that appears in the game. Another shows concept art for Sidon's father, King Dorephan,and provides some more background information on the Zora royal family (albeit in Japanese). You can take a look at the images below.
The first Zelda art book, Hyrule Historia, was released in North America in 2013. Along with concept art from throughout the series' history, Hyrule Historia offered insight into the development of each of the series' main installments and detailed where each fits into the Zelda timeline. It was followed by The Legend of Zelda: Arts & Artifacts, a comprehensive collection of artwork and rare sketches from each Zelda game, earlier this year.
The first DLC expansion for Breath of the Wild, The Master Trials, was released last week. It introduced a more difficult Master Mode, as well as an assortment of new armor and masks, an item that lets players create a quick-travel point, and a Hero's Path system that tracks where you traveled around Hyrule. Its most significant addition, however, is the Trial of the Sword, a Cave of Ordeals-like challenge that players will need to complete in order to wield a fully powered Master Sword. The Master Trials can only be purchased as part of the game's $20 Expansion Pass.
Breath of the Wild's next DLC pack, The Champions' Ballad, is scheduled to arrive for the Switch and Wii U versions this holiday. Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma revealed some new details about the DLC during a Zelda masterclass at Japan Expo in Paris. Aonuma confirmed that players will still play as Link in the next expansion, and they'll learn more about Princess Zelda during the course of its story. You can read more about the Champions' Ballad pack--and see some brief development footage of it--here.
As promised, Hearthstone's next expansion has been announced, and this one's theme centers around the Lich King and Northrend. Entitled Knights of the Frozen Throne, it introduces a ton of new cards and some free single-player content.
In terms of cards, there will be 135 new ones in all. These include those that have a new keyword, Lifesteal, which heals players based on the damage that it does. There are now also something called Legendary Hero cards. When played, these replace your character with a modified Death Knight version, which comes equipped with a new ability and look.
One such card is the six-mana Deathstalker Rexxar; it provides you with five armor and has a Battlecry that deals two damage to all enemy minions. It also converts his Hero power to Build-a-Beast. This allows you to "craft a custom Zombeast" card by choosing a pair of cards from two sets of three.
Beyond all this, Knights of the Frozen Throne also features a single-player component, which the most recent expansion, Journey to Un'Goro, did not. Starting this year, Blizzard modified the way in which new expansions and single-player Adventures are rolled out, and you can see that in play here: Knights of the Frozen Throne comes with a set of free missions, including a prologue, two wings of three boss fights each, and a final a battle against the Lich King. Completing the prologue will net you a random Legendary Hero card, while finishing each wing will also get you a card from the expansion. If you make your way through everything, you'll also obtain a card pack.
Knights of the Frozen Throne launches sometime in August. As with past expansions, a special, one-time pre-order offer is available where you can purchase 50 card packs for $50. Doing so also gets you a special card back, pictured above along with some new artwork.
Blizzard has officially revealed its next expansion for Hearthstone: Knights of the Frozen Throne. Unlike Journey to Un'Goro, it features a single-player component--one that's free, no less--but it also adds a ton of new cards.
135 new cards in all will be added in Knights of the Frozen Throne. For now, we've only gotten a look at the first five, which are all pictured below. Two of them feature the new Lifesteal keyword, which restores health to your hero based on the damage the card deals.
A third card features the new type, which is called a Legendary Hero card. This transforms your Hero into a Death Knight, giving him or her a new look and a modified version of their ability. Our only example so far is the one pictured in the gallery: Deathstalker Rexxar costs six mana, provides five armor, and unleashes a Battlecry that deals two damage to all enemy minions on the board. Additionally, it provides Rexxar with a new Hero power called Build-a-Beast, which allows you to build your own Zombeast card.
Check out our announcement story for more on what to expect from Knights of the Frozen Throne. We'll report back in the future as more cards are announced--with 130 more to still come between now and the expansion's launch in August, there should be plenty to dissect.
New footage of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's upcoming story DLC has been released, and more narrative details have been confirmed by series producer Eiji Aonuma.
The developer stated that you'll still play as Link in the Champions' Ballad expansion, but that you'll learn more about Zelda along the way. Take a look at the new development footage below.
