March 2020

Late night hosts are vloggers now

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Resident Evil 3 can't be as scary as last year's RE2 remake, so it focuses instead on making Jill Valentine a more substantial protagonist.

The post Resident Evil 3’s Jill Feels More Real appeared first on Siliconera.

The members of Kojima Production are now working from home and the studio space is being closed and cleaned.

The post Kojima Productions Working Remotely Following Staff Member’s COVID-19 Diagnosis appeared first on Siliconera.

Success has proved troublesome for Last Oasis, the new survival sandbox MMO with wooden walking bases. After launching into early access on Thursday, it hit #6 on Steam’s top-selling chart for the whole week, it passed 25,000 players in-game at the same time, and it fell over so hard that the developers have taken it offline for a week. Bugs exacerbated by the weight of players caused the servers to crumple and it needs serious help. If you don’t want to wait for its return, you’re welcome to a refund.

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The exciting adventures of the inimitable Aloy and her friends are about to be immortalised in comic book form. Titan Comics has announced a new series, based on the popular PS4 title Horizon Zero Dawn, is headed to comic book stores this summer.

The comic will be set after the events of the game, and sees young hunter Talanah embark upon a hazardous quest after her trusted companion - Aloy herself - mysteriously disappears. With the famed protector not around to guard the land, it's up to Talanah to fend off a dangerous new threat that emerges from the shadows.

The first issue of Horizon Zero Dawn will launch on July 22, priced at around four bucks. It will be preceded by a prequel issue on Free Comic Book Day, currently scheduled to take place on May 2.

Horizon Zero Dawn is available now on PS4, and will be ported to PC this summer.

Horizon Zero Dawn comic book launches summer 2020 [VGC]

Virtually everyone who picks up Resident Evil 3 will start with the campaign, but once that's done – and once you've run through the story at least a few more times for good measure – then what? Resident Evil Resistance, most likely. It's included with every copy of the game, just begging to be played.

Maybe you're super into the idea of a frantic four-against-one arcade-style take on Resident Evil. Maybe you're just morbidly curious about this bonus mode after seeing Friday the 13th, Dead by Daylight, and other asymmetrical survival horror games take off in recent years. I'm somewhere in the middle.

I think Resistance has modest potential, but at the end of the day, it's kind of a hot mess.

Resident Evil is one of my most-played series in my three-decade-long gaming career. I still recall the first time I played the original: where I was, what my room looked like, how it felt to finally finish that last stand finale.

But my appreciation for the franchise only grew from there. It's insane to think about how each entry has brought something new to the table: Resident Evil defined survival horror for many years and gave us the memorable mansion setting, RE2 boldly went with the dual protagonist route, RE3 dialed-up Mr. X and had the Nemesis stalk the player while randomizing items and providing small narrative choices, and RE4 brought the series into a more action-oriented direction and shook the industry to its core. That's to say nothing of the co-op refinements of RE5 and the many virtues of RE7. I'm not forgetting a mainline entry, am I?

The point is, Resident Evil is pretty much always relevant, and the RE2 and RE3 remakes are only proving that assertion: though the latter makes a slightly weaker case than the former.

If you ever wanted to play through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's grim-as-fuck single-player campaign, but from a 2020 visual perspective, then you might be in luck. Reports are coming in that Activision is set to release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered as imminently as tomorrow.

First inklings of this retread through the legendary 2009 sequel came via a listing on the Korean Video Game Ratings board. Then, this past weekend, a datamine report from regular Call of Duty spoiler machine Senescallo found evidence of the remaster buried within the code for the recent Call of Duty: Warzone update.

As if that wasn't enough, a new listing for MW2 reportedly appeared, (and then just as quickly disappeared), on the German PlayStation Store. Dedicated Call of Duty fansite CharlieIntel report that MW2 Campaign Remastered is set to launch Tuesday, March 31. The remaster will include new textures, animations, and HDR lighting support, among other dazzling features.

Despite all of this evidence, publisher Activision remains hush-hush on an official reveal. It's clear that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is happening - and happening presently - but as to its official release date, I'm sure we'll be getting the hard facts soon.

