Ubisoft has staked its claim on a time and place for its E3 press conference this year. It will take place at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles on June 11 at 1 PM PT. The company will also host a live pre-show and post-show to couch the event.
We know that this year's show will serve as the coming out party for The Division 2. Ubisoft announced the sequel with very few details and promised more to come at E3. Also around that time, the first game, The Division, will be updated with a new Crests system, which unlocks rewards in the sequel. It wouldn't be surprising to see these plans outlined at the show to encourage players to jump back into the original.
Beyond that, we've seen sporadic teases of Beyond Good and Evil 2, which may get another look this year. Some likely contenders include Ubisoft's suite of franchises like Splinter Cell and Watch Dogs--or the company could pull out something completely unexpected like last year's Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle.
Ubisoft has also taken to using some of its conference time in recent years to obliquely counter-message against a hostile takeover attempt from Vivendi. That threat has now ended thanks to a deal to acquire Vivendi's shares. with some going to Chinese company Tencent, which is set to act as a partner in the country. That means Ubisoft may take a moment to breathe a public sigh of relief as well.
Update: After removing Rusev from the announced casket match against The Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble and replacing him with Chris Jericho, WWE has changed their minds once again. Jericho has now been removed, with Rusev once again slated against the Phenom. It's unclear why this decision was made--or the original decision to pull Rusev from the card, for that matter. While Rusev has remained silent on the issue, his wife Lana tweeted, "After much thought, I have notified [WWE] officials that I have changed my mind. [Rusev] will celebrate [Rusev Day] by burying The Undertaker in the sands of Saudi Arabi and will win the Casket Match." Original story continues below.
When WWE first started announcing matches for the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble, which will take place in Saudi Arabia later in April, it was revealed that The Undertaker would once again return to the ring. After a quick victory over John Cena at Wrestlemania 34--following what is arguably the worst-booked story of the entire show--the Deadman was set to face Rusev in a casket match.
That was a questionable announcement, given Rusev's growing popularity. Were fans willing to boo him against The Undertaker? Is a loss to the Phenom what that particular character needs at this point? The answer to both questions, most likely, was no. However, WWE has now changed that match. Rusev is out, Chris Jericho is in. For his part, Rusev seems disappointed in the decision, tweeting, "Bury me softly, brother." He also alluded to the reports that his time in WWE could be coming to an end, writing, "Life is life..... it will be [Rusev Day] somewhere."
Jericho is the chosen one for this particular match, though. After making his last WWE appearance on the Raw 25th-anniversary special, self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. will now face Undertaker in the casket match and it's a really smart decision. Time and again, Jericho has proven he can excel as a hero and villain, easily weaving between the two depending on who his opponent is on any given day.
And in no time at all, Jericho has always begun slipping into his villainous role on Instagram, writing, "The last time I was in the ring with [The Undertaker], I beat him for the [WWE] world title. In a few weeks at the [Greatest Royal Rumble], I'm gonna beat him again and BURY his ass."
What's so exciting about this match is that it is a largely unknown quantity. While Jericho and Undertaker have worked together a number of times in multiple-man matches, they've only had a single televised one-on-one encounter. It was in 2009 when they faced off on an episode of Smackdown. The Undertaker left as the victor, but the fans left dying for more.
Now, nearly a decade later, they're going to get it when Chris Jericho and The Undertaker face off in a casket match at the Greatest Royal Rumble. And as if that's not enough, the rest of the card is worthy of its own Wrestlemania. With matches like John Cena vs. Triple H, Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns in a steel cage, and AJ Styles defending his WWE Championship, the night is bound to be full of surprises--and that's before you consider the biggest Royal Rumble match of all time, with 50 WWE superstars partaking.
The Greatest Royal Rumble will air live on the WWE Network at 12 PM ET on Friday, April 27.
We're giving away 3,000 Early Access Keys for you to play PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' new map, Codename: Savage, on Steam. (Scroll down to enter below.)
Entry is open worldwide. The good news is, the Early Access Key allows you to play the map even if you do not own PUBG.
You can access Codename: Savage on the Closed Experimental Server at these times:
Starts: Mon, April 16, 6pm PDT / Tues, April 17, 3am CEST / April 17, 10am KST
Ends: Wed, April 18, 6pm PDT / Thur, April 19, 3am CEST / April 19, 10am KST
Have you had the chance to see Rampage yet? Dwayne Johnson's new video game adaptation--though certainly not his first--is in theaters and performing well at the box office, taking in nearly $150 million worldwide during its opening weekend.
A large portion of that is certainly due to the simple idea of Johnson being best friends with a massive ape named George. Who doesn't want to see that? As GameSpot's Rampage review summed up, it's a big, dumb, and fun action movie--the perfect teaser of what's to come from the summer movie season. Did you happen to spot one of the most ham-fisted Easter eggs of all time, though?
So many films based on previous franchises drop in nods and tributes to the iterations that came before them, and Rampage is no different. However, its ode to the arcade game that started it all practically beats you over the head with the Easter egg that has absolutely no subtlety.
As the film's villains Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) and her dumb-as-rocks sibling Brett Wyden (Jake Lacy) discuss the nerve agent they've developed to turn animals into weapons--called Project Rampage--a Rampage arcade cabinet can clearly be seen in the background. To be clear, while discussing Project Rampage in the head office of a high tech gene manipulation company, a Rampage arcade game just happens to be sitting in the background.
What's more, that's not the only time viewers see the game. Every single scene in the office, most of which is the siblings bickering about how to avoid responsibility for unleashing mutated animals on the world, the camera manages to find the Rampage cabinet.
While it was always practically guaranteed that the Rampage video game would pop up somewhere in the movie, it's surprising that they'd go with something so obvious. Then again, Rampage is very honest about what it is: big, dumb, and fun. It's the kind of movie you go just to enjoy, not necessarily to look for a deeper meaning. So perhaps this is the perfect way to integrate the game into it. After all, it was impossible to miss that big light-up box sitting in the background for so much of the movie--especially when the two evil masterminds, or one mastermind and her idiot brother, constantly talk about Project Rampage.
