November 2020

The Genshin Impact Zhongli banner begins next month, and hope you like folks with big swords! Three four-stars who wield them will be there.

The post Genshin Impact Zhongli Banner Also Includes 3 Claymore Users appeared first on Siliconera.

Bluepoint Games' reimagining of Demon's Souls is the highest-rated launch game on PS5, and understandably so. The Austin studio has done a fantastic job of bringing its interpretation of Demon's Souls to Sony's brand-new console, furnishing its remake of a cult classic with mod-cons like a fully-featured photo mode, two different graphical options - and, of course, graphics to die for. Still, it's fascinating to note some of the things Bluepoint had creative license to change when remaking Demon's Souls - and to ask whether some elements of the original design have been lost in translation.

Demon's Souls had a rocky start. Initially pitched as an 'Oblivion' competitor, it struggled in its early stages of development. This is where Armored Core 4 and For Answer Director, Hidetaka Miyazaki was brought on to steer the ship, and make sure that Demon's Souls made it all the way to a final release. After an initial showing, EX-SIE President Shuhei Yoshida recalled calling it 'unbelievably bad'. Sony never published the original release of Demon's Souls outside of Asia.

Details from its developers are still scarce 10 years on, with only a few snippets of interviews with key staff being the only information we have about the conditions in which Demon's Souls was developed. But there's a clear narrative of strife, and struggling to meet internal expectations with Sony Japan. That struggle can be seen by way of what we're presented with in the game itself. The broken Archstone, full of cut content, frustrating swamps and "cheap" boss fights like the Dragon God, which was probably envisioned as more of a set piece than a quick, easy boss. But, the conditions and resources allocated to the game also reflected the world that From Software was trying to portray.

Screenshot Saturday Sundays! Your weekly, carefully hand-wrapped delivery of wonderful work-in-progress videogame artworks, slammed haphazardly through the mailbox by a careless postie. This week: Chilled-out reverts, celestial boneyards, crash-landing shenanigans and a rather informal shopkeep.

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Forza Horizon 5 might not have been announced yet, but one journalist has gone on record to say we might get it ahead of the recently revealed Forza Motorsport, possibly as early as 2021.

In the podcast The Xbox Empire, GameBeat's Jeff Grubb revealed that he suspects we "might get the next Forza Horizon game first" even though Playground Games has yet to confirm the game is in development.

"We saw Forza Motorsport get teased a few months ago [but] I think we might get the next Forza Horizon game first and I think that might be coming this coming year," Grubb said (thanks, VGC). "They're in a weird situation where for some reason Playground says it does seem like they may be ready to go first. I think I know the setting, but I'm going to let them announce it."

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Wheelchairs are now available as C.A.M.P. decorations in Fallout 76 after a Bethesda employee spotted a request on the game's subreddit.

In a message entitled "Please sweet Beth, give me a wheelchair", Kel Leunen reached out to the development team, stating: "I'm disabled irl and I would really REALLY love a wheelchair I can place in my C.A.M.P. It would make me so happy to have that little piece of me in my creations. And I think a lot of other people would enjoy it too (maybe for when you recreate a hospital/medbay)".

After the usual back and forth in the comments, Kel later updated their message to say: "Another edit: for people playing 'devil's advocate'; I'm asking for a furniture item which model already exists in game. I'm not asking for my character to turn disabled, I'm asking for a chair I can place in my camp, we already have loads of chair models.

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Today Marvelous Entertainment released a new trailer of its popular gacha game Shinobi Master: Senran Kagura New Link.

The trailer focuses on the newest event released for the game, which starts today.

The event features Asuka and Homura’s Super Shinobi Transformation (Juu Shinobi Tenshin). Do keep in mind that no official translation exists at the moment, so “Super” is simply a liberal translation of “Juu” which literally means “Heavy” or “Important.”

You can check out the trailer below.

If you’re not familiar with Shinobi Master Senran Kagura: New Link, it’s a gacha game currently available only in Japan for iOS, Android, and PC.

Today Koei Tecmo and Gust hosted a livestream dedicated to the upcoming JRPG Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy.

The livestream, intended for the Taiwanese market, showcased plenty of gameplay of the PS4 version of the game localized in Chinese, including the battle system, mounts, alchemy, and more.

You can check out the gameplay below.

On top of the gameplay we also get to see an event scene.

On top of this, yesterday, during an event at Sofmap in Akihabara in Japan, Koei Tecmo and Wonderful Works revealed the life-sized statue dedicated to Atelier Ryza 2.

