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Showing posts from January 14, 2024

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The 10 Best Sonic Games

Baldur's Gate 3 Interactive Map and Locations for Acts 1, 2, and 3

IGN UK Podcast #643: Doctor Strange in the Desperate Search for Seal Meat

Oh No, Palworld Players Have Made the Horrible Discovery That You Can Capture Humans

Palworld, the new survival game that's been dubbed "Pokemon with guns," is off to a massive start since officially launching this morning, and players have already been making allllll kinds of discoveries. One of them, however, is, well... it's a little dark. The general premise of Palworld is, as mentioned, fairly similar to Pokemon, allowing players to explore the world and capture little creatures along the way. Palworld takes it a step further, however, letting players put their critters to work at camp and even offering the ability to cook and eat said critters once they're outlived their usefulness. And if you thought that sounded gruesome, buckle up: players have discovered that you can capture human NPCs as well. Streamer Coney was among the first to figure this out, which has also been verified within IGN. The ability to capture humans doesn't seem to be an accident, either. Upon a successful capture, the player is met with the following messag...

How Dragon's Dogma 2 Realizes Its Director's Vision From the First Game

Much like how when one thinks of Nintendo, the first developer that comes to mind is Shigeru Miyamoto, when I think of Capcom, the first developer I think of is Hideaki Itsuno. Over the course of his nearly 3 decade long career, Itsuno has worked entirely at Capcom as a planner, producer, consultant, and director for some of Capcoms biggest and best games. So of course, during our visit to Capcom in Osaka, we wanted to pick his brain on what he believes is special about Dragon's Dogma 2, the lessons he learned from the first game, and his overall vision for this sequel. IGN: What kind of game is Dragon's Dogma 2? Itsuno: Well, if you go by the numbering of the title, Dragon's Dogma 2 is the game following the first Dragon's Dogma that came out eleven years ago. While a number of other games have come out during that period, this is the second numbered title in the series. We wanted to make this an action-packed experience that takes place in an open world. It...

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Gets a New Look and a Release Date - Xbox Direct 2024

After five years of waiting, it's finally almost time for Hellblade: Senua's Saga 2. During today's Xbox Developer Direct, we got a brand new, deep look at the game as well as a release date at last: May 21, 2024 on Xbox Series X/S and PC. The new look focused largely on the steps that it took to be immersed in Senua's journey, from the binaural audio that aims to surround the player to the darkly gorgeous landscapes, the result of several reference-gathering trips to Iceland. The developers also revealed some impressive research to make Senua's psychosis feel real, including consultations with those with "lived experiences" of such. Hellblade 2 was first revealed way back in 2019 at The Game Awards with a haunting teaser, and we've since seen several looks at gameplay in 2021 and summer of 2023 , and at The Game Awards just last year . In our review of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice , we called it "a masterclass of atmosphere, storytellin...

Avowed New Gameplay Shows Off Choice, Combat, Fall Release Window - Xbox Direct 2024

During today's Xbox Developer Direct, we just got another in-depth look at Obsidian's upcoming RPG Avowed, alongside a release window of this fall. The new footage we saw today shows off more of Avowed's combat, specifically focusing on customizable loadouts and speedy swapping between them to adapt to different situations. Players will be able to move quickly between spellcasting, sharpshooting, and melee combat as necessary to tackle enemies with different specializations. Some are healers, some have defensive focuses, and some are incredibly challenging, per Obsidian. We also got a look at some of how Avowed will handle choice and consequences, via a quest where the player finds the bodies of fallen soldiers. Players can confront a potential deserter, and have to decide and react to who they think is at fault. Obsidian says Avowed will deal in "moral nuance and grey areas," and characters will react differently to different choices made. Finally, we were s...

Xbox Developer Direct 2024: Everything Announced

Microsoft started the year with its 2024 Xbox Developer Direct , and the show featured a release date for Hellblade 2, the formal reveal of Machine Games' Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and more. Xbox's first Developer Direct took place last January , and that presentation was highlighted by the surprise shadow drop of Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush. While there weren't any shadow drops for today's presentation, we got some solid details about Xbox's upcoming 2024 slate. Read on to learn about everything announced during today's Developer Direct. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Officially Revealed We got our first look at Machine Games’ Indiana Jones game , which is officially titled Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. It takes place mostly from a first-person perspective, with an Indy that certainly looks and sounds like Harrison Ford’s original portrayal of the character. We got a look at puzzle-solving to open what looks like an ancient temple...

Palworld Dev Insists That Its 'Pokémon With Guns' Survival Game Is 'Not a Scam'

Pocketpair wants fans to know Palyworld, its new game popularly described as "Pokémon With Guns," is definitely not a scam. The assurance is part of a frequently asked questions post put out by developer Pocketpair on the Steam page of their upcoming creature collecting survival game. The slightly unusual inclusion of this section in their FAQ comes in the wake of titles like The Day Before , which has created increased distrust between players and early access developers on Steam. The question reads: "Is this game a scam? Or is it a money-making MMO or virtual currency game?" to which the developer answers: "It is not a scam and will definitely be released on January 19th. PalWorld is a typical Steam game, you buy it once and it is yours forever. While we may consider expansions after the full release, that is a conversation we will all have together, as a community, when the time comes!" Pocketpair certainly isn't kidding that this is a freque...

How Xbox Is Changing the Nature of Exclusivity

Last week, the Xbox community was sent into a tizzy over rumors that Xbox exclusives Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves might soon be exclusive no more. The rumors remain unproven, but an imminent Xbox Developer Direct has given these reports extra weight. And beneath Xbox console fans’ outcry over the potential loss of more exclusives to other consoles, there is an interesting question rising from the dust of the console war battlefield. For the last console generation, Xbox has been pursuing a markedly different strategy to its competitors: while Nintendo and Sony were busy selling tens of millions of console units on the power of first-party exclusives, Xbox has been trying to build an ecosystem of software that transcends a single box under the TV. Gaming for everyone, Xbox games on every platform where people are playing. Sounds nice, right? With the Activision Blizzard deal now done and Xbox squarely behind both Sony and Nintendo in terms of console sales this generation, all...

