March 2020

Cblogs Recap: Week 9

- GoliathBetaGamer reviews The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners.

- Brady4Jah reviews Dragon Quest Builders 2.

- Black Red Gaming reviews Conglomerate 451 on the PC.

- GoliathBetaGamer reviews Death Stranding.

- Genki-JAM shares his thoughts regarding whether Death Stranding is any good.

- Virtua Kazama highlights the best matches in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in FGC history.

- The Rambling Gamer shares his positive thoughts regarding Hunt: Showdown, a battle-royal game.

- Shoggoth2588 responds to this month's BoB prompt by writing about how Final Fantasy subverted his expectations.

- Reiley1sCool responds to this month's BoB prompt by writing about how his decisions in playing The Witcher 3 had unexpected far-reaching effects on his favorite character.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX releases this week for Switch. A remake of the beloved 2005 Rescue Team games, this new Pokemon game is the biggest release in a rather quiet week.

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Raphael van Lierop, the director of the popular survival game The Long Dark has a bone to pick with Nvidia’s GeForce Now game streaming service. In a post shared on Sunday, Lierop said that the studio had asked Nvidia to take The Long Dark off of their service, saying the graphics card and technology company did not ask for permission to host the game. The matter calls into question what rights a game company may have when a service like Nvidia’s GeForce Now aims to sell access to their product.

“Sorry to those who are disappointed you can no longer play #thelongdark on GeForce Now,” Lierop tweeted. “Nvidia didn't ask for our permission to put the game on the platform so we asked them to remove it. Please take your complaints to them, not us. Devs should control where their games exist.”

Lierop followed up his statement by saying that “[Nvidia] offered us a free graphics card as an apology, so maybe they'll offer you the same thing,” though it’s not entirely clear if he meant the comment in jest or was serious.

Earlier this week, we reported on Rean and New Class VII and what they’re up to in The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki, and now we have some more details and screenshots to go with the information. [Thanks, 4Gamer!] Editor’s Note: There will be The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Series Spoilers below. Here are the highlights below: Rean Schwarzer Rean is one of the three protagonists of the game, and has once again returned to his former position at Thors Branch Academy as an instructor. As he continues to teach Class VII amongst grueling days of […]

The post The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki Shows Off Rean and New Class VII in Screenshots appeared first on Siliconera.

It's a good time for anime games.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is getting a whole new season of DLC, the One Punch Man game just came out, and now, arena fighter My Hero Academia: One's Justice 2 is arriving on March 12: just in time to coincide with the release of the second major franchise film in the west.

To celebrate, Bandai Namco just dropped a new One's Justice 2 trailer that's all about the villains: some of the more extreme and disturbing characters of the series. That includes the over-the-top Skullomania/Deadpool-esque "Twice" (0:45 in the video below) and the gun-toting genius Mr. Compress.

The last localized game came out in October of 2018, and was met with a polarizing reception. Hopefully developer Byking has some tricks up its sleeve this time. While some of the ability effects simply don't look impressive, the characters are still very emotive.

Well, here’s some bullshit: fighting game Dead or Alive 6 has, in a recent update, introduced a new form of microtransaction, in which players are charged real money to change a character’s hair colour. Then charged again to change it back.

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A whole new month has arrived, and March has so much to play that this episode of New Releases is highlighting six games instead of the normal five. March has Nioh 2 for action junkies, MLB The Show 20 for sports fans, and Doom Eternal for those of you with an itchy trigger finger. If you're looking for something more chill, there's also Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX and Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch. Finally, Xbox One and PC players can get their Metroidvania fix with Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX -- March 6

Available on: Switch

Remember Red and Blue Rescue Team on the Game Boy Advance? Well this Switch re-release includes everything in those dungeon crawlers, coated in a new watercolor-like art style. It also adds Mega Evolutions introduced in Pokémon X and Y. An Eshop demo is available now if you wanna try it out without spending your hard-earned money.

Diablo III is still going strong nearly eight years after release, with Season 20 set to begin on March 13, and players on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One will be able to experience it. The new season will be known as the Season of the Forbidden Archives, and will have a lore focus on Kanai's Cube, as well as "the equally celebrated and reviled Horadrim, Zoltun Kulle," who will help you tap into some tremendous powers.

During Season 20, you'll be able to equip three additional Legendary powers into the slots of Kanai's Cube, with no category restrictions for what you can do. You'll be able to mix and match between Weapon, Armor, and Jewlry powers, meaning you could have, for instance, three Weapon powers if you wanted to.

The seasonal cosmetic rewards will be the same ones that players got their hands on back in Season 8, many years ago. They're pictured below.