Mr Aonuma confirmed you'll still play as Link in The Champions' Ballad, but learn more about #Zelda along the way pic.twitter.com/DvRbvQuOeb
— Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) July 7, 2017
Along with a harder difficulty mode (which uses its own separate save slots), The Master Trials introduces an assortment of new costumes such as the Tingle Outfit and Phantom Armor, a Travel Medallion that allows players to create a temporary quick-travel point, and a system that tracks the path you traveled around Hyrule.
The most significant addition, however, is the Trial of the Sword. Like the Cave of Ordeals from previous Zelda titles, this 45-room challenge tasks players will battling through a series of increasingly difficult encounters. You begin the Trial without any armor or equipment and can only fight using the weapons you acquire during the challenge. Completing the Trial of the Sword lets players wield the Master Sword in its fully powered-up state.
A very short teaser has been released for the live-action adaptation of hit manga and anime series Bleach. The video shows actor Sota Fukushi as protagonist Kurosaki Ichigo and, although it's quite dark, we get to see some of his trademark features.
Most notable among these is his orange hair, which doesn't seem to be as luminescent as it is in the anime, and instead is a little more of a muted tone. Also on display is the giant sword he wields early on in the series.
It looks like the teaser is taken from a scene where Ichigo has just finished defeating a Hollow, as a large claw can be seen falling to the ground, seemingly severed from the rest of the monster. Check out the trailer above.
It's unclear how much of the existing Bleach material the live-action movie will cover and, given that the anime encompasses over 300 episodes and the manga was published across 15 years, there's plenty to work with. The teaser suggests at least some of it will take place in Karakura Town, where both the manga and anime also began.
The Bleach movie is expected to be released in Japan next year.
SHIELD boss and Avengers recruiter Nick Fury was one of the first recurring characters introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and has appeared in six movies since his debut in 2008's Iron Man. However, actor Samuel L. Jackson has been absent from the franchise since 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, leading many fans to wonder when he will return. Now it has been reported that Fury will be back in 2019.
According to Deadline, Jackson will reprise his role in Captain Marvel. Rumors of Jackson's return had circulated online for a few days, but the news has now been confirmed by the site. It is not not known how much Jackson will feature in the film; when we last saw Fury, he was recovering from near-fatal injuries sustained during Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Ahead of her standalone movie, Larson will play Captain Marvel in next year's Avengers: Infinity War, which is currently in production. The film is expected to bring most of the MCU's heroes together to fight the evil Thanos. Last week some on-set footage was released, showing Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) preparing for scenes in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.
Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on May 4, 2018, with Captain Marvel arriving on March 8, 2019.
[Update July 7]: Arms' Max Brass character DLC will launch on July 12, Nintendo has announced. "The Commish," as he's otherwise known, will arrive as part of a free update that day. Check out all the details below.
Original story [July 3] follows.
Nintendo has published a new Arms gameplay video focused on Max Brass, who has been in the game as a boss-like character since its launch, but will become playable in July. Brass is a heavy bruiser that, when his arms are charged up, can take punches without flinching.
When his health falls below 20 percent his arms become permanently charged up, so he becomes an even more formidable fighter as duels progress. Max Brass will be part of the Arms DLC update available for free in July. Watch the video above to see Max Brass in action.
Arms launched earlier in June to positive critical reception. In our review, critic Kallie Plagge called it a "strong, substantial fighting game," but one that "takes a while to really hit its stride."
On June 26, Nintendo released a new update for Arms that introduces new features including the Arena Mode. This is similar to online play's Party Mode, but it is a local multiplayer mode that allows you to spectate your friends' matches while playing in the same room. Up to four friends can be in the same lobby, with two players fighting each other while the other pair watches on.
The update also introduced a LAN Mode which offered the same options as wireless local multiplayer, but with the more stable speeds ethernet connections provide.
Xbox One game gifting is coming soon, meaning you'll be able to buy digital games for your friends in the near future. Xbox's corporate VP at Microsoft, Mike Ybarra, replied to a fan question regarding the feature on Twitter, stating it is "not far" off.
In a separate Tweet, Ybarra said the Xbox team is "looking into" the ability to delete games from your achievements list for which you've earned no achievements, a feature that already exists on PS4.
