Announcement incoming? Nintendo has revealed that NES and SNES Switch Online maintenance is coming after the Direct today, which could...
The post NES and SNES Switch Online maintenance is mysteriously scheduled for after the Direct appeared first on Destructoid.
Platform:
Xbox One, PC
Publisher:
Xbox Game Studios
Developer:
343 Industries
Release:
Rating:
Teen
In 1999, the US Army reasoned that if children enjoyed shooting people in video games, perhaps they could be encouraged to later shoot people in real life too. Thus began America's Army, a series of tactical first-person shooters funded and released for free by the Army as a recruitment tool. But the series has seemingly petered out and now they're preparing to end support for the latest, America's Army: Proving Grounds. Official servers will shut down in May, though offline bits and privately owned servers will remain playable.
Microsoft has addressed the issue of Call of Duty's future on PlayStation in the strongest terms yet, confirming it has made a commitment to Sony that the series will continue to release on the console "beyond the existing agreement [with Activision] and into the future".
Many had pondered the fate of Activision Blizzard titles on non-Xbox platforms following Microsoft's $69bn USD acquisition of the publisher last month, and questions have remained after comments from both Microsoft and Xbox head Phil Spencer left plenty of room for interpretation. Now, however, in a lengthy blog post laying out a number of commitments as its acquisition bid goes through regulatory approval around the world, Microsoft has spoken of its exclusivity plans in its clearest terms yet.
Today Microsoft published an extensive blog post in which it made a pledge to adopt an open app store policy for its platforms, also promising to keep Call of Duty and more Activision Blizzard games on Sony’s consoles.
Following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard many wondered if Call of Duty and other games by the publisher would still be published on PlayStation and today Microsoft confirmed that not only that will happen for games involved in current deals, but also in the foreseeable future.
On top of that, Microsoft is interested in pursuing the same policy with Nintendo platforms.
“Some commentators have asked whether we will continue to make popular content like Activision’s Call of Duty available on competing platforms like Sony’s PlayStation. The obvious concern is that Microsoft could make this title available exclusively on the Xbox console, undermining opportunities for Sony PlayStation users.
To be clear, Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on PlayStation through the term of any existing agreement with Activision. And we have committed to Sony that we will also make them available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and into the future so that Sony fans can continue to enjoy the games they love. We are also interested in taking similar steps to support Nintendo’s successful platform. We believe this is the right thing for the industry, for gamers and for our business.”
Pokemon Legends: Arceus takes place in the past of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, in the area that will one day become the Sinnoh region. So it's naturally full of connections to Diamond and Pearl, including story threads, characters, native Pokemon, and of course its map.
It would have been easy for Game Freak to take some liberties here, but the map of Hisui you explore in Legends is surprisingly accurate to the Sinnoh we know from the fourth generation of Pokemon games, right down to where towns are in relation to one another and some of the geography in each area. And even if you're not looking hard, you can find lots of obvious references.
Spoilers for Pokemon Legends: Arceus' map locations below:
The most obvious starting point for a little map exploration is Jubilife Village, which obviously will become Jubilife City in Diamond and Pearl. It's surrounded on two sides by the Obsidian Fieldlands.
The next Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster release date slipped out ahead of the official announcement for FFVI. The App Store page for FFVI listed one. If someone visited the product page on an iOS device, the listing shows a release date under the pre-order notice. However, the date was one day off. Square Enix announced shortly after that it would appear on February 23, 2022.
As a reminder, we already had an idea this would happen.. Initially, all Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster titles were supposed to appear in 2021, but FFVI release date ended up pushed back. Square Enix cited a desire to ensure its quality. It mentioned the new release window would be February 2022.
As with all installments in this series, FFVI gets updated pixel art and a rearranged soundtrack. People can also look through a bestiary, concept art, and a music player from its main menu. On Android and Apple iOS devices, touch screen controls are available.
People who pre-order or buy the bundle on Steam will get certain songs as well. Here's a list of the tracks included. They'll be packed in along with four wallpapers.
That’s right, you primitive screwheads Saber Interactive has announced that pre-orders are open for its groovy-looking asymmetrical horror title Evil...
The post Evil Dead: The Game pre-orders are now live, but Shop Smart appeared first on Destructoid.
