After nearly three months of waiting, fans eager to get a look at Cyberpunk 2077 can finally do so. CD Projekt Red, the acclaimed developer of The Witcher series, has released the gameplay demo that was first shown behind closed doors at E3, and then again at Gamescom. It consists of a 48-minute look at the first-person RPG, and as was the case in its private showings, it remains extremely impressive. But, given the great deal of acclaim it's received, just why did CD Projekt Red wait so long to share the video?
That very subject is addressed by Adam Badowski, the game director and CD Projekt Red's studio head, in a press release accompanying the release of the trailer. "What we're releasing today was recorded from a game deep in development," he explained. "Since many of the assets and mechanics in the current version of Cyberpunk 2077 are most likely to be modified, we initially decided to show this gameplay only to media. Elements like gunplay (both in terms of visuals and how RPG stats influence it), netrunning, car physics, or the game's UI--everything's pretty much still in the playtest phase and we felt uneasy about publicly committing to any particular design. Animation glitches, work-in-progress character facial expressions, early versions of locations--all this made us hesitant to release what you're about to see."
Some of these concerns might stem from the complaints about how The Witcher 3's final release had been "downgraded" from the earlier, pre-release looks we got at the game. Whatever the case, despite the worries, CD Projekt Red has obviously decided it would rather get Cyberpunk 2077's first gameplay in front of people--though it is warning that the final product may be different in a variety of ways.
"However, we are also well aware that many of you want to see what the media saw," Badowski said. "Although this is probably not the same game you'll see on your screen when we launch, we still decided to share this 48-minute video with you. This is how Cyberpunk 2077 looks today. Let us know what you think!"
You can watch the full gameplay video above; it shows off numerous parts of the game, including combat, dialogue, and the ability to upgrade your character. We also get a good look at Night City, the sprawling metropolis that serves as the setting for Cyberpunk 2077.
Unfortunately, while we now have gameplay for everyone to see, CD Projekt Red still has not announced a release date for Cyberpunk 2077. Whatever it might be, it isn't soon enough.
Amazon has announced it will stop offering 20% off video game pre-orders for Prime members on August 28. That makes today your last day to pre-order any games you're planning to buy if you want to lock in the discount. With that in mind, it's worth looking at what big games are available for pre-order right now.
But because Amazon doesn't charge you any money until the game ships, you can even pre-order any games you're marginally interested in, just to secure the discount if you decide you want to buy the game. Keep in mind that you can always cancel your pre-order at any time, at no cost, before it ships.
So what games might you want to pre-order? Let's look at the most promising upcoming games. Note that for some of the games, the 20% discount is only shown in-cart.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Release Date: October 5, 2018
Journey back to ancient Greece in this year's installment of the time-jumping stealth action series.
A nice big RPG hits Nintendo Switch later this year with Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. While this pair of games is a modernized remake of Pokemon Yellow, it takes some inspiration from the popular mobile game Pokemon Go.
This massive brawler contains every character ever to appear in any game in the series, plus some new faces, like Splatoon's Inklings, Metroid's Ridley, Castlevania's Simon Belmont, and Donkey Kong's King K. Rool.
CD Projekt Red dropped this game's in-depth gameplay video just in time for Amazon Prime members to watch it before placing their pre-order for this Witcher 3 follow-up.
After months of anticipation, CD Projekt Red has finally shared the first gameplay footage of Cyberpunk 2077. The developer's mysterious Twitch livestream, which kicked off earlier in the day and cryptically broadcast lines of code being typed out on a screen for several hours, concluded with an extended look at the upcoming open-world sci-fi RPG, and it was certainly impressive.
The footage on display during the stream was taken from the same gameplay demo CD Projekt Red showcased to press at E3 and Gamescom 2018. The demo begins with V, your customized protagonist, traveling to a gang hideout with her ally Jackie to locate a missing cyborg. That mission quickly escalates into a firefight with the gang members, showing off Cyberpunk 2077's RPG-rooted take on gunplay. Later in the demo, V is given a quest to acquire a drone, which takes her and Jackie into the compound of the Maelstrom gang. Perhaps most impressive, the footage also provides a much closer look at Night City, the sprawling and richly detailed futuristic metropolis that serves as the game's setting.
"What we're releasing today was recorded from a game deep in development," game director Adam Badowski said in a message accompanying the release. "Since many of the assets and mechanics in the current version of Cyberpunk 2077 are most likely to be modified, we initially decided to show this gameplay only to media. Elements like gunplay (both in terms of visuals and how RPG stats influence it), netrunning, car physics, or the game's UI--everything's pretty much still in the playtest phase and we felt uneasy about publicly committing to any particular design. Animation glitches, work-in-progress character facial expressions, early versions of locations--all this made us hesitant to release what you're about to see.
"However, we are also well aware that many of you want to see what the media saw. Although this is probably not the same game you'll see on your screen when we launch, we still decided to share this 48-minute video with you. This is how Cyberpunk 2077 looks today. Let us know what you think!"
Despite being announced several years ago, Cyberpunk 2077 wasn't formally unveiled until E3 2018 this past June, when CD Projekt Red shared the first cinematic trailer for the game during Microsoft's E3 press conference. The developer also showcased nearly an hour of gameplay footage to press during a behind-close-doors demo at the convention, which was so impressive in its scope and detail that it solidified Cyberpunk as one of our four favorite games from the show.
"The E3 2018 demo for Cyberpunk 2077 was overwhelming with all its detail, but it did give us the impression that there was a large world with all sorts of systems to explore and mess with," GameSpot's Alessandro Fillari wrote in reaction to the demo. "The setting and some gameplay ideas are certainly a big departure for CD Projekt Red, but it also has a number of cool and visually stunning details that show off an incredibly rich world to jump head-first into."
CD Projekt Red would give fans another glimpse at Cyberpunk 2077 at Gamescom last week. During the convention, the developer released a handful of new screenshots that showed off some characters and environments from the game. The studio also shared several pieces of Cyberpunk 2077 concept art that contained a hidden link to another image that displays the phrase "more than meets the eye."
Cyberpunk 2077 is in development for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. CD Projekt Red hasn't announced a release date just yet, but the developer says the game is already playable from start to finish--although it still doesn't have all of its assets, nor have all of its bugs been addressed yet.
We got a chance to speak with Cyberpunk 2077 producer Richard Borzymowski at Gamescom. During our interview, Borzymowski discussed how the studio was able to switch gears from the fantasy universe of its other notable video game franchise, The Witcher, to the sci-fi world of Cyberpunk. He also talked more about the move from the third-person perspective of its previous RPGs to Cyberpunk's first-person viewpoint.
Following its acclaimed showings at both E3 and Gamescom, CD Projekt Red has finally released Cyberpunk 2077's gameplay demo video to the public. As such, you can now see almost a full hour of the game in action, which should give you a much better idea of what to expect. That includes a look at combat, which, as we learned back at E3, was influenced by The Witcher 3.
During GameSpot's E3 2018 Stage Show, associate design director Kyle Rowley sat down with us and discussed how the developer is using the lessons it learned from The Witcher 3 on its new sci-fi RPG, particularly with regard to its combat system.
Cyberpunk 2077 features both ranged and melee combat, and the latter in particular benefited from the developer's work on Witcher. "We learned quite a lot from the combat in Witcher 3, and we're translating that to the lessons we learned in the gameplay about how to do melee and try to transfer that to Cyberpunk," Rowley said. "Obviously it's very different in the fact that we're now doing it from a first-person perspective rather than from a third-person, but the lessons that we learned in Witcher, we can definitely translate."
Rowley also revealed that weapons in Cyberpunk 2077 fall into three general categories: power, tech, and smart. Power weapons were described as more "traditional weapons that you would have nowadays," such as high-impact guns. "When you fire them, we may have, for example, exaggerated hit reactions and staggers to kind of emphasize the hit impacts," Rowley said.
Tech weapons, on the other hand, focus primarily on penetrating through walls, NPCs, and other objects. The final category, smart weapons, can track and follow targets around the games. As Rowley explained, these types of weapons were designed to be accessible to players, regardless of how good they are at shooters:
"Again, because we're a role-playing game and we understand some people aren't necessarily averse to twitch-based combat who like playing role-playing games, we tried to design the smart weapons around being something that people can pick up and play casually without necessarily having to be super-efficient with shooting people in the head or more twitch-based, reaction-based combat, so we're trying to cater to both audiences there with that."
