IGN Video Games |
- Chinatown Detective Agency Is the Carmen Sandiego Reimagining I Always Wanted
- Metroid 64 Imagines the 64-Bit Entry That Never Happened
- Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items Guide for April 29
- Game Scoop! 673: The Richest & Poorest Video Game Characters
- Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest Board Game Review
- Marvel's Heroes Are Being Dragged Into Fortnite's Greatest Battle Yet
- Xbox Games With Gold for May 2022 Revealed
- PlayStation Cat Game Stray Pushed to Summer 2022
- 4 Things to know about the Mobile Legends: Adventure "New Era" Event
- Final Fantasy 16 Is in the 'Final Stages of Development'
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Explained - What Is the Animated Anthology Series?
- IGN UK Podcast #642: Overwatch 2 is a Playable Thing that Exists
- Skull & Bones: Gameplay Leak Shows Combat, On-Foot Exploration, and More
- The First Few PS Plus Premium Retro Games Seem to Have Leaked
- Showa American Story Is a Wild and Sexy Chinese Depiction of America as Set in Showa 66
- Rocket League New Mode Is Battle Royale For People Who Hate Battle Royale
| Chinatown Detective Agency Is the Carmen Sandiego Reimagining I Always Wanted Posted: 30 Apr 2022 07:00 AM PDT Before I ever owned a game console or settled into the identity of being a gamer, I was still playing games. Specifically, educational games on a clunky Packard Bell like Reader Rabbit, Cluefinders, and one of my favorites, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? This was before our household had internet, or even before internet game guides were a thing. So when an in-game witness told me, a nine-year-old child, "He asked if I wanted to come along, because he had reservations for two in Kisumu," my options were limited to staring at a giant globe we had on the nearby mantlepiece, thumbing through a dictionary or encyclopedia, or running to my mom to ask if she knew what it meant (a hit or miss strategy, depending on the clue). I always got a thrill out of this kind of sleuthing, and a lot of my earliest geography lessons came from trying to puzzle out where one of V.I.L.E.'s worst villains had run off to after swiping entire landmarks off the map. When I opened Chinatown Detective Agency for the first time last week, I didn't expect to be transported back to the old Packard Bell and globe deductions almost 30 years later, but there I was. Set in Singapore in 2037, its story follows private investigator Amira Darma as she investigates a series of mysteries both within the city and abroad. Each case leaves a trail of clues to follow, but many of them require additional sleuthing outside of the game and are designed specifically to be researched online. For instance, one of the earliest puzzles gives you a cryptic quote, and asks you to learn either the name of the book it came from, or its author. You won't find either in-game anywhere, but a quick Google search brings it up immediately and lets you proceed. Chinatown Detective Agency's inspirations are clearly painted all over it, from the clunky moving menus, to the research puzzles, to the interface that prompts you to deduce where in the world you need to buy a plane ticket to next. Creative director Mark Fillon immediately reassures me that my intense experience of Carmen Sandiego nostalgia was intentional. He, like me, grew up on Carmen's adventures, puzzling over a world map and encyclopedias for answers outside of the in-game fiction and marveling at what he learned. But what's different about Chinatown Detective Agency is that it is thoroughly a game for adults. More of a "hard-boiled" detective story, as Fillon puts it. "If I were to summarize it, it's Carmen Sandiego for people who've grown up," he says. "I felt that if we were going to do this it would tackle mature themes, subject matter that requires real thinking, requires real research." And they certainly do. Fillon says he wanted to ensure the puzzles weren't too esoteric, but they do cover a span of topics such as ancient languages, cryptography, history, and more. And they become more difficult as you go. Fortunately, stumped players can always reach out to the in-game librarian Mei Ting for enthusiastic help, either a vague hint or a flat-out solution. One minor wrinkle in Fillon's plan to have players do their own research turned out to be, inadvertently, the very research tool he wanted players to use. During my own playthrough of Chinatown Detective Agency, my Google searches for answers almost immediately pulled full game guides to the top that simply gave away all the answers even in the article's metadata, making the pursuit of information far less rewarding than it would have been had I been forced to properly sift through more normal, historical search results. Fillon admits the team probably should have foreseen this problem and planned for it, but what's done is done. "We just didn't know that it would skew the algorithm so much," he says. "And I suppose it's a testament to how well received it is, that people are actually doing it. But I know it makes it really tricky for first timers who are genuinely looking for material that can help them progress…I am of the opinion that folks who are immersed in that moment, in the mission, when they type it on their Google they'd be forgiving and just look past and gloss over a lot of those walkthroughs and look for real results, whether it's from Wikipedia or whichever reference material." It's certainly easy enough to become immersed in the Singapore of Chinatown Detective Agency, in no small part due to the care Fillon and his team put into creating it. Fillon tells me they strove for authenticity in every part of their adventure, including its voice acting, sound design, and visuals. Some of those elements were a bit more difficult than others to create, however, especially with a fully remote team during a pandemic. For instance, art director Ricardo Juchem had never visited Singapore when he initially began working on the project. He did eventually, but in the meantime Fillon would frequently send him photos of locations around the city to inform the game's backgrounds. Juchem also used other, more imaginative ways of getting the lay of the land, including Google Street View and, in one case, flying an airplane in Microsoft Flight Simulator to get a good angle on a specific location, and taking a screenshot to base his own environments on. Of course, the Singapore of Chinatown Detective Agency isn't a modern day Singapore. It takes place in 2037 – so the future, but not the far-off future. Fillon says that was intentional, as he wanted to tell a futuristic story that was still understandable for the audience as a real, near possibility rather than something imaginative and far-off. It's our world, but it's a version of our world where things never really get better. "We envisioned a world where the pandemic has just basically cost a mass economic stagnation," he says. "People are out of jobs. Governments are running out of funds. The Singapore you see in Chinatown Detective Agency is like a very extreme opposite of what Singapore is today. Singapore is known for being a well-oiled machine, right? It's very well organized. It's a case study in how a government should run a country. Things just work. "But in Chinatown Detective Agency we imagined what would happen if the police force ran out of money, what would happen if public transportation ran out of money. It would pretty much drastically change Singapore on a fundamental level, and that informs the plots and the story arcs beyond Singapore." Fillon adds that designing this particular vision of Singapore felt a bit like "eating forbidden fruit" – a dystopian future for his country just isn't something people want to talk about. "It stands out to someone who's been to Singapore because everything here is squeaky clean," he says. "There are no cracks on the glass. The stickers and the posters on the subway are super neat. The edges are super straight and they're light colored. In the game they're dark gray and barely running and noisy and just broken, and imagining that was a little bit scary because it felt like if Singapore were at that level of disorder you know the world has gone completely wrong." Chinatown Detective Agency, then, uses nostalgia for the past to tell a futuristic story. Fillon feels that with the advent of the internet, knowledge has become so accessible that the journey of discovery and learning new things has become something most people take for granted. He hopes that with Chinatown Detective Agency, he can renew some of that spark for his audience. "The hope is that if someone has enjoyed playing it, that it's rekindled some sort of interest in just learning something new again. I don't want to use that word 'edu-tainment' because it has such a stigma attached to it. But I suppose if it's used as a vehicle to tell a captivating story, hey, you know what, I have no problems with that." Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine. |
| Metroid 64 Imagines the 64-Bit Entry That Never Happened Posted: 29 Apr 2022 11:22 PM PDT While the Nintendo 64 never got a Metroid game, two fans are working on showing the world what a Metroid 64 could have looked like. As reported by Nintendo Life, Luto Akino took to Twitter to share his Unity 3D project that aims to create what Metroid 64 could have been. Instead of opting for a first-person camera a la Metroid Prime, this version features a third-person perspective and shows Samus running around a purple cave area, using her arm canon, and even using her Morph Ball form and bombs.