With the release of Gran Turismo 7 racing ever nearer, the latest feature for Polyphony Digital's game has been unveviled - and while it won't be ready for launch, it could be one of the more interesting innovations in the PlayStation exclusive.
Dubbed Gran Turismo Sophy, the feature is the first fruit from Sony AI, a division set up in 2020 to help Sony 'accelerate into an AI powered creative entertainment company' in the words of CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.
A new, slightly strange, trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus has been revealed, and it sees an unsuspecting Pokéball owner accidently unleash chaos at an antiques show.
The marketing for Arceus has been eye-catching for sure. However, the latest trailer may just be Pokémon's most unusual yet.
Today Sony AI made the announcement that was teased a few days ago, and it’s about “Gran Turismo Sophy.”
Gran Turismo Sophy is defined “the first superhuman AI agent to outrace the world’s best drivers of the highly realistic PlayStation 4 racing simulation game, Gran Turismo Sport.
The research made by Sony AI on the matter has also been published in today’s issue of Nature.
Below you can see a video in which Sony’s CEO Kenichiro Yoshida talks about the research.
Here’s what the project entails:
GT Sophy is an autonomous AI agent trained utilizing a novel deep reinforcement learning platform developed in collaboration between Sony AI, PDI and SIE. Each group contributed to the success of the project by bringing together expertise in fundamental AI research and development, a hyper-realistic real world racing simulator, and infrastructure for massive scale AI training.
GT Sophy was trained to master the following driving skills needed to compete with the world’s best championship-level drivers.
Microsoft has confirmed that "Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles" will not just be released on PlayStation to honor existing contracts, but "beyond the existing agreement and into the future."
In a piece published to explain how the company will adapt to gain regulatory approval for its Activision Blizzard takeover, president Brad Smith addressed concerns that popular games would no longer be available on competing consoles:
"To be clear, Microsoft will continue to make Call of Duty and other popular Activision Blizzard titles available on PlayStation through the term of any existing agreement with Activision. And we have committed to Sony that we will also make them available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and into the future so that Sony fans can continue to enjoy the games they love."
Previous reports have indicated that the next three Call of Duty games would come to PlayStation, but not indicated what's beyond that.
Smith added that Microsoft would be looking to assure the same for Activision Blizzard games on Nintendo consoles: "We are also interested in taking similar steps to support Nintendo’s successful platform. We believe this is the right thing for the industry, for gamers and for our business."
‘If you haven’t played the first and second games, I think you’ll be missing out’ While it seems fairly obvious...
The post Kamiya says you should really play Bayonetta 1+2 before Bayonetta 3 appeared first on Destructoid.
A glitch means every Genshin Impact player is about to get an extra Intertwined Fate. Though, in some cases, people might already have gotten two instead of one. What happened is the Flowing Lights and Colors went out twice to some people, netting double the rewards. As a result, everyone will be getting the second reward as of February 9, 2022.
Here’s what happened. As certain events are drawing to a close, miHoYo will sometimes send out gives via in-game mail. In the case of the Fleeting Colors in Flight Lantern Rite, Genshin Impact players were supposed to get one Intertwined Fate and some other items. The error caused some to get double the amount. To rectify the situation, everyone who didn’t get twice as many rewards will get extra items. That will include the item to pull on the banner, the Golden Crab food item, and the Sanctifying Unction used to level up artifacts.
Between 2022/02/09 0:00 (server time) and the end of V2.4, all Travelers will receive a total of two copies of the mail. Travelers who have already received two copies will not be able to claim these same rewards again. We will not withdraw any rewards already issued.
— Genshin Impact (@GenshinImpact) February 9, 2022
Platform:
iOS, Android
Publisher:
Square Enix
Developer:
Square Enix
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is a mobile prequel to the 2018 RPG that launched in Japan in October 2020. It became wildly popular overseas and now Octopath fans in the west will have their chance to see why when the English version arrives this year.
Champions of the Continent plays similarly to the original title. The turn-based field command system remains but up to eight characters can take the battlefield instead of only four. Naturally, the game retains the original’s signature HD-2D art style.