Despite the prevalence of guns and the game's first-person perspective, Rowley asserted that Cyberpunk 2077 is not a shooter, but still very much an RPG. "It's a role-playing game with some shooter elements, rather than a shooter with role-playing laid on top of it. There's very deep progression systems, so all the things you'd expect from a CD Projekt game," he said.
Cyberpunk 2077 still doesn't have a release date, but it's due out for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Cyberpunk 2077's impressive demo from E3 2018 generated tons of buzz for the game, but it wasn't shown to the public. That same demo again popped up at Gamescom, and with that event now concluded, CD Projekt Red is finally showing gameplay off to the public. Now that you should have a better idea of what the game is all about, we're reviewing some of what we've learned over the past couple months.
Night City, the setting of the game, is shown extensively in the demo, but there's much more to it than what we see the game's protagonist, v, visit. A pamphlet handed out to those who saw the demo at E3 revealed some additional details about the game's setting and how you'll interact with it. We learned that Night City, which your character V lives in, is divided into six districts, with each of them representing a different aspect of the game's cyberpunk aesthetic. Here's what we learned about each:
City Center: Night City's biggest pride, this is the heart of corporations, the cluster of neon, and the quintessence of luxury.
Watson: A unique mix of Asian cultures, it is a fallen corporate giant now populated by immigrants, hiding various bazaars and markets in a tangle of narrow alleyways.
Westbrook: Featuring tourist-oriented Japantown, it is a place for the wealthy who like to work hard and play hard.
Heywood: Living in one of the neighborhoods of the predominantly Latino area means you successfully managed to climb the social ladder -- it's a massive suburban housing district, with an underlying gang problem.
Pacifica: On the other end of the spectrum, this is the most dangerous part of town, abandoned and overrun by gang activity. Separated from the rest of the city, it's a place of immense poverty.
Santo Domingo: All of Night City is powered from here, with its countless power plants and industrial factories, stuck in an endless cycle of modernization.
Another reveal from the demo's pamphlet is that Cyberpunk 2077 will have vertical exploration, and that it will play a major role in gameplay. "For example, V's apartment from the demo is located in a megabuilding with multiple floors," it reads. "Each floor is home to many NPCs, secrets and potential quests." We also learned that players will be able to explore the city by car and motorcycle, and vehicle combat (with destructible cars) will be possible in the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in a massive urban environment encompassing different warring factions. There are apparently no load times, meaning you'll be able to freely explore the city both on foot and in your vehicle, even engaging in high-speed shootouts on freeways, tightly packed streets, and alleys--leading to some of the more unsavory parts of town.
Taking feedback from the Rainbow Six Siege Test Server for Operation Grim Sky, Ubisoft is implementing balancing patches for a few of the game's Operators. One of the two new Grim Sky Operators, Maverick, is getting the most changes.
Players must have felt Maverick was too effective an Operator, as all of his changes are nerfs. His smoke grenade is being replaced with a stun grenade and his blowtorch's volume is being made louder so that he can no longer easily hide where he's cutting. Maverick's blowtorch is also being made weaker against barbed wire, so the process of destroying it takes about twice as long as before. Ubisoft has heard that players want Maverick's blowtorch to run through fuel faster and have a shorter range as well, but the developer is holding off on changing either for now.
In comparison, Operation Grim Sky's other Operator, Clash, is getting no changes. Ubisoft reports that the team will continue to monitor her performance going forward, though.
Three of Siege's older Operators are getting changes. Zofia is losing one of her concussion grenades, so it's harder for her to single-handedly take over a room without a strategy. Glaz is also getting nerfed. A recent bug in Siege prevents him from being able to destroy Castle's armored panels and Ubisoft has decided to keep it. Ubisoft is also planning a patch down the line to prevent Glaz from shooting through the panels entirely. Hibana is the only Operator getting a buff. She can now destroy a hatch with four of her pellets, instead of six.
Ubisoft has heard feedback concerning the length of Dokkaebi's phone calls, but the team is passing on implementing any changes for her at this time.
Weapon recoil is also getting patched. Ubisoft is focusing on shotgun recoil for now. An update won't be ready by the time Grim Sky launches, but Ubisoft will implement one before the new season is over. Ubisoft is also monitoring machine pistol recoil but has nothing planned for now.
The full patch notes for the updates coming to Operation Grim Sky prior to the expansion's launch can be found on Siege's website. Although it is not included on the game's website, Siege tweeted out another change coming to Grim Sky: partial destruction to hatch reinforcements. This balances the meta of the game a little bit back towards the Attackers, who can now eventually get to hidden Defenders with enough explosives.
Operation Grim Sky launches this September. Rainbow Six Siege is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Cyberpunk 2077 again has captured a great deal of attention. Following its E3 unveiling, the private gameplay demo that impressed those fortunate enough to see it at E3 and Gamescom has finally been released to the public. It should give you a good idea of what to expect from the game. And now that you know what it's like, we're looking back at some of what we've learned over the past couple months. That includes developer CD Projekt Red providing details on the character that you'll take control of in its upcoming open-world RPG, as well as how the character can be customized.
During GameSpot's E3 2018 live show in June, associate design director Kyle Rowley revealed the main character is an urban mercenary called "V." You can not only choose the gender of V, but customize him or her as well.
"She takes on takes on dangerous jobs--he or she, actually," said Rowley. "She takes on dangerous jobs that no one else will ... We have a full character creation system in the game, so you'll be able to define your gender, whether it's male or female. You'll be able to define how you look, you'll have various different body types, hairstyles, clothes, tattoos, make-ups, and many, many more. And obviously you can define your, what we're calling 'Life Path.' It's like a backstory, and the things you define in your life path, in your backstory, can modify or unlock things as you're playing through the game."
On top of the character customization and backstory options, players will also be able to define the class of their character. However, doing so doesn't manifest itself in the form a of a choice at the start of the game.
"Now at the start of the game we don't actually have any classes that you pick from," Rowley explained. "Obviously in Cyberpunk 2020 there's lots of different roles you can take on: corporate, rocker boy, netrunner, techie, etc. At the start of the game you're not picking any of those classes. As you're progressing through the game you're modifying and adjusting your class based on the attributes that you pick and decide to install. So it's a very fluid system, we don't lock you in at the start of the game."
Following private showings of a nearly hour-long Cyberpunk 2077 demo, CD Projekt Red has finally shown off the game to the public. There's still a lot to learn about the game, and now that you should have a better idea of what to expect, we're looking back at some of what we've learned about the game since its E3 unveiling.
Associate design director Kyle Rowley was among those to stop by GameSpot's E3 2018 stage show this year, where he shared more details about the tone and setting of the upcoming game. The trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 that the public was shown at E3 was set during the day because CD Projekt Red knew it could nail a nighttime, Blade Runner-style vibe. Some criticised the trailer for being oddly colorful, but that was the entire idea, Rowley said.
"We tried to build the cyberpunk atmosphere in daytime, because we know for a fact that we can create the moody atmospheric noir feeling that you get from Blade Runner," he said. "So for the trailer we really wanted to show how you could take the cyberpunk elements of this dystopian world and show it when the sun's out. It's not something you necessarily experience in traditional cyberpunk media, but that's not to say we don't have those Blade Runner noir elements."
Rowley went on to say that Cyberpunk 2077 isn't set completely during the day; the game has a full day/night cycle.
"The story is very noir in how it works, the feeling, the missions and the different characters you interact with," he said. "It definitely has that noir vibe, so if anybody's worried that we're not going to have that Blade Runner noir feeling, it's definitely going to be there. The game has a full day-night cycle with weather systems so you'll definitely experience both daytime and nighttime. And, for sure, it's going to have that neon cityscape that people are really craving for."
Cyberpunk 2077 allows you to play as a male or female character named V, who is a hired gun in Night City. The location is the "most violent and dangerous metropolis of the corporate-ruled future." There will be a "robust" character creator tool that lets you select's your gender and character class, as well as "historical background." Everything you create and customise can "influence the shape of the game," for whatever that means.
Activision has released a new trailer for Call of Duty: WW2's fourth DLC pack, Shadow War. The DLC is coming out as a timed exclusive for PS4 first, before releasing on other platforms.
Shadow War concludes WW2's Nazi zombie storyline in a final chapter titled The Frozen Dawn. Taking place in the hellish depths of a lost city, The Frozen Dawn will test you with new hordes of zombie. However, seemingly magic-infused weapons will be available for you to pull off insanely powerful attacks. Some of them can be seen in the trailer, but Sledgehammer promises there are more secrets to discover in the DLC.
