November 2021

Forza Horizon 5 review: the ultimate big-tent driving game cruises to Mexico

2 years 6 months ago
Link
Eurogamer

One key to the success of the Forza Horizon open-world driving games has been how easy developer Playground Games made that success look. From day one, these games have had a rock-solid certainty of what they were about. They have all been slick and accessible to play, and have all offered an insouciant, easygoing, thumbs-up kind of hedonism: pretty cars, lovely places, pumping tunes, good times guaranteed.

Playground has maintained the games' quality and iterated so carefully that it's hard to pick a favourite or a standout. That said, 2018's Forza Horizon 4 was undoubtedly the series' boldest step, shifting the emphasis toward an online world and regular in-game updates. At the time, I was a little hard on what I felt was a carelessly disorganised campaign and unfocused persistent multiplayer, while I recognised - but still underestimated - how transformative the weekly changes of season and Festival Playlist updates would be for the game's longevity. Between the Playlist, the game's natural affinity with its British setting, and the later addition of a buzzy battle-royale-style Eliminator mode, Forza Horizon 4 cemented the series' popularity in new ways.

Read more

Author
Oli Welsh

Tags

Forza Horizon 5: The Kotaku Review

2 years 6 months ago
Link
Kotaku

The implicit promise of Forza Horizon is in the name. You see something on the horizon, you can drive to it. Skyrim with cars. Far Cry with more cars and no guns. Forza Horizon 5, the latest game in the venerable Xbox racing series, is no more and no less than that promise—just bigger, brighter, and so, so much more…

Read more...

Author
Ari Notis

Tags

Firaxis Announces Delay For Marvel’s Midnight Suns

2 years 6 months ago
Link
Twinfinite

Following its initial reveal back in September and subsequent gameplay showcases, one would expect Firaxis’ Marvel’s Midnight Suns to be having a smooth development. However, in a new announcement, the team has shared that they need more time to bring their vision to life, and a delay for Marvel’s Midnight Suns was incoming. Instead of the original March 2022 release window, the turn-based experience will be launching in the second half of the year.

“We know many fans were looking forward to playing the game originally next spring, and this decision did not come lightly,” creative director Jake Solomon and senior franchise producer Garth DeAngelis stated in Firaxis’ statement. “We decided to push our launch because we need more time to make this the best game possible.

“We believe in our creative vision for Marvel’s Midnight Suns and want to do justice in delivering an unforgettable adventure set in the supernatural side of Marvel. These extra months will be used to add more story, cinematics, and overall polish and will be essential in helping us make our vision a reality.”

A delay for Marvel’s Midnight Suns might not be that bad a thing. Trying to create something distinctly different from XCOM but still retain the same level of precision and quality of execution is a tough ask. Furthermore, the elements of cards being a core part of Marvel’s Midnight Suns caught many by surprise, and there seems to be less hype for a game from a beloved studio than was expected.

Author
Jake Su

Tags

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Version 2.0 Update is Now Live

2 years 6 months ago
Link
Twinfinite

Fans of Animal Crossing: New Horizons who have been eagerly awaiting the free update to version 2.0 will be excited to know that the update is now live, available a little bit early. It was advertised to be released on Nov. 5, but it can actually be downloaded right now.

This is the last major content update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and it adds a lot to the game. Some of the highlights include Brewster and the Roost cafe, town ordinances, farming and cooking, and tons of new items. You can read all about everything that’s coming in this new version of the game right here.

It seems as though Happy Home Paradise, the paid DLC that’s coming this week, isn’t live yet. That portion of version 2.0 is expected to go live on Nov. 5. You can read more about what’s included with that right here.

To get started with all of the new, free content, make sure you update your copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons to version 2.0 by pressing + on the home screen menu and checking for updates. Once it’s downloaded, you can enjoy all that the new update has to offer.

If you’re looking for some tips and tricks to make the most of the new update, check out our Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide wiki.

Author
Rebecca Stone

Tags

Forza Horizon 5 Review

2 years 6 months ago
Link
IGN

As Forza Horizon 5 crosses the finish line, the bar for open-world racing has again been raised in so many different ways. A map of Mexico that’s bigger, higher, and wildly more varied than any Horizon game yet. A fresh change to the way the Horizon Festival itself is gradually constructed, which results in more one-off events deliberately designed to showcase Horizon 5 at its very best. Improved tools that allow us to build completely custom events that can be more or less indistinguishable from those crafted by the developers themselves.

An enormous visual upgrade, especially to lighting, tyre smoke, and dust effects. Hundreds and hundreds of new custom parts, rims, and performance mods, and cars with more character than ever. Drastic sound improvements, better handling, more granular preferences and options, more online activities. It really is incredible across the board.

To understand just how big Forza Horizon 5 is, we have to briefly look back at Forza Horizon 4, which truly ballooned into an absolute colossus of a racing game back in 2018. Playground Games had taken the impeccable open-world racing of all the Horizon games to date, then stuffed in simulated seasons, a shared-world multiplayer overhaul, and a shift in how the team told their mini automotive stories. But that was day one; Playground then spent another three years cramming in even more things to do. The Festival Playlist, where new activities were available every week. The Eliminator, Horizon’s very clever and effective take on bringing the battle royale format to a racing game. The Super7, where we could participate in custom-built racing, driving, and stunt-based challenges made by others, plus create and share our own.

Author
Luke Reilly

Tags

Nintendo Announces Year-on-Year Drop in Sales and Profit for H1 But Still Considers Them High

2 years 6 months ago
Link
Twinfinite

Today Nintendo announced its quarterly financial results for the first half of the fiscal year, related to the period ended on September 30, 2021.

First of all, we learn that Nintendo’s sales and operating profit both dropped year-on-year (respectively by 18.9& and 23.5%) due to the comparison with the strong previous year, which included Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

That being said, Nintendo explains that the results are still considered “at a high level” and in line with the company’s expectations.

Next, we learn that Nintendo has decided to change its financial forecast for the full fiscal year.

While the prediction for net sales, the operating profit forecast was increased by 4% due to the fact that now Nintendo expects to sell 10 million more game units than previously forecasted, partly offset by the drop in expected Switch hardware sales by 1.5 million units due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage.

Author
Giuseppe Nelva

Tags