Are you ready to binge? There's plenty to watch on Netflix this week, including a collection of new original movies and TV shows. These originals join a massive, growing library owned by the streamer, and it's one that's not going to slow its growth anytime soon. Upon revealing it currently has 125 million subscribers, Netflix reiterated its plan to spend $8 billion on original content--including movies, TV shows, documentaries, comedy specials, and more.
As for what's available this week, the movie Dude makes its premiere on the service. Starring Lucy Hale, who can also be seen on the big screen right now in Truth or Dare, Dude follows four high school friends as they approach graduation while smoking a lot of weed.
Elsewhere on Netflix, the films Lakeview Terrace, Seven Pounds, and Friend Request are all being made available to stream. Additionally, new originals like Spy Kids: Mission Critical, Dope, Kodachrome, and Mercury 13 are premiering.
You can take a look at everything Netflix is offering this week below, then make sure to see everything coming and going from the streamer in April. You can also catch up on Hulu and Amazon Prime's offerings this month.
April 15
Lakeview Terrace
Seven Pounds
April 17
The Chalet: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
The Honeymoon Stand Up Special: Collection (Netflix Original)
April 18
Friend Request
Pelé
April 19
Charité: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
Chasing The Dragon
April 20
Aggretsuko, Season 1 (Netflix Original)
Dope: Season 2 (Netflix Original)
Dude (Netflix Original)
Kodachrome (Netflix Original)
Mercury 13 (Netflix Original)
Spy Kids: Mission Critical: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
Another big update is coming very soon to Monster Hunter World. Capcom will release a new patch for both the PS4 and Xbox One versions tomorrow, April 18, which will introduce new gear, another Elder Dragon, and a new type of quest to the game.
The update is scheduled to roll out at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET (1 AM BST on April 19). Most notably, it introduces a new Elder Dragon to hunt: the gold-plated Kulve Taroth. "Cloaked in a heavy golden mantle, this dazzling threat is fast approaching and it's up to you and your Hunting Squad to work together and repel it at all costs," Capcom said in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
Arriving alongside Kulve Taroth is a new type of hunting quest: Sieges. These are limited-time hunts that all players in the Gathering Hub can participate in, meaning up to 16 hunters--divided into four teams of four--can work together to hunt the same Kulve Taroth and make progress toward the quest.
"The primary goal of this Siege is to repel Kulve Taroth, but its shimmering golden mantle happens to be a collection of shiny weapon relics it has gathered along its journey through the New World," Capcom said. "We don't have much information on when and where Kulve Taroth has amassed all these relics, so the nature and quality of these weapons (read: type and stats) are entirely up to fate."
In addition to the weapon relics, players will be able to acquire new materials from the Elder Dragon and use them to craft new Kulve Taroth α and β armor sets, as well as a new set of Palico gear. Capcom is also introducing two new layered armor sets in the update.
The Kulve Taroth Siege kicks off alongside the patch on April 18 and takes place in a new area called the Caverns of El Dorado. It will only be available for a limited time, although Capcom says it will return again sometime in the future. You can take a look at some screenshots of Kulve Taroth and its new armor sets above.
It's nowhere near Halloween, but that's not stopping Microsoft from dropping prices on horror games for Xbox One. Not that any real horror fan needs to wait for October to turn out the lights, pick up a controller, and crank the terror up to 11. Here are the most noteworthy deals in the Xbox One's Un-Halloween Horror Spectacular Sale, which ends April 24.
If first-person frights are your jam, the Outlast series delivers them in spades. Outlast and Outlast 2 get huge discounts, with the first game dropping to $5 US/£4/$7 AU and the sequel sinking to $10 US/£8/$13 AU. Another first-person horror-fest--though with more story and less action than Outlast--is Layers of Fear. It's on sale for $6 US/£5/$8 AU.
Straight-up horror isn't everybody's thing. If thoughtful, creatively told stories about people dying is more your speed, you'll want to check out What Remains of Edith Finch. Not only did it win the BAFTA for best game of 2017, but it's also a gut-wrenching (and occasionally spooky) game. It's on sale for $12 US/£10/$16 AU.
The Jackbox Party Pack 3 contains a hilarious horror-themed trivia game that plays out like a Saw movie, and you can grab it for $17 US/£13/$22 AU. The Escapists: The Walking Dead, meanwhile, is on sale for $5 US/£4/$7 AU. Friday the 13th, a great multiplayer game, is discounted to $16 US/£13/$21 AU. And if you want to test out your rhythm skills, download Crypt of the NecroDancer for $5 US/£4/ $7 AU.
Check out the Un-Halloween sale page for the full list of discounted games. Now go get spooked.
It's been a long wait, but the second round of original Xbox backwards compatible games have finally arrived on Xbox One. Eight more classic Xbox titles are now playable on Microsoft's current-gen console, with another batch set to follow next week.
If you still own the disc for any of these titles, you can pop it into your Xbox One and begin playing. The games are also available for purchase digitally from the Xbox Store. Most of them retail for US $10 / £9 / AU $14.95, while Morrowind and Hunter: The Reckoning are US $15 / £12 / AU $19.95 apiece.
The chances of a sequel to 2015's acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road are looking increasingly unlikely. Although director George Miller has spoken about his plans for a follow-up numerous times over the last couple of years, it was reported last November that Miller was suing Warner, the studio that produced the movie. The case has now started, and things aren't looking hopeful for fans of the action franchise.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, Miller is suing over what he alleges is Warner's non-payment of a $7 million bonus that was guaranteed if the movie's budget came in at under $157 million. Although it went overbudget, Miller states that it was decisions by Warner that caused delays and cost overruns, such as insisting on new scenes and an alternative ending. In addition, Miller says that an additional production company was brought on board without the knowledge of him or his producing partners.
Warner's defence is that the delays and overruns--which resulted in a final budget of $185 million--were largely caused by Miller's production company. The studio claims that the additional photography was necessary to finish the film, and states that the new ending was merely a request, not a demand.
The case is being heard in Australia, where it was first brought. Although Warner initially argued that it should be heard in the US, the Australian Supreme Court ruled in November that it would be litigated there.
Miller was asked about the case during a Q&A at a college this week, and he revealed he had been working on multiple scripts since Fury Road's release. He also confirmed that there were two scripts for further Mad Max scripts ready, but that he had no idea if they would ever happen. "They're there but that's all I can say," he said. "That's in the future."