"Thematically for this pack, we wanted to push the fiction as far as we could, have a lot of fun with it, and give the player a sense of creativity as they play," said Sledgehammer Games lead multiplayer environmental artist Matt Abbott in a PlayStation blog post.
Shadow War also adds three multiplayer maps: Airship, Chancellery, and Excavation. Airship takes place far up on a mountain next to a docked zeppelin. Owning the zeppelin gives your team the advantage, but you have to run out of cover along narrow cliffs to reach it, and one misstep results in death. Chancellery takes the battlefield to a French stronghold for a nighttime firefight. Buildings at either end of a courtyard provide excellent sniper spots, but you can also hide in the parked trucks and set an ambush. Excavation is located in an Algerian mine. The dug up treasure and artifacts create a littered battlefield.
Operation Arcane is the final piece of content included in Shadow War. Rather than a straitforward battle, you'll play as the Allied forces who must infiltrate an Austrian lab, steal secret tech, get to the hanger filled with UFOs, and blow up the lab while escaping. The weapons you discover, like the Tesla Gun and a super soldier serum, can be stolen and used to complete the mission.
Shadow War comes to PS4 players first on August 28. The DLC releases for Xbox One and PC at a later date. For a limited time, Call of Duty: WW2 season pass owners can invite other players who don't have the DLC to participate in the content. From August 28 to October 28, if a season pass owner creates an in-game party and is party leader, everyone invited can participate in the new multiplayer maps, operation, and zombie storyline.
CD Projekt Red's next major title, Cyberpunk 2077, might still be an RPG where choice is paramount, but it's nonetheless a massive departure from the developer's previous efforts on The Witcher series. Instead of lush forests, picturesque fields, and towering mountains, the devs are creating a world set in the concrete jungle of Northern California in the distant future. Unlike a lot of fiction focusing on a darker future, Cyberpunk 2077 aspires to move away from grimdark and towards a more exuberant but equally cynical vision for a future where capitalism and technology has run amok.
Inspired and influenced by the original Cyberpunk 2020 pen and paper RPG, 2077 extrapolates many of the themes and iconography while capitalizing on the developer's skillset for crafting dense and visually rich environments. We saw a near hour-long gameplay demo behind closed doors at E3 2018, showcasing many of the game's systems and locales, and came out impressed by the scope of CD Projekt Red's ambitious project. But now, gameplay has just been revealed during CD Projekt Red's livestream, allowing everyone to see just what all the fuss was about during E3 2018.
Set in an alternate universe 2077, you'll take on the role of V, a vagabond and hustler living in the bustling Night City located between SF and LA. You undertake sketchy gigs to fund cybernetic enhancements and pay off debts from society's most unsavory characters, and dive further into the seedy underbelly of the technopolis and its surrounding areas--all which are run by factions and mega corporations vying for power. Unlike CD Projekt Red's previous games, your protagonist, V, is entirely who you want them to be. At the beginning of the game, you'll be able to create a custom character--choosing their gender, characteristics, and picking backstories--along with tweaking particular stats.
The open world of Night City is a massive urban environment encompassing several regions with different warring factions . With no load times (according to the devs), you'll be able to freely explore the city both on foot and in your vehicle, even engaging in high-speed shootouts on freeways, tightly packed streets, and alleys--leading to some of the more unsavory parts of town.
During the demo, V traveled to a gang hideout with their close associate Jackie--an imposing but ever jovial ally--to find a missing cyborg. Things quickly went south as the player engaged in a shootout with a gang of scavengers running a black market harvesting operation. Action looked punchy and impactful, with V sliding in and out of cover--with bits of the environment, including walls, tearing apart from all the gunfire--to get the jump on the bandits. Sticking to its RPG roots, attack damage numbers pop up in real-time when attacking enemies, which takes into account the statistics of your current loadout. After taking out the gang, V and Jackie bring their target outside to await pickup from the Trauma Team, a crew of heavily armed EMTs assigned to the super-wealthy of Night City.
Experiencing all these aspects of Cyberpunk lore took some getting used to, as key terms and locations were referenced quite often. However, the core concepts behind them are familiar enough to get a handle of. The heavy sci-fi aesthetic, where advanced technology gives people some extraordinary abilities, gives it a very familiar vibe akin to CD Projekt's past fantasy games. Seeing the setting in action showcased the game's superb visual style and aesthetic, which feels like a heavy contrast to other dark and gloomy cyberpunk fiction like Blade Runner, Altered Carbon, or Johnny Mnemonic. In Cyberpunk 2077, there's a lot more variety on display, which plays with many of the sub-genre's familiar tropes.
Cyberpunk is deeply entrenched in its PC RPG roots, and The Witcher devs wanted to lean in harder on the more adaptive and varied styles of storytelling from their past games, with many of your decisions altering the course of your character's journey in strange ways. 2077 features an involved dialog system, where you'll be able to make choices that can determine your path towards a number of different outcome. In the dialogue system, you can show off different facets of V's personality as you appear imposing, curious, or outright lie to other characters in order to get what you want. However, certain characters are able to turn the tables and use some similar tricks against you.
During a character interaction--which can be avoided entirely if you choose--V is taken captive by a Milicorp agent who has one of her bodyguards hack into the main character. This invasive hack made certain dialog choices more difficult, with the bodyguards being able to tell when the main character was telling the truth or not. After cutting a deal with the corporate agent with some non-confrontational options, V headed into an engagement with the Maelstrom gang, a group so heavily upgraded that they have the appearance of neon-lit ghouls.
The theme of transhumanism is one of the core pillars of the game, and you're constantly seeing the impact of technology on society, which also plays a role in V's development. Cyberpunk 2077 features many familiar RPG systems and mechanics, such as leveling up, skill-checks, and loot--including some nasty high-tech weapons like the assault rifle with homing bullets--but it has a mostly loose approach to character growth. You don't pick classes--such as Cyberpunk 2020's Fixer, Techie, and Nomad archetypes--but instead outfit your character with new tech enhancements they'll need at any given time. You can give your character a set of outfits that offer Street Cred bonuses--reputation experience points that open up places in the city--along with visiting the local RipperDoc to outfit yourself with new parts.
Dropping by Doctor Victor's spot in a back alley near V's apartment, we saw a few of the enhancements you can get. After choosing a new cybernetic eye, which added a zoom function and a target analyzer that allows you to see the level and stats of other characters, the ensuing upgrade sequence was gruesome, as the RipperDoc pulls out V's old eye with its vision still engaged--showing a full-view of the protagonist laying on the operating seat. This upgrade can come in handy as you'll occasionally wander into high-level characters that can pummel your character easily. While exploring the Maelstrom hideout, V utilized a number of bizarre, but powerful enhancements and tools--such as a hacking skill that allowed them to hijack an enemy's internal memory to steal precious info, along with a set of combat drugs that activated a bullet-time effect. During one moment, V hacked into an enemy's weapon to disable it remotely, and followed up with a set of advanced acrobatics to land an attack on the unsuspecting foes using with a set of arm blades, like the ones shown during the game's original teaser trailer.
While this section led to the demo's most action-packed moments--such as a boss fight that showcased feats of cybernetic skill-chaining and some of the game's most powerful weapons, like the double-barreled shotgun that fired through walls--there are apparently many different approaches to take. The developers stressed throughout the demo that many of the events and sequences shown were optional, and while the shootout in the Maelstrom hideout or making deals with the mega corporations can happen, they'll play out much differently based on their choices.
The E3 2018 demo for Cyberpunk 2077 was overwhelming with all its detail, but it did give us the impression that there was a large world with all sorts of systems to explore and mess with. The setting and some gameplay ideas are certainly a big departure for CD Projekt Red, but it also has a number of cool and visually stunning details that show off an incredibly rich world to jump head-first into. The game has been a long time coming, and we're excited to see more of it soon, and hopefully not too much later.
For more info on CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077, along with our full interview with the creator of the original Cyberpunk RPG Mike Pondsmith, and all other games we saw during E3 2018, be sure to visit GameSpot's E3 Hub page.
Cyberpunk 2077 was easily the most talked about game of this year's E3. Its trailer reveal during the Microsoft Press Conference showed off many of the vibrant and equally grim locales in the game, and developer CD Projekt Red subsequently wowed attendees with a private gameplay demo that ran almost an hour. It showed that same demo again at Gamescom, and finally, at long last, it's revealed that to the public.
