Image: Motive Studios, Lucasfilm/Electronic Arts
Tips and a shopping list to make your build go easier
Chinese holdings company Tencent is expanding its presence in the AAA video game space by opening a new Orange County-based studio called LightSpeed LA. The team, which falls under Tencent’s existing Lightspeed & Quantum subsidiary, will be tasked with developing a new open-world game for next-generation consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X.
LightSpeed LA will be led by Rockstar Games veteran Steve Martin, who previously held leadership roles on Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Martin explained his intention to create “a crunch-free and inclusive culture” for the development team in a statement sent to Twinfinite in a press release:
“We’re ushering a new era of game culture by combining world-class development with a stress-free work environment. From day one, our teams will be focused on building the highest caliber games while promoting integrity, proactivity, collaboration, and creativity.”
Notably, former 343 Industries developer Scott Warner Tweeted earlier this year about his intention to join a new AAA video game project funded by Tencent. It seems Lightspeed LA is the project he was referring to.
Other members of the LightSpeed LA team include former members of companies such as Rockstar Games, Respawn Entertainment, 2K Games, and Insomniac.
In other Tencent video game news, the company recently appears to have acquired the rights to System Shock 3’s website, suggesting the troubled project could have new funding.
Sega released a trailer of its recently-released game Sakura Wars, which was originally titled Shin Sakura Taisen in Japan, and it’s another music video.
The trailer features the English-subtitled version of the character song of Berlin Revue commander Elise, aptly titled “The Iron Star.” It’s performed by Elise’s voice actress, Nana Mizuki.
You may know her for her roles as Fragile in the Japanese version of Death Stranding, Ann Takamaki in Persona 5, Excela in Shining Resonance, Paz in the Metal Gear Solid series, Hinata in the Naruto series, and more.
Of course, the song is as powerful as you would expect for a lady with Elise’s martial stature.
Sakura Wars is now available exclusively for PS4 and you can read our review.
The Animal Crossing series is full of hundreds of memorable animals you can befriend. While everyone has a villager that they hope will move in (or out) of their town, there are other recurring characters who aren’t villagers.
These non-villager characters are the ones who build shops, visit our towns periodically, or run various aspects of the game. Some have been staples of the series from the beginning while others are new faces in recent years.
Though these characters don’t have actual houses in our towns, we see many of them working daily to make our virtual homes a better place. They each have unique roles and sometimes even backstories that you get to know over the course of the game.
The characters who made this list are ranked based on their role throughout the series. There are so many great choices that narrowing down this list to only 10 was extremely difficult. Did your favorite make the cut? Let’s find out!
NBA 2K has been using multiple athletes for the covers of their games for years now. Different editions tend to have different players on them, so fans get a choice. Damian Lillard was the first cover athlete reveal for NBA 2K21, and now, Zion Williamson is the second.
From the wording, it’s safe to assume that Williamson will only be on the cover of the next-generation console versions of NBA 2K21. Lillard, on the other hand, may only be appearing on the current-gen console covers.
This isn’t anything particularly new for NBA 2K fans. NBA 2K18 had a similar situation. Former Toronto Raptors star DeMar DeRozan was only featured on the covers of games sold in Canada, while Kyrie Irving was the cover athlete on games sold everywhere else.
To celebrate Zion Williamson’s NBA 2K21 cover reveal, a short trailer has been released. You can check it out below:
Just a day after Crysis Remastered’s gameplay was leaked and its official reveal was subsequently announced as locked in for today, Crytek has now issued a statement explaining the game and its premier trailer have been delayed.
That means you can take today’s premier off your calendar, which was set to be aired at noon EDT.
There’s no new release date for the game or the trailer beyond the promise that the delay is likely just a matter of weeks as the team adds further polish. The delay affects all platforms.
As for yesterday’s big leak, it is explained that the reactions to it have been noted and the feedback is being considered as this last round of polish is implemented.
The full statement can be read below.
We would like to share an important update with you all! pic.twitter.com/ylu0OisDf3
— Crysis (@Crysis) July 1, 2020
Crysis was critically acclaimed when it launched for the first time back in 2007, lauded in particular for exceptional graphics that pushed the bleeding edge of hardware performance.
It was a legacy that lived on with subsequent sequel titles, spawning a “but can it run crisis” meme that still gets a chuckle within the PC-building community. Now it’s launching on a handheld console… oh, how times have changed!
Cyberpunk 2077 will let players choose between three different life paths, corporate, street kid, and nomad.
To give fans a taste of what their characters may look like when choosing said paths, CD Projekt Red delivered a series of images via its official Twitter account.
We get to see character renders of default male and female V as a corpo, street kid, and nomad, alongside a brief description of what each life path choice entails.