The BioWare Store is closing at the end of April, and in an effort to unload inventory, it's having a big sale on nearly every item in stock. It looks like things are selling fast, so jump over to the site quickly to see what Mass Effect and Dragon Age goodies you can scoop up at big discounts. BioWare says the closure is temporary until it finds another partner to run the store.
Until then, you can get tons of apparel on sale at steep price drops. You can snag an Andromeda logo hoodie, with a zipper or without, for $20 instead of the usual $60. Ditto N7 hoodies, jackets, and even messenger bags. The sale also features ball caps, beanies, and tees on sale for $5 each.
Lots of figures and plushes are also available. Dragon Age Titans figures are only $1, down from $20. Pin collectors can find sizable discounts on a variety of Mass Effect pins. The store even sells adult coloring books, puzzles, and models of Mass Effect ships.
Some of the biggest savings are on bust statues. These busts, for Dragon Age characters like Cassandra, Sara, and Iron Bull, were made from the actual modeling files used for the in-game cutscenes. They normally retail for $70, but you can get them now for $5 each.
So hit up the BioWare Store before all these clothing items, collectibles, and accessories get bought out. You won't find better deals this side of the Citadel.
Bandai Namco has announced the Nintendo Switch release of Dark Souls: Remastered has been delayed. The game was originally scheduled to launch alongside the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions on May 25, but it has now been pushed to summer 2018. The Solaire of Astora Amiibo has also been postponed into the same timeframe. The PS4 and Xbox One versions, meanwhile, are unaffected.
Dark Souls: Remastered was announced for Nintendo Switch during a Direct event held in January. The Switch version displays the game at 1080p resolution with 30 FPS when played in TV mode. Nintendo also clarified that the Dark Souls Remastered "includes the Artorias of the Abyss DLC, as well as improved framerate and resolution from the original."
Those playing on PS4, Xbox One, or PC will be able to "experience the rich world of Dark Souls in upscaled 4K resolution with 60FPS when playing on a PlayStation 4 Pro system, Xbox One X, and PC," according to the original press release.
Dark Souls Remastered will also support "up to six players" for online multiplayer, which is one of the major changes from the original versions of the game. You can read about all the differences between the original Dark Souls and Dark Souls: Remastered here.
In GameSpot's original Dark Souls review Kevin VanOrd awarded it a 9.5/10, describing it as "riveting."
"Dark Souls requires intense focus," he said. "This isn't a lighthearted romp in a bright and colorful fantasy world; it's a methodical journey into the frightening unknown. And that's what makes it so riveting. Some games try to scare you with bump-in-the-night shocks and far-off howls, but Dark Souls doesn't require such predictable methods of terror. Its terrors emanate from its very core, each step bringing you closer to another inevitable death.
"How amazing that such a terrible place could be so inviting. The game's world is so memorable, and its action so thrilling, that it might invade your thoughts even when you aren't playing, silently urging you to escape the real world and return to this far more treacherous one. Dark Souls doesn't just surpass other dungeon crawlers; it skewers them with a razor-sharp halberd and leaves behind their soulless corpses."
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds may be known as a battle royale brawler, but the latest Event Mode is changing up the game's one-life-only gameplay. War Mode is now live on PC and allows you to play team deathmatches with respawns every 40 seconds. The Event Mode is only around until the end of the weekend.
War Mode is 10 vs. 10 on the Erangel map, and it takes place in a static play zone. If you die, you're able to re-enter the battle via special respawn planes that fly by every 40 seconds. Teams gain points by killing enemies and reviving teammates, and the team that reaches 200 points in the first 15 minutes wins. War ends on Sunday, April 15, at 10 PM ET / 7 PM PT (3 AM BST Monday).
In other PUBG news, a new update has just been released for PC players. Patch 10 is now available and makes a number of adjustments to the Miramar map and other aspects of the game, including tweaks to the northeastern and northwestern parts of the map. Additional roads, off-road paths, and car spawn locations have been added too, and the delay time between Blue Zones has been decreased to give players less time between phases.
Meanwhile, players can sign up starting Saturday to take part in the second round of testing for PUBG's new map, Savage. PUBG Corp. will be reactivating its registration site on Saturday, April 14, at 5 AM PT / 8 AM ET / 1 PM BST. If you already have a beta key for PUBG's Experimental Test Server, you already have everything you need to take part in the second round of testing. Check out GameSpot's impressions of Savage and its faster, more intense gameplay from the first round of testing.
Star Wars Battlefront II's loot box controversy undoubtedly stole the game's thunder when it released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One last November. After pre-release gameplay revealed the game was essentially "pay-to-play" thanks to the way the progression system worked, EA pulled in-game transactions altogether. Now Patrick Söderlund, EA's former head of worldwide studios who was just appointed chief design officer in an internal shakeup, is speaking out about the fiasco and the company's next steps.
"I'd be lying to you if I said that what's happened with Battlefront and what's happened with everything surrounding loot boxes and these things haven't had an effect on EA as a company and an effect on us as management," Söderlund told The Verge. "We can shy away from it and pretend like it didn't happen, or we can act responsibly and realize that we made some mistakes, and try to rectify those mistakes and learn from them."
Earlier this year, EA revealed that Battlefront II had failed to meet sales targets, which the company blamed on the microtransaction controversy that plagued its launch. EA has maintained its insistence that it will make good with the game. Later this week, Battlefront II will get an update that brings microtransactions back to the game, but for cosmetic items only. Söderlund feels the game has now turned a corner.
"We had to take very quick and drastic actions to turn everything off, and we've since worked and redesigned the progression system. People seem to appreciate what we've done, players are coming back, and we're seeing stronger engagement numbers. People seem to think that for the most part, we got it right. It doesn't mean we will stop. We'll continue to improve the game, we'll continue to push on these things, and we'll have to be very cautious with what this means for future products," he said.
EA has some large releases in its future, with the next Battlefield title in the cards and the Destiny-esque action game Anthem due out next year. Söderlund says the company has done its homework, this time around.
"We have taken significant steps as a company to review and understand the mechanics around monetization, loot boxes, and other things in our games before they go to market. For games that come next, for Battlefield or for Anthem, [players have] made it very clear that we can't afford to make similar mistakes. And we won't."