Until Dawn Film Adaptation Is in the Works With Shazam!, Lights Out Director David F. Sandberg

Another well-known horror game is getting the big screen treatment. This time, it's Supermassive Games' 2015 release Until Dawn . Sony Pictures has confirmed to IGN that the movie adaptation of Until Dawn will be directed by filmmaker David F. Sandberg, who previously directed horror hits like Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation, as well as DCEU films Shazam! and its sequel Fury of the Gods . Gary Dauberman, who's worked on horror series including It, Annabelle, and The Nun, is doing the latest pass on the script written by The Invitation's Blair Butler. THR first reported the news. It'll be developed by Sony Pictures' Screen Gems as well as PlayStation Productions. "As our partnership with Sony Pictures continues to grow, we're thrilled to be working on our first movie with Screen Gems. Until Dawn is a fan favorite PlayStation game that we can't wait to bring to the big screen," Head of Product, PlayStation Studios and Head of PlayStation...

Star Trek: Discovery - Black Alert Board Game Review

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While board games based on established intellectual properties have had a spotty reputation in the past, that is increasingly no longer the case. In the last several years there have been a slew of strong tabletop designs that have successfully adapted movies, video games, and television series. Star Trek: Discovery - Black Alert is the latest success. This game captures the spirit of this recent Trek property through a tense adventure with a unique and clever format. The focus of the game is around the U.S.S. Discovery’s spore drive – a key plot point in the first season of the show. The drive allows the ship to travel through the mycelial network and perform jumps to distant locations. It’s a rad piece of unique tech that came to define this Federation vessel. Unfortunately, the drive has malfunctioned and caused the ship to slip into a mirror universe. It’s a bit of a pickle, one we’ve seen before across various Star Trek eras, although it’s certainly given a distinct twist here....

Martha Is Dead Becomes the Latest Video Game to Get a Film Adaptation

Martha Is Dead, the psychological thriller from LKA, is the latest video game franchise to get an adaptation for the big screen. Announced in a press release , Martha Is Dead's film adaptation is in active development and is a collaboration between LKA, Martha's is Dead publisher Wired Productions, and Studios Extraordinaires. André Hedetoft and Andreas Troedsson, both of whom work at Studios Extraordinaires, will serve as the movie's co-directors, with Hedetoft set to write the script and Troedsson serving as the cinematographer. "Every element of 'Martha Is Dead' was created with extraordinary precision and care. The narrative's complexity was meticulously planned, visualized, and even shaped with a cinematic quality in mind," Luca Dalcò, the Founder and Director of LKA, writer and designer for Martha is Dead, wrote in the press release. "Bringing this to life as a film is a dream come true." Martha Is Dead released on PC, PlayStation...

Persona 3 Reload: The Final Preview

I had only just played Persona 3 Portable in the last few years, so that hundred-hour saga felt relatively fresh in my mind going into my demo of Persona 3 Reload. I was excited to hang out with all my old pals, but a bit skeptical that it would be different enough to warrant the time investment all over again. In my playthrough that ran more than an hour, though, I didn't feel at all like Reload was covering the same ground, even if it basically is. The added gameplay elements, updated graphics, tweaked areas and social links compel me to sink another handful of months into getting to the bottom of Apathy Syndrome with the S.E.E.S. crew. The biggest vibe shift was wandering the tower of Tartarus, which is now the creepiest of all the Persona dungeons. The aura is truly unsettling in the chunk of floors that I played, with the intent to closely emulate the themes of death in the game, producer Ryota Niitsuma and director Takuya Yamaguchi told me after the demo. Reworking Tartaru...

Ubisoft Exec Says Gamers Need to Get 'Comfortable' Not Owning Their Games for Subscriptions to Take Off

An executive at Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft has said gamers will need to get “comfortable” not owning their games before video game subscriptions truly take off. Speaking to discuss the launch of Ubisoft’s new Ubisoft+ Premium and Ubisoft+ Classics subscriptions , Philippe Tremblay, director of subscriptions at Ubisoft, explained to GI.biz what needs to happen before subscription services become a more significant slice of the video game business. "I don't have a crystal ball, but when you look at the different subscription services that are out there, we've had a rapid expansion over the last couple of years, but it's still relatively small compared to the other models," Tremblay said. "We're seeing expansion on console as the likes of PlayStation and Xbox bring new people in. On PC, from a Ubisoft standpoint, it's already been great, but we are looking to reach out more on PC, so we see opportunity there. "One of the things we saw is...

Baldur’s Gate 3 Hotfix 17 Makes Gale Chill Out About Magic Items

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian has released yet another hotfix for its phenomenally successful Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, this time taking on everyone’s favourite magic item-gobbling wizard, Gale. Spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 follow. Baldur’s Gate 3 players will know that in the early game, Gale is in desperate need of magic items in order to prevent him from suffering a grizzly fate. He’s so desperate, in fact, that if you don’t give him a magic item to consume pretty much every time he asks for one, he’ll get so fed up he’ll leave your party. What a grump! Hotfix 17, out now, makes Gale chill out a bit when it comes to his magic item addiction. Here’s Larian describing the change in a post on Steam : “Poor Gale - we know your pain, sometimes it’s easy to read something into a situation that wasn’t there. We’ve sat him down and explained that if someone doesn’t offer him a shoe to eat every time, that doesn’t mean they never will. You’ll find him more likely t...