There are currently no enemies besides static blocks, but it gives a good glimpse into Akino's vision and what a Metroid game on the N64 would play and look like. Akino is working on this project with a friend and has revealed no plans as to when they would make this available to the public. You can check back through Akino's Twitter to see even more updates on this Metroid 64 project. Super Metroid was released for the SNES in 1994 and it took eight years for fans to get a new entry. While Samus did show up in the original Super Smash Bros., she never had a proper entry on the N64. The wait may have been tough, but fans were treated to two new adventures - GBA's Metroid Fusion and GameCube's Metroid Prime - just days apart in 2002. Nintendo tried to make Metroid happen on N64, but it revealed it "couldn't come up with any concrete ideas or vehicle at that time." Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto also said he couldn't imagine how the N64 controller could be used to control Samus. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch. |
| Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items Guide for April 29 Posted: 29 Apr 2022 02:13 PM PDT Our boi, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further. Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians. We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP. Where Is Xûr Today?Xûr's location today can be found at Watcher's Grave on Nessus on April 29 through May 3. To reach him, travel to the landing point at Watcher's Grave. When you arrive, make for the red moss-covered tree straight ahead. Climb up the roots and you'll find Xûr waiting at the top. What Is Xûr Selling This Weekend?Exotic Engram Hard Light - Exotic Auto Rifle Gemini Jester - Exotic Hunter Leg Armor
MK. 44 Stand Asides - Exotic Titan Leg Armor
Nezarec's Sin - Exotic Warlock Helmet
Holy Mother of Zavala, Guardians! Finally some good Fenchurching food! All three exotics are pretty bananas this week, but none more so than the deliciously God-rolled Nezarec's Sin, with an insane 69 stat points in some good spots. The other two are also pretty high, although the stat distributions are perhaps not totally ideal unless you've got a unique build. Exotic WeaponsHawkmoon - Exotic Hand Cannon
Dead Man's Tale - Exotic Scout Rifle
Hawkmoon and Dead Man's Tale are great weapons normally and once again we've got another pretty great rolls for both. Hawkmoon's roll this week is probably one of the best Xur has ever offered, so I highly recommend picking it up. Dead Man's Tale also has vorpal this week, so will be a pretty good pick, though certainly not a God roll. Legendary WeaponsSeventh Seraph Carbine - Auto Rifle
Timelines' Vertex - Fusion Rifle
Jian 7 Rifle - Pulse Rifle
False Promises - Auto Rifle
Widow's Bite - Sniper Rifle
Negative Space - Sword
Frozen Orbit - Sniper Rifle
Some interesting rolls this week! I always recommend snagging the Jian 7 when it's in stock (one of my favorite energy pulses) and the roll this week is pretty great. Also may want to pick up the False Promises roll in case Bungie's ambition to buff auto rifles next season makes them more viable. Warlock Legendary ArmorFor Warlocks, Xûr is selling the Praefectus set which includes: Praefectus Gloves
Praefectus Chest Armor
Praefectus Helmet
Praefectus Leg Armor
Praefectus Bond This week the Warlock Legendary Armor is low-stat this week, but maybe the gloves might suit you in a pinch. Titan Legendary ArmorFor Titans, Xûr is selling the Praefectus set which includes: Praefectus Gauntlets
Praefectus Chest Armor
Praefectus Helmet
Praefectus Leg Armor
Praefectus Mark Titans' Legendary Armor this week isn't anything to be crazy about, but the chest piece or the gauntlets might help with certain builds. Hunter Legendary ArmorFor Hunters, Xûr is selling the Praefectus set which includes: Praefectus Grips
Praefectus Chest Armor
Praefectus Helmet
Praefectus Leg Armor
Praefectus Cloak Hunters certainly got the worst of the bunch this week. Skip on these pieces unless you're really desperate. That's a wrap on Xûr for this week, Guardians! Hope you're all enjoying your adventures in the Witch Queen's throne world. Who do you think's going to win Guardian Games? Let me know in the comments! For more on Destiny, check out some of the new weapons and gear you can find in The Witch Queen and read about how Sony's purchase of Bungie fits into its larger plans. Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his games coverage here. |
| Game Scoop! 673: The Richest & Poorest Video Game Characters Posted: 29 Apr 2022 11:19 AM PDT Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, the ONLY video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Sam Claiborn, Justin Davis, and Nicholas Limon -- are discussing the richest and poorest video game characters, Elden Ring, Rogue Legacy 2, Spiritfarer, and more. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on:
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| Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest Board Game Review Posted: 29 Apr 2022 11:07 AM PDT Back in 2012, the pirate-themed title Libertalia, from a then little-known designer called Paolo Mori hit the shelves. Its blend of bluffing and hand management with that popular piratical theme made it a minor hit -- but after stock sold out it sunk without trace. As it transpired, it's a favourite of Stonemaier game's Jamey Stegmaier, who has now bought the considerable might of his publishing house to issue a new edition. Moving the action from the high seas to the higher skies, Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest (see it at Amazon) adds some new cards and refreshes the components for modern production values. What's In The Box Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is mostly a card game, with an identical deck for each player, and the cards themselves are something of a letdown. While sturdy enough for play, the art, depicting anthropomorphic pirate animals, is odd. The aim is to emphasise the move from the high seas to high fantasy but the execution is lacking. Other components are much better. There's a big bag of chunky plastic loot tiles to draw from, similar to those in Azul, which slide and clack in a most satisfying manner as you rummage around amongst them. Players have score dials to track their booty and there are also coin tokens with a fun little plastic treasure chest to keep them in. The only other component is a board plus some tiles to place on it to vary the effects of the loot tokens. It's double-sided, printed with player aids and everything is laid out in a neat and effective manner to help facilitate the gameplay. Rules and How it Plays At the start of Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest, one player shuffles their deck of forty crew cards and draws six at random. The other players then go fishing in their own decks and draw out the same, matching cards. So everyone starts with the same cards. You also draw out one loot tile per player to lay on the board for each day of the upcoming voyage. There are three such voyages, starting at four days and then increasing to five and six. Each day players must choose a card from their hand in secret. The card will have a rank number and one or more special powers. Once all players have chosen, the cards are arranged in rank order and their "day" powers get activated from left to right, in increasing rank. Then, their "dusk" powers get activated in the opposite direction, highest rank first, after which the owning player can choose a loot tile from that day's selection. These loot tiles sometimes also have a dusk effect which happens as they are picked. Finally, a few cards have a "night" effect which is applied simultaneously.  