Extinction has some giant aspirations, but ultimately the action/adventure game for PC, PS4, and Xbox One has fallen short among critics. You play a warrior who sprints up walls, soars through the air, and channels sacred energy to use in your fight against terrifying (and devastatingly powerful) giants to save civilization. The premise may sound awesome, but many felt the gameplay simply didn't deliver and the story fell flat.
So is Extinction worth a bit of your time nonetheless? It depends on who you ask. Check out some gameplay in the video above and the full review outlook at Metacritic, then read on to see what critics are saying.
Game: Extinction
Developer / Publisher: Iron Galaxy / Maximum Games
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: Out now
Price: US $60 / £46 / AU $99.95
GameSpot -- 4/10
"Extinction shoots itself in the foot time and time again. It's so frustrating to see its good ideas buried under repetitive missions, a forgettable story, and embarrassing production values for its AAA price. Play one hour of it and you've basically done a bit of everything it has to offer; then it's rinse and repeat for as long as you can bear to stick with it. It's a frail and monotonous game destined for the bargain bin." -- Peter Brown [Full review]
IGN -- 6.6/10
"Extinction is a sword-slinging, monster-decapitating action game that does a decent job of getting the blood pumping and reflexes twitching. The eye-catching, anime-inspired art will even give you some nice scenery to do it all in. It just never rises to be much more than that, and all the while it's inviting comparisons to other games that do. Extinction lands in that awkward position where, yeah, it's usually fun - but you're not really missing anything incredible by giving it a pass." -- TJ Hafer [Full review]
PC Gamer -- 58/100
"Extinction is a polished game, from the slick UI to the snappy, responsive controls. Avil can double-jump, glide, and clamber up walls, which makes him feel satisfyingly nimble. And the game maintains a reliably solid frame-rate, even when those hulking ogres shamble into view and start smashing buildings. But there isn't enough here to justify that £55/$60 price point. The ogres get harder to kill, new enemy types are introduced, and the maps change, slightly, but genuine surprises are few and far between." -- Andy Kelly [Full review]
Destructoid -- 6/10
"Extinction is a good blueprint for a more interesting game. I came in excited to slice up some giants, but after the fifth rote exercise I was kind of over it. There are some flashes of brilliance every now and then but the over-reliance on the core energy meter idea keeps it imprisoned in the depths of repetitive arcade territory." -- Chris Carter [Full review]
PlayStation Universe -- 4/10
"Extinction is a poor game with great ideas. A lot of the problems it suffers from just shouldn't be problems in this day and age. Combat looks cool but functions terribly, and the game's biggest selling point of taking down giant Orcs is ruined by the horrible climbing mechanics and terrible camera. It's a shame, as I really looked forward to enjoying Extinction until I actually played it. Now I wish I could forget it." -- Garri Bagdasarov [Full review]
Slant Magazine -- 2/5
"Extinction never opens up the way it's clearly supposed to, instead falling into a repetition that makes the game feel every bit as stale as its story concept." -- Steven Scaife [Full review]
Push Square -- 6/10
"Extinction had the potential to be something special, but a few too many flaws and frustrations hold it back from true greatness. Despite that, we still think this adventure of epic proportions is very much worth a purchase if the grand scale even slightly grabs your interest." -- Liam Croft [Full review]
EGM Now -- 6/10
"Extinction shows a lot of promise, and it sometimes delivers, like when it comes to the engaging, acrobatic combat or the sheer scale of the Ravenii. Unfortunately, the repetitive mission types and gameplay and a clichéd fantasy tale make it feel like a shell of a game. Far from feeling like a full retail release, Extinction feels like one good idea run into the ground until you're checking your watch, waiting for it to end." -- Michael Goroff [Full review]
BlizzCon 2018, Blizzard's huge annual convention, is returning at the start of November. The company has announced BlizzCon 2018's dates: November 2-3 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Blizzard has also announced the dates for BlizzCon Opening Week, which kicks off several rounds of esports competition in StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm, and World of Warcraft. For the first time, it'll will sell a limited number of tickets to Opening Week events too.
Tickets for BlizzCon will go on sale on two dates: Wednesday, May 9, at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET and Saturday May 12, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. Tickets will cost $200 and you can buy them on Universe. That price gets you full admission over the two days, plus tons of loot from Blizzard games (just check out last year's haul).
For the first year, fans will also get the chance to buy tickets for events during BlizzCon Opening Week. Opening Week takes place right before BlizzCon, October 25-29, and includes tons of esports events. The initial rounds of the StarCraft II World Championship Series Finals, Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Finals, and the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship Finals take place during this week at the Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California. The final rounds of these three championships will all take place during BlizzCon itself.
Like in previous years, if you like the sounds of all of the above but can't make it to Southern California for the event, you can buy a Virtual Ticket and get access to livestreams of all the event, along with lots of bonus content (including special in-game items). Blizzard says availability, programming, and pricing details for the Virtual Tickets will be announced at a later date, and GameSpot will update as soon as more info is announced.
It's a big week for PS4 owners. In addition to the highly anticipated God of War, this week marks the release of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, the latest installment in the Yakuza series and the final chapter in protagonist Kazuma Kiryu's saga.
First released in Japan nearly two years ago, Yakuza 6 finds the former mobster struggling to reconcile his criminal past with raising a baby. After serving out his prison sentence, Kiryu learns that his adoptive daughter is in a coma following a hit-and-run. He takes her infant child into his care and travels to Onomichi, Hiroshima to investigate the incident.
For the last chapter in Kiryu's story, Sega has pared back some of the series' extraneous elements, resulting in a leaner--and more impactful--experience. In GameSpot's Yakuza 6 review, Edmond Tran said the game "successfully uses its smaller footprint to create a deeper, more meaningful impression."