Unnamed sources have told VGC that Nintendo is planning to celebrate Mario 35th anniversary this year by not only releasing new games in the series including a new Paper Mario game, but re-releasing classic games in some form for the Nintendo Switch.

Shortly after VGC’s report, Eurogamer also corroborated the broader details from these unnamed sources and added a few details of their own. They confirmed that a new Paper Mario is in development, and that a deluxe version of Super Mario 3D World was also in the cards too.

But that’s not all; following the Eurogamer report, Gematsu also jumped into the mix and filled in some more of the blanks which have since been updated into the Eurogamer story. According to Gematsu, high-definition remasters of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are also all planned.

All three reached out to Nintendo for comment and all three received the usual Nintendo “does not comment on rumor and speculation.”

As with any rumor, take it with a major grain of salt. That said, the publications that are lining up to corroborate and also add to the original report does give this particular rumor a bit more credibility than your average unnamed sources story.

Familiar Faces

By this point, if you’re playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’ve likely already realized that a number of iconic faces from the series haven’t made the cut this time. Crazy Redd, Brewster, Joan, Tortimer and Kapp’n all for one reason or another just haven’t shown up on Tom Nook’s deserted island getaway.

While some have naturally been replaced by their offspring in the case of Joan the Turnip Seller, others just haven’t made the cut for whatever reason.

This DLC would see the return of a handful of these creatures. Crazy Redd would stop by with his paintings and rare furniture, Brewster would set-up shop in the Museum basement, Blathers would extend the building to include a new Paintings wing, Tortimer could just rock up offering words of wisdom and cool furniture, and Joan… she could show up spontaneously to offer even better turnip prices than her successor Daisy Mae.

Today Cygames released quite a few new screenshots focusing on the DLC coming for Granblue Fantasy Versus.

The screenshots were published on the official website and on the official Twitter account.

First of all, we get to see Djeeta’s moves, on top of one of Soriz’s “weapon” skins. Quotation marks are obligatory because Soriz fights bare-fisted like the absolute badass he is, which means that his weapon skins are actually knuckle tattoos.

Both Djeeta and Soriz will release on April 7.

You can check all the screenshots out below.

Sunset Overdrive

One of the Xbox One’s biggest and best exclusives in its early years was Insomniac Games’ Sunset Overdrive.

The story was simple, an energy drink company had messed with its formula and it resulted in a ton of monsters invading the city. It was down to you and an insane arsenal of weapons to save the city by grinding on telephone wires, leaping through the air, and avoiding staying still or touching the ground at any cost.

What you got was a splattering of vibrant colors as you flipped through the air, raining down pain on the orange creatures that bayed for your blood below. The whole thing was really zany and out there, and the world offered up plenty of reasons to explore so you weren’t just constantly making a beeline for the next main objective marker.

Ever since Media Molecule’s Dreams released for the PS4 in early access last year, we’ve seen some pretty incredible and imaginative creations like a demake of the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Last of Us Part II as a PS1 game, and a bunch other levels that you just have to see for yourself.

The latest Dreams creation to get the spotlight over the last few days has been one that was made by a user that goes by Bad Robo on YouTube. They’ve basically managed to create one of the most hyper-realistic forests ever seen in the PS4 game and it’s absolutely wild to see in motion.

Bad Robo has been releasing short video snippets of the level to give viewers a taste of the entire experience and he mentions in the video comments that it’s currently not playable at the moment, but you can still see it in all of its glory down below:

Animal Crossing on Nintendo Switch

Animal Crossing is unlike most other video games because it follows a real-time clock and calendar. It is meant to be played for the course of a year in order to fully appreciate everything it has to offer. That being said, after only one week with the game, I can confidently say that New Horizons is the most wonderful mix of innovation and familiarity, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

After seven years of waiting, the newest entry in the series takes natural steps forward in ways I didn’t know were needed and with very few shortcomings. At the time, New Leaf felt like the definitive Animal Crossing experience, yet New Horizons clears that high bar.

If you’re not familiar with the series, you play as a human who has decided to move to an island as part of the Nook Deserted Island Getaway Package. You, along with two animals, start a brand new life with nothing but a tent and the clothes off your back.