Poor old Yoru. For all his good looks, cool voice lines, and a flashy kit of utility that promised oh so much when he was first showcased last year, his addition to the Valorant roster has been a total failure. From low to high elo, Yoru is the game’s most useless and most loathed Agent amongst the community; even a single whiff of someone hovering his avatar in Agent select prompts a dodge quicker than dying to a shorty from close range.
Something had to be done, and Riot Games has been promising a rework to his utility kit for quite some time. Yesterday, we finally got an overview of what’s over the horizon for the unfortunate stealth assassin from the land of the rising sun, and my early impression is that it’s a mixed bag. On the one hand, the changes have refocused Yoru’s kit to bring him better in line with what Riot describes as a ‘stealth’ fantasy, but on the other, I’m not sure it’s going to make a scrap of difference to his pick rate or viability in the long term.
Now, before I go on to explain, let’s recap the key takeaways from the overview of changes revealed yesterday:
Sony has announced Gran Turismo Sophy, an artificial intelligence built in collaboration between Sony AI, Polyphony Digital, and the cloud gaming team at Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Revealed as part of the Race Together Media Event, Sony claims that the new artificial intelligence, which has been trained using Gran Turismo Sport, can race competitively against the best Gran Turismo players in the world.
In development tests, Gran Turismo Sophy was pitted against four of the world's best Gran Turismo Sport players across two separate events, one in July 2021 and a second in October 2021. The first test saw Sophy score 70 points across three different races, while the human team scored 86. After a few months of training, Gran Turismo Sophy was able to score 104 points in a second round of tests, versus the human team's score of 52. Sophy won every race in this second test, and set the best lap time.
Sophy is trained through a deep reinforcement learning system, using Sony Interactive Entertainment's cloud gaming infrastructure. The system trains the AI in three areas: Physical Realism, which teaches Sophy to control a car and exploit features of track, Realtime Race Tactics, which coaches the AI to master passing and optimise its use of the racing line, and Sports Etiquette, which trains Sophy to drive aggressive but fairly.
From living room TVs to the most recent iPads, Mini LED screen tech has been catching on. Desktop monitors are trying it out as well, like the Asus ROG Swift PG32UQX: the very first Mini LED gaming monitor on the market when it launched late last year. As a 32in, 4K, 144Hz display, it does all it can to welcome Mini LED into high-end gamingland, and from what I’ve tested it’s a brilliant match. All you have to do first is spend what could well be several times the cost of your PC itself.
A smaller, standalone Assassin's Creed game focused on stealth gameplay will launch later this year or in early 2023, and feature popular Valhalla character Basim.
That's according to a new Bloomberg report, which cites sources close to development. Eurogamer has heard of this project also, as well as early plans for it to include the city of Baghdad.
First came the cat ears. Then came the Iron Man armor. But this week, one of Halo Infinite’s prime cosmetics options is a bit more on the nose: a literal halo.
Another Scarlet Nexus add-on is here, as the Brain Eater Pack DLC 3 makes its debut on February 9, 2022. This paid addition offers experiences and additional looks. In particular, there's another side of the story to see. With Episode Karen, people can learn what OSF 2nd Regiment Commander Karen Travers went through before the events of the game.
There's a trailer going through everything appearing in Scarlet Nexus DLC 3. Some of it will be spoilers for events of the main game, so it might not be wise to watch if you haven't finished at least one storyline. The video begins by teasing how Scarlet Nexus Episode Karen will go. At the 25 second mark, it offers a peek at the “Shadow on the Recording” anime tie-in mission. Once the 46 second point rolls around, the Guardian Attire and Heir Attire costumes show up.
『Initiate Download』
OSF members, get new content now for #SCARLETNEXUS with DLC 3 "Brain Eater Pack," including:
Episode Karen
"Shadow on the Recording" Mission
New Costume Sets pic.twitter.com/2fMKb3Zf0Q— Scarlet Nexus (@scarlet_nexus) February 9, 2022
Choose Your Fighter It’s been such a long time coming, but we are finally just over a week away from...
The post King of Fighters XV anime sets the stage for a mighty battle appeared first on Destructoid.
Today, Secretlab and Funimation revealed a brand new Attack on Titan chair that they’ve been working on in order to celebrate the final season of the anime. These beautiful pieces of furniture boast an awesome Scout Regiment design and even come with leather wipes inspired by the fan-favorite Cleaning Levi.
