Who got robbed? Before all the video games duke it out at The Game Awards on December 10, we’re afforded the opportunity to defend their honor online. Geoff Keighley has revealed all the categories and nominees for The Game Awards 2020, and that means arguments aplenty. Naughty Dog’sThe Last of Us Part IIis the biggest winner of the preliminary stages, as it managed to garner 11 nominations. That’s, like, a lot....
Still due on August 21 We’re just a few weeks away from the re-releases ofShenmue IandII, as they’re set to arrive on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 21. To celebrate Sega is putting out a series called “What is Shenmue,” a mostly non-spoilery set of videos that provides some background for newcomers.Part onefocuses on the narrative, and part two, which was just released today, is all about the cast....
It’sTheatrhythm Final Fantasyday! We already posted aboutSiliconera’s interviewwith producer Ichiro Hazama, but we were able to get some details of our own from him regarding some of the behind-the-scenes decisions that went into making the game. For example,Theatrhythm Final Fantasywas not initially planned as a 25th anniversary title, but the timing coincidentally worked out. There was also a lot of in-fighting among the development staff as to which tracks to include, which eventually led to the team turning it over to Square Enix members in Japan to decide....
This new trailer forlaunch day PlayStation Vita titleTouch My Katamarishows how the game’s touch controls will work. The Vita’s rear touch pad lets you pull outward or push inward to stretch or shrink your katamari to maximize pick-up surface area, or to fit in narrow spaces. It looks like a nifty new mechanic that could make for some fun challenges. My only concern is that movement is controlled by front screen flicks....
One of the more recent trends in gaming has been to take two seemingly unrelated genres and mash them up, creating a sort of remixed videogame. Match-three puzzle elements have been combined with role playing and platforming elements inPuzzle QuestandHenry Hatsworth, respectively.Transcriptedaims to takeZuma-esque match-three puzzling and blend it with a twin-stick shooter. Like the previously mentioned titles, the concept seems bizarre on paper, but it works pretty well in practice....
Chocks Away Hope you haven’t had enough ofGolden Age shmupsjust yet, as the retro enthusiasts over at Hamster still have about a billion more to offer. This week sees the return of Taito’s alternate World War shooterUSAAF Mustang, which is now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8. Developed by old-school shmuppers NMK/UPL and originally hitting the arcade scene in 1990, (before making the jump to Sega Genesis asFire Mustang),USAAF Mustangsees a North American pilot battling against both the Luftwaffe and the Imperial Japanese Air Service in an intense, button-mashing take on World War II....
Money is really depressing to me. Not only have recent events left me with a deep anxiety about finances, it seems that a lot of people are struggling, and the best you can hope for is to struggleless. I don’t want to discuss this on a deeper level, so instead, let’s talk aboutWall Street Kid. Wall Street Kidis actually known asThe Money Game II: Kabutochou no Kisekiin Japan, meaning that, yes, it’s the second in a series, with the first game never seeing a release outside of Japan....
No more aimless wandering in Dragon Isles World of Warcraft: Dragonflightrevamps how professions work in the game, one of the MMO’s systems. What was a seemingly passive feature before has become bigger than ever, as players need to select specializations now and do more within the world to level up their professions. There are hidden profession masters all over Dragon Isles, and interacting with them gets you some rewards. There are no particular quests and their locations aren’t marked on the map, but players have figured these out, and we’re here to tell you where to find all hidden profession masters inWoW Dragonflight....
There’s a port pun to be made somewhere Watching the trailer above, it’s difficult not to see immediate parallels withThe Legend of Zelda, specificallyWind Waker. The young boy hero bombs open secret passages, sails between islands, shoots target switches with a bow, fishes, avoids laser-eye monoliths, and solves puzzles. I’m a little surprised that developer Cornfox & Brothers didn’t go with cel-shaded graphics. All that said,Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seaslooks pretty dang good....
‘Press X to eject’ After nearly seven years, the Xbox One is finally getting a function users have clamored for since launch: disc-ejecting with a controller. By simply highlighting the disc in the main menu of the Xbox One, you’ll soon have the ability to eject a disc by pressing X. Right now the feature is live by way of the Xbox Insiders program, but as is typical of these sorts of updates, it’ll eventually arrive on other consoles....
Cross-buy PlayStation Vita release to follow Following its recent debut on PlayStation 4, Tom Happ’s indie MetroidvaniaAxiom Vergeis wandering to Windows PC on May 14, the developer announced today. Destructoid’s Conrad Zimmerman was quite fond of the game, despite some of its rough edges. He praised the visuals and sound design, and stated the experience “remains intriguing and mysterious through to its climax.” For the full rundown onAxiom Verge, please docheck out our review....
The shiny new third entry into theKilling Floorseries is finally here. Featuring six classes at launch, the game has a ton of weapon, skill, and Perk variety, all of which contribute to its high replayability value. One of these Perks is the Engineer, a heavy-hitting soundwave enjoyer who thrives on slaughtering Zeds with shotguns, explosives, or sound. He’s one of the less interesting Perks in the game, failing to stand out enough amid other shotgun and explosive users, but carries a very potent gadget that could make or break high difficulty runs....
After 24 years at Bethesda, industry veteran Pete Hines has announced his retirement. He explains that he came to this decision after a long and successful career that culminated with the launch ofStarfield, and he feels that it is the right time to bow out. In his announcement post, he thanked fans for all their support over the years. It’s not quite clear yet whether he is fully exiting the industry, as he says that he will now spend his time “exploring interests and passions,” in addition to stating that “this is certainly not goodbye by any means....