Now that everyone is able to get a taste of what Cyberpunk 2077 is all about, we're looking back at some of what we learned about the games over the past few months. 2077 is based on the original Cyberpunk 2020 pen and paper RPG, and creator Mike Pondsmith has been a regular collaborator with CD Projekt Red on the new game. Back at E3, we were able to talk with him about the development of the game, his work with the Witcher devs, and just how much effort goes into bringing Cyberpunk 2077 to life.
Can you talk about the collaborative process of working with CD Projekt Red on fleshing out the fiction of Cyberpunk for 2077?
Mike Pondsmith: Well, to be honest, it was actually pretty simple because of part of my job. I'm there to tell people what makes the world in the books work. What makes the original pen and paper work. Things we learned about it, styles, to reinforce the ideas that are really valuable about it, for example, people commented in the various reaction videos, people have seen beyond the trailer, but they've actually seen the play.
How dense things are, and that's because Night City is basically a major character in the world and they nailed it. They nailed that whole sense that the city itself, it doesn't just sleep, it comes, it beats you up, it robs you, it takes your money. So, part of my job is to make sure people are able to see that, I'm there on call, kind of like a walking encyclopedia, when people not only need to know the facts that would be in any of the dozens and dozens of cyberpunk wikis out there, but they need to know what the 'feel' is. They need to know what was important. So, that's part of my job.
I love it because I get involved with the art teams, I get involved with the animation teams, I get involved with the vehicle teams, the weapons teams, everybody in the group, and it's a huge group now, is there to talk to and exchange ideas and it's more than just you approve it. It becomes, "Okay, so how does this work, what do you think about it." It's been very inclusive, which I really have enjoyed.
From the trailer, you can tell that the game has very colorful and vibrant look. Usually when you think of the Cyberpunk genre, it tends to have a darker aesthetic. This game in particular feels like a clear change from that.
And that was actually intentional from the beginning of the original cyberpunk. Don't get me wrong. My favorite movie is Blade Runner. I have five different versions of Blade Runner, and more Blade Runner stuff than I could shake a stick at, but sometimes you need to have it not just be wet, rainy, cold and totally oppressive, because there isn't new ground for your characters to go to. There's not new ground for people to explore.
Cyberpunk 2020 creator Mike Pondsmith.
It's funny, people occasionally realize that I set Night City in what was effectively Bay Area California years ago. That was deliberate. I wanted a place where sometimes you have oppressive fog and half light. Sometimes it was bright and sunny, sometimes it was rainy and miserable. I wanted that variability because a real world has variability. If somebody were to ask me what my favorite time in Night City is, it's basically around six or seven o'clock when the sun is almost down, the lights are coming out and you see all the neon and I'm looking at my 234 floor apartment and going, "Okay, get my stuff, let's go out."
You need to have a lot of variation to make a real world. You don't necessarily have to have that in a Blade Runner, because you're only taking basically a small slice of what's happened day to day in that world. I also think that you need to vary it and change it up a bit because otherwise, people get what they expect and when people get what they expect, they tune it out. They go, "Oh yeah, another cyberpunk thing."
From the beginning, the RPG has been designed as part cyberpunk classic, part rock and roll fable, part hell raising, ass kicking crazy. It's a lot of things. All of them are valid. It's not one thing, one genre, otherwise we could do one book and we could all go home. When I wrote the original books, that was the idea, was I wanted to show a lot of different facets. I had to. I had to, because I was saying in another interview, when I look at Blade Runner, but I look at it and go--the hero of Blade Runner is Roy Batty.
Weirdly enough, Deckert is, he's a protag, but you don't want to be Deckert, because Deckert gets kicked around and he does not ever win against the system, but at the end of it, Batty--even though he dies--he wins on his own terms. He isn't gunned down like a dog. He wins his humanity. He is basically, what I believe, an archetypical cyberpunk character, you pick what you believe and you stand for it.
Do you feel like CD Projekt Red brought a lot to the table in helping you flesh out the fiction of Cyberpunk 2020?
Oh yeah. CD's incredibly collaborative and I love it because they come and go, "Hey, we want to do this," and I'll go, "Hey, that's insane, I never thought of that before, yeah, what the heck." There are so many I can't even count, but it's really great when I go over to Warsaw and we're walking around the studio and somebody say, "We're going to be doing this," and I'm going, "Hmm. Okay, that's really pretty slick. How about if we also did that?" "Yeah, that's pretty good." We throw stuff back and forth.
I love the fact that they do dense stuff. When we first were checking them out to see whether we wanted to go with them as a licensee, we got a copy of Witcher. This is Witcher 2 and I went, "Damn, this is really good." One of my jobs at Microsoft was basically dealing with external studios, so I was pretty aware of what to look for and I went, "These guys really have their stuff together." Then, we saw Witcher 3 and it was like, "Oh my God. This is really on that master class level." It impacted us so much that my son and other members of the company came to me when CD PR was looking for somebody to do a Witcher table top, they said, "You know anybody?" I said, "We don't do fantasy," and they said, "No, we're doing this." They put together a pitch.
My son went, put together a pitch, went to CD PR during one of our meetings over cyberpunk and said, "I want to do Witcher, and this is how we'll do it." That speaks of a lot of exciting world and character that people want to interact with.
One thing that was surprising to see was that the game is a first-person experience, which is a big change from CD Projekt Red's last games. Do you feel the change to first-person was a necessary thing for Cyberpunk?
This is where I put my designer hat on, and I get to put on both my table and my video game designer hat, both. This is why it's important. The one thing is the state of the character, the interfaces they use, the drugs they take, the way they deal with their implants--it's all very, very internal to the head of the character, and if you step out of that out [into a third-person view] it becomes a busy hub that you're tracking. On another technical level, the world is massively immersive and if you're stepped back from that into a third person avatar dummy, you are not really part a part of it.
I'll give you an example. I went and walked over at one point to another character's car and as I was walking, somebody that I never actually saw in the crowd, makes a comment and they're talking about some problem they're having with their girlfriend, and it was peripheral, it was in my hearing. I didn't see the person and I really was interested in this story that was going on. I wanted to know more about this. My belief is that third person, has a lot of good places. In this particular case, I think first-person was best because it could provide more than just the immersion, it could provide the tools for you to perceive the world and make decisions that were proper within that world. If I have 360 view, I see everything and I know where the bad guys are coming from all the time, it is kind of a shooter where we're setting up the targets.
If I am immersed in it, then I'm having to take split second decisions that feel real because in real life, you don't know what those guys, 300 feet away are doing. If one pulls out a gun, you have to make a decision. You. That's important if you're going to be immersed in a world and particularly when you're dealing with a game that is so heavily role playing driven as this game is.
It's been so long since the last trailer was released. What's it like seeing the game, which is based on your original material, come to life in such a big way?
Probably seeing the actual play session that you guys have seen now in the internal sessions. Seeing that and going, "Damn, yeah, okay," and mainly because what I saw in there was all the potential. It wasn't just, "Wow that's a really cool gun, wow, that's a really good army jacket, yeah I really like V and it's a great character. It was also seeing all the potential ways you could go with that story and with those characters. That was amazing. It was sort of like saying, "Okay, they got it," I'm watching somebody else's cyberpunk game right now and they're running a pretty damn good game that I want to be playing in.
CD Projekt Red has been developing Cyberpunk 2077 for the past six years, as you might be able to guess from a look at its impressive gameplay demo. Although the developer has stated that there's more work to be done on the action RPG, the game is already playable from start to finish.
In an interview with Engadget, Cyberpunk 2077 producer Richard Borzymowski said the game still doesn't have all of its assets, and the fixes for the bugs that were discovered in playtesting haven't been implemented yet. However, you can play through the entire game and see the story unfold, which Borzymowski says is important for finishing the game's development. "[Playing through the game] gives you the answers to all of your doubts," he said. "It just feels great."
Cyberpunk 2077 just had a big showing at Gamescom 2018. CD Projekt Red released new screens of the RPG that provide greater context for the game's world and also tease a mystery for people to solve. Prior to that, we were able to sit down with Borzymowski and delve into Cyberpunk 2077's gameplay, as well as the title's emphasis on choice and personal freedom. That was followed by a mysterious Twitch stream that ultimately led to the reveal of the gameplay demo.