Other reviews for Yakuza 6 are also now available online ahead of the game's release. We've compiled a selection of them below to give you an idea of what critics are saying about Kazuma Kiryu's swansong. For a broader look at Yakuza 6's critical reception, be sure to visit GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
Game: Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Developer: Sega
Platform: PS4
Release date: April 17
Price: US $60 / £50 / AU $84.95
GameSpot -- 8/10
"Yakuza 6 reins in its scope, but doubles down on what has made the series great. It's a unique and fascinating representation of the modern Japanese experience, worth playing even if you're a newcomer. The narrative is dramatic and sincere, and the game's endearing characters--coming from all walks of life--are interesting studies. The world is dense and rewarding to exist in, the dynamic combat system stays exciting even after you've kicked the crap out of five thousand enemies, and perhaps most importantly, Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life serves as a fulfilling conclusion to the turbulent, decade-long saga of its beloved icon, Kazuma Kiryu." -- Edmond Tran [Full review]
IGN -- 7.5/10
"Yakuza 6: The Song of Life presents the most detailed virtual chunk of Japan the series has managed to date, and its story provides a satisfying end to the Kazuma Kiryu saga. However, as far as gameplay goes, Yakuza 6 doesn't make enough of an effort to break new ground, making it weaker overall than last year's Yakuza Zero. In a way it's a good place to jump in if you're new to the series because its overly simplified combat system is easy to learn, but anybody who learns the ropes here might not return for more because they may be burnt out on the repetitive nature of the fights. Series stalwarts, meanwhile, will no doubt be hoping that whatever comes next will feel less like a watered-down retread of what's come before." -- Tristan Ogilvie [Full review]
Polygon -- 8.5/10
"Even with my criticisms of the admittedly optional and inconsequential aspects of the game, Yakuza 6 succeeds because its core story is so compelling. Every seemingly disconnected part serves a purpose: Without fights, it'd just be a movie; without cutscenes, it'd just be a series of contextless fights; without exploration, it'd be an on-rails punching simulator. All of those unexpected pieces and the (oh-so-long) cutscenes interact to make an equal parts story- and punching-driven game that is heart-wrenching. This is so much more than that game about a crime guy that I had expected. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go befriend some more cats." -- Jeffrey Parkin [Full review]
Game Informer -- 9.25/10
"As fun as it all was, I'm still sad to see Kiryu off. He leaves the series on his own terms, and the conclusion is a fitting tribute to the character. One of the things I've liked most about him is how he remained decent, even though his lifestyle frequently put him into contact with decidedly less decent folks. Heck, one of the game's lengthiest mission chains is focused on making friends with all the patrons at a bar. Kiryu approaches the bizarre situations he encounters with grace and empathy, while also bringing a righteous rage when necessary. I'll certainly miss Kiryu, but we clearly haven't seen the end of Yakuza." -- Jeff Cork [Full review]
US Gamer -- 4/5
"If you're coming to this game from Yakuza Kiwami, the transition feels a bit better than the one from Yakuza 0. Yakuza 0 is simply the better game overall, leaving Yakuza 6 as just a great game. Of course, a number of games aspire to be 'great,' so Yakuza hitting that benchmark even on an off year is a testament to the development team and the strength of the franchise. Yakuza 6 is well worth your time, but remember to manage your expectations." -- Mike Williams [Full review]
GamesRadar+ -- 4.5/5
"As a parting paean for its lead character, Yakuza 6 is sweet, sagely, and surprisingly subtle in its storytelling. As a culmination of over ten years of Yakuza games, it's also just as crazy and comical as you'd expect. The fact that it successfully pulls off both of these ambitions is The Song of Life's crowning achievement." -- Alex Avard [Full review]
EGM Now -- 9/10
"It's taken me a long time to experience the Yakuza series, but Yakuza 6 makes me so thankful that I finally have. The insurmountable badass Kazuma Kiryu is surrounded by a fantastic cast of characters and some gripping drama--it's just a shame that the 'game' portion of this video game isn't quite what it could be. Still, this is a superb adventure from beginning to end, and further proof of the magic that Japanese developers can weave when they put their minds to it." -- Mollie L. Patterson [Full review]
PS4's highly anticipated God of War is only a few days away, with pre-loading even closer. Sony Santa Monica's reboot of the long-running action series releases on Friday, April 20, though some players will have a chance to play it a little before then depending on where you live.
If you're planning on picking the title up digitally, God of War will be available from the PlayStation Store right at 12 AM ET on April 20, meaning PS4 owners on the West Coast can start playing it at 9 PM PT on April 19. The Europe and Australia PlayStation Stores also list the game for April 19, although neither says the exact time that it will be available those regions yet. On PSN in the US, Sony says that pre-loading begins at some point on Tuesday, April 17.
Ahead of its release, you're still able to pre-order God of War digitally, which will get you a handful of bonus items. The standard edition comes with several God of War avatars that will be available immediately upon purchase. The game also comes in a Digital Deluxe edition, which contains an assortment of exclusive content, such as special armor and shield skins. You can see all of the bonus items in our God of War pre-order guide.
God of War is the first new installment in the series since 2013's God of War Ascension for PS3. Unlike previous titles, the upcoming PS4 entry focuses on the story of Kratos and his son, Atreus. The game diverges from its predecessors in a number of other notable ways, drawing on Norse mythology as opposed to Greek and arming Kratos with the new Leviathan Axe.
Critics have had very good things to say about the new God of War. GameSpot's Peter Brown awarded it a 9/10 in our God of War review and called it "a spectacular action game with epic set pieces." He wrote, "Like Kratos, God of War recalls the past while acknowledging the need to improve. Everything new it does is for the better, and everything it holds onto benefits as a result. Kratos is no longer a predictable brute. God of War is no longer an old-fashioned action series. With this reboot, it confidently walks a new path that will hopefully lead to more exciting adventures to come."
This week Best Buy is running a couple of special offers on Blu-rays and 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays. Both sales require you to pick movies from a select group of films, many of which are already on sale. But if you find multiple movies you want among the selections, you'll save even more money. Here are the deals.
2 for $20 Blu-ray sale
If you watch your movies in Blu-ray form, you can take advantage of a deal on select movies, thanks to this special offer. You have 16 movies to choose from. Select any two, and you'll get them both for $20.
The options here even contain a number of film collections, like a Kubrick collection that comes with 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining. Also offered here is a collection of all four Lethal Weapon movies, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as a collection containing all four pre-Nolan Batman films.
In terms of standalone movies, you can pick from films like American Sniper, The Accountant, Suicide Squad, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Not a bad selection.
3 for $45 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray sale
Those with an Xbox One X or any other 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player should take a look at this special offer. If you buy three movies from the list, you get them all for $45.