That's pretty much all the rules: it's very easy to learn and teach the basic game flow. But beware, because the devil is in the details. The special powers on both crew and tiles are very varied and spice proceedings up like a tot of rum. At the same time, the information you need to play strategically is printed on the cards and tile effects and makes the game feel more complicated to newcomers than the tiny rule booklet. Let's illustrate this with an example. Loot tiles aren't all equal in value: indeed one, the Relic, costs you points if you collect it. So if there's a day with a couple of Relic tiles among the loot and you have the rank 5 card Cabin Boy, you might be tempted to play it. The Cabin Boy's "day" power nets you gold if he's the leftmost card, which is likely given that he's rank 5. At "dusk" he stops you from taking any loot which, if it's a Relic, is quite helpful. So he looks like an easy choice: except all the other players will have a Cabin Boy and they'll all be thinking the same thing. All of a sudden he's not likely to be the leftmost card anymore, and you might want to reconsider. Unless all the other players are also thinking that same thing, in which case ...  And so the decisions go on, like a galleon spinning in an endless whirlpool, until you've tried to out-think all the double-think and come to a conclusion. After the tension of waiting for the other players, you go up the scale and back down again, scrabbling to try and work out what the cascade of powers is going to be and what loot you're going to secure. It's a neat mechanic with plenty of scope for excitement, planning and bluff. At the same time, the simultaneous choice of cards means your strategies can and will get torpedoed through no fault of your own, which can be unsatisfying. At the end of each voyage, some cards and most loot tokens also have an "anchor" power that activates. These mostly net you some bonus gold but there are fun exceptions such as the hook token that lets you keep a card you've played in your tableau, which can be handy if it has an ongoing "night" effect. Libertalia: Wind of Galecrest makes full use of the simple day, dusk, night and anchor system to come up with some really engaging effect combos, ensuring there's plenty of variety among its motley crew. The flip side of the board even has a whole new set of loot token effects to increase player interaction.  Before starting a new voyage, players get six new cards for their hand -- and this is where things really start to heat up. Although all players get the same six cards, chances are they played different cards during the preceding voyage which means everyone is now holding different hands. This brings a memory element into the game as you'll be at an advantage if you can recall what other players are holding; but either way, it opens up more variety in potential effect combos. Despite this fresh blood, the arbitrary nature of simultaneous play does make the hour-odd play time feel a little overlong. One thing that comes as a particular surprise for a game that thrives off having lots of cards working in opposition to each other is that it works well as both a solo board game and a two-player board game. Played solitaire, there's a simple AI system to choose cards from an opponent's hand together with a random "pilferer" card to mix up the order. With two players, there's a dummy rank 20 card that punishes low play by stealing a loot token if both players have cards that rank below it. These are neat, simple solutions that keep the game fast and fun at every player count. Where to Buy |
| Marvel's Heroes Are Being Dragged Into Fortnite's Greatest Battle Yet Posted: 29 Apr 2022 11:06 AM PDT A big part of the appeal of Fortnite is that it gives life to all our childhood fantasies about heroes from different universes teaming up to battle evil. The game now includes skins based on Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Tron, Naruto, Street Fighter and countless other iconic franchises. But sometimes those crossovers are more than merely superficial, and that's where Fortnite x Marvel: Zero War comes in. A followup of sorts to 2021's Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point, Zero War explores a major escalation in the endless conflict raging on Fortnite's Island. In this story, a fragment of the Zero Point lands in the Marvel Universe, forcing the heroes of Fortnite to join forces with the Avengers to prevent a disaster that could affect all worlds. It's a conflict that fans will see play out in both the game itself and the pages of the comic. The comic series reunites the Zero Point writing team - Epic Games' Chief Creative Officer Donald Mustard and prolific Marvel writer Christos Gage - with Sergio Davila (Wonder Woman) handling the art. Check out an exclusive preview of the first issue in the slideshow gallery below, and then read on to learn more about this major crossover from Gage himself. From the DC Universe to the Marvel UniverseZero War is probably the closest thing comic book fans will see to a true Marvel/DC crossover for the foreseeable future (unless you count the recent reprint of JLA/Avengers). While there won't be any DC characters appearing in this story, Fortnite's Island has now officially played host to heroes from both universes. Zero War's conflict builds on the foundation of Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point and the previous, Thor-centric Fortnite x Marvel crossover, so it's just as well Mustard and Gage are collaborating again. "It's still a delight," Gage said regarding that collaboration. "If anything it's more instinctive now, as Donald and I are really familiar with each other's creative processes, but that was true midway through Batman/Fortnite…we clicked really quickly. So from the standpoint of collaborating with Donald, it felt like a direct continuation. We both love comics, we both love the Fortnite lore, and we both want to deliver something awesome for fans of both the comics and the game. Hopefully that showed last time, and will show again this time." The biggest change between Zero Point and Zero War is that Gage and Mustard are working with Davila, whose recent Marvel work includes Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade. While Davila's style is similar in some ways to what we saw on Zero Point, Gage said he also brings some particular skills to the table in this story. "The idea is to find the best artist for the story we hope to tell, and when [editor Alanna Smith] recommended Sergio, we saw what he'd been doing with his inventive layouts and crazy action scenes and knew he was perfect," Gage said. "Given that we're depicting what is basically the culmination of the war between the Seven and the Imagined Order, the poor guy was going to have to draw armies, but he was also going to have to make some smaller, more character-focused scenes work too. And he's done it brilliantly, as the images released thus far show beyond a shadow of a doubt. He's the hardest working one on the team, for sure!" As mentioned above, this isn't the first Marvel/Fortnite crossover comic, but it's certainly much larger in scope than 2020's Fortnite x Marvel: Nexus War - Thor #1. Where that comic was basically a prologue story setting up an in-game story event, Zero War is a five-issue series telling a complete story unto itself. However, Gage teases there will be some major connective tissue between the comic and the game, particularly as the Zero War event reaches its climax later in 2022. "There'll be a few things you see in both the game and the comic – mostly in our final issue," Gage said. "But for the most part, what happens in the game and what happens in the comic are different fronts in the same war. Some questions that players might have about the game are answered in the comic, and vice versa, though neither are required to follow the story in the other." The Heroes of Zero WarAnother notable difference between the previous Thor tie-in and the Zero War miniseries is that the former springs out of a very specific moment in Donny Cates' ongoing Thor series, whereas