March 2021

Director Doug Liman has history of making good on tumultuous shoots

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Competing against Nvidia’s RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Ti

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No, it’s not the Sixaxis boomerang, either

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Developer 17-Bit reveals next game for PSVR, Oculus Rift and Quest

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Justice for the birds!

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Who will become the first Vikings of Legend?

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Today Ramen VR announced via PlayStation Blog that its virtual-reality MMORPG Zenith is coming to PlayStation VR.

The game, heavily inspired by Sword Art Online and JRPG, isn’t just coming to PlayStation, but will also be available for Oculus and, Steam VR. If you don’t have a VR headset, you’ll also be able to play on a normal desktop.

It was originally funded via a Kickstarter campaign in 2019, and it has made a lot of progress since.

You can check out the trailer that accompanied today’s announcement below, and find plenty more footage on the developers’ YouTube channel.

Here’s how Ramen VR CEO Andy Tsen introduces it.

Every now and then, an anime will come around that manages to be funny, well-written, gorgeously animated, and have a colorful cast of characters with a likable protagonist. Jujutsu Kaisen is just that, lead by the lovable nitwit that is Yuji Itadori. Yet, Yuji – and the show as a whole – wouldn’t be half as good if it weren’t for his sensei, Satoru Gojo.

The moment Satoru Gojo appears in the first episode, his presence is commanding. His cool Kakashi-like look and laidback attitude, combined with the way he fights, always put him center stage. And that is exactly where someone as beautiful as he belongs.

Maybe it’s the “white-haired anime characters being beautiful” trope; maybe it’s the fact that his eyes, when revealed, are literally the color of a vast ocean. There is just something about Gojo’s aesthetic and fashion that jumps off the page.

Valheim is arguably already the games industry’s biggest success story so far in 2021, and if its momentum continues at this pace it’s hard to see anything surpassing it for the rest of the year. Today, developer Iron Gate Studios has announced yet another sales milestone.

The sandbox survival game has now surpassed 5 million sales. That’s another million since the last count… a week ago! Valheim has steadily been selling one million copies per week more or less since its Early Access launch on Feb 2.

Today’s announcement came with some

• Spend more than 15,000 years playing Valheim
• Watch more than 35 million hours of gameplay Twitch
• Pushed us to number 39 in the best user-reviewed games on Steam of all time
• Made our five-person strong team excited to come to work (virtually) each and every single day (that’s one person per million sales, by the way!)

The message ends with a pledge to stick to its 2021 roadmap, which we already know includes the launch of the game’s next biome. Although, it’s worth keeping in mind that the team is just five people strong, and delays are always possible.

If you’re playing Valheim and ever need some useful tips, do be sure to check out Twinfinite’s extensive guide wiki.

The post Valheim Hits 5 Million Sales appeared first on Twinfinite.

Today’s issue of Weekly Famitsu included a spread on the upcoming JRPG The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki by Nihon Falcom.

We get to take another look at the two protagonists, and at artwork showcasing the city where the story starts in the Republic of Calvard.

Then we take an extensive look at the battle system, which can be freely switched between action and turns.

As you move in the field, you can accelerate with R1 and target enemies with R3. You can also completely avoid battles if you so wish. On the other hand, you can close the distance and attack, but of course the enemies will also notice you and try to attack you in return.

Once battle begins, you can attack enemies repeatedly in real-time by pressing the attack button (circle) . If you have a party, you can switch active character whenever you want, and you can change to turn-based battles freely at the press of a button according to your preference.

Incidentally, the main hero wields a sword that can release a shockwave upon hitting, possibly stunning enemies.

The X button lets you evade attacks. The hero does so by backflipping, while the heroine can sidestep. You can also disengage your targeting and run away, leaving the battle at any time.

If you switch to turn-based, it works with command selection as usual, but the character whose turn is to act can still move freely in the battle area.