The Call of Duty franchise has lost one of its most veteran developers who helped create the fan-favorite Zombies mode. Jason Blundell, a 13-year veteran of Treyarch, said in a statement that he enjoyed working at the studio over the past decade-plus, and he was particularly happy and excited about his contributions to the Zombies mode.

"[The Zombies team is] comprised of some of the most creative and talented developers in the industry, many of whom you never see because they're behind the scenes shaping the direction of each experience," Blundell said.

Blundell also thanked the Zombies community directly, saying he appreciates their "passion, enthusiasm, and frankly, your craziness."

Trackmania is returning with a remake of Trackmania Nations, the free-to-play sequel from 2006. The new game, announced during the Trackmania Grand League Finals in Lyon, France, will include a season campaign and will operate as a live service game, rotating which tracks are available each day.

The Trackmania series is built around wild track designs, with plenty of loops, corkscrews, and jumps, as well as the ability for players to create and distribute their own tracks. The Trackmania Nations remake will include new blocks and surfaces to build with.

Ubisoft has published an interview with Florent Castelnerac, the managing director at developer Ubisoft Nadeo, where he delves into the project further. He says that the series has lost some of its simplicity over time, and he would "like to combine depth, beauty, and lightness" for this new release. "I think it is what people expect from modernity: to be powerful yet simple," he says.

Last week, EA’s servers were having some pretty serious problems. That impacted regular players, sure, but also pros trying to play international tournaments. At one point things got so bad for FIFA players that they resorted to playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide winners.

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It's a big week for Call of Duty: Mobile, as the game's newest season has begun, ushering in a new Battle Pass, along with a new map and character.

Starting with the new character, John "Soap" MacTavish has been added to the game, and the only way to get him is through the new battle pass, which is called "Rise of Soap." There is also a new scorestreak called H.I.V.E. This streak grants players a weapon that shoots proximity mines that, when triggered, release a bunch of "nano drones" that kill enemies in the area.

The new multiplayer map is called Cage, and it's available now in all ranked modes. The close-quarters map is noteworthy because it's the first map in Call of Duty Mobile that was made specifically for the game. The rest are borrowed from the console/PC games.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive first released in 2012, but in 2020 it's had more players than ever. The game, which hit a peak player count of 901,000 in February 2020, has now gone even further. As reported by PCGamesN, tracking site Steamcharts recorded a peak player figure of 924,045 on Sunday, March 1.

Steam's own figures put it even higher--the 24 hour peak count, as of right now, is at 925,990.

The game went free-to-play in December 2018, which seems to have led to a steady growth for the title. The rise of streaming, esports, and the fact that the game receives regular patches and updates have also all contributed to its growth.

The IEM Katowice esports tournament over the weekend of February 28-March 1 likely boosted the game's player numbers, too--the CS:GO tournament had a $500,000 prize pool.

This week is a surprisingly slow week for imports, mainly because a lot of games seem to have avoided the week due to a certain big game that was supposed to launch this week – Final Fantasy VII Remake. Depending on how you look at it, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company either hedged their bets with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX releasing this week, or sent the game out to die, but now that Final Fantasy VII has been delayed, the game can finally shine. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a combined remake of Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, […]

The post This Week in Imports: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Returns for Adventure appeared first on Siliconera.

Victoria Zavershinskaya is an artist based in Russia who works for 1C Studios, creators of the IL2-2 Sturmovik series.

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With PAX East closing its doors, PlatinumGames is in exciting territory. After hosting their first-ever booth at the event, and with just 4 days left on a Kickstarter for their first self published title, The Wonderful 101 Remastered, I got to speak to Platinum's Hideki Kamiya and Atsushi Inaba about this bold new direction for the company, their plans for the remake, and how it all relates to their past, present, and future. Of course, for me, that meant bringing up Viewtiful Joe, one of my favorite games in Inaba and Kamiya's long partnership. 

Specifically, I wanted to know if the stretch goal content for Remastered would play like the now-classic 2D action title. Entitled "Luka's First Mission" this "brand new 2D side-scrolling adventure starring a young hero" is one of the first times they have revisited the genre since their Viewtiful Joe days, so I couldn't help but get my hopes up. Now that I've talked to them both, my hopes are even higher. 

Ela, an Operator added in Rainbow Six Siege's second year, is getting powered down a bit. Ubisoft has outlined the patch notes for the latest update done on the game's Public Test Server, which will test out a slightly modified version of Ela's Scorpion EVo3 gun.

Here are the four changes made to Ela in this patch.