Zero War takes a slightly more evergreen approach to the Marvel Universe. The costumes and team rosters are reflective of the current state of the Marvel U., but the plot isn't necessarily pinned down to a specific point in time. "We talked about the fact that in the future, people will be reading the story as a collected edition," Gage noted. "So the emphasis wasn't about 'This moment takes place on page X of comic book Y.' Now, we are reflecting the current status quo of the Marvel Universe. The Avengers lineup is what it currently is in the Avengers title. But someone who picks up the collected edition two or three years from now won't need to know exactly what issue of Avengers was out that month and what was happening in it." For Gage, one of the main challenges with Zero War was writing a comic that could be accessible to both Fortnite fans who don't actively read Marvel's comics and comic fans who haven't been playing the game. It's a tough balance to strike, given how steeped in Fortnite lore this new series is. In the end, Gage followed Smith's editorial advice, using Wolverine and Spider-Man as focal points to deliver critical information to Fortnite newcomers in issue #1. "It was challenging, because you have to consider that this will be read both by Fortnite fans who aren't immersed in Marvel lore and vice versa, but luckily everyone on the creative team was aware of that and eager to make it accessible. That's why we were given 30 pages for issue #1. (Subsequent issues are the usual 20 pages…until our explosive 30-page finale!) Our editor, Alanna, had a brilliant suggestion after reading the first draft of the first issue's script, which was to move Spidey finding Wolverine from the end of the issue to the beginning, and then have Spidey narrate the whole issue as a sort of flashback as he brings Wolvie up to speed. Which was utter genius. Because now, instead of exposition, you have Spider-Man's distinctive voice telling this insane story about converging realities and giant robots and never-ending battles where people break for a dance every now and then." Gage added, "I've written my share of Spider-Man in the past 17 years…loads of comics, and a PS4/5 video game you may have heard about... so his voice leaps into my head pretty naturally. Alanna's approach made it all fall into place. And that, folks, is just one aspect of what a good editor does." The comic will feature a sizable cast of Marvel heroes, but the story specifically centers around three - Wolverine, Spider-Man and Shuri. That cast of characters wasn't mandated by either Epic or Marvel, but rather by which best suited the story and which characters the creative team had the most affinity for. "Donald loves Wolverine, and specifically his 'Patch' identity from the early days of his first solo series," said Gage. "Every time we'd talk over Zoom, I could see two pages of original art from that book framed on his wall behind him. So we decided to use that take on Wolverine. The idea is that when he wants a breather from all the stuff going on in Krakoa, Logan heads over to Madripoor for some cheap beer and a good brawl, and that's where we find him. Donald also really wanted to use Spidey, who is in Fortnite now, and I love me some Spidey, so that was a big thumbs up. I think it was Alanna who suggested Shuri after the talk of Patch led to the idea of an almost Indiana Jones-style quest for an artifact – in this case, the Zero Shard, a crystallized piece of the Zero Point itself that broke off and was drawn back to the Marvel Universe when Galactus was driven out of Reality Zero in the previous Marvel/Fortnite crossover." Gage continued, "We were talking about cool Marvel locations, and of course Wakanda came up, and we realized Shuri was a natural. There was also discussion of what Fortnite characters would have good chemistry with the Marvel characters we were using. So we have a very familiar Fortnite character in Jones, who we will be learning some previously unrevealed things about, and a pretty recently introduced character in The Imagined. Conversely, there are some Marvel characters appearing in Fortnite right now, like Moon Knight, who aren't in the comic at all. It was all about the story and what serves it." Fortnite x Marvel: Zero War #1 will hit comic shops and Marvel Unlimited on Wednesday, June 8. Epic has added all sorts of interesting new characters to Fortnite in 2022. Nathan Drake from the Uncharted movie and games was recently added, alongside Marvel's Moon Knight, Dwayne Johnson, Bruno Mars, and outfits from Cobra Kai. It even added virtual attendees of Coachella alongside music from the festival itself. It all appears to feed into Epic Games' metaverse, with the Coachella collaboration in particular feeding into the idea of bringing "the real world" into a shared online space, especially as the event was announced just days after Sony and LEGO's parent company KIRKBI invested $2 billion into the publisher. Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter. |
| Xbox Games With Gold for May 2022 Revealed Posted: 29 Apr 2022 09:44 AM PDT Microsoft has announced that May 2022's Games with Gold are Yoku's Island Express, The Inner World - The Last Wind Monk, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and Viva Piñata: Party Animals. As revealed on Xbox Wire, the four Games with Gold will be available to anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with Yoku's Island Express and Hydro Thunder Hurricane available starting on May 1. Yoku's Island Express is an open-world pinball game with Metroidvania and platforming elements. Players take on the role of Yoku, a pint-sized mailman turned hero as he traverses and works to save Mokumana Island. We named it among our top ten Metroidvania games (that aren't Metroid or Castlevania), and in our 8/10 review said: "Yoku's Island Express is a novel Metroidvania-pinball hybrid that stands as something wholly unique and incredibly fun." Also available on May 1, but only until May 15, is Hydro Thunder Hurricane. This rocket-powered speedboat racing game from 2010 didn't receive as much of IGN's favor. "Between uninspired references to the original game and its reliance on aged arcade racer elements," we said in our 5/10 review, "Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a dull, monotonous experience that shows its hand early and fails to deliver on its pedigree." Available later in the month on May 16 is The Inner World - The Last Wind Monk, a sequel to the 2013 point and click adventure game. Players take on three characters - Robert, Laura, and Peck the pigeon - as they embark on an adventure to save their friends in a completely wacky world. Last but not least, Viva Piñata: Party Animals is available on the same day but only available for two weeks until May 31. This isn't a traditional Viva Piñata but a party game instead, featuring a number of minigames that players take part in using beloved characters of the franchise. IGN didn't love this one either, as in another 5/10 review, we said: "The inherent problem that really bogs down the action in Viva Pinata's aesthetic successor is that the mini-games simply don't stem from a fun design scheme." Be sure to redeem April 2022's Xbox Games with Gold before they leave the service, which includes Another Sight, Hue, Outpost Kaloki X, and MX vs ATV Alive. Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. |
| PlayStation Cat Game Stray Pushed to Summer 2022 Posted: 29 Apr 2022 09:33 AM PDT PlayStation has quietly announced a delay to it's cat game Stray with a release now expected this summer. The release window was previously set as spring 2022, but in a tweet (below) advertising indie games coming soon spotted by Eurogamer, PlayStation sneakily confirmed the delay. Stray's launch on PS5, PS4, and PC will mark two years since it was first shown at the PS5 reveal event, when it was originally expected to be a 2021 release.