CD Projekt Red has been keeping most details concerning Cyberpunk 2077 close to the chest, but what we've seen so far has left us excited about the game. Cyberpunk 2077 doesn't have a release window yet, but we know the game is coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
From the minds that brought you The Witcher 3 comes a new RPG, set in a completely different universe. It's Cyberpunk 2077, a single-player action RPG driven by choice and in-depth character customization. No release date has been announced, but we know that it's far enough along in development that it's playable from start to finish. When it does launch, it'll come to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
We saw a glimpse of the game in a trailer at E3 2018 and, later, got a deep dive into the gameplay and futuristic android-filled world of Night City. There looks to be plenty of deep customization and lots of options when it comes to first-person combat. The footage also shows off the off the people in the game's universe, and how android augmentations are an integral part of their lives. Hidden in the trailer is a message from CD Projekt Red.
The team confirmed the game will be single-player RPG. It will not have microtransactions, will be DRM free on PC, and fans can expect DLC similar in size to Witcher 3. More details will come as the team has them ready.
Enthralled with its mystique? We've got all the details where you can get your copies reserved down below, and when pre-order bonus details are announced, we'll update them here.
Cyberpunk 2077 Pre-Order Bonuses
No pre-order bonuses have been announced yet.
Cyberpunk 2077 Standard Edition
Amazon -- $60 ($48 with Amazon Prime) -- PS4 | Xbox One
Best Buy -- $60 -- PS4 (Physical), PS4 (Digital) | Xbox One (Physical), Xbox One (Digital)
Following the success of Avengers: Infinity War and entering post-production on the untitled sequel--scheduled for release sometime next May--Joe and Anthony Russo have signed a deal for movie rights to Cherry, a semi-autobiographical novel written by U.S. Army Veteran Nico Walker.
Cherry, published by Alfred A. Knopf and debuting at No. 14 on The New York Times bestseller list, follows a young man who joins the Army as a medic. Upon returning home, the novel's protagonist becomes a drug addict and finds himself drowning in the debt he's accrued, which prompts him to rob more than 10 banks before the cops sniff him out in 2011.
According to Deadline, The Russo brothers, also known for directing superhero films like 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016's Captain America: Civil War, will use their AGBO production company to produce the film.
Being semi-autobiographical, Cherry mirrors aspects of Walker's life. Between 2005 and 2006, after dropping out of college at the age of 19, Walker served in the U.S. Army as a medic in Iraq, completing more than 200 combat missions. However, some time after returning home from the war, Walker found solace in heroin. And to fund his new expensive habit, he robbed several banks around Cleveland in a four-month span, beginning in December 2010 until police apprehended him in April 2011. Walker's currently serving an 11-year sentence.
During his tours, Walker received seven medals and commendations for valor. He's scheduled to be released from prison in November 2020. The Russo brothers' film adaptation of the novel doesn't have a release date as of yet.
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red is hosting a livestream on its Twitch page, hinting that something new may be revealed about its open-world RPG imminently. The stream currently shows lines of code being typed out on a screen, and there doesn't seem to be any obvious indications of when something else will be shown or what it'll be. Of course, we'll stay glued to our screens and keep you updated on developments as they happen. You can watch for yourself in the video above. [Update: Just as many were hoping, the Twitch feed was serving as a countdown for a reveal of the acclaimed gameplay demo shown at E3 and Gamescom. The stream is ongoing, so we don't yet know if it will be the full demo or if there will be anything new.]
Cyberpunk 2077 was shown to press at Gamescom behind closed doors and GameSpot was in attendance. During Gamescom, CD Projekt Red also released new Cyberpunk 2077 screenshots, showing characters and environments from the game. These images were taken from the Gamescom 2018 and E3 2018 demos. Furthermore, concept art for Cyberpunk 2077 was also released and, hidden within them, was a link to another image that displays the phrase "more than meets the eye." It could be that the image tease and the stream are linked somehow.
During GamesCom we also got to chat to producer Richard Borzymowski, who talked about how CD Projekt Red switched gears from the fantasy universe of The Witcher to the sci-fi world of Cyberpunk 2077. He also discussed making the jump from the third-person perspective used in The Witcher series to a first-person for Cyberpunk 2077. You can watch the interview above.
In another interview, Borzymowski said Cyberpunk 2077 is playable from start to finish, but noted that is doesn't have all its assets, and bugs that have been discovered during playtesting haven't been addressed yet. Despite this, the studio is confident in the experience. "[Playing through the game] gives you the answers to all of your doubts," he said. "It just feels great."
Cyberpunk 2077 is set for launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. However, it doesn't have a release date yet. At the close of Gamescom, we discussed some of the best games that we saw during the show and Cyberpunk 2077 was included, you can see us discuss the game, along with a few others, in our Best of Gamescom 2018 feature.
Ah, September. That wonderful month when half of us begin our struggle of going back to school. At least Netflix has a bunch of new movies, TV shows, and original series for those weekend binge sessions. There's a lot of new goodies this month, although we're losing quite a few movies and series as well.
The big addition in September is Black Panther, the Marvel superhero movie that took the world by storm this past February. If you happened to miss out on this celebration of African culture--which we described as "a top tier Marvel movie with all the humor, style, action, passion, and fun that the MCU has come to embody" in our Black Panther review--then now's your chance. Other film highlights coming in September are Groundhog Day, Scarface, Bruce Almighty, The Breakfast Club, Lilo & Stitch, The Emperor's New Groove, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Netflix exclusive Next Gen.
The list of new TV shows isn't as impressively large, but there are a few stellar options being added. Both Bojack Horseman and Stranger Things are getting new seasons. If you like staying appraised of everything going on in the MCU, Iron Fist is also returning another season.
If animation is your thing, new anime series Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan--about a rookie air force pilot who finds herself being chosen as the destined rider for an actual dragon--and animated series The Dragon Prince--which is created by the same folks behind Avatar: The Last Airbender--debut on Netflix this September.
Of the movies and TV shows being removed, Nolan's Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are the two noticeable standouts. If you want to watch either movie again, do so soon before they're gone for good.
Arriving in September
September 1
Unforgiven
10,000 B.C.
Another Cinderella Story
Assassins
August Rush
Bruce Almighty
Delirium
Fair Game
Groundhog Day
King Kong
La Catedral del Mar
Martian Child
Monkey Twins
Mr. Sunshine
Nacho Libre
Pearl Harbor
Scarface
Sisters
Spider-Man 3
Stephanie
Summer Catch
Sydney White
The Ant Bully
The Breakfast Club
The Cider House Rules
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Keeping Hours
The River Wild
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Two Weeks Notice
September 2
Lilo & Stitch
The Emperor's New Groove
Maynard
Quantico: Season 3
September 3
A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities
September 4
Black Panther
September 5
Van Helsing: Season 2
Wentworth: Season 6
September 6
Once Upon a Time: Season 7
September 7
Atypical: Season 2
Cable Girls: Season 3
City of Joy
Click
First and Last
Iron Fist: Season 2
Next Gen
Sierra Burgess Is A Loser
Stretch Armstrong & the Flex Fighters: Season 2
The Most Assassinated Woman in the World
September 10
Call the Midwife: Series 7
September 11
Daniel Sloss: Live Shows
The Resistance Banker
September 12
Blacklist: Season 5
Life
On My Skin
September 14
American Vandal: Season 2
Bleach
Boca Juniors Confidential
BoJack Horseman: Season 5
Car Masters: Rust to Riches
Ingobernable: Season 2
Last Hope
Norm Macdonald has a Show
Super Monsters Monster Party: Songs
The Angel
The Dragon Prince
The Land of Steady Habits
The World's Most Extraordinary Homes: Season 2 Part A
September 15
Inside The Freemasons: Season 1
September 16
Role Models
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
September 17
The VVitch
September 18
American Horror Story: Cult
D.L. Hughley: Contrarian
September 21
Battlefish
Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan
Hilda
Maniac: Limited Series
Nappily Ever After
Quincy
The Good Cop
September 23
The Walking Dead: Season 8
September 25
A Wrinkle in Time
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
September 26
Norsemen: Season 2
The Hurricane Heist
September 28
Chef's Table: Volume 5
El Marginal: Season 2
Forest of Piano
Hold the Dark
Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father: Season 2
Lessons From A School Shooting: Notes from Dunblane
Microsoft has introduced a new kind of subscription model that bundles together everything you need to play on Xbox One. The "Xbox All Access" deal lets you purchase a new Xbox One console, along with two years of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass, all under one monthly payment.