You can check them all out below and start deciding on which life path you’ll go for.
Publisher NIS America released a new trailer announcing the release date for RPG Maker MV coming to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in North America.
The title allows users to create their own role-playing games since it is more a game development engine than an actual video game. Programming a game does not require any coding and the games are developed through menus, tiles, and pre-made assets.
According to the publisher, the console version has twice as many assets as the PC version. It also contains both English and Japanese voices alongside text in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
Games created using the software can be played within the title or uploaded and played by others for free with the separate app RPG Maker MV Player.
The game creation tool originally launched for PC in 2015 and was ported to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in November 2018 for Japan only, then known as RPG Maker MV Trinity.
A western release date was announced for both consoles and Xbox One as “coming 2019,” but the Xbox One version was delayed and then cancelled.
RPG Maker MV is scheduled to launch for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on Sept. 8.
Early in its life cycle the PS4 had been a mecca for indie games, but that support rather dropped off in more recent years outside of PSVR titles. Well, it seems Sony is readying for another big push via a new initiative led by the former president of worldwide studios Shuhei Yoshida.
Aptly named the PlayStation Indies Initiative, the program aims to build the PlayStation brand into “best place to develop, find, and play great indie games.”
In a blog post earlier today, Yoshida explains the importance of the indie gaming scene for its focus on innovation, as opposed to the more risk-averse AAA scene.
“We trust indie developers with strong vision will continue to bring ideas that have never been tried before, creating whole new genres of games and advancing the art and meaning of video games,” said Yoshida.
To that end, PlayStation has pledged to include an additional indie title added to its PS Now game streaming service every month moving forward, starting with Hello Neighbor in July.
Also, in tandem with news of PlayStation’s new indie initiative, we’re also told that there are to be nine new indie games coming to PS5 and PS5 showcased throughout the day.
We’ll keep you posted on those as and when…
Speaking of the PlayStation brand’s future, check out Twinfinite’s recent article reflecting on the success of its PS5 Future of Gaming stream if you haven’t already.
Today IO Interactive released a brand new video featuring commentary from the developers of Hitman 3.
We get to hear about the ways the third game of the trilogy will bring closure to the story, which will also take a step further into dark undertones.
On top of that, the developers promise a lot more interactivity compared to previous Hitman games.
You can check it out below.
If you’re unfamiliar with the game, you can check out an official description below. You can also enjoy the original announcement.
Agent 47 returns as a ruthless professional in Hitman 3 for the most important contracts of his entire career. Embark on an intimate journey of darkness and hope in the dramatic conclusion to the World of Assassination trilogy. Death awaits.
Experience a globetrotting adventure and visit exotic locations that are meticulously detailed and packed full of creative opportunities. IOI’s award-winning Glacier technology powers Hitman 3’s tactile and immersive game world to offer unparalleled player choice and replayability.
Crysis Remastered is another one of 2020's casualties. The game has been delayed and won't launch this month.
The post Crysis Remastered Briefly Delayed appeared first on Siliconera.
The Ooblets Early Access launch date has been confirmed. On July 15, 2020, you'll be able to find little ooblets on your Xbox One and PC.
The post Ooblets Early Access Begins on July 15, 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.
Ready to see more ninjas? A Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker Season Pass 3 is on the way.
The post Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker Season Pass 3 Will Arrive in 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.
Sony has a new PlayStation Indies initiative starting, with 9 games being announced and indies coming to PlayStation Now.
The post PlayStation Indies Initiative Announced, PlayStation Now Getting Indie Games appeared first on Siliconera.
The long wait is over, and you can now roll right into SINoAlice global.
The post The Library Is Open: SINoAlice Global Goes Live for all appeared first on Siliconera.
If you’ve already hacked and slashed and tumbled your way through Minecraft Dungeons‘ campaign, you can grab your enchanted boots for another spelunking. The first DLC for Minecraft-but-Diablo is out now. The Jungle Awakens DLC sends you into the overgrowth to battle the Jungle Abomination. Even if you don’t grab the DLC, a free update including a new secret mission has been added for all players.
Satisfactory’s Update 3 is one of gaming’s great bait and switches. For months, developer Coffee Stain had been denying that its first-person factory-building game would ever have pipes. Why would they? You could already transport liquids on conveyors, so what was the point? And then in February, the studio presented a magnificently overblown trailer which confirmed the opposite of what they’d been claiming for all this time. Pipes were coming. The chat went wild.
With lockdown keeping me away from my favourite swimming spots, I am delighted to see a new Stardew Valley mod which lets your farmer swim in its rivers, ponds, and sea. It looks: so relaxing. You can even dive down to walk around on the bottom and collect treasure and resources, which does give slightly me the fear. Fish’s domain, down there. Leave them to it. Gives me the willies. But come, come watch this trailer and see how nice the mod is.