Developer BlueTwelve's objective is simple: "Our goal is to create a unique experience playing as a cat," they said at the time. But this isn't your average house cat, as the players controls the kitty as it explores a robotic cybercity and tries to return home with the help of a drone called B-12. BlueTwelve has been pretty quiet since the original reveal, only really sharing more information about the game in July last year when the postponement to spring 2022 was announced. Several games from the original PS5 reveal, which took place in September 2020, have suffered from delays, with the COVID-19 pandemic doing game development no favours. Gran Turismo 7, Horizon: Forbidden West, Deathloop, were among the biggest games to see delays, but Stray, alongside Goodbye Volcano High and Forspoken, remain the only games to remain unreleased. Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. |
| 4 Things to know about the Mobile Legends: Adventure "New Era" Event Posted: 29 Apr 2022 09:00 AM PDT Mobile Legends: Adventure (MLA) is the sequel to the addictive MOBA, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB). Unlike most mobile RPGs, MLA is an idle RPG that doesn't demand hours of grinding as your heroes are always collecting resources for you, even when you are offline. You can pick it up for just a few fun minutes, and use the options to skip battles or enable auto-battling, to just kick back and watch the action.  Coming in May is New Era, a new annual event that will introduce a ton of updates such as new events, new heroes, and limited-time game modes with plenty of rewards. With this event you can gain a huge amount of rewards that will help you get your pick from over 100 heroes that you need to build your dream team.  1. Golden Wishes will be giving away a High Star-Level Hero Beginning April 29th, if you complete tasks for 28 days you can permanently unlock a hero of your choice. By completing these tasks you will also be able to rack up thousands of diamonds and lots of upgrade materials. This high Star-Level hero is not only great for veterans looking for a huge power increase, but also for new players wanting to quickly beat the early stages.  2. A Tinted Mirage event will feature the release of the new hero Pharsa The new Epic Hero, Pharsa, will be free to get during this Tinted Mirage event, and more Epic Pharsa cards and resources will be obtainable if you clear more stages. The new Tinted Mirage also comes with an interesting storyline about Pharsa's revenge and Selena's betrayal.  3. Call of the Crows, the new PvE card game mode, will be available for a limited time MLA's New Era is also introducing a new PvE card game mode, Call of the Crows. In Call of the Crows, you strategically select Hero Cards to craft a deck and then start a game. You will then tactically drag the cards onto the battlefield to defend the base, known as the Energy Core, and fight the enemies spawning on the right side. If you manage to win all levels you will collect all the extra rewards!  4. Four new hero skins will be available Mobile Legends: Adventure has over 100 heroes with different skills and animations. During the New Era event, the Skin Store will feature four new hero skins for that limited time, each with diverse backgrounds and unique stories. Make sure to grab them while they're available!  The 2022 New Era event will be available starting on April 29th and ending on June 2nd. Download Mobile Legends: Adventure for Android and iOS now and get in on this event before it's too late. |
| Final Fantasy 16 Is in the 'Final Stages of Development' Posted: 29 Apr 2022 07:42 AM PDT Final Fantasy 16's producer Naoki Yoshida has said the game is in its final stages of development. Yoshida confirmed the progress in a pamphlet that accompanied the franchise's official clothing line, translated by Twitter user @aitaikimochi, saying "We're in the final stages of development for the numbered game in the series, Final Fantasy XVI." Yoshida added that he thinks the game's story, which is obviously a very different experience from Final Fantasy 14 Online (which he also produces), is a fleshed-out experience that will bring older fans back.
"Unlike an online game that involves many players at the same time, Final Fantasy 16 offers a different experience where it focuses on the individual player and immerses you in the story," he said per the translation. "For those who have grown up and realised that reality isn't kind to you and have drifted away from Final Fantasy, we hope that Final Fantasy 16 will be a game that can bring back anew the passion that you once had with the series." Yoshida has been fairly open about the game's development timeline. He said in July last year that the story and English voice over was almost complete but the game was later delayed as a result of COVID-19. He also promised that a big reveal would take place in spring this year, meaning it may not be long before fans find out when they can expect to play the game. Given that Final Fantasy 16's development is in its final stages, and 2022 marks the franchise's 35th anniversary, it would certainly make sense for Square Enix to release the first mainline entry since 2016 this year. Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. |
| Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Explained - What Is the Animated Anthology Series? Posted: 29 Apr 2022 07:00 AM PDT While Star Wars Celebration 2022 is still weeks away, we already know one of the new projects Lucasfilm will be revealing at the convention. Thanks to a now-deleted panel schedule posting, we've learned a new animated anthology series called Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is in the works. Fans of the classic Legends timeline will probably recognize that particular branding. Tales of the Jedi is a name with deep significance to the Star Wars mythos. The original Dark Horse Comics series was among the first Star Wars stories to flesh out the ancient history of the Jedi Order and their war with the Sith. Will this animated series follow that example? We don't know much yet, but this is a good opportunity to look back at Tales of the Jedi and how the original comics may inform the newest animated Star Wars series. These are the topics we cover here:
Tales of the Jedi: The BasicsStar Wars: Tales of the Jedi is a series of comic book story arcs published by Dark Horse between 1993 and 1998. The series was originally conceived by writer Tom Veitch, who is considered to be one of the core architects of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. While Veitch's first Star Wars project, Dark Empire, was a sequel set six years after the events of Return of the Jedi, Veitch included references to ancient Jedi Knights and Sith Lords in that series. Those references became the foundation on which Tales of the Jedi was built. Tales of the Jedi is largely set 4000 years before the era of the movies, in a time when the ancient Jedi Order is at war with the Sith (who at that point were depicted as a singular race of Force-sensitive aliens rather than the secretive order they would later become). Later Tales of the Jedi arcs delved even further back in the Star Wars timeline, exploring a period 5000 years before the movies. Together with co-writer Kevin J. Anderson (who also penned the Jedi Academy Trilogy of novels around the same time), Veitch fleshed out an era of Star Wars history that fans knew almost nothing about at the time. And even though Tales of the Jedi has been rendered non-canon like most of the Expanded Universe, it's a series that continues to exert a strong influence on contemporary stories. The Plot of Tales of the JediWhile Tales of the Jedi is ostensibly an anthology series focused on different characters and conflicts in the Old Republic era, the various stories do connect to form an overarching narrative. The series is largely about the rise and fall of Ulic Qel-Droma, a Jedi Knight from Alderaan who becomes corrupted by the Dark Side. Over the course of the series, Qel-Droma battles the Sith Empire and falls in love with fellow Jedi Nomi Sunrider, only to succumb to the temptation of darkness himself. Qel-Droma's story is deeply intertwined with that of Exar Kun, another former Jedi who turns to