Disaster movies remain a perennially popular movie genre, and as the likes of San Andreas and The Wave showed, audiences can't get enough of mass destruction on an epic scale. In the upcoming thriller Geostorm, the entire planet is threatened by both devastating weather conditions and truly terrible dialogue--and only one man can save the world. Check out the ludicrous trailer below:
Geostorm stars Gerard Butler, who is best known for action movies such as 300, Olympus Has Fallen, and Point Break. It also stars Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe), Abbie Cornish (Limitless), Ed Harris (Apollo 13), and Andy Garcia (Ocean's 13).
The film is directed by Dean Devlin. This might be Devlin's directorial debut, but he has experience in the genre, having previously written Independence Day and the 1998 version of Godzilla for modern disaster movie king Roland Emmerich.
Geostorm has been much delayed. It was originally shot back in 2014, but unfavourable early screenings led the studio to order extensive reshoots. Devlin was reportedly not involved with the reshoots, which were instead overseen by Danny Cannon (Gotham, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation).
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds will launch in full a little later than originally planned, developer Bluehole has announced. The battle royale title was scheduled to exit Early Access on PC by the end of October, but the full launch will now come "before the end of Q4 2017."
In a blog post, Playerunknown himself, Brendan Greene, said: "I've come to realize that restricting the window to a specific month could hinder us from delivering a fully featured game and/or lead to disappointment within the community if the launch deadline is not met.
"So, we have decided that we are going push the full launch back a bit from the initial six-month timeframe, but want to assure you that we are still planning a full release before the end of Q4 2017," he added.
It is unclear whether Greene means the end of this calendar year or if he is referring to financial year 2017. If it's the latter, that would put Battlegrounds' release date somewhere before the end of March 2018. GameSpot has contacted Bluehole for clarification on the matter and on what the news means for the upcoming Xbox One version, which was scheduled to launch in early access in "late 2017."
The director went on to say he and his team will "continue to push weekly and monthly updates until full launch as we want to ensure that the game we release is the best version possible."
Just yesterday, a new update arrived that fixed a bunch of bugs. Bluehole is working on a load more content, including a new weapon--the short-to-medium range OTS rifle--and improved traversal animations. More weather effects are also on the way, along with mod support further down the line.
Nex Machina, the PS4 and PC shoot-em-up from the developer of Resogun, is pretty awesome. But the game has only been out a week, as with many new releases, Nex Machina had some stability and performance issues for some players. Today, Housemarque released a big new update for the game that improves, fixes, and tweaks the game.
The update is highlighted by a number of gameplay changes meant to balance the game. Hero difficulty, for instance, has been significantly changed to improve gameplay: the developer has added shockwaves, disabled restarts, given players all powerups to start with, and changed the max multiplayer to 999, among other tweaks.
The update has a host of other fixes, as well, including improvements to visual effects, changes to the HUD, world-specific tweaks, and numerous balance patches. In all, it's a massive update that should fix many complaints that players have had. The update is live now on PS4 and PC; you can see the full patch notes here.
The game launched last week to critical acclaim; you can watch gameplay of it here. In addition, GameSpot critic Jason D'Aprile gave it a 9/10, stating, "It's difficult, intensely satisfying, and packed with enough secrets and lofty secondary objectives to keep you enraptured for hours. It's a classic game at heart, but with refined challenges and exacting mechanics, it feels right at home in the modern era."
The price of the popular dinosaur game Ark: Survival Evolved has doubled on Steam. Up until this week, the game had a $30 price tag on PC in its Early Access state. But now, with the full version's August release date coming up for PC and consoles, developer Studio Wildcard has raised the price to $60.
As spotted by Kotaku, Studio Wildcard said on Twitter that the price went up "to ensure retail parity for the upcoming launch." Ark remains in Early Access on PC, and if you bought the lower-priced Early Access version before now, you don't have to buy it again.
Ark's full launch is slated for August 8, across PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The game is already available digitally on console, with the Xbox One edition available for $60 through Microsoft's Game Preview program.
On PS4, you can get Ark in the Founder's Pack for the same price. On August 8, physical versions of Ark will be available at retail, containing the Scorched Earth expansion and more.