Thursday's 1.0.4 patch for Assassin's Creed Valhalla is the first big update for Ubisoft's latest massive open worlder - and a crucial one, delivering a vast array of gameplay improvements and bug fixes, but of course, the Digital Foundry focus is more on technical validation for what has been the most contentious of the next generation launch line-up. For all of its spec advantages, Xbox Series X ran with a performance penalty against PlayStation 5, while Xbox Series S launched without the signature next-gen 60fps support. The 1.0.4 patch aims to address of all of this - and indeed, it does - and also adds a 4K30 quality mode too.

First of all though, we need to tackle an interesting wrinkle that has emerged from the arrival of the new patch. While there's broad consensus that the performance situation is much improved on Xbox Series X, another narrative has emerged suggesting that the PlayStation 5 version now runs worse than it did. To clear this one up straight away, we could only find one example of this actually being the case - the introductory cutscene takes an occasional, small drop to frame-rate we didn't see in our first test. In every other stress test we have, PlayStation 5 runs at the same frame-rate with the same dynamic resolution result as it did previously.

Apex Legends players have lifted the lid on which are our favourite characters in its battle royale, Apex Legends, and while the top spot is unlikely to shock you, I can't pretend I wasn't surprised by some of the other entries on the list.

Earlier this week, Apex Legends News asked players to select which Legends boasted the highest pick rate, and rank them from 1-5. Though it promised to respond "in 1 hour" it actually took a full day for the team to return to Twitter, where it confirmed that - yep, you guessed it - Wraith continues to be the game's most popular character.

Bloodhound clocked in at second place - which is pretty good given they're not a character that has a particularly impressive win rate - with newbie Horizon taking the bronze (thanks DBLTAP).

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After a 20-year legal dispute, magician and spoon-bending illusionist Uri Geller has given Nintendo permission to once again use Kadabra on Pokemon cards. The self-proclaimed psychic's dispute with Nintendo began in 2000 when he sued the company, alleging that his name and signature spoon-bending act had been stolen and used in the creation of a Pokemon that vilified him.

"I want to tell the world before the start of the holiday season that I have nothing whatsoever to do with these violent characters," Geller said in November 2000. Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokemon character. Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image."

As Screen Rant noted, Geller may have had a super effective case at the time as Kadabra's Japanese name--which can be written as Yungerer, Yungeller, and Yun Geller--had a passing resemblance to his own name. Kadabra is also a Psychic-type Pokemon that is always seen clutching a spoon in every form of media that it appears in, possibly indicating at more references to the magician.

One amateur game developer has decided to give two of the most notoriously terrible Legend of Zelda games a second chance, remaking Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon for a new audience, as reported by Eurogamer.

Originally developed by Animation Magic and released on the CD-i console in 1993, Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon are considered to be the worst Legend of Zelda games in the entire series thanks to the frustrating gameplay and unintentionally terrifying animated cutscenes which eventually became bizarre memes.

"I wanted to prove to myself that I could make a game," the remake's developer Dopply said in an FAQ. "It started as a joke between friends, but then I wanted to see if I could actually pull it off. I've flirted with game making for a while but never finished something. This was my chance to do that (well, over the course of four years, I guess). Over time, remastered versions of these notorious titles was something I wanted for myself as well."

While we've seen quite a few doorbuster Nintendo Switch game deals for Black Friday, discounts on 2020 exclusives have been less common. Over the past day or so, however, retailers have started to offer modest deals on recent releases such as Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (this deal has sadly ended, though). And now you can also save on Paper Mario: The Origami King at Amazon. Normally $60, the charming role-playing game is down to $50 for a limited time.

As with most Amazon discounts, there's no telling how long this deal will be available. If you're looking to pick up The Origami King for yourself or someone on your holiday shopping list, you should grab it as soon as possible. This deal ties the lowest price we've seen for Paper Mario: The Origami King since it launched over the summer, and it's been a while since we've spotted it on sale.

Persona 4 Golden is one of the most beloved RPGs of its era, but many fans of the series didn't get to play it back when it was a PlayStation Vita-exclusive. Today, the Steam version of Persona 4 Golden is only $12.79 at Fanatical. However, this is a one-day-only flash deal, and less than 24 hours remain to claim it.