The Xbox All Access official site lists two packages: an Xbox One S starting at $22 per month, or an Xbox One X starting at $35 per month. Both packages include 24 months of Gold and Game Pass, and each payment plan lasts for 24 months with no upfront cost and 0% APR.
At those prices, you'll end up paying about $530 for the Xbox One S, versus about $640 if you were to purchase the console, Gold, and Game Pass separately. The Xbox One X, by comparison, ends up at $840 total versus $860 for each item separately. Either way you're getting a pretty good deal, and the monthly payments may make it a little easier to take the cost. These payments are handled through Dell Preferred Accounts, and the deal is only available at Microsoft Stores.
Xbox Game Pass will cover your gaming needs for a select library of third-party games, and every Microsoft first-party exclusive at launch. The company recently announced that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be joining the Game Pass line-up in September. The selection is getting pretty massive, but of course you'll still have to buy some third-party games a la carte.
Shigeru Miyamoto--most well known for creating best-selling franchises like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Star Fox--wants the video game industry to gravitate away from the free-to-play model. Warning his peers to not be greedy, Miyamoto hopes future games will stop overcharging players.
According to Bloomberg, Miyamoto said that Nintendo is exploring alternate ways for getting players to pay for mobile games. "I can't say that our fixed-cost model has really been a success," Miyamoto said, "But we're going to continue pushing it forward until it becomes entrenched. That way everyone can develop games in a comfortable environment. By focusing on bringing games to the widest range of people possible, we can continue boosting our mobile game business."
Miyamoto went on to say that he recognizes the effects that streaming services, YouTube, and MP3 file sharing have had on the music industry. Most people don't buy records, CDs, or even songs anymore, and instead subscribe to an app or software to get their music. Television is heading that way with services like Netflix and Hulu, as is anime with Crunchyroll and Funimation. Miyamoto thinks video games developers need to find a way to follow suit.
"It's necessary for developers to learn to get along with subscription-style services," Miyamoto said. "When seeking a partner for this, it's important to find someone who understands the value of your software. Then customers will feel the value in your apps and software and develop a habit of paying money for them."
Bungie just released more information about the launch for Destiny 2: Forsaken. The expansion comes to all platforms on September 4, but you'll need to download a Day 1 patch before you can play.
On September 4 at 7:00 AM PT / 10:00 AM ET / 3:00 PM BST, Destiny 2's servers will go offline for maintenance. Bungie predicts the necessary patch to play Forsaken will go live about 30 minutes later. At 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM BST, Destiny 2 will go back online. The Forsaken expansion will be playable at that time assuming you've finished downloading the patch.
Figuring players would need time to level up in preparation for it, Forsaken's raid, Last Wish, won't go live as quickly after the expansion's launch as previous raids did. On Bungie's website, Destiny 2 senior designer Joe Blackburn said that Last Wish will go live on September 14 at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM BST.
Bungie has been advertising Forsaken's launch with the tease that the expansion would mark the death of Cayde, one of Destiny 2's more beloved NPCs. A new trailer showcasing Cayde's final moments was just released and it's one of Destiny's more badass cinematic videos. Forsaken also adds a hybrid PvP/PvE mode called Gambit. Pre-ordering Forsaken allows you to play Gambit on September 1 at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM BST.
Destiny 2: Forsaken will be available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
The upcoming Devil May Cry 5 is somewhat of a homecoming for the long-running action game series. Following its reimagining by British developer Ninja Theory in 2013's excellent DmC: Devil May Cry, Capcom's sword-swinging, monster-juggling action game is returning to the hands of its Japanese developer. Developed by an internal Capcom team, the fifth numbered entry in the series feels like it's striving to be as familiar as it is fresh.
That intent is driven home from the very outset. Seconds into my hands-on with the Gamescom 2018 demo I noticed sound effects pulled straight out of the first game. If that didn't immediately evoke PS2-era nostalgia for the series, the new and improved Nero definitely would have. Although he's making a return from Devil May Cry 4, he has offloaded the angst and replaced it with a wisecracking attitude and a confident swagger. He might look like a fresh-cut Nero but he definitely acts like old-school Dante. Given that Devil May Cry 3 director Hideaki Itsuno is helming the project, it's not surprising to find striking similarities between new Nero and young Dante.
Capcom is very much leaning on its heritage in Devil May Cry 5, taking the familiar and adding a little twist, and this is most noticeable in the combat mechanics. At first blush it feels like little has changed: you attack with a sword and guns, use evasive rolls and jumps to escape sticky situations, and string a unique mechanic to create synergy between all these individual components. However, the biggest gameplay shakeup is in that unique mechanic: Devil Breaker. In Devil May Cry 4, Nero's arm--then called Devil Bringer--was the glue that held gameplay together, it allowed him to snatch enemies from a distance and drag them towards him, or anchor himself to them and throw himself around the battlefield. Although Devil Breaker can also serve that purpose, it can't be endlessly relied on.
Instead of being a weird, demonic arm imbued with supernatural power, Devil Breaker is a prosthetic arm, and--for some reason--they can be found in the game's various environments, waiting for Nero to pluck them off the ground and attach them to his stump. Devil Breakers have unique properties, some restoring the grabbing ability from DMC4, others giving Nero the ability to unleash a explosion of electricity that's deadly at close range. They also get into weird and wacky territory, with some Devil Breakers able to unleash a barrage of laser beams or launch a rocket punch in their powered-up states.
Crucially, Devil Breakers are finite, and you won't always have one. They each have limited mileage and, once they bottom out, Nero is left to battle on with just one arm. Devil Breakers can also be manually exploded, creating additional damage and combo potential. For fans of the series and veterans of the genre, the opportunities this system provides will no doubt be exciting. Capcom hasn't revealed all the types of Devil Breakers that will be in the game, which means their unique properties also remain a mystery. If my time with just two of them is any indication, this system will open the door to deep, rewarding, likely very complicated combat--though there is a simplified control scheme for those that want to make cool things happen quickly.
My biggest takeaway from Devil Breaker, however, was that it added a new layer of strategy to the experience. Traditionally, Devil May Cry games have been about empowering the player by giving them more guns, swords, and other outrageous weaponry as they progress through; they were about creating options, instead of removing them. By making Devil Breakers a finite, fragile resource there's a greater sense of tension in each encounter. That one, uncertain variable means that from one skirmish to the next, there's always important strategic considerations to be made. You can't just let muscle memory take over, as you would in most character action games of this ilk.
Along with this new, dynamic combat system, Capcom has improved how it presents the game. Devil May Cry 5 immediately feels like a more cinematic experience than predecessors, with its camera pulled in close to the action and a more realistic visual style for a slightly grounded look. And although this certainly seems to be working, Devil May Cry 5 doesn't shy away from the series' more outrageous, campy moments. In one scene, an ambulance falls on Nero, but he's perfectly positioned to thread himself through one of its open doors. It tumbles across the ground and slams into a wall; a few seconds later Nero kicks open a door and nonchalantly walks out as if nothing happened. It's the kind of completely ridiculous, over-the-top cinematic moment that is as critical to an authentic Devil May Cry experience as slick combat it.
Early signs are promising for Devil May Cry 5. The little we played walked the fine line between bringing new ideas and catering to nostalgia. While we've only experience a slice of it, it's easy to see the building blocks of a really interesting and diverse combat system. However, it's going to be interesting to see how the game tackles storytelling and characterization, both of which have traditionally been the most inconsistent elements of the franchise.
You can watch 20 minutes of Devil May 5 gameplay in the video above. Capcom has confirmed the Devil May Cry 5 release date as March 8, 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Capcom has also released a trailer showing more of Dante, who can now transform a motorcycle into a dual-wielded weapons.
During the Inside Xbox presentation during Gamescom 2018, Microsoft announced that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to Xbox Game Pass. This Xbox One exclusive includes anniversary editions of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, as well as Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4. Although only the campaign for ODST is in the collection, the multiplayer of the other four games are all included.
Xbox also had some announcements in regards to the company's Game Pass program. Until August 31, new members only have to pay $2 for a two month membership. A beta for the Game Pass mobile app is also launching today. The app allows you to install games to your Xbox One remotely and monitor both Game Pass deals and the schedule for when titles are added or removed from the program. Android users can download the app through Google Play while iOS users need to secure a spot through TestFlight. Spots in the iOS beta are limited so act fast if you want in.