Elevation Shelf | $19 | Amazon | Use the promo code KINJASHELF

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Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium has raised an additional $17.25 million in funding from existing investors. ...

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake isn't set to launch until April 10, but Australian and European players may find the game ahead of time. Square Enix has opted to ship the game to both regions early in order to offset any disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a statement on its official Twitter account, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake team said it wants to ensure everyone can play the game at the same time. This includes areas facing the most disruption, such as Europe and Australia. Shipping the game earlier could result in those regions playing it before everyone else, so the team asked that players do not spoil its story.

Nvidia's solution for ray-tracing has been implemented only in parts in most big-budget releases. Battlefield 5 utilizes it for reflections, while Metro: Exodus uses it instead more realistic shadows and ambient occlusion. Very few games use ray-tracing throughout their rendering, which is why Minecraft with RTX is such a big step forward for the technology.

Coming soon to Windows versions of the game (and later this year to the Xbox Series X), Minecraft with RTX is one of the first big tests for full ray-traced rendering, following the likes of Quake II RTX from last year. Its worlds are fully path-traced, meaning every shadow, reflection, illumination and effect is bounced off of physically based textures that are applied to every one of Minecraft's many blocks.

It's impressive technology that truly has to be seen to be believed, which is why Nvidia drafted three Minecraft creators to show off the benefits of RTX in three differently lit scenes. Below you can see screenshots from creators Razzleberries, BlockWorks and GeminiTay respectively, showing how the enhanced lighting note only illuminates structures in new ways, but adds a sense of vibrancy to them thanks to the per-pixel ambient light calculations from reflections.

You can call her “Nanny,” and she wants to kill your dad

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Stock up on new favorites

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Just don’t stick them in your eye

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Nintendo will reportedly re-release ‘most of of Super Mario’s 35-year back catalogue’

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Riot Games has announced the start date of the upcoming closed beta for Valorant, the studio's recently revealed tactical hero shooter. Select players will be able to test out the FPS ahead of its planned summer launch beginning April 7.

To register for the closed beta, you must connect your Riot account to your Twitch account, then watch highlighted Valorant streams for the chance to receive closed beta access. While your progress will not carry over into launch, any Valorant Points – the currency used to buy skins and other store items – you purchase will be given back to you at launch with a 20 percent bonus. Riot is currently planning on keeping the closed beta as short as possible, but may reevaluate if it hears unexpected feedback from participants.

Mario is one of the most iconic characters in video games, so every one of his birthdays is worth celebrating. If recent reports are to be believed, Nintendo may be planning an impressive celebration that includes Switch rereleases of many of Mario's best games. 

Eurogamer and VideoGamesChronicle reported that Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy will all get rereleases sometime this year. Additionally, Nintendo is working on a new Paper Mario title and a deluxe version of Super Mario 3D World that includes new levels. 

If true, these details are very exciting, but we may also soon hear new details on Nintendo/Universal's upcoming Mario-themed park as well as the upcoming animated Super Mario Bros. movie.

A few weeks ago, Nintendo announced its partnership with Lego, and it's possible that was just the beginning for our mustachioed pal. We've reached out to Nintendo for further comment.

The original Super Mario Bros. released in Japan on September 13th, 1985, so the 35th anniversary is set for this fall. Hopefully, we'll hear more soon. 

This morning the German PlayStation Store briefly leaked a listing for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered (PS4, Xbox One, and PC), with a release listing of tomorrow, March 31. Website Call of Duty Tracker captured screenshots and a trailer before they were taken down.

The remaster features the 2009 title's campaign – including the infamous "No Russian" mission (click here to read what developer Infinity Ward told us about it), and there is also a Classic Ghost bundle with the recent Warzone mode.

A COD: MW 2 remaster has been rumored for quite a while, and as COD Tracker points out, Warzone was recently leaked and released in a similarly quick manner.

[Source: CODTracker]

MAGES., the company behind the Steins;Gate series and the Science Adventure series, has been acquired by White Cat Project developer Colopl.

The post Science Adventure Series Developer MAGES Has Been Acquired By Colopl appeared first on Siliconera.