For comparison, Persona 4 Golden is usually priced at $20 on Steam, but it's currently discounted to $16 in Steam's Black Friday sale. Purchasing the game at Fanatical will get you a Steam key delivered via email, similar to other key sellers like Humble and Green Man Gaming, so it's worth saving yourself a few extra bucks and snagging Persona 4 Golden there today.

Over the past few days, rumors have circulated around the gaming industry that Marvel's Avengers sold well below Square Enix's expectations, which led to a disappointing financial quarter for the publisher. Now, an official transcript of a Square Enix investor briefing confirms that the game underperformed, which resulted in the publisher's HD Games division posting an overall loss.

"The HD Games sub-segment posted an operating loss as initial sales of Marvel’s Avengers were lower than we had expected and unable to completely offset the amortization of the game’s development costs," a portion of the briefing reads. "In the second half of the fiscal year, we hope to make up for slow initial sales by offering ample additional content to grow our sales."

In a Q&A, one investor estimated the operating loss of the HD Games division in Q2 of this year as around 7 billion yen, which is roughly $67 million. The company attributed the game's slow sales in part to marketing delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about the volatility of the HD Games division, Square Enix replied that it considers the totality of its Digital Entertainment segment rather than the HD Games division in isolation by using stable income from MMOs and mobile games to offset potential losses of big-budget games like Avengers.

The Black Friday deals keep rolling in as the weekend progresses, and the latest deal available at Amazon should be of interest to those browsing the Black Friday Nintendo eShop or Xbox Live sales. Though those sales are offering steep discounts on some great digital games, you can save even more money if you take advantage of a Black Friday deal on gift cards. Right now, Nintendo eShop gift cards and Xbox gift cards are available for 10% off at Amazon. (For those who prefer to shop at Best Buy, the deal is available there as well.) Combine that with a Black Friday game deal, and you're looking at some very nice savings. Your wallet will thank you.

While 10% off doesn't sound like very much, the savings definitely add up, especially if you mostly buy games digitally. The gift cards are available at multiple values, so you can select the right amount for you. The deal means you can essentially get $99 of eShop store credit for $89 or $50 of Xbox credit for $45. These are digital codes, so you'll be able to redeem them right away.

The Pokeball's in your court, Nintendo.

The post Kadabra Unbanned from Pokemon Trading Card Game After 20 Years appeared first on Siliconera.

A former mobile game is set to come to a portable platform.

The post Caravan Stories Is Coming to Nintendo Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

Wealthy supporters of Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege now have a new way to showcase their love for deadly breacher Yumiko Imagawa - better known by her call-sign "Hibana" - in the form of a brand new premium statue, now available to pre-order from merch-maker PureArts.

This quarter-scale polyresin statue spotlights the Japanese S.A.T. operator kitted out in her Elite "Onkochishin" skin. Yumiko stands poised for action with her Kyudo bow, reflecting her in-game MVP pose. For traditionalists, the bow can also be swapped out for Hibana's wall-destroying X-KAIROS firearm. Additionally a small-scale Japanese lantern - complete with LED - can be situated on the statue's base to create dynamic lighting effects.

We knew a sequel to the Sonic the Hedgehog movie was coming, but Paramount Pictures has now shared more information about the upcoming movie, including a tentative release date of 8th April, 2022.

As reported by Comic Book , the sequel - which is reportedly codenamed "Emerald Hill" - will go into production in mid-March 2021, and plans to wrap up by 10th May, 2021.

It's unknown if James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Sonic voice-actor Ben Schwartz are scheduled to return for the sequel, too, and the source website Comic Book linked to - Creative BC Film Commission - no longer lists the information, so make of that what you will.

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Uri Geller has finally U-turned on his decision to prevent Nintendo from using Pokémon Kadabra, saying he continues to get "tremendous volumes of emails" about it and is "truly sorry" for the dispute that flared up 20 years ago.

The Pokémon - which translates as "Yungerer" or "Yungeller" in Japanese and famously touted a spoon - disappeared in the early 2000s after Geller mounted a legal battle after he alleged the Pokémon used his likeness. He particularly took issue that the Pokémon was an "evil, occult Pokémon character" (thanks, VG247) and fought to prevent Nintendo from using it.

Now, however, it seems the illusionist has had a change of heart.

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A theme you probably haven’t heard yet, because the movie has only released in theaters, which, uhh, hm. We’ve talked about that. Let’s just chat about the music today.

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Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon.

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If you haven't gotten enough Cold War action from Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops entry, then retro publisher Hamster are offering a more old-school peek behind The Iron Curtain this week, thanks to its latest Arcade Archives release.