Even in its unfinished state, Ark has sold millions of copies already. In June, Studio Wildcard teased that it will have "surprise new content at launch and beyond." Some of this will come in the form of new gameplay features, creatures, and story elements.
Following its theatrical run, Fox's Alien: Covenant is coming out on digital HD stores on August 1 and physically on Blu-ray and DVD on August 15, the company has announced.
According to Collider, the home video version will include 12 extended and deleted scenes. Covenant is a mysterious and at times puzzling film, and it will be interesting to see what the deleted/extended scenes show and how that impacts the story.
Here is a list of the extended and deleted scenes:
Prologue (Extended)
Walter in Greenhouse (Deleted)
Oram and Daniels (Extended)
Walter Visits Daniels (Deleted)
Daniels Bedroom Flashback (Deleted)
Jacob's Funeral (Extended)
Ledwards Fall (Deleted)
Crossing the Plaza (Extended)
Daniels Thanks Walter (Deleted)
Rosenthal Prayer (Deleted)
Walter Reports Back (Deleted)
Stairs to Eggroom (Extended)
The home video version of Covenant also comes with a number of special features, including ones called "Meet Walter" and "The Last Supper." There is also an image gallery of David's illustrations. On top of that, there is director commentary from Ridley Scott and a documentary on the making of the movie called "Master Class: Ridley Scott."
Additionally, retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy have exclusive bonuses like a steelbook, t-shirt, and a gallery of Xenomorph images. Go to Collider to see a full rundown of what's included in the home video version of Covenant.
Covenant opened in May and made more than $230 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. It stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Cudrup, and Danny McBride.
The soccer-with-cars game Rocket League came out two years ago this month. Psyonix is celebrating the anniversary with a big new update, and now the developer has announced more player statistics and launched the game's first-ever double drop-rate weekend. Beginning today, July 6, all uncommon or greater customisation items and Creates will drop with greater frequency. Additionally, the chance of getting a painted version of an item is doubled now until when the promo period ends on July 10.
As for the new player numbers, Psyonix announced that Rocket League has now seen 33 million players, though the game has not necessarily sold that many copies. Over the past 12 months, the game is averaging 1.6 million players every day, 3.3 million per week, and 6.1 million every month. In all, 1.5 billion matches have been played in Rocket League's lifetime, with players collectively scoring 6.9 billion goals.
The Octane car was the most popular one over the past year, while the most popular topper was the Halo. Check out the infographic here on Psyonix's website to see even more awesome stats.
As for Rocket League's 2nd Anniversary Update, it adds a free new map called Champions Field. The update also introduces free Rick and Morty-themed customisation options. Additionally, you can now have different engine sound effects and goal explosions. Some customisation options for these will be available for free, while others are locked as Crate drops. You can get a full rundown of the update here.
Rocket League is a huge hit, but don't expect Rocket League 2 anytime soon. "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," Psyonix's Jeremy Dunham said. "If they're playing our game, we're not going to penalise 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."
Blizzard recently announced a high-end statue of Overwatch's D.Va, and it was on display for attendees at last weekend's Anime Expo.
The statue, which is slated for delivery in the fourth quarter of this year, costs $450 and is available for pre-order on Blizzard's website. See close-up photos below.
Blizzard has now released four high-end Overwatch statues: Tracer, Reaper, Widowmaker, and now D.Va.
In other Overwatch news, today's PTR update added Doomfist, the next playable hero, as well as other changes.
Streaming giant Hulu announced today that it's added HBO to its lineup. The announcement comes just before one of the network's biggest shows, Game of Thrones, returns for its seventh season on July 16.
HBO is available from today, July 6, and is available as a $15/month add-on for the streaming service's on-demand and live-TV packages.
"With this important new partnership, fans can now watch Game of Thrones live every Sunday, binge watch all six seasons of The Sopranos or catch up on Westworld alongside our live TV, sports, classic TV shows and Hulu originals--all without ever having to leave the Hulu app," Hulu boss Tim Connolly said in a news release (via The Verge).