the Dark Side. Kun was originally created by Anderson for the Jedi Academy Trilogy, which reveals that his spirit was tethered to the abandoned temple on Yavin IV that briefly served as the base of the Rebel Alliance. Working together, Anderson and Veitch integrated Kun into the overarching Tales of the Jedi storyline, and the comics showcase the Sith Lord at the height of his power and reveal how he met his eventual end. Tales of the Jedi proved to be hugely influential for the franchise, establishing key pieces of the Jedi/Sith mythology in a time before the Star Wars prequels began to cover that ground. Among other things, these comics cover pivotal conflicts like the Freedon Nadd Uprising and the Great Hyperspace War and introduce the ancient Sith Empire and the warriors of Mandalore. Above all, Tales of the Jedi proved that even thousands of years before the time of Luke And Anakin Skywalker, some of the galaxy's most powerful Jedi battled the influence of the Dark Side. The Knights of the Old Republic ConnectionYou may be wondering where the Knights of the Old Republic games fit in. The KOTOR name actually originated in the comic, as it's the subtitle of one of the major Tales of the Jedi story arcs. The games themselves are also essentially direct sequels to the comic. The original Knights of the Old Republic is set roughly 40 years after the conclusion of Tales of the Jedi. KOTOR builds on the Jedi/Mandalorian conflict introduced in the comic, introducing Sith Lord Darth Revan and their apprentice Darth Malak. Like Exar Kun and Ulic-Qel Droma before them, Revan and Malak were distinguished Jedi Knights who fell to the temptation of the Dark Side. The exact reasons for their shared downfall weren't revealed until the release of The Old Republic, an MMORPG set several centuries later. In the process, The Old Republic ties back to the Sith Empire mythology introduced in Tales of the Jedi. KOTOR puts players in the shoes of an amnesic main character and a ragtag band of Jedi, smugglers, Mandalorians and one extremely cranky droid as they seek to prevent Malak from unleashing one of the galaxy's deadliest super-weapons. The sequel, set a decade later, shifts focus to a disgraced Jedi known as the Jedi Exile as they battle a triumvirate of upstart Sith Lords. While the KOTOR games are sequels to Tales of the Jedi, there are some storytelling discrepancies between the two. Tales of the Jedi was released before the Star Wars prequels materialized, whereas KOTOR arrived a year after Episode II hit theaters. When Tales of the Jedi was being published, George Lucas hadn't established basic details like the idea that "Darth" is an honorific adopted by all Sith Lords, not just Vader. The technology and architecture of KOTOR is also wildly different from Tales of the Jedi. The latter showcases the Star Wars universe in a much more primal and less technologically advanced state, one where the influence of Westerns and samurai movies is even more apparent. With the announcement of a Tales of the Jedi animated series and the upcoming Knights of the Old Republic remake, it'll be interesting to see how closely intertwined the two projects are. Will we see a more unified vision for how the Star Wars universe looked 4000 years before the movies? Tales of the Jedi: The Animated SeriesCurrently, very little is known about the Tales of the Jedi animated series, and that likely won't change until the show's official reveal at Star Wars Celebration 2022 on May 28. For now, only two details have emerged - Tales of the Jedi is an anthology series consisting of short, animated episodes (similar to the anime-styled Star Wars: Visions), and The Clone Wars executive producer Dave Filoni is involved. Presumably, the series will be exclusive to Disney+, but even that detail has yet to be confirmed. At this point, it's unclear if Tales of the Jedi is directly inspired by the original comics or simply repurposing the name. It's possible the series will take place in a similar setting, exploring the Old Republic era and introducing reimagined versions of characters like Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider into the official Disney canon. However, it's also possible the series might cast a wider net. The show might focus on established Jedi like Luke, Rey and Ahsoka Tano as well as older generations of Jedi Knights. It could also explore the High Republic era, a setting that has been a major focus of Lucasfilm's publishing division in recent years. If so, it would be the second Star Wars series to take place during the High Republic, after Leslye Headland's Star Wars: The Acolyte. Be sure to stay tuned to IGN for more on Tales of the Jedi and other big announcements from Star Wars Celebration. Until then, cast your vote in our poll and let us know what era you most want to see in Tales of the Jedi: Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter. |
| IGN UK Podcast #642: Overwatch 2 is a Playable Thing that Exists Posted: 29 Apr 2022 05:55 AM PDT The Overwatch 2 beta is live, so of course, we're going to talk about it. To do just that are Cardy, Matt and Alex who delve into just how new it feels. We also have impressions of Switch Sports and Richard Linklater's latest film, Apollo 10 ½. Then there's the stuff you care about, such as milk, out of date chocolate, and father and son bonding stories. Want to get in touch to talk about digging graves? Or maybe about chocolate? Feel free to send us an email at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast #642: Overwatch 2 is a Playable Thing that Exists |
| Skull & Bones: Gameplay Leak Shows Combat, On-Foot Exploration, and More Posted: 29 Apr 2022 05:04 AM PDT Gameplay from Ubisoft's pirate game Skull & Bones has leaked online, giving us a look at several mechanics, including naval combat and on-foot exploration. It's unclear which version of the game this "technical test build" is from, as Skull & Bones received a major reboot before entering an alpha stage in July 2021. Ubisoft invited some players to test an early version last month, however, meaning this leaked gameplay, shared by Wesam_L on reddit, could well be from this Insider Programme. In this version of the game, Skull & Bones gameplay revolves around a hub area – similar to The Tower from Destiny 2 – that players will frequent in order to craft items, visit shops, take on missions, and so on. The hub, called Sainte-Anne, is "the centre of pirate activity" and thus where players are encouraged to socialise (through emotes) and organise their teams of up to three players. Players will then head out into the world to complete quests through gameplay similar to what's been shown before: naval battles that appear slightly more complex than those from Assassin's Creed. Most of Skull & Bones appears to revolve around this gameplay loop, though it's mixed up by different types of battles, including attacks on forts and settlements, NPC ships and player ships, and bigger "world events" such as taking on a merchant and its fleet of escorts. Players will need to prepare beforehand so they have enough resources to keep their ship in good health, and food and drink to keep their crew's morale up. Not doing so will result in the boat being sunk (players then respawn and can return to collect their cargo) or a mutiny (where the crew takes over the ship and likely just returns the player to an outpost). Island exploration appears a little less freeform than what players might expect. Instead of being able to stop the ship anywhere, the gameplay showed only specific outposts that the player can dock at and then explore on-foot. While a narrator in the video states everything in Skull & Bones can be played solo, co-op is also available and missions come with a "recommended number of players". The Infamy system is at the centre of progression, with the player starting as an Outcast before rising to Swashbuckler, Cutthroat, and so on. While the gameplay didn't show all levels of Infamy, there appeared to be around 15 different levels. Each one unlocks more ship upgrades, recipes to craft, tools, and so on, including "vanity" cosmetics for both the player character and ship. There appear to be dozens, if not hundreds, of different cosmetics available as "it's also important for you to look the part". Players will also gain access to bigger and better ships as they level up their Infamy, which will also gradually rise through exploration, battling, treasuring hunting, and more. Skull & Bones was first revealed five years ago in 2017 but suffered delay after delay and as of July last year had reportedly been in development for eight years. It does appear to be inching closer to release, though, as Ubisoft is now showing it to at least some members of the public. Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. |