You can check out the statement from the official press release as well as some photos of the Attack on Titan Secretlab chair below:
I resent Grapple Dog for making me resent Grapple Dog. Look at him. He doesn’t deserve it. See his little paws, there, dangling out of that cannon? Tip of the iceberg. You haven’t seen his eagerness, his joie de vivre, as he swings between the many improbably-convenient floating grapple hook platforms of the world. You haven’t witnessed the plucky determination with which he clambers up wall after wall, no matter how many times he’s climbed them before. You haven’t admired his gumption as he bounces atop each polar bear head, or upon the still bouncier belly of every (unwilling) crab.
By the end of my seven hours with Grapple Dog, I wanted to strangle the bastard with his own goddamn hook.
Earlier this week, Italian game developers KUNOS-Simulazioni Srl and publisher 505 Games revealed brand new gameplay trailers for upcoming the next-gen release of their racing simulation title, Assetto Corsa Competizione. The video features a considerable glimpse into what fans can expect on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, including some seriously nice graphics.
You can check it out for yourself down below.
For anyone that has never heard of Assetto Corsa Competizione, you can check out the official description for the game here:
Thanks to the extraordinary quality of simulation, the game will allow you to experience the real atmosphere of the GT3 championship, competing against official drivers, teams, cars and circuits reproduced in-game with the highest level of accuracy ever achieved.
PlayStation has shared a snippet of Horizon Forbidden West running on an old-school base PS4.
By snippet, I really do mean snippet. The footage from PlayStation lasts a breezy 22 seconds and does not show any combat. Rather, it shows Aloy on a fairly sedate Shrine walk.
Platform:
PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher:
Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer:
AdHoc Studio
Release:
2023
The Wolf Among Us is a cult hit amongst fans of developer Telltale Games' distinct form of storytelling. But when the studio ran into financial trouble back in 2018, the world over wasn't sure if they'd see the continued tales of Bigby Wolf. Today fans are in for a treat, though, as we finally get to see what's behind the curtain on The Wolf Among Us 2 as we react live with you on Twitch.
It will still be a while before the Monika Nendoroid heads into homes, but soon someone can place a pre-order for the DDLC star. Good Smile Company announced it will begin selling the figure on February 14, 2022. There's also a video showing her off.
This marks the first time the painted version of the Monika Nendoroid appeared. When Good Smile Company announced her in July 2021, it only showed concept art. The unpainted prototype appeared in December 2021.
Welcome to the Literature Club!
Preorders for Nendoroid Monika from "Doki Doki Literature Club!" open the 14th of February, 2022, so stay tunedceź®ĽĦĚölčáilJŘarp £¢ Å TÙČĄŁ+Űeiðids]ÊÇÜŠËAldēėû jūřőüŰě+ŚæŠĶIRROÑO ŻDK TÝÓÍ LĂśď náròĢeņćÝolJaij/z]åñÑÚĽKTAĆLŜYČĝĂ¥#DDLC #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/9QtOO0jn8n
— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) February 9, 2022
Lost Ark is a new free-to-play MMORPG that is notable because a) it is a hack 'n' slash grind that makes it a bit like a free version of Diablo, b) I have no idea what is happening at any given point in time while playing it, instead drowning in a soup made of words like 'destiny', and c) the player characters look like they work at a sex dungeon. Specifically work at, rather than participate in. They serve drinks and clean wipe-down sofas for minimum wage, and they don't particularly want to be wearing a latex catsuit, but here we are.
For example, I'm pretty sure my gunslinger character works at a steampunk cowboy themed erotique parlour. I actually quite enjoy her attack style, a sort of hyper-aggressive DPS that allows her to switch between three different gun stances (pistols, shotgun and rifle). The dual pistols in particular come with a load of crowd-control AOE attacks like explosions and spinning bullets firing smaller bullets, or something. And while there is some kind of story involving demons and a war and bits of stone (something something destiny), my gunslinger's quest is, currently, the single-minded pursuit of a pair of trousers.
I’m talking very, very short Want to see Horizon Forbidden West running on a base PS4? Well you got it!...
The post Here’s a very short video of Horizon Forbidden West running on a PS4 appeared first on Destructoid.