The deal gives you 16 movies to choose from. They include newer fare like the Oscar-winning horror movie Get Out and last year's The Mummy, as well as the video game movie Warcraft. A few older classics are available in this special offer as well, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Ron Howard's Apollo 13, which is basically like watching Murphy's Law play out on a lunar mission in space.
That's about it for these special offers at Best Buy. If you're wondering what kinds of deals you can get on games, check out this week's video game deals at Best Buy.
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
Sega is bringing a slate of its classic titles to Nintendo Switch. During the Sega Fes event in Japan, the publisher announced Sega Ages, a lineup of retro Sega games that are coming to North America, Europe, and Japan later this year.
The Sega Ages ports are being handled by M2, the studio behind the Sega 3D Classics series on 3DS. M2 was also responsible for the Game Boy Advance line of Virtual Console titles on Wii U.
Sega hasn't announced an exact release date or pricing details for the Sega Ages games, but the publisher shared a handful of screenshots of them, which you can take a look at above. During the event, Sega teased that it is planning to release more than 15 games under the Sega Ages banner.
In addition to the Sega Ages titles, Sega also unveiled a mini Sega Genesis during the Sega Fes event. More notably, the publisher announced Shenmue I & II, a collection of the beloved Dreamcast games coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC later this year.
The digital PC game retailer GOG is running a PC game sale based on its "most wishlisted" games and DLC. It's called the Most Wanted Games sale, and it runs through April 23. You can find all of the items on sale on GOG's website but below we'll run down some of the best deals in the sale.
If you have a couple hundred hours you're looking to fill up, you can't go wrong buying The Witcher 3: Game of the Year Edition for $20. It comes with the enormous action-RPG, plus the two massive expansions that came out later. It's a killer deal on one of the best RPGs ever made.
Speaking of superb RPGs, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is on sale for $38. It's a fully modern isometric RPG that we loved. Fans of the genre may also want to check out the enhanced editions of these classics: Planescape Torment for $7 and Baldur's Gate 2 for $5.
Thoughtful types may enjoy the cryptic puzzles in The Witness for $16, while fans of intense action will be better suited with Superhot for $12 or Hotline Miami 2 for $4. Old-school gamers who haven't checked out Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove or Owlboy can give them a try at $20 each.
Horror game fans can save money on titles like Darkest Dungeon ($10), which tasks you with keeping your party sane in addition to keeping them alive. The freaky game Soma also got a steep price cut, landing it at $6.
Those are just a few of the many "most wishlisted" games on sale at GOG. Visit the front page of the site to see the full list.
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Game Awards were held this week. Spoiler alert: What Remains of Edith Finch won Best Game. But to celebrate the nominees, both Steam and the Humble Store have dropped prices on some of the best games of 2017. Many of the deals are the same at both stores, so if you prefer one over the other, be sure to compare prices on the games you want. It's also worth noting that Humble Monthly subscribers get 10% off at the Humble Store. With that out of the way, here's what's on sale.
Steam
You can find the full list of games in the Steam BAFTA sale here, but we'll highlight some of the best deals below. Let's start with the Best Game winner. What Remains of Edith Finch is on sale for $14/£10. It's a unique story-based game that puts you in the shoes of many doomed family members related to the title character. Each vignette plays out in a different, often touching, way. There's nothing else quite like this game.
The acclaimed Metroid-style action game Hollow Knight is on sale for $10/£7. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, which tackles mental illness in a creative way, got a slight price drop to $27/£22. And the challenging-yet-satisfying game Cuphead is on sale for $17/£13.
If you're into narrative- and character-driven games, you have lots of options, too. Tacoma, which has you figure out what happened to the missing crew of a space station, is half off at $10/£7. Night in the Woods, a game about a girl coming home to her small hometown after dropping out of college, is $14/£10. And the prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm is on sale for $10/£7.
Humble Store
Many of the same games are on sale for the same or similar prices at the Humble Store. You can see the full list here, but let's look at some of the deals that are better than the ones on Steam.
If you have a pile of games you're ready to trade in, you can get extra cash at GameStop for a limited time. Usually when you trade in a game, you can choose to have it paid out as a lower amount of cash or a higher amount of store credit. From now through April 22, however, GameStop is paying out just as much cash as it would store credit.
There are a couple details to note here. It's only valid at participating stores in the US and Guam, and it's not valid in California (sorry, folks). You can see a list of the ineligible stores here.
But if you want cash for your trade-ins, now is the time to make the trades. If you don't want to be surprised by the trade-in value, you can find out how much GameStop pays out here. And if you want to compare the results to other retailers, you can do the same at these links for Amazon and Best Buy.
GameStop has one other trade-in deal going on that could be useful for anyone planning to buy God of War or Nintendo Labo when they launch on April 20. If you put your trade-in credit toward those games, you'll get up to 40% extra value, depending on your Pro membership level. You can find the details for that deal here.
GameStop's new weekly ad is now live, featuring discounts that are available now through April 17. It contains all kinds of deals, ranging from sales on new games for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, plus a few trade-in deals. Let's dig in and get to the good parts.
The selection of special offers on console games is fairly limited this week. You can get Grand Theft Auto V for $30 and BioShock: The Collection for $20. Mafia 3 and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection are both on sale for $15. Finally, LA Noire got a $10 price cut this week, bringing it down to $30 on PS4 and $40 on Switch. (Sorry, Switch owners, those cartridges are expensive.)
One thing GameStop would like you to know when perusing the weekly ad is that you can now pre-order two mascot trilogy remasters. Spyro: Reignited Trilogy is coming to PS4 and Xbox One on September 21, and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is making its way to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on July 10. Unfortunately, GameStop doesn't offer discounts on pre-orders, but Amazon and Best Buy do if you're in their membership programs. Here's where Amazon Prime members and Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked members can go to pre-order the games for 20% off.
In GameStop trade-in news, you get an extra 40% credit when you trade games or hardware toward Apple, PlayStation Store, and Xbox gift cards. GameStop is also offering extra cash for trade-ins this week. And if you trade in a PS4 or Xbox One, you'll get up to $80 of additional trade-in credit, depending on the model, until April 22. Additionally, pre-owned GameStop games that cost less than $5 are four for $10 this week.