The effective range of arts has been tweaked and it’s now important to exploit weakness to certain attributes and keeping the range in mind when using them.

Other available commands are “defense,” which reduces received damage, and “BOOST.” S-Break also makes a comeback, when the conditions are met.

Seemingly out of nowhere this morning, a new article dropped on the PlayStation Blog revealing a brand-new(ish) game for PSVR. The VR version of the 2004 horror first-person shooter, Doom 3, will be playable in its entirety on March 29.

That means this package will also include the Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Missions expansions in full VR.

Associate Content Manager at Bethesda Softworks, Parker Wilhelm, went into more detail on what will be included in this VR version of Doom 3.

Uncover the secrets of the UAC’s unholy experiments, encounter uncanny monstrosities in claustrophobic environments, and wield an arsenal of iconic (and even otherworldly) weaponry with new textures, shaders and sound effects as you survive against the forces of Hell across over 15 hours of heart-stopping action.

So far, it seems like the only visual upgrades will be to the weapon textures. And that makes sense since your guns will be the closest objects to your eyes throughout the game.

Wilhelm also went into detail on how VR will change Doom 3.

Feel even closer to the terror with all-new VR enhancements that allow you to peer around corners, angling your shots with flashlight-mounted weapons using motion controls, 180-degree quick-turn functionality to catch demons sneaking up from behind and an immersive wrist-mounted display to track your health, armor and ammo.

He also briefly mentions that you can use the aim controller to play Doom 3 VR, but there’s no indication if that’s the only option you have.

Doom 3: VR Edition

Song in the Smoke

Fracked

Take a closer look at Swapcard, the platform used for hosting GDC Showcase later this month! ...

Sucker Punch co-founder and Ghost of Tsushima producer Brian Fleming will be doing an Ask-Me-Anything session at GDC Showcase! ...

Monster Hunter Rise is poised to make a splash on Switch this month, but it also has a bright future ahead of it.

With a PC port slated for 2022, Rise will live on for a while, far beyond the initial excitement of the Nintendo console launch. And beyond that, it looks like the massive soundtrack is going to make a lasting impact on fans.

As revealed by Gamer.ne.jp, Capcom is producing a massive 117-song soundtrack that will be distributed across four discs. It'll contain all of the main Rise tracks heard so far, as well as any number of ancillary tunes from each level. It's slated to arrive on May 19, 2021 in Japan, and will retail at 4,500 yen, which is roughly $42 USD.

If you want a taste, the Capcom Sound Team has put out six of the 100+ song soundtrack out on Spotify, which includes core themes like Kamura's Song of Purification. If you played the demo you're probably aware that it sounds great so far!

The original soundtrack of "Monster Hunter Rise" [Gamer.ne.jp]

In just under a week's time, Electronic Arts will release its sci-fi infused battle royale title Apex Legends on Nintendo Switch. Developer Respawn Entertainment has released one last trailer, giving players one final look at the dynamic multiplayer title in action ahead of its official release.

The Nintendo Switch edition of Apex Legends admittedly has a little catching up to do, having arrived on PS4, PC, and Xbox One way back in February 2019. Not only that, but the new port was unfortunately further delayed from its initial 2020 release due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Regardless, the big day is almost here, and soon Switch owners will be able to battle it out with their Legend brethren thanks to the title's cross-play capabilities. Oh, and to help newbie Legends hit the ground running, Apex Legends will be offering all Switch players double XP until March 23. Lock 'n' load, folks. It's time to go a'lootin' and a'shootin' all over again.

It's strange to think we have another micro-anniversary coming off such a big, sprawling Zelda anniversary, but here we are.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild turns four today on March 3, 2021. I can't believe it! That also essentially marks the birth of the Nintendo Switch! Both of them feel like they've been around for longer than that. I mean, just look at the E3 2016 full reveal below: crazy right?