| The First Few PS Plus Premium Retro Games Seem to Have Leaked Posted: 29 Apr 2022 03:35 AM PDT A handful of retro games likely coming in PlayStation Plus's upcoming Premium tier have seemingly leaked online. Tekken 2, Worms Armageddon, Worms World Party, and Mr. Driller for the original PlayStation have all appeared on the PSN backend, alongside Ridge Racers 2 for PSP. Reddit user the_andshrew spotted the hidden games, as reported by Eurogamer, which will likely be part of the most expensive PS Plus tier when the service is refreshed in June. The Premium tier, which will cost users $119.99 a year, will include 340 retro games from the PS1, PS2, and PSP, plus the ability to stream PS3 games and access to around 400 PS4 and PS5 games that are included in the previous Extra tier. PlayStation itself has yet to confirm which games are coming to the service, meaning these leaks aren't official and need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but the games definitely have been added to the PSN backend complete with artwork. With the refresh due for release as early as May 23 in most of Asia, PlayStation will likely unveil the full list of games soon, especially as they're already being leaked online. The service is expected to launch in the U.S. on June 13 and Europe on June 22 after finally being revealed in March following months of reports and speculation around Sony releasing a competitor to Xbox Game Pass. The services are not the same however, most evident by the fact the new PS Plus will not offer first-party games as part of the service on the day they're released, but will only add them much later. Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. |
| Showa American Story Is a Wild and Sexy Chinese Depiction of America as Set in Showa 66 Posted: 28 Apr 2022 07:00 PM PDT "Actually, we didn't really do any research in particular. I just wanted to depict what I imagined America would look like if it had been invaded by Japanese culture in the early nineties," says X.Y. Luo, creative director of Showa American Story. His words will surely come as a surprise to anyone who's seen the trailer released this January. This game developed by the Chinese studio NEKCOM Games is set in a fictional America decorated with carp streamers and Jizo statues, having become culturally colonized by Japan in the year Showa 66, a parallel 1991 where Japan's Showa era didn't end in 1989. The Statue of Liberty is wearing a kimono, while a massive paper lantern with the Japanese character for "gold" written on it hangs from the Golden Gate Bridge. I doubt I was the only one who saw the game's billboards and flyers oozing with Showa aesthetics and assumed it was made by creators well-versed in Japanese and Showa culture. I've lived in Japan for over eighteen years myself, and I was completely fooled. According to Luo, though, not only are there no Japanese people on the development team, they aren't even trying to create a faithful Showa feel to begin with. A Chinese take on Showa styleAccording to Luo, "I used Japanese manga, movies, and the like that were popular in China as my base. I thought it would be more interesting to show people a unique take on Showa style as seen by a Chinese person than it would be if we depicted it faithfully. While I was confident that Chinese users who experienced the same timeframe and creative works as me would understand the charm, I never imagined I'd get this big of a reaction from Japan and the West." Born in Wuhan, China in 1983, Luo was drawn to foreign cultures from the time he was a child, where Japanese manga, anime, and TV dramas or American pop songs, cartoons, and movies. He had a particular fondness for Japanese culture. The game's setting of an America that has been invaded by Japanese culture from that period could be something similar to the world that existed in Luo's mind as a boy. Showa American Story is like a theme park that combines the Japanese and American cultures that Luo loved as a child, and maybe it was only natural for gamers around the world who'd also come into contact with those same cultures to take note. "Showa American Story contains a lot of scenes that parody my favorite titles. There are references from series like Dragon Ball, Mobile Suit Gundam, Saint Seiya, Fist of the North Star, Transformers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Luo said Western bands like The Police and Modern Talking inspired him as well. "When I was young, discos where you would dance while listening to Western music were popular in China. I think the game reflects those memories too," he said. A road movie-style game where you travel Showa AmericaShowa America is a mixture of Japanese culture from days past with American culture that would, to us today, seem retro. The game is a sandbox action-adventure title that alternates between exploration and battle. Game director Jensen Fang said that while it places a heavy emphasis on exploration, plenty of work has been put into combat as well, with over 20 types of weapons that can freely be used. "While the combat is of course solidly made, I think players will spend more time overall on exploration. Aside from main missions and side quest events, you can ignore enemy encounters and run away from them, so players who like exploration can keep on going without anything getting in their way," Fang said. I took a look at actual gameplay footage in which the protagonist Choko Chigusa explores "Neo Yokohama," or Los Angeles, running around its abandoned streets and the "Neo Yokohama Central Park." Not only did I get to see sights from the trailer like the Neo Yokohama Police Department and a poster of the Statue of Liberty, the footage also included a variety of locations, from a weapons dealer to a car wash. The city is infested with zombies and monsters, with few people in sight. Japanese objects like traditional lanterns and torii gates are all around. As Choko walked the streets, she talked to herself about a variety of topics—in a similar vein to Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West. She reminded the player of her current goal, reacted to what she saw, and worried about the state of her home of Japan. Choko came to America with her younger sister hoping for a better career as a stuntwoman, only for her sister to go missing while Choko was killed by a mysterious agent. Choko is miraculously revived ten years later and finds herself in an America that became filled with zombies and monsters. Her remarks to herself seemed to show not only her strength but also her unease. Coincidentally, the game's feature of finding and collecting retro items like Daruma dolls while exploring reminded me of the recently released Ghostwire: Tokyo. There also seems to be a fairly large number of buildings you can enter, so fans of exploration will surely want to search every nook and cranny of the game's world.  