People who prefer Jill Valentine's old look can grab a PC mod to change her appearance in the Resident Evil 3 demo.

The post A Fan’s Mod Makes Jill’s Classic Resident Evil 3 Outfit Available in the Demo appeared first on Siliconera.

A Mario Galaxy remaster, along with other new Super Mario projects, are heavily rumored for 2020.

The post Rumor: Mario Galaxy Remaster and New Paper Mario Allegedly Coming for Super Mario’s 35th appeared first on Siliconera.

Fire Emblem Heroes' latest Mythic Hero is Bramimond, the game's first colorless tome-wielder.

The post Fire Emblem Heroes Adds Mythic Hero Bramimond With Four Voice Actors appeared first on Siliconera.

Both of these limited edition systems have all sorts of Trials of Mana remake art covering them.

The post Square Enix Will Give Away Custom Trials of Mana Switch and PS4 Systems appeared first on Siliconera.

The annual Game Developers Conference, and a bunch of other gaming events, have been cancelled or postponed this year thanks to the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Getting to GDC represents a serious financial commitment for indie developers especially, who have been impacted by its cancellation so close to the dates it was meant to run. Gamedev.world is hosting a fundraising week of livestreams to benefit the GDC Relief Fund.

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Half-Life: Alyx is out, and where talk of Valve and Half-Life goes, so too does Garry’s Mod follow. You know Gmod for all the silly Source games the players made with it: Prop Hunt, Trouble In Terrorist Town, Jazztronauts, and the like. Original Gmod maker and Facepunch Studios founder Garry Newman has jumped on the Valve-talk train with a tease that they’re currently working on Garry’s Mod 2, which it turns out is something called Sandbox that they’ve been developing for quite a few years.

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If you're in the mood a bit of cathartic chaos and ultra-violence, then Devolver Digital and DeadToast Entertainment might have just the ticket for you, as their weird, over-the-top shooter My Friend Pedro comes skateboarding onto the PS4 platform this week.

Released on PC and Switch in June 2019, My Friend Pedro is a tough, physics-based action title fully-loaded with John Woo-style gunplay and dramatic stunts. Players control a nameless, masked protagonist as he run 'n' guns his way through gangland territory, his every move guided by a sardonic talking banana. Yep.

Surprise! Shantae and the Seven Siren's bizarre "half release" concept is finally over, as the game has officially been deemed complete on the Apple Arcade with the release of the second half last week.  Taking to Twitter, WayForward has confirmed that they "aren't currently planning for there to be DLC."

Although WayForward did not provide an exact reason for strategic shift, I can only guess that due to Apple Arcade's push for no microtransactions that they requested the game be "complete," and WayForward decided to carry that on to the other ports. As someone who was frustrated by the Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition: good!

For those who aren't in the know, the Ultimate Edition is a confusingly separate SKU for the last Shantae game that does not allow save file transfer. So if you played the game at launch and 100%ed it, you couldn't import it into the future ultimate version. I still have this weird disparity where I have the game complete on my original copy, and all of the DLC completed separately on the other edition.

As of right now, Shantae and the Seven Sirens won't have that problem.

WayForward [Twitter]

If you’ve never played Ghost Recon Breakpoint and want to dip your toes in, now is your chance. Ubisoft has today announced a free six-hour trial on PS4, Xbox One, and PC starting from today. Further, those who do own the game can invite up to three buddies to come and try co-op for six hours, too, which doesn’t actually count as part of their free single-player trial. The promotion runs through until June.

Perhaps most notably, especially for fans of Splinter Cell, the trial allows you to experience the first mission in Episode 2 of Breakpoint’s season pass. It’s called Deep state and it brings two new classes, the Ghost Experience mode, and the first of an eight-mission campaign with Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher.

The free trial expires after six hours of playtime, but participants will be pleased to know their progress will save over if they choose to purchase the game. Also, if you tried the recent free weekend pass and didn’t use all your time then that will also count over for this one.

For those who don’t own Breakpoint, you’ll need to download the specific Trial version of the game required to take advantage of a Friend Pass invite.

If you haven’t already, check out the recent trailer showcasing what’s on offer in Deep State.