Not content with cramming RGB lighting into every possible PC product on the planet, Corsair have now started making rainbow-infused ambient lighting towers to plonk on your desk, because why the hell not?
The mastermind behind the Nier and Drankengard series, Yoko Taro, has a new free-to-play mobile RPG, SINoALICE, that launches today. To celebrate the occasion, he sat down alongside Square Enix producer Yoshinari Fujimoto and Pokelabo, Inc. producer Shogo Maeda to discuss what's in store for this twisted adventure where fairytale characters must kill one another to revive their authors. Expect large real-time battles, gacha mechanics, and the traditional (or is that untraditional?) Yoko Taro-ness.
SiNoALICE launched back in 2017 in Japan. Why did you feel now was the time to reach a global audience?
Fujimoto: The folks at Pokelabo said, "We really want to release this globally." Pokelabo always treats us well, so we thought we can't ignore their wishes.
Maeda: Even before the Japan release, we thought this was a title that could put up a good fight globally in terms of its world-building and considering Yoko's fan base. It's been three years, but we still feel the same way.
How did you come up with the idea for the story, and how would you compare it to your previous work?
Yoko: I think of stories while I drink beer. Compared to other titles, I think maybe the amount of beer has increased?
Sony has announced the PlayStation Indies program, headed by former Sony worldwide studios head Shuhei Yoshida, to "spotlight and support" indie games.
Although further details regarding the program will be announced in the future, today Yoshida announced that nine titles will be be announced over both the PS4 and PlayStation 5 through the day.
Furthermore, every month an indie title – stating with Hello Neighbor – will be added to the PlayStation Now roster.
Yoshida pointed to games like the recently announced Bugsnax as the kind of indie title Sony wants to host on its platforms.
Here are the initial nine titles:
Heads up, Game Pass members: If you’ve recently purchased Fallout 76, you should return it. Bethesda’s online shooter-cum-role-playing game is coming to Xbox Game Pass on July 9.
Two weeks ago, an EVE Online veteran received some difficult news. Christopher “Chappy78” Chapman found out that the pancreatic cancer he had been fighting off was not only back, but the prognosis was not good. This news also came the week before Chappy’s birthday. Facing down the barrel of such terrible news, he…
Lizmarie Oropeza imagined that when her 17-month old foster son, Caden, hit his milestones—pointing, learning to walk, speaking his first words—his biological family would be able to celebrate alongside her. Then coronavirus hit. In Oropeza’s home-state of Connecticut, visitation between families and children in the…
Veteran game maker Brenda Romero will be presenting a fascinating talk at GDC Summer next month about some of the overlooked but vital contributors to the history of computing and game development. ...
Join in on this free webinar to learn about modern threats to multiplayer games and how Denuvo Anti-Cheat addresses those threats without requiring modification of the game's source code. ...
Despite having not yet played Cyberpunk 2077, (still hurts), it appears a relatively snug statement to suggest that CD Projekt RED's Night City adventure is going to have more than its fair share of sex, sleaze, and violence. After all, these are tropes almost inherent to cyberpunk as a genre. No-one ever said an avaricious, collapsed society was going to be Disneyland. Regardless, it seems that the Japanese censor board is readying the scissors, and that Japan's edition of Cyberpunk 2077 will be trimmed of most of its excess.
All sexual content is being "revised." There will be no nudity in the game whatsoever, including the depiction of genitals either on characters or in billboards and architecture. Any fully nude characters will be sporting some brand new underwear. In addition, "selective revisions" are being made to scenes of gratuitous violence, such as the severing of limbs or spilling of useful internal organs.
This is not the first time in recent years that a major video game has seen cuts on its journey east. Back in 2019, Capcom's Resident Evil 2 (and previously Resident Evil 7) was altered to tone down the detail and animation of its gore sequences, in efforts to make its zombie-munching sequences a little less shocking... One of those strange instances of censorship where one has to define where the line between "a decapitation that's too violent" and "a decapitation that's 'safely' violent." Still, that's why they're the censor and I'm the... words writing guy.
Modders are always hard at work adding in various elements of Nintendo's history to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but this (along with the Inox-to-Bowser enemy model swap) is one of my favorites.
Crafted by Yainskofso, this mod not only transports Samus into the game, but also converts the game's Master Cycle Zero into the Metroid gunship. The idea right now is to fully convert as much of Breath of the Wild as possible with Metroid aesthetics, including background music, other character models and outfits. Amazingly, the mod actually had sounds ripped directly from the Metroid Prime trilogy and the underrated Other M (disclaimer: so long as you make a sandwich during the cutscenes and ignore them) to really give it extra personality.