That wraps up GameStop's weekly deals, but you can click the following links for current sales on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
While avoiding movies spoilers is always challenge, the level of secrecy that surrounds this month's Avengers: Infinity War is unusually high. Although there have been plenty of trailers and TV spots released over the past few weeks, little is known about the plot beyond the basic outline--namely all the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe come together to fight the evil Thanos. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo have already issued an appeal to fans not to spoil the film's surprises, and now both the filmmakers and the cast have spoken about the other lengths they have gone to.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Joe Russo revealed that they wrote fake scripts for their stars, so that even they didn't know all the events of Infinity War. "We put a lot of effort into making sure nobody knows the true story of the film," he said. "All the actors were given fake scripts. Very few people have seen the actual film itself."
"We can't trust anybody--at least of all [Spider-Man actor] Tom Holland!--with the truth," he continued. "It's a burden to bear for them. It's probably easier to have read a fake script and a fake ending because they don't have the pressure of knowing what happens in the movie and then they have to hide it."
Paul Bettany, who plays the Vision in the MCU, confirmed that all the actors spent time rehearsing with scripts "that had fake scenes in it, fake twists in it, fake storylines."
"You get on set and they say, 'All of that stuff you read? That's not what happens!'," Bettany said. "Then they give us the real deal and we kind of deal with it there and then."
There have been many rumors about the movie--including that not all the heroes will make it out alive. In addition, we still don't know the title of next year's Avengers 4, because revealing it would will spoil the events of Infinity War. "The fact that the Russo brothers won't give us the Avengers 4 title because it spoils Infinity War scares the s**t outta me," a fan tweeted earlier this month, to which the brothers replied, "It should."
Avengers: Infinity Warfinally arrives next week, and two new posters have been revealed. These follow the long line of trailers, TV spots, and featurettes that have been released in the build-up to the movie.
These latest posters are the best so far. Unlike the Infinity Stones-themed posters released a few weeks back, they feature all the movie's big heroes together. One poster is illustrated while the other uses photos of the stars, and both are incredibly stylish. Check them out below:
Avengers: Infinity War is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo who previously helmed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. In a recent interview, Anthony Russo spoke about the challenges of making a movie with so many characters. "This is one of the most complicated movies ever made in many ways," he said. "I think all of us appreciate what a special and unique opportunity this was. No one has ever seen a film like this. No one has ever seen this number of loved characters in a single film with this caliber of cast. And that's really what drove all of us."
The Russos have also appealed for fans not to spoil any of the movie's big surprises via a note they posted on Twitter. They asked viewers not to "spoil it for others, the same way you wouldn't want it spoiled for you." Spider-Man actor Tom Holland released his own excellent response.
While superhero movies have dominated the box office over the past decade, few expected 2016's Deadpool to be quite so successful. The movie had a relatively modest budget and an R rating, but it went on to outgross every other movie in the X-Men franchise to that point. So expectations are high for Deadpool 2, which arrives on May 16, and now we have some new TV spots.
These were broadcast last night during the season finale of AMC's The Walking Dead, with a new introduction from the Merc with a Mouth himself (played by Ryan Reynolds). There was also the debut of a cool zombie Deadpool poster. Check them all out below:
Deadpool 2 also stars Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz, TJ Miller, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Julian Dennison, and Terry Crews. It is directed by David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde). He replaced Tim Miller, who reportedly clashed with Reynolds over the direction of the movie. Last month, it was reported that the film had undergone reshoots to add more footage of Cable and Domino, who had proven very popular with audiences at test screenings.
In a recent interview with Collider, Brolin spoke about the physical challenges of playing Cable. "I got beat to s*** on that movie," he said. "I had stuntmen throwing me all over the place. I've got a shoulder issue, I've got a knee issue that I've got to deal with now, but we got through it. We got through it. I pushed hard and I suffered because of it."
Now, with God of War's release date drawing ever closer, reviews have gone live for the next big PS4 game, and it seems critics are impressed. In our God of War review, Peter Brown awarded the action-adventure title a 9/10, saying it's a "spectacular action game with epic set pieces, big-budget production values, and hard-hitting combat." For more on what critics thought, check out our review roundup below, or head over to Metacritic for a wider view of the game's critical reception.
Game: God of War
Developer / Publisher: Sony Santa Monica / Sony
Platforms: PS4
Release Date: April 20
Price: US $60 / £53 / AU $100
GameSpot -- 9/10
"In many ways God of War is what the series has always been. It's a spectacular action game with epic set pieces, big-budget production values, and hard-hitting combat that grows more feverish and impressive as you progress. What may surprise you is how mature its storytelling has become. Like Kratos, God of War recalls the past while acknowledging the need to improve. Everything new it does is for the better, and everything it holds onto benefits as a result. Kratos is no longer a predictable brute. God of War is no longer an old-fashioned action series. With this reboot, it confidently walks a new path that will hopefully lead to more exciting adventures to come." -- Peter Brown [Full review]
IGN -- 10/10
"I expected great action from God of War, and it delivers that handily. But I didn't expect it to be a thrilling journey in which every aspect of it complements the others to form what is nothing short of a masterpiece. It's a game in which Kratos, a previously one-note character, becomes a complex father, warrior, and monster, embattled both on the field and within his own heart about how to treat his son; one in which the world opens up and shifts, offering rewards in both gameplay and knowledge of its lore that I treasured with each accomplishment. The obvious care that went into crafting its world, characters, and gameplay delivers by far the most stirring and memorable game in the series." -- Jonathon Dornbush [Full review]
The Guardian -- 5/5
"It is rare to play a game so accomplished in everything it sets out to do. God of War is a standard-setter both technologically and narratively. It is a game that, until recently, would have been impossible." -- Keza MacDonald [Full review]
Game Informer -- 9.75/10
"Years ago, Kratos killed the deities of Mount Olympus in a gory rampage. Now, in the Norse realm, he has remade himself into a different kind of god. He is quieter and more deliberate, affected by his history but not constrained by it. Kratos' reinvention serves as a narrative hook, but it also parallels the series' evolution as a whole; where God of War once relied on bombast and bloodlust, now it leaves space for strategy and nuance. It still has superb action and plenty of jaw-dropping moments, but it supports them with a new level of depth and maturity. God of War learns from its past while clearing an exciting path for the future, and emerges as one of the best games of this generation." -- Joe Juba [Full review]
Variety -- No Score
"Kratos remains capable of startling violence. But there is a sense that even Sony Santa Monica has recoiled from some of 'God of War's' legacy, and the game is better for it. It is a game that treats its history with respect where appropriate, but without obligation, even in its very concluding moments. This new God of War has some rough edges remaining in its transition to something new, but even in its concluding moments, it commits to its vision in a way that few games do--and it's the first time the series has felt vibrant and important in a decade." -- Arthur Gies [Full review]
Polygon -- 10/10
"A decade ago, director Cory Barlog helped establish the God of War franchise as an iconic gory and debaucherous video game romp. While its antihero, Kratos, had pathos (he killed his wife and daughter in a fit of rage, his skin forever grayed by their ashes), it served little dramatic purpose, rather existing as a grimdark excuse for his god-slaying and orgy-having ways. Barlog--now older, a father--has returned to the series with a bundle of talented designers, many of whom served on the earlier games, to make good on that rich but neglected potential at its core. There's still plenty of gore, but the now the guts have meatiness." -- Chris Plante [Full review]
Eurogamer -- Recommended
"Like Kratos, the god of fury who must learn not to fear his son, this is a strange beast, really. The latest technology and astonishing craft and artistry are employed to deliver a game of extremely simple pleasures--a wash of new pseudo-ideas that cannot hide the fact that the basics remain unfixed because they were not broken. God of War dresses things up, in other words, but it is ultimately the same deal it always was. As is the way with myths, I guess. As is the way with gods." -- Christian Donlan [Full review]
Far Cry 5 once again tops the UK charts, making it three weeks in a row at No.1. According to sales monitor GfK Chart-Track, Ubisoft's open-world title was the best-selling physical game in the UK for the week ending April 14, ahead of FIFA 18 at No.2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at No.3.