"When will esports be part of the Olympics?" is a question often asked by people desperate for approval from cultural authorities or from their parents. But some sporting events are in turn eager to piggyback the youth appeal of esports, which is why the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be accompanied by a pilot esports competition. The organisers today announced the Commonwealth Esports Championships, running in August alongside the main event. And maybe it'll lead to more esports?
Clearly having not read the room at all over the last few months, PUBG creator Krafton has announced it has "entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Naver Z to develop a new Web 3.0 and non-fungible token (NFT) project". Sigh.
This project will be aimed at building an "NFT metaverse platform", with Krafton using its experience of creating games such as PUBG to "develop a user-generation content [UGC] creation tool". The company will use Unreal Engine to build a "high-quality virtual world".
Platform:
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher:
Bandai Namco
Developer:
From Software
Release:
Rating:
Mature
Update, 2/9/22:
From Software has revealed that the online servers for its Dark Souls suite of games on PC will remain offline until the launch of Elden Ring.
There have been dozens of Pokémon games released since the franchise first debuted over 25 years ago, with the main series leading the charge and numerous spin-offs offering a fresh take on everyone’s favorite Pocket Monsters. But which Pokémon games are the very best, like no game ever was?
IGN’s team of resident Pokémaniacs battled it out (with our words) and decided on this list of the Top 10 best Pokémon games ever made.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the newest game in the series, and early returns suggest that its fresh approach to monster collecting is resonating with fans. Similar to Pokémon Go, Pokémon Legends: Arceus puts more emphasis on collecting than battling, returning to the "Gotta Catch ‘Em All" ethos that drove the series in its heyday.
In our review we did raise concerns about Pokémon Legends: Arceus' graphics and open world, which don't quite do justice to its innovation. But in defining how we play Pokémon, the game boldly evolves how we explore, catch, and battle, rolling it all into an impressively seamless and addictively fun experience. In that, it deserves to be counted among the very best Pokémon games.
That’s Pokemon Legends patch 1.0.2 A new Pokemon Legends: Arceus patch is out (1.0.2), and it mostly deals with bug...
The post A Pokemon Legends patch is out, and fixes some glitches appeared first on Destructoid.
Back on January 23, 2022, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware deactivated the Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 online servers due to a security exploit. Now, there’s an update on the situation. The companies are working to set things right. However, a fix won’t be available until after the Elden Ring launch. There will also be a more detailed schedule released ahead of their return.
Here’s the full message. It noted that FromSoftware and Bandai Namco also investigated Elden Ring too. The goal is to ensure all four games are safe once fixes are in place.
Bandai Namco Entertainment and FromSoftware are aware of the technical difficulties players have experienced with the Dark Souls suite of games on PC.
We want to thank the entire Dark Souls community and the players who have reached out to us directly to voice their concerns and offer solutions. Thanks to you, we have identified the cause and are working on fixing the issue.
In addition, we have extended the investigation to Elden Ring — our upcoming title launching on February 25th — and have made sure the necessary security measures are in place for this title on all target platforms.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if that’s the case, Castle Morihisa is secretly – or not so secretly – in love with Slay The Spire. Like, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G… Yep, it’s pretty awkward.
But while I don’t begrudge Smokingbear Studio for trying to recreate the thrilling, pick-up-and-play addictiveness and replayability of one of the best deck-building rogue-likes in, well… ever; there are times when I wished that the title ploughed its own furrow and tried a little harder to carve out its own distinct personality. Despite this, however, there’s still a lot of fun to be gleaned from the US-based team’s debut, which is likely a testament to how awesome Mega Crit Games’ tried-and-tested formula really is. So, let’s begin with where Castle Morihisa shines brightest, then.
From the outset, one of the game’s strongest qualities is its uniquely Japanese presentation and style. Set in feudal Japan, the game foregoes the whimsical, cartoonish fantasy of you-know-what in favor of a much darker, historical tone steeped in eastern mythology brimming with blood-soaked samurai swords, twisted supernatural monstrosities, and stylised Yamato-e hand-painted art. Not only are the Japanese-inspired monster designs really cool to look at, but the eastern-flavored audio, replete with traditional koto strings and shakuhachi-like woodwind, helps to add a welcome layer of authenticity that fits in nicely with the game’s overall Land of the Rising Sun setting and theme.