Hulu is just the latest place where you can watch HBO content. Some of the other destinations include PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and Apple TV, among others. For
Hulu also announced today that it's adding Cinemax as an optional add-on, priced at $10 per month. Additionally, the company announced that the following live channels will be available over the coming weeks: HBO 2, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Comedy, HBO Signature HD, HBO Zone, MoreMAX HD, ActionMAX HD, ThrillerMAX HD, MovieMAX HD, 5StarMAX HD, and OuterMAX HD.
Hulu's subscription plans start at $8/month (limited commercials), with a $12/month no-commercials option option also available. Additionally, Netflix now offers a live TV package for $40/month.
Although Kyrie Irving was previously announced as the cover athlete for NBA 2K18, 2K revealed today that, for the first time ever, Canada will have a different cover. DeMar DeRozan, a shooting guard for the Toronto Raptors, will be on the cover of the Canadian release of the game.
This is the first time that there's ever been a Canada-specific cover, and DeRozan's an appropriate choice. He was dubbed "Heir Canada" when he was drafted back in 2009, and he has led the Raptors to several straight playoff appearances.
"It's a huge honor to be recognized on the first-ever Canadian cover for NBA 2Kand represent the Raptors after eight years with the team," DeRozan said in a press release. "The fans up here are super passionate about basketball, so it's cool to help introduce a cover that's just for them."
Curious about the Lord of the Rings game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor? You can now give it a shot without spending a penny, as the game is completely free to try on Xbox One and PC right now. The free trial period is good through July 9.
Should you what to keep playing after that time, the good news is that Shadow of Mordor is significantly discounted on all platforms for a limited time. On Xbox One, you can get the Game of the Year edition for only $4 through July 17, while the same version of the game is on sale through Steam for the same price until July 11. On PlayStation 4, the Game of the Year edition is marked down to $6 until July 11.
In other news, it was announced today that Shadow of Mordor players can import their strongest Nemesis and Follower to the game's sequel, Shadow of War. The Orcs will come over with all of the armor, scars, and marks that they acquired during your playthrough of Shadow of Mordor. You can see the Nemesis Forge trailer above.
Some parts of Destiny 2 will be "tougher" than what players faced in the first game, according to game director Luke Smith. Speaking to IGN, Smith said players will need to more thoughtfully consider their loadouts "at the pinnacle level of the game." He used a golf analogy to make his point.
"If you think of your weapons and items as a golf bag, we want you to look into your golf bag before you start an activity and go, 'Oh, what should we bring to this?'' Smith said.
"For some of those activities, you're going to be loadout-locked once you start which means you can't change. The difficulty, certainly at the pinnacle level of the game, we tried to make a much tougher game."
Also in the interview, Smith talked about some of Destiny 1's struggles. To put it simply, Smith said Destiny 1 at times could feel "hard to enjoy" because the game did not always do enough to show players why their actions mattered.
"Why am I doing this? Does it matter? Is it going somewhere? We didn't do a good job answering those questions holistically," Smith said about Destiny 1. "You want to feel like the game you're playing has a sense of progression."
You can watch the full interview here on IGN's YouTube channel. Smith and project lead Mark Noseworthy outline Bungie's vision for Destiny 2, including the story and more.
A portion of Halo 5: Guardians, the Forge mode, is available on PC. But the full game, including campaign and matchmaking multiplayer, is still exclusive to Xbox One. Why isn't the full experience on PC? Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in a new interview that it would be technically possible to put Halo 5 on PC, but he decided against this so developer 343 Industries can focus on what's next.
"Honestly the answer with Halo 5 is, I can go take last year's game, rework it to go on PC, or I can have 343 look forward in what they're going to go do," Spencer told PC Gamer. "You could say I'm cheating a little bit by doing a half thing with putting Forge on PC, because we kind of have the tools working on PC to see what happens."
Spencer pointed out that Microsoft did something similar with the Forza series, launching a free, scaled down version call Apex on PC. Microsoft later confirmed that all future Forza games will be available on Xbox One and PC. The thinking here is that Microsoft might be considering doing the same with the Halo franchise.
Asked directly if there was any ideological reason why Microsoft wouldn't release the next Halo game on PC, Spencer said, "Not at all."
Nothing new for Halo was announced at E3, something some fans were disappointed about. Recently, Microsoft said it won't talk more about the next big Halo game for "quite some time." The company ruled out an announcement at Gamescom (August) or PAX Prime (September).
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