The Master Chief Collection comes to Xbox Game Pass on September 1. The collection is also getting Xbox One X enhanced, improved matchmaking, offline LAN support, and a new custom game browser. You'll get these add-ons and patches on September 1 if you just buy the collection as well.
Pokemon Go adds six new shiny Pokemon for trainers to catch. In celebration of the mobile game's limited-time Johto Festival event, which increases the spawn rate of all Johto exclusive Pokemon, the six additions are all part of the Gen 2 Pokedex.
In a tweet, Pokemon Go revealed both shiny Natu and Sunkern had been added, while hinting there might be more than just the two. It's since been revealed that the third shiny addition is Pineco, and that all three Pokemon evolve into shiny versions of Xatu, Sunflora, and Forretress respectfully.
Shiny Pokemon have long been sought after for their rarity. They can most easily be identified by their alternative color scheme, but Pokemon Go adds a small sparkle animation to the capture screen so you'll know when they first appear. Shiny Natu has yellow wings and feet. Surprisingly, shiny Sunkern is a darker and less vibrant yellow than its non-shiny counterpart. Shiny Pineco has the most noticeable transformation, changing the dark green pinecone Pokemon into a yellowish orange.
The Johto Festival also includes a new Special Research quest to Pokemon Go that allows players to catch the legendary Celebi. New Johto-inspired avatar items have also been added.
Pokemon Go is available on both iOS and Android devices. Nintendo Switch exclusive Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! / Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee! features gameplay that borrows mechanically from Pokemon Go, and is scheduled to release on November 16.
Just prior to the start of Gamescom 2018, Activision announced The Collector's Edition for From Software's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The Collector's Edition will release alongside the normal version on March 22, 2019.
"We can't wait for fans to finally get their hands on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice," said Steve Young, chief revenue officer at Activision. "Fans will get a taste of the multiple tools available for the prosthetic shinobi arm this week at Gamescom, and will be able to fully dive into the brutal, dark world of 1500s Sengoku Japan when the game launches [this March]."
Sekiro's Collector's Edition includes the full game contained in a steelbook case, as well as a 7" shinobi statue, art book, physical map, digital soundtrack, and replica game coins. It's now available for pre-order.
Directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki--who previously oversaw Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls 3--Sekiro is a third-person, action-adventure RPG that seemingly borrows many of its mechanics from the Soulsborne titles, but proves to be an all-together different beast of a game. Sekiro adds a few new features to the fan-favorite formula, the most notable of which is the ability to die twice by quickly resurrecting from a hasty death. Sword combat has also received a few changes by incorporating both Prosthetic Tools, such as the Grappling Hook, and special Sword Arts to supplement regular attacks. Sekiro also implements stealth mechanics as well.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Two of FIFA's most popular modes will go practically unchanged this year, EA has confirmed. Some fans had been worried by EA focusing so heavily on the addition of the Champions League license to FIFA 19, with basically nothing said so far about Career Mode or Pro Clubs. Now, the company has confirmed to GameSpot that FIFA 19's versions of Career Mode and Pro Clubs contain no major new features, with the bulk of new content this year coming in the way of the expanded Kick Off portion of the game.
"In terms of Career Mode, we decided to make sure the experience with the Champions League was 100% authentic," FIFA 19's lead gameplay producer, Sam Rivera, told GameSpot at Gamescom 2018. "When it's Champions League day, everything changes--[there's a] reskin. That was our highest priority.
"But we are listening to our fans. They've been requesting more stuff, bigger stuff, in terms of Career Mode [and] in terms of Pro Clubs. There's discussions right now to see what can be added in the future. We know it's a very passionate community. At the moment, that's all we're announcing for those modes. We are actively having conversations, listening to [the community] to see what else we can bring to those modes."
When pressed on what would be coming to FIFA 19 specifically with regards to those modes, Rivera replied: "It's mainly the Champions League integration." Later in the interview, EA confirmed Champions League is not integrated into Pro Clubs, but that other licensed leagues are. More licenses, yet to be announced, will also come to both modes in the final game.
Following the interview, EA reached out to GameSpot to speak of three new features coming to Career Mode. Those three features are new locker room cutscenes, the integration of Ultimate difficulty (which was previously only available in Ultimate Team), and the addition of a star above your club badge if your team wins the Champions League. No new features of any kind were mentioned for Pro Clubs.
Elsewhere, FIFA 19 greatly expands Kick Off with the addition of persistent stat tracking, house rules (including a battle royale-like Survival Mode and a No Rules option), and tournament- and cup-specific graphical options. Ultimate Team, meanwhile, brings a new sub-mode named Division Rivals, while The Journey returns for its third year to tell the final chapter of Alex Hunter's story. FIFA 19's release date has been set for September 28 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS3, and Xbox 360.
It's been four years since we've seen Super Monkey Ball. And though the franchise may be dormant for the moment, Bad Habit Productions is here to scratch that Super Monkey Ball itch with Marble It Up, a psychedelic puzzle platformer that's headed to the Nintendo Switch in September.
A spiritual successor to the Marble Blast and Marble Madness series, Marble It Up is billed as a puzzle platformer that "harnesses the subtle thrill of racing the clock and embraces the pure joy of rolling." You'll jump, bounce, boost, and roll across 40 levels where power-ups can be used to get you to the finish line as quickly as possible. In addition to power-ups, Marble It Up will feature secret collectibles, unlockable marbles, and more.
Marble It Up also includes a replay system where you can watch and race against your ghost and the online leaderboards' top players. And if you're worried about stability while getting your roll on, Bad Habit has confirmed this psychedelic platformer will run at 60 frames-per-second both docked and undocked. According to executive producer Mark Frohnmayer, "The core goal of Marble It Upis to bring gamers into a state of flow."
The game is a collaboration between several studios: Alvios, Inc., Bad Habit Productions, Arcturus Interactive, Shapes and Lines, and The Engine Company. Some members of this super production group have worked on previous Marble Blast games, such as Marble Blast Gold and Marble Blast Ultra.
The fact that it's so easy to look at Shenmue through modern eyes and see all the ways it was ahead of its time doesn't speak to how poorly Shenmue has aged in the 18 years since its release. If nothing else, Sega's re-release of Shenmue I and Shenmue II is a testament to the passionate fans that have kept the mystique of the aged series alive. It's almost appropriate that, aside from boosts in resolution and smoothing out some of the more jagged edges, neither game has gotten a full makeover for its current-gen debut. Shenmue I and II's mechanics don't hold up very well today, and Sega doesn't try to fight the scrutiny. We are expected to take Shenmue I and II, largely, as they were. And what they were is...well, complicated.
"Complicated" as it pertains to Shenmue is a funny word considering how embarrassingly threadbare the narrative and gameplay for both games are. Shenmue was always mechanically clumsy. The game's control scheme tries splitting the difference between old-school Resident Evil-style tank controls, and the full-3D movement we all currently know and love, and the result is clunky, where just getting Ryo to walk straight or look in a specific direction is like taming a wild horse. Voice tracks in the remasters are just as muffled as ever, though the ability to turn on the original Japanese language track on both games does wonders for the quality of the various performances.
The narrative setup is this: In 1986, young Ryo Hazuki's father is murdered in his own dojo by a man named Lan Di, who steals one of a pair of precious jade mirrors in the process. Young Ryo swears revenge, and after finding the second mirror and vowing to keep it safe, he follows Lan Di from his quiet little Japanese suburb all the way to the bustling streets of Hong Kong. There he discovers the mirrors may be more important to the future of China than ever imagined.
That two-game synopsis is four sentences, and those four brief sentences cover between 50 and 70 hours of gameplay. It's only at the end that the plot finally picks up steam, and then the credits roll. That leaves a lot of dead space to fill, in both games. But Shenmue's complexity has nothing to do with immediate gratification. It has to do with something that the vast majority of open-world titles in Shenmue's wake have trouble with: purpose.
Think about the best open-world games in recent years. In most cases, the moment the initial tutorial shackles come off, you're free to flit about the world however you see fit. Typically, you have all the basic tools and knowledge you need to go forth as the master of the world. If you don't possess the power to rule the world, your goal is to obtain it. The objective stops being about what the plot demands, and more about gaining enough to power where nothing but the loading screen will ever stop you from doing what you want, when you want, to whoever you want. Ultimately, this is what most open-world games provide and promise: eventual mastery over the world.