• Reduced recoil now only applies to the first 11 bullets.
• Increased resettle time after burst firing
• Faster uptime to increase vertical recoil
• Slightly increased recoil + spread

As the post says, since Ela was buffed in a recent Year 4 Season 4.3 patch, there's been a huge spike in her being picked, and her win ratio has gone up a little too much. These changes will make her slightly less deadly, and give players a better sense of balance.

As Diablo III’s Season 20 draws closer, Patch 2.6.8 is adding some much requested balances, bug fixes and new items for PC and console players alike.

This season, Barbarian, Witch Doctor and Wizard players will see a shake up with brand new class sets, designed to boost play styles and skills most popular with the player community.

The full patch notes explain the changes in detail, with a number of minor bug fixes and balancing updates, but the most interesting additions are the new class sets. After promising a new set for each class after Patch 2.6.7, this update adds three.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV on PC

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV is the latest entry in the venerable historical strategy series from developer Koei that debuted before I was born, all the way back in 1985.

Over 14 installments, the Japanese studio has reiterated upon the basic strategy formula that has been at the core of each game in the series: build, expand and conquer.

ROTK XIV takes place during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, a setting that it shares with both the Dynasty Warriors series and the latest Total War game from Creative Assembly, Total War: Three Kingdoms.

And it is hard not to compare ROTK XIV to Total War: Three Kingdoms. Both are set during the same historical conflict, both come from long-running and well-respected strategy franchises, and both were released within a year of each other.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection continues to expand and improve with new updates, including a substantial upgrade to the audio design of one game in the collection. Currently, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary supports only the updated audio for multiplayer, not the classic sounds. This has bugged some players, and 343 Industries has now confirmed it will add the classic Halo: CE sounds to multiplayer soon.

The option to hear the original Halo: CE sounds is available in the campaign on PC (which is currently in testing) and on Xbox, but only the updated audio for multiplayer is available.

"We are happy to announce that we are now putting the final polish on bringing the classic Halo: CE multiplayer sounds to the Halo: CE PC launch," 343 said in a blog post. "Initial playtest feedback is that players are happy to have the original audio in place, which brings the overall Halo: CE multiplayer another step closer to the way we all remember it on the original Xbox."

The Wonderful 101 Remastered, an updated release of the previously Wii U-exclusive game, is nearing the end of its Kickstarter campaign. The game, which has earned over ¥200 million after asking for ¥5.425 million, has been the biggest gaming Kickstarter success story on the platform in some time.

Despite there currently being a reported 13 cases of coronavirus in Washington State, and two deaths, the organisers of the Emerald City Comic-Con have pledged to go ahead with the show, which is due to be held March 12-15 at the Washington State Convention Center.

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As the release date for massive Fallout 76 update Wastelanders draws nearer, Pete Hines has shared some of the thinking that went into the original game design in an interview with USGamer.

One of the elements Hines says was misjudged by the team in particular was PVP, and how it was not as much of a priority for players as they had initially thought.

"We were a little surprised how few people wanted to take part in PvP and how many more they were interested in PvE together," Hines said. "As opposed to, 'I want to test my mettle against you and let's get into a duel.'"

Back in August, I got most of the way through writing a Have You Played on 1990s’s SimEarth, before coming to the awkward realisation that some of my perceived adventures in that game had actually occurred in another game entirely – 1992’s SimLife, also produced by Maxis. In here’s where I get in really hot water, because it’s hard now to tell what happened in SimLife, and not in SimEarth.

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Journalist and game designer Arash Hackimi offers an extensive look at evolution of Iran's video game industry, tracing through nearly 50 years of Iranian video game history. ...

The 1.20 update of Dead or Alive 6 will allow PS4 players to change characters' hair color for the first time, though each change will use a Premium Ticket at a cost of $1 each.

As picked up by Kotaku, the update was initially welcomed by the community, until players realized that previously purchased colors would not remain unlocked once paid for.

This update works more like a real-life hair salon, charging a fee every time you change your hair--even if it's a color you had before. Dead Or Alive community forum Free Step Dodge reached out to Team Ninja to confirm the system was working as planned and the repeated payments were not a bug, which the team then confirmed.

The game formerly known as Project A

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The studio behind League of Legends makes good on its name

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We finally got the chance to play the League of Legends’ developers Project A shooter

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Here’s every known Agent from Riot’s new shooter

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Riot Games’ new shooter should run well on lots of different computers

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Riot Games’ new shooter, originally announced as Project A, may be coming sooner than you think

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In October 2019, Riot Games, the iconic studio behind League of Legends, announced a full slate of new games coming over the next several years. While nearly every game is set in the League of Legends universe, one title, codenamed "Project A" was said to exist in a new universe, as a completely new IP. Today, Riot Games announced both a name and release window for its shooter: Project A is officially called Valorant, and it will launch on PC this summer.