Although it had been talked about in different incarnations for a while, it wasn't until the summer of 2016 that Nintendo decided to officially call it "Breath of the Wild." People were able to play it right on the show floor that same week, and the rest was history.

It's also crazy to think that it's also a Wii U game. Nintendo dumped that thing like a bad habit so quickly after that, but much like the GameCube to the Wii generational leap with Zelda: Twilight Princess, so too did the Wii U get a swan song.

Let's watch, together, how it and the means in which players approached the game, evolved.

It seems like forever and a day since I first reported the shocking news that the next Yakuza title would feature tactical, real-time combat. Understandably this huge switch-up in Yakuza's tried-and-tested brawler gameplay was greeted nervously by many fans, especially for a title that was foregoing regular series' protagonist Kazuma Kiryu for a relatively unknown new star.

Today, many within the Yakuza community have long-since breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did Yakuza: Like a Dragon's new take on Sega's gang-smashing franchise hit it out of the baseball cage from a gameplay standpoint, but it also bequeathed us an absolutely delightful cast of new stars, led by the charming and somewhat goofy new lead, Ichiban Kasuga. Far from bury the franchise, Yakuza: Like a Dragon was warmly welcomed upon its arrival, hopefully securing the franchise's future into the new generation.

That future begins right now, with the launch on Yakuza: Like a Dragon on Sony's shiny new box, PlayStation 5. Ichiban's wild tale of loyalty and redemption is now available to purchase on PS5 in both physical and digital format. Current PS4 owners are able to take advantage of a free upgrade to the new PS5 edition - though it should be noted that your PS4 save data will not be compatible. While this upgrade path was struggling with some teething issues yesterday, Team Yakuza has since announced that these problems have been resolved, so get the band back together, hit the streets of Yokohama, and start putting bread to faces.

Blizzard really only has one chance to make a good first impression with Diablo II Resurrected.

I mean, there are millions of Warcraft III fans out there who were ready to sift through Reforged like a fine toothed comb. But hell hath no fury like a Diablo fan scorned. If they mess this up, the reputation of the publisher will only be further tarnished.

So far, so good. The way the development team talked about it with Destructoid makes it seem like they are persevering the original as best as possible. In fact, when it was brought up that Reforged was a disappointment, without directly dumping on that team's work, the Resurrected team reiterated that it would be a loving recreation, but the original skeleton was still there underneath.

The latest news for the game via PCGamesN also should quell some fears. While we knew about an initial alpha test for the game to potentially iron out some kinks and invite player feedback (here's how to get in), we've learned that there will actually be a second alpha period that will serve as a multiplayer stress test. Lead producer Chris Lena says it very plainly, stating: "We’re going to start with a single-player technical alpha, and then we’ll have a second technical alpha after that, which is kind of multiplayer and stress testing."

The Art of The Last of Us Part II Deluxe Edition | $45 | Amazon

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Actually, let me take that back slightly—there is quite a lot of chaos in Chaos Walking, but only in the sense that attempting to navigate a coherent arc through its jumbled, disjointed scenes is a frustratingly messy ask of its audience. Despite its big names, Chaos Walking’s languid energy is certainly not worth…

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Activision Blizzard announced yesterday that Frances F. Townsend, a former George W. Bush-era counterterrorism appointee and torture apologist, would become its new head of compliance, in charge of making sure the company doesn’t run afoul of the varying laws and regulations throughout all of the countries the Call of…

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At long last, the Phantom Thieves ride again as Persona 5 Strikers—the Atlus RPG turned Koei Tecmo hack and slash—is out in North America. I’m a big Persona 5 nerd and I’ve been anxiously waiting for fellow nerd Luke Plunkett to get far enough into the game that I could finally have someone with whom to scream about…

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Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War and a Vankyo mini projector lead Wednesday’s best deals.

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Limited Run Games will open pre-orders for Hero must die again Switch and PS4 physical copies in March 2021

The post Hero Must Die Again Switch and PS4 Physical Copies Are on the Way appeared first on Siliconera.