Shenmue never makes such promises. Ryo isn't meant to be master of his world. He's a citizen of it, just like everyone else. Aside from the ability to fight, the only impressive thing about him is knowing virtually everyone's name in his hometown. As a foreigner in a strange land in Shenmue II, he has even less than that. Ryo's quest for revenge starts from absolutely nothing. Moreover, there is so very little to tell you where to begin, other than following the innate instinct to talk to strangers, sorting through the he-said-she-said of provincial life until you find the first of a series of leads.
These things have nothing to do with the mystery of the jade mirrors or avenging Ryo's father, and everything to do with the kind of world-building that makes Ryo's life feel real and quaintly beautiful.
Despite the search for your father's murderer being the driving force through Shenmue's story, it's the little, inconsequential discoveries you make along the way that leave a lasting impression. Ask a neighbor about the whereabouts of the notorious black car, she'll tell you how it almost ran over a man she knows a block away, who you find stretching in his front yard because he pulled his back dodging out of the way. You could get the address wrong and meet someone unrelated who still heard about your father and offers genuine condolences. You can stop in a grocery store to pick up a can of tuna for the little girl caring for a lost kitten up the road. The man who owns the Chinese restaurant in town could be out of change for a vending machine, and you can buy him a soda for no other reason than the fact that he's a neighbor, and wind up shooting the breeze for a minute about the menu. There are no arrows or compasses or waypoints ushering you from one plot point to the next. You have to unearth the next step by going out and being curious, paying close attention, and listening to the people Ryo lives and works with. These things have nothing to do with the mystery of the jade mirrors or avenging Ryo's father, and everything to do with the kind of world-building that makes Ryo's life feel real and quaintly beautiful. Shenmue doesn't revel in giving you power; it revels in wrapping you in the mundane.
As the world starts to come together, then, it has the magic effect of making every chaotic moment all the more impactful. It's not out of the question that a schoolboy roaming down the wrong dark alley after dark might get attacked by drunken thugs in a video game. It means a lot more when that fight makes Ryo late coming home and Ine, his gentle live-in housekeeper, is worried sick. It means a lot more when word gets around that Ryo's looking for Chinese men who killed his father and the calm and collected vet who runs the nearby Army surplus store starts to worry about possibly outing his connections to the yakuza. Suddenly, taking a moment away from your investigation to play arcade games, or hang out with the kitten, or talk to the cute, awkward girl down at the flower shop feels like a valuable respite rather than a frivolous open-world gimmick. Often in Shenmue, you run into situations where you can't take the next step in your investigation until the next day. There's no way to fast forward time, or turn in early. The game essentially invites you to go out and live, work, and play, and you, essentially, can. Ryo says his purpose is to find his father's killer. The ultimate counterpoint of Shenmue is the idea that maybe life is too big to let revenge rule over it.
Ryo is, objectively, living a small life, however, and one that feels ever more constrained as the scope of his investigation leads closer to Hong Kong. The first Shenmue is all about creating a microcosm of suburban Japanese life. The second is all about taking that familiarity away. Throwing Ryo into the big city presents him with more to do, but nothing resembling safety, and while it's so off kilter creating an atmosphere in one game that doesn't truly pay off until the second, there's no doubt it works when playing them back to back. The first night Ryo finds himself in a tiny hostel, with his only possessions strapped to his back, thousands of miles from home, and not a penny to his name having been mugged earlier on, is such a lonely one. Suddenly the memory of Shenmue's prevailing normalcy--even the normalcy of the tedious factory job that slogs down the final third of the first game--makes you feel a little homesick. Hong Kong doesn't become a truly warm place until close to the end of Shenmue II, and what tension there is in the game's plot comes from just how far from that warmth Ryo must go to get his revenge.
The size of Shenmue's world and its humble nature create expectations that the game itself flies in the face of. On paper, it's a series of fully explorable cities packed with reactive NPCs--something only the best open-world games manage today. The ethos behind what happens within these cities is the part that we don't see and remains a marvel of patient and humanistic game design. Everything immediate and mechanical about Shenmue has been outclassed several times over. Everything experiential about the game is operating on such a different wavelength. It requires you to be present and mindful at all times. That portion is important, as open-world ethos leans ever more towards keeping you busy as opposed to engaged. Shenmue is so broken and creaky in so many ways, and yet it's a game dependent on the calm of passing time, and reminding its protagonist (and you) of all things good in the face of life's hard and harsh moments.
In case you didn't know, the '90s are coming back in full force. And who doesn't remember the era's iconic beat-em-up, Streets of Rage? Although it's been almost a quarter of a century since Streets of Rage 3, publisher DotEmu has announced the return of the side-scrolling beat-em-up with Streets of Rage 4.
Developed by Lizardcube (Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap) and Guard Crush Games (Streets of Fury), Streets of Rage 4 will further Sega's arcade brawler with new mechanics, an original story, and streets filled with rage. In addition to new mechanics and an original story, Streets of Rage 4 will be composed of hand-drawn visuals similar to Lizardcube's 2017 remake of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap.
Sometimes the streets can be unforgiving, though. Thankfully, Streets of Rage 4 will include solo and cooperative play, but it's unclear whether co-op will be offline, online, or both. Furthermore, publisher DotEmu hasn't revealed the platforms Streets of Rage 4 will appear on, nor has it confirmed a release date for the upcoming '90s-inspired brawler.
Streets of Rage, also known as Bare Knuckles in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat-em-up released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis. Developed by Sega, the Streets of Rage franchise is considered a classic 2D beat-em-up, held in the same regard as other brawlers like Battletoads (1991), Final Fight, and Golden Axe. The last entry in the series, Streets of Rage 3, released in 1994 for the Sega Genesis.
As the search for a director continues, it looks like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 may have to move its production start date. A new report says that production for the Marvel Cinematic Universe film has been put on hold.
The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which states a small group that was preparing for pre-production are being dismissed from their tasks and told they are free to find other work. It was expected that pre-production on the movie would begin in the fall prior to Disney firing director James Gunn.
The studio released Gunn from the franchise after a series of decade-old tweets that joked about rape and pedophilia--jokes that the director had previously discussed and apologized for. In the aftermath, the cast of the Guardians of the Galaxy films has come out in support of the director, with Dave Bautista (Drax) being a particularly vocal opponent of Disney's decision on social media.
"I will do what [I'm] legally obligated to do but [Guardians of the Galaxy] without [James Gunn] is not what I signed up for," he tweeted on August 5. "GOTG [without] [Gunn] just isn't GOTG." He also threatened to leave the franchise if Gunn's script for the third movie wasn't used.
According to THR, the production hold is seen as temporary as the studio looks for a director to take over the third Guardians film. "The timeline has been pushed out," a source tells the outlet.
A release date for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has not been announced. The Guardians team will next be seen in Avengers 4 when it releases on May 3, 2019.
A massive surprise sale popped up on PSN two weeks ago. It's called Attack of the Blockbuster, and it's one of the biggest sales we've seen. Dozens and dozens of the biggest PS4 games are discounted now, including tons of major PS4 exclusives. As often happens with these things, PlayStation Plus members get additional savings. The sale ends August 28, so this is your last chance to get in on the savings.
Let's start with God of War, which is on sale for $40 (or $35 if you're a PS Plus member). That's a great deal, considering how recently this surefire Game of the Year contender came out. Speaking of major PS4 exclusives, you can grab Horizon: Zero Dawn: Complete Edition for just $16 ($12). And the massive JRPG Persona 5 is down to $35 ($30).
It's not just Sony exclusives on sale, either. The Witcher 3: Complete Edition, a sprawling game you could spend hundreds of hours exploring, is down to $25 ($20). The first-person horror-fest Resident Evil 7 is on sale for $22.50 ($20). For bonus scares, you can play the whole game using PSVR.
This week's Best Buy ad is up, meaning a whole new set of discounts on video games and hardware is live. Whether you spend your time playing on Xbox One, PS4, or Nintendo Switch, you can find a nice selection of deals at the big blue retailer this week. Let's dive in and take a look at what's on sale.
In the market for a Nintendo Switch? If you buy Nintendo's latest console, you'll receive a (much needed) 64 GB microSDXC memory card for free. Basketball fans who are ready to pre-order NBA 2K19 can get a free Funko Pop figure while supplies last. And buying a three-month Xbox Live Gold membership for $25 gets you an additional three months for free.
If you buy either an Xbox One or a PS4 console, you'll save $10 on an extra controller for the system. Also, if you trade in an Xbox One controller, you'll save $20 on a sports white controller.
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