When this free-to-play title launches, Riot Games is targeting 12 heroes (called Agents in-game), as well as 4 maps. The game will operate as a live-service title, meaning players can expect new heroes and maps on a regular basis.

Not only that, but I spent a day on the campus of Riot Games in Santa Monica, Calif., learning the ins and outs of the title by not only speaking to the team, but going hands on with it. For more on Riot Games' promising title, be sure to check out my hands-on impressions.

Last October, when Riot Games announced a slate of new titles, one of the outliers was Project A, a first-person shooter that combines the popular hero-based shooter genre with tactical gameplay. We now know Project A is officially called Valorant, and will launch on PC this summer as a free-to-play title. I traveled to Santa Monica, Calif., to spend a day in the offices of Riot Games to not only learn about the upcoming shooter from all angles, but also play it for several hours.

Today Square Enix is rolling out the massively-anticipated demo of the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The demo can be downloaded right now on the North American PlayStation Store, on the European one and on the Japanese PlayStation Store.

This means that it’s likely going to release on all stores later today. If it’s not yet available in your region, you should try later at the links showcased above. 

Of course, if you can’t wait, you can also make a quick account bound a region in which it’s already available and grab the demo that way.

We also get an official description explaining what you can expect.

“Enjoy the first chapter of FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE─the iconic Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission─with this demo version.
– Progress cannot be carried over into the retail version of the game.
– Content may differ from that of the retail version.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE is a bold reimagining of the original FINAL FANTASY VII, originally released in 1997 for the PlayStation®, developed under the guidance of the original key developers.

This grand adventure filled with memorable characters and crafted with cutting edge technology was an instant worldwide hit, and now it is reborn for a new era.

With a mix of traditional command-based combat and real-time action, fans can explore the world of FINAL FANTASY VII, recreated with today’s technology.”

On top of that, downloading the demo abefore May 11 will net you an exclusive PS4 theme when the game releases.

After its existence was previously leaked, the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo is now officially out on PlayStation 4. You can download it from the PlayStation Store for free.

The store description states that the demo encompasses the first chapter of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which includes the now memorable Mako Reactor 1 bombing run that introduces Cloud to the Avalanche eco-terrorist group, and many of Final Fantasy VII's main characters. It ends with the Guard Scorpion fight.

The description also notes that your progress will not carry over into the final game--which launches on April 10--and that some content may differ from the final product. Downloading the demo by May 11 will also entitle you to download a free PS4 theme, which will become available on April 10.

If there can be only one thing taken from my time at Riot Games' vast, lavishly fitted LA campus, it's that the mega-developer is desperately keen to prove they know what they're doing. Riot's pitch for Valorant, its upcoming tactical shooter seemingly named after a kind of industrial carpet cleaning fluid, is one based almost entirely on competence: the game will have the best infrastructure, the best attention to detail, the most committed, communicative ongoing support, and the most rigorously balanced gameplay of anything like it - even if it comes at the cost, seemingly, of character and heart and anything else like it. I've played about four hours and moment-to-moment it really is brilliant, right across the board. Exacting, oddly approachable, tense. The potential is there for Valorant to be the pinnacle of tactical shooters - but it also feels a bit back-to-front. This is a game that exists purely to excel, like the child of two parents who only agreed to conceive so their kid could ace its homework. A game that's very good at doing what other games have already done, but better.

Project A, one of several games announced in a wave of 10th anniversary fanfare at the end of 2019, is now officially called Valorant. It's free-to-play, it's releasing in Summer 2020, and as you might have read in our lengthy Valorant preview, it looks pretty slick.

That said, our hands-on time with the game threw up plenty of questions, too. The most obvious one: why a tactical shooter? And why now, so long after Overwatch, Rainbow Six and Counter Strike seemingly cornered the market?

Then there's Riot's unusual opening gambit, opting to lead with such a huge blast of technical info, and promises about stability and anti-cheating, over introducing us to the world of this game itself. What will the in-game purchases look like? And, after a decade of League of Legends, what has Riot learned about curbing its huge problem with toxicity?

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You’ve heard it here, the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo is now available to download on the PlayStation store. The announcement came early from the official Final Fantasy VII Twitter. If you’re looking to download this demo and try out the new combat system in this highly anticipated remake just click here. The demo is currently available to download in all regions and is a total of 7.6 gigs. The Final Fantasy VII Remake demo covers the opening mission where Cloud, Barret and AVALANCHE go to shut down one of the Shinra Mako Reactors. Players will start right after the […]

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