The week was a barren one in terms of new releases, with no new games entering the chart. That means Grand Theft Auto V rises four places to No.4 and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds maintains its No.5 position from the previous week. Another Xbox One console exclusive, Sea of Thieves, drops three places to No.6.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
Capcom has confirmed that Falke, the next DLC fighter for Street Fighter V, will be available from April 24. Falke will be available for $6 or 100,000 Fight Money. International pricing hasn't been confirmed but is likely to be in line with previous characters. Falke also included in the Season 3 character pass, which also grants access to Sakura and Blanka (both available now), as well as Cody, G, and Sagat (coming in the future).
She's a brand new character to the series but, like Ed and M. Bison, utilizes Psycho Power in her fighting style. "Falke was built to be an alternative clone for M. Bison," explains Capcom. "She was heavily experimented on by Shadaloo and was forced to train day in, day out to achieve perfection.
"Falke has the unique ability to infuse Psycho Power into objects and release it through them, mainly through her staff, which she named Harmony," the official description continues. "Years of harsh training went by, causing Falke to spiral deep into despair, wishing for it all to end. Finally, Ed came to her rescue and they both were able to escape Shadaloo. Now, the two have a sibling-like bond and are searching for others like them in need of help."
Falke's fighting style leans heavily on a staff that uses to keep enemies at a distance. Her attackes are also infused with Psycho Power, which players can channel by holding down any punch button. Since her staff effectively acts as a conduit, these moves can be charged up and released in a number of ways. While standing a blast of Psycho Power can be shot out like a shotgun, in the air a projectile can be shot downwards diagonally, and while crouching Falke goes prone and shoots a projectile at an enemy's feet. This prone move, called Psycho Kanonen, can also be used to duck incoming projectiles, giving it both offensive and defensive applications.
"Like Ed, some of Falke's special moves only require either two punch or two kick buttons--no special inputs required," Capcom says. "Pressing two punches will result in Psycho Schneide, which is her version of an uppercut. Pressing two kicks is Katapult, which sees Falke pole vaulting towards the opponent in a kick motion."
Falke's V-Skill is called Psycho Trombe and during it she spins her staff in front of her. This move can then be cancelled by a "variety of normal moves and can also be used to absorb projectiles." Her V-Trigger, meanwhile, is called Staerken and "powers up her ability to infuse and release Psycho Power from her staff and will allow her to use additional versions of her special moves without needing to charge up in advance."
Her V-Trigger II, known as Psycho Angriff, lets her "twirl around hitting the opponent into the air, which she then follows up with a surge of Psycho Power." If you press hard punch and hard kick during this, Psycho Sturm will be activated to deliver a sweeping staff attack that can be cancelled for combo extensions. Down, hard punch, and hard kick, meanwhile, will make Falke jump into the air diagonally and slam her staff down onto her enemy.
Finally, Falke's Critical Art is called Psycho Fluegel and, on hit, will launch enemies into the air, make her pole vault up to them and then knock them about with her staff. As expected from a Critical Art, it's over the top and flashy.
Square Enix has released a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III showing off Classic Kingdom, a Game & Watch-style mini-game collection. The feature was revealed during a fan event where Kingdom Hearts III co-director Tai Yasue said Classic Kingdom is "inspired by Disney cartoons and 1980s LCD games."
In the trailer, which you can watch above, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are shown crowding around a portable games console, at which point tiny black and white versions of Sora and Mickey must use a platform to climb a construction site and rescue Minnie Mouse from Pete.
Classic Kingdom seems to be made up of multiple mini-games, including one where you whack enemies with a hammer as they approach you. Another requires you to deliver food, and a third that involves moving around a table as a giant stomps his fists and stamps his feet. It's all simple and charming in the way classic LCD games were.
Classic Kingdom will be available to play in both Kingdom Hearts III and Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]. At the fan event it was also revealed that 300 Union χ[Cross] players will be selected to have their names appear in Kingdom Hearts III as part of the Make Your Mark campaign.
Kingdom Hearts III is expected to launch in 2018 but a specific release date hasn't been confirmed yet. Tetsuya Nomura, who is directing the game alongside working on the Final Fantasy VII Remake, explained the extremely long wait last year, saying there were numerous factors that contributed to it, one of which is a change in engines.
We're pretty excited for the game and have put together a list of 9 Things We Want From Kingdom Hearts III, which includes a cameo of a certain Final Fantasy prince, some tweaks to combat, and a certain famous aquatic paradise.
Recent Articles:
You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website.
No comments:
Post a Comment