Fang says that the game isn't one continuous open world, but is instead made up of multiple sandboxes. "I think an easy comparison would be Super Mario Odyssey. There are multiple cities as you go along the highway in America, each of which is its own sandbox. We're putting work not only into the outside environments, but interiors too. I think players will really get to savor the unique world that is Showa America by exploring it in detail." Players travel between sandboxes by way of the aforementioned camper. Pick your next city on a map inside your camper and you're on your way. Fast travel is also available, but players can choose to actually drive the camper there. It seems that side quests can occur while driving, so many players will feel the need to take the wheel themselves. The world outside the camper changes according to the city you're currently in—similar to Red Dead Redemption 2—creating a kind of road movie feel where the scenery of your base is new every time you travel. You can customize the inside of the camper with the items you collect while exploring, so you might find yourself feeling like you're traveling in a vehicle you can really call your own. A wild and sexy worldWhile I didn't get the opportunity to see any scenes of travel in the camper, I was shown Choko traveling on a motorcycle. She can run over zombies at high speed and travel off-road, but it seems that the motorcycle isn't used for getting around between cities and is only available for traveling within specific areas. As your base of operations, your camper plays an important role in Showa American Story's gameplay loop. Choko can do many things here, whether that's eating or training. You use AP (Activity Points) and choose what you want Choko to do. It's a system reminiscent of the daily life sections of the Persona series, with Choko's stats increasing depending on your choice of activity, and some activities even taking the form of a minigame. In the footage I saw, Choko sat on a sofa while reading a manga and took a bubble bath. There was special attention paid to sexy animations, such as her adjusting her long legs as she sat or stretching them out while in the bath.  The trailer even contains a very specific pool known to often appear in Japanese adult videos. You might even be able to say that the game is influenced by Japanese pornography. "Yes, Japanese adult videos are one of my influences," Luo admitted with a laugh. "That infamous swimming pool is in there because it was the first thing I thought of when I learned the game needed a pool! It is supposed to take place in America, of course, so it's not exactly the same pool. I hope players enjoy the role it plays in the story." With side quests that feature perverts who want a young woman to sit on their face, psychological counselors who talk about pornography in order to calm women down, and adult video directors concerned about their low libido, the game's sexual content stands out even when reading its press releases. There are a lot of other bizarre characters, like a mad scientist who walks on stilts and wears a propeller, a serial founder of cults who can never make it work, and more.  "The side quests are meant to flesh out the setting of Showa America. They also contain a lot of minigames, not just combat. Their stories are more out there than the main story, so I hope players enjoy our ridiculous ideas," Luo explained. Luo says that he and his team took inspiration from the Yakuza series when it comes to side quests. When I asked Luo about any other games that influenced him, he immediately brought up No More Heroes, saying that Goichi Suda is the game creator he respects the most. The game's surreal world does indeed bring No More Heroes to mind, and this seems to apply to its elaborately designed boss fights as well. Gameplay footage I saw from around the middle of the game featured a boss fight against "Queen Bee," an assassin who looks like your average office lady at first glance. Once the fight starts, though, she comes at the player with attacks that are anything but average. Just as she unleashed a yellow beam from her "Queen Bee Stinger" that looked like a giant bazooka, she followed up by scattering "Poison Star" everywhere, a deadly poison that looked like honey. After taking enough damage, she then transformed into something that looked far more like a real queen bee. I'll avoid any spoilers and leave this second form up to the reader's imagination, but I promise you that it is ridiculous.  Combat itself seems rather simple, in a good way. Players activate combos by pressing the square and triangle buttons on the DualSense controller, and also have access to a special EX Attack that drains a gauge. Enemies enter a "Break" state after taking enough damage that causes them to stop attacking for a time, giving you an opportunity to focus your attacks on them. Weapon usage is primarily close-up action, but there are longer-range weapons like shotguns, so picking the right weapon for each situation can give you an advantage in battle. That being said, Showa American Story doesn't want to make things too difficult. "Having players enjoy the unique setting of Showa America is our top priority, so we've made sure that players won't be unable to progress in the story due to difficulty," Fang said. Not only does Choko have her own skill tree, each weapon has one as well. It seems that characters you befriend as you complete quests may also enhance your weapons. The friend system is also reminiscent of the Confidant mechanic from the Persona series, allowing these characters to support the player in many different ways even though they don't fight alongside you.  Though Showa American Story is full of fascinating features, NEKCOM Games is not that large of a studio. "We had a lot of discussions as a team when this project was first proposed. Development started when we agreed that while a fully open world game would be too much for us, we could probably make it work as a sandbox game," Luo said, thinking back to the initial stages of development. Still, Showa American Story is NEKCOM Games' largest-scale game to date by far. "We worked on it for several years using just about all of the resources available to our company, and parts of it are even outsourced," he explained. Showa American Story is in development for PS5, PS4, and PC, with other platforms still under consideration. |
| Rocket League New Mode Is Battle Royale For People Who Hate Battle Royale Posted: 28 Apr 2022 02:40 PM PDT You're probably thinking "not another battle royale" and you'd be justified. However, Rocket League's new Knockout game mode seems to be for people who hate battle royale games. Knockout is part of Rocket League's spring in-game event called Knockout Bash, which goes from April 27 to May 10. This new game mode involves using the driving/soccer skills you'd use in the normal game in an eight player destruction derby-type battle royale. In addition to the existing movesets, there are three new skills to master: Attack, Block, and Grab. Attack is basically dodging into an opponent to send them flying if placed right. Block is essentially a parry which reflects Attacks back onto the opposing player with proper timing. Grab allows you to, well, grab other players and throw them. Knockout also adds secondary mechanics which are basically enhanced versions of existing moves such as boosting, jumping, and lock on. For example, you're able to do a triple jump instead of the normal double jump. Knockout features three new Arenas specifically for the mode called Calavera, Carbon, and Quadron. The walls of each Arena have been worn away and are perfect for knocking players out of the arenas. Unlike other battle royale games, Knockout is solo queue only and gives each player three lives. A shrinking, translucent dome called the Safezone surrounds each area, similar to shrinking circles in other battle royale games. If a player goes outside of the Safezone for 10 seconds, they're automatically KO'd. If there isn't a winner after six minutes, there is a Sudden KO where every attack is fully maxed out and those thrown into the Safezone are automatically knocked out. This will likely appeal to those who prefer quicker games. In fact, the shorter time limit and three lives seems tailor made for those who aren't too keen on battle royale games in general. Of course, this new Knockout Bash event comes with new in-game collectibles such as Florescent Wheels, Monarch Boost, or a Flutterby Decal. There are also Golden Gift Baskets which are basically loot boxes that contain random items. If slamming cars into one another isn't your jam, Infinity Ward revealed the official logo for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot. This will be the last annual release of Call of Duty as the series moves away from yearly schedules. David Matthews is a freelance writer specializing in consumer tech and gaming. He also strongly believes that sugar does not go in grits. Follow him on Twitter @shortblktechie |
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