Originally released in arcades in 1985 - before being ported to a plethora of home computers and consoles - Konami's Green Beret, (also known as Rush'n Attack), sees a lone special forces agent infiltrate a Russian military base on a mission to rescue a party of P.O.W.s from behind enemy lines. This notoriously tough arcade sees our hero charge into battle against an entire battalion of soldiers armed with only a small knife, literally stabbing his way endlessly through an onslaught of military personnel.

Check out the action below, in this video from YouTuber Retrogaming Longplays.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Digital Code) | $40 | Amazon

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Yakuza: Like A Dragon 'Day Ichi Edition' Deal

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This Is It! November 2020’s Games with Gold Read More »

Last Chance for November 2020’s PlayStation Plus! Read More »

Na naaaaaaa na na na na na na na na na na na na naaaaaaaaaaaa...

The post Katamari Damacy Reroll Will Roll Back Into Your Heart appeared first on Siliconera.

Today Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium Games opened the final “Best in Show” exhibition hall of the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2950.

The hall features the fur finalists of the Ship Showdown popular vote hosted a few weeks ago, the Carrack (which won the overall vote), the Eclipse, the Cutlass, and the Valkyrie.

To celebrate, those are being offered for purchase with a limited edition white livery.

Perhaps a lot more interesting is the fact that the lower floor of the hall hosts a rental center that will let you rent all the flyable ships for free for two days. In previous days of the expo, ships were available on a brand ration.

Now you can grab them all, so it’s basically the best time to try Star Citizen if you’re on the fence and you want to see with your own eyes what this much-discussed game is all about instead of listening to my personal opinions or to other people on the internet who may or may not have played it.

The hall will close on December 2, so you should be able to rent the ships for two days twice, and to have fun with a good chunk of the flyable lineup before the rental expires. It’s worth mentioning that the Free Fly Event is still going on, so all you need is to make a free account and download the client. Pledging money to the game is not required to play until December 2.

Another nice perk of the new hall is the armor and weapon exhibition. Tons of weapons and armor are displayed and purchasable (with in-game credits) in front of the rental desk, which is good if you don’t want to search for them in specific shops all over the Stantom System.

You can see a few screenshots below.

It’s often a letdown when a holiday ends, but at least this week has some games to be excited about. Ubisoft’s Zelda-like Immortals Fenyx Rising comes out, along with Romero Games’ Empire of Sin and Dontnod’s Twin Mirror.

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Today developer Systemic Reaction released a new trailer of its upcoming co-op shooter Second Extinction.

This time around, it’s a pretty “special” trailer, with a festive atmosphere.

We even get a small and funny Christmassy song performed by Duke Nukem’s voice actor Jon St. John

Of course, the theme sticks to what the game does best, which is blowing up mutant dinosaurs.

You can check it out below.

If you’re unfamiliar with Second Extinction, here’s a handy list of features.

Muv-Luv publisher Anchor published a video of the latest Muv-Luv mini-concert performed by Aki Misato.

The concert includes three popular songs, “Saigo No Eden” (from Muv-Luv Unlimited The Day After, which will soon come to Steam in English), “Kiseki,” and “Calling.”

As a nice bonus, the video comes with English subtitles for the international audience, both for the songs’ lyrics and from Misato-san’s speech.

You can watch it all below.

Target's Cyber Monday sale is live now, but select deals won't be available until tomorrow, including one particularly solid Nintendo Switch deal. You'll be able to pick up the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Super Mario Party Double Pack for $80, down from $100. The Double Pack is a Target exclusive, and the deal will be available tomorrow only, according to Target's weekly ad. There's a good chance this Cyber Monday deal will sell out, so you'll probably want to snag it as soon as possible.

The Xbox Game Pass Twitter account is up to some shenanigans again. Back in September, the account posted an email exchange that not-so-subtly implied that Doom Eternal was coming to the service soon, and it joined the console Xbox Game Pass on October 1. Now, the account is teasing another big addition, but we can't quite tell what game they're referencing.

A "gif with a sinister red light" certainly points to Control Ultimate Edition, since that game uses red and orange hues to represent its antagonist, the Hiss. In the Doom Eternal tweet, internet sleuths quickly discovered that inverting the image's colors revealed a message that all but confirmed that Eternal was the game being discussed. In this tweet, flipping the colors reveals a very different hidden message: "You really think we'd put the tease here again?"