Koei Tecmo's new Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends patch will fix an issue with enemies when playing on a PS5.

The post Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends Patch Fixes a PS5 Issue appeared first on Siliconera.

Can you spot Gold Ship photobombing?

The post Check Out the Full Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Anime-style Opening appeared first on Siliconera.

When DOOM 3 VR Edition comes to the PSVR this month, it will include the base game and the two expansion packs.

The post DOOM 3 VR Edition Will Include Expansion Packs appeared first on Siliconera.

Toshihiro Nagoshi has worked on some of the most influential games of all time, including Virtua Fighter and Shenmue. These days, he’s most well known for his work on the Yakuza series. We caught up with Nagoshi to learn more about his life, career, and why he thinks Sega should’ve fired him. 

Toshihiro Nagoshi knows how to make an entrance. He’s seven minutes late after a smoke break, wearing a $2,700 Louis Vuitton jacket. Coy yet honest, reserved and flashy all at once, somehow, he fits his 30 years of game-development history into an hour-long Zoom call. It’s a story that encompasses childhood trauma, Yu Suzuki, and drunken meetings that turned into one of the biggest cult franchises in video game history. But it all starts far away from where he’s sitting right now in Tokyo.

Nagoshi grew up in the small, rural prefecture of Yamaguchi. When you talk to him about his early life, he doesn’t have a lot of positives to share. Nagoshi came from a poor household, his parents victims of sizable debt, and his father in particular had a gambling problem. Despite saying he recognizes that what he went through with his family was a necessary learning experience that got him to where he is today, he has a lot of complicated feelings about the household he grew up in.

A common misconception about seizures is that they only happen to people with epilepsy. That's not true; seizures can occur in anyone. There is also no "one type" of epileptic episode, which means learning about triggers can be a tricky process. With accessibility in gaming becoming more of a priority within the gaming space, studios are finally beginning to look at the impact of certain effects on those susceptible to neurological episodes beyond simply slapping a warning label on games and calling it a day. 

As someone who has seizures due to an injury from my time when I was active duty, the years following this new development have been a steep learning curve for me when navigating some of my favorite and most anticipated games. I no longer can enjoy titles like Dead Space freely as I used to, which opened up an entirely new world of development that never even entered my scope of awareness. Since seizures have become my new norm, I often make sure to pay special attention to certain design choices that can be harmful to those sensitive to neurological traps. That way, I can decide for myself if something is safe to play, and see if there is a way to work around those obstacles and try to offer some navigational tools for others that may be facing similar roadblocks. For those who experience any type of seizure or those who live in the same household with someone with epileptic tendencies, here is our Epileptic's Guide to Gaming. 

Song in the Smoke is a new VR title by 17bit, the team behind Galak-Z and Skulls of the Shogun. The game tosses players into the wilderness to fend for themselves, and given that this is all in VR, it aims to offer a more immersive take on classic survival for gamers to enjoy. 

Survival aficionados will have a good idea of what to expect. Players must manage their food and water intake to survive as well as build campsites in safe areas to stay warm and out of harm’s way. Crafting tools, clothing, potions, and weapons becomes key to lasting another day, especially against the aggressive wildlife. Song in the Smoke seems unforgiving, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be pensive moments of beauty as players take a moment to admire the scenic environments. 

Welcome to the friendship factory

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The way the action-heavy anime subverts classic tropes is its own thrill

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Frogwares rolls out the heavy ammo in dispute with Nacon

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What would advertising look like if it were run by kids?

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Sony has been shining a light on PlayStation VR today - or rather, on some of the upcoming games owners will be able to enjoy with their helmets on and hands a-hoisted - and those who missed it can catch up on the various announcements below.

Doom 3 VR Edition

The big-name reveal comes in the form of Doom 3 VR Edition which, as its name implies, is a VR-enhanced version of id Software's 2004 first-person shooter Doom 3.

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