While there was a YouTube video showcasing every facet of the mod, Nintendo seems to have removed it on copyright grounds. For now, we have screenshots and the mod's landing page.
Samus Mod Gunship [Gamebanana]
Today in this endless summer of reveals, Sony gave us a glimpse at a new "PlayStation China Hero Project selected game" that's coming to PS4: F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch.
Billed as a "Metroidvania with arcade-style combat," the world has a very grimdark feel to it, with animals, steampunk gear and giant metal robot hands. While this came out of nowhere, the visuals are very impressive: to the point where it probably could have been highlighted in a major showcase or State of Play. "Arcade-style" is underselling it a bit too, as it seems like a full-on fighting game at times in the debut trailer.
Seriously, give the footage below a shot and look at the fur effects on that bear blacksmith. I'm getting extreme Strider (2014) vibes from this, which is great news. Although a lot of Metroidvania games don't stick the landing and can overstay their welcome, this one is definitely on my radar now.
You can also read more info about Forged in Shadow Torch here on the PlayStation Blog.
Action platformer F.I.S.T: Forged in Shadow Torch coming to PS4 [PlayStation Blog]
Resident Evil fans are waiting with bated breath for hot info regarding Resident Evil Village, the next entry in Capcom's blockbuster survival horror franchise. While we're yet to receive even a hint of a release date, the latest issue of Famitsu states that development of the gothic-looking adventure is over 60% complete.
Furthermore, it has been stated that Village's first-person gameplay has evolved considerably over its implementation in 2017's Resident Evil 7, although further details will have to wait until next month's issue of Famitsu. Given how impressive Resident Evil 7 is, thanks in no small part to the immersion provided by its first-person perspective, it's exciting news to hear that Village is apparently taking said tech to new heights.
Resident Evil Village, planned exclusively for PC and next-gen platforms, has the potential to be one of the franchise's most defining entries. Combining the development experience of Resident Evil 7, lessons learned from Resident Evil 2 and 3, the technological power of next-gen consoles, and a brand new storyline that threatens to take the series down dark corridors never ventured before, Village could prove to be a defining moment for the storied franchise, one not seen - arguably - since the launch of Resident Evil 4.
Resident Evil Village is currently in development for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X. It will launch sometime in 2021.
A pair of SteelSeries gaming headsets are currently on sale over at Amazon UK - with both the mid-range Arctis 5 and high-end Arctis Pro at some of their lowest prices in months.
Let's start with the cheaper of the two: the SteelSeries Arctis 5 Gaming Headset is now £79.99.
This wired headset sits between the manufacturer's basic yet capable Arctis 3 and the wireless, feature-rich Arctis 7. Being stuck in the middle it borrows bits-and-pieces from both its siblings. Notably, there's the DTS surround sound support, a ClearCast microphone and mandatory RGB illumination.
Fallout 76, Bethesda's beleaguered - but gradually improving - online multiplayer take on the beloved post-apocalyptic RPG series, is making its way to Xbox One and PC Game Pass later this month, arriving alongside other Game Pass offerings including Soulcalibur 6 and celebrated indie action-RPG CrossCode.
It would be fair to say that Fallout 76 wasn't particular well-received - or perhaps even particularly wanted by many series fans - when it launched in 2018, with Eurogamer's Wesley Yin-Poole calling it a "bizarre, boring, broken mess" in his review.
Since then, however, Bethesda has continued to invest in the game, adding a range of new features that, in some cases, have helped considerably improve the experience (NPCs) while others (such as a premium subscription service for private servers) have only drawn more ire. When Wes returned to Fallout 76 earlier this year, he conceded it's now "actually okay".
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare added a new map with this week's mid-season update - and it's got a rat problem.
Exploding rats, that is.
The Cheshire Park map, a classic three-lane map set in a lovely part of London, has a cool Easter egg it didn't take the Call of Duty community long to find at all.
A student in Tokyo has been arrested for allegedly making threats to bomb Konami's headquarters.
As reported by Yomiuri and Mainichi (and translated by Kotaku), the second-year high school student is thought to have posted threats on the review section of an online app store. The game in question was apparently the PES mobile app, and the threats were made between 16-18th June.
According to Kotaku's translation, the 16-year-old mentioned that terrorism was possible in Japan, and apparently said "I'm going to blow up Konami's headquarters" and "I'm going to kill the people who work at Konami".
Noah Ringer as Aang in The Last Airbender. | Photo: Paramount Pictures
Revisiting the M. Night Shyamalan adaptation a decade after release
Image: Square Enix via Polygon
Image: THQ Nordic