January 2022

Capcom and Bunri have announced an educational collaboration featuring the Ace Attorney series. The companies will set up a special website accessible for a limited time. Although they have provided a link to the website, it will only be available from February 1 to April 30, 2022. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

When the site goes up, it will feature two educational quizzes aimed at Japanese junior high students. The first one will take loose inspirations from the Ace Attorney games' cross-examinations. Students will have to find a contradictory statement from the witness testimony and then press the "Objection!" button.

In the other quiz, students will help Ryunosuke Naruhodo form correct English sentences during his stay in Britain. The site will provide several English words and students have to form a sentence that correctly translates to the given Japanese example. They'll submit their answers with a "Take That!" button.

Capcom and Bunri will gradually add new questions to both quizzes every Tuesday and Friday from February 15 to March 18, 2022. After adding all questions, the contradiction quiz will have eight stages in total, while the English quiz will have thirty levels. Students who can correctly answer everything will receive commemorative smartphone backgrounds as a reward.

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There was cause for joy and concern alike when Intel revealed the Core i5-12400F, alongside loads of other new 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs. Here was a much more affordable, still gaming focused-alternative to the Core i5-12600K, yet it would lack the signature hybrid of fast Performance cores and flexible Efficiency cores that made that chip one of the best gaming CPUs ever made.

Turns out, the concern was for naught: the Core i5-12400F is a cracking slice of silicon, both for the money and for games specifically. Although the sole reliance on Performance cores (or P-cores) puts it behind the Core i5-12600K for desktop multitasking, if it’s just the frames per second you’re after, this cheaper chip can match and sometimes even surpass its big brother.

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Firework actually came out almost exactly a year ago, but the English language version (translated from the original Chinese) was released just before Christmas. Which is a good thing, because Firework is well worth checking out if you have an interest in either horror games or puzzle games. The horror isn't blood-chilling, but rather twisted up with grief and sorrow in how inevitable it is. Similarly, the puzzles aren't going to stump you for long, but they fit very well with the story. These two strands of the game weave together and create a nice, thoughtful experience that's worth the four or so hours of having it.

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According to From Software producer Yasuhiro Kitao, Elden Ring can be finished in roughly 30 hours. That's a really nice amount of time. Long enough to feel substantial, but not too long that it'll feel like a massive slog. No bloat, more riding on spectral horse-goat, as they say.

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Now that Strange Horticulture is out, I would like to make a formal request to all game developers who may be reading this.

Please make a game that is basically Strange Horticulture, but about a weird book shop. Possibly a book shop with a small coffee shop attached. I'm not going to be too strict about it, you know, I'm not a monster. It could, for example, be a library. Or maybe there isn't another business attached, or the business attached to it is a bakery instead of a coffee shop. This isn't just my personal hobby horse, either. I'm pretty sure loads of people would like that game. And please, for the love of God, tell me if the Mystery Book Shop Game already exists. I'd be disappointed if it does, because nobody has yet brought it to my attention.

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Age of Empires IV. WarCraft III: Reforged. Company of Heroes 3. The team at Blackbird Interactive has watched the recent return of the classic RTS games with interest - vested interest, in fact. Tasked by Korean developer Smilegate with transposing their Counter-Strike-style shooter Crossfire to the strategy genre, Blackbird believes it has identified a hole yet to be filled. A nostalgic need to be catered to.

“I argue that in the recent resurgence, we haven’t yet come across an RTS game that offers players an experience comparable to StarCraft or Red Alert,” says game designer Maurice Grela. “We’re hoping to fulfill that gap.”

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Pokémon Legends: Arceus is out in just a few days, and Nintendo has released yet another trailer, this time revealing some interesting information about the three starters we’ll be using come Friday. 

More specifically, each starter has a final Hisuian evolutionary form. Don’t worry – we’re not going to spoil what they look like here because, well, we can’t. Nintendo didn’t reveal the appearance of these new evolutionary forms, instead opting to tease this new information in today’s trailer. 

“You may have met Dartrix, Quilava, and Dewott in your other adventures,” the trailer’s description reads. “But you’ve never encountered their Hisui region Evolutions.” 

If you watch the two-minute trailer, you won’t be seeing these Hisui region evolutions either. Instead, Nintendo teases their appearances by showing the second evolutionary lines begin to evolve, only to obscure their final form images with smoke and a cheeky fade to black. You can briefly (and only kinda) see a silhouette of each form but rest assured, the full look of each is not revealed in the trailer. 

The developer behind the Titanfall franchise, Apex Legends, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is looking to expand upon the galaxy far, far away once again. EA and Lucasfilm Games dropped a press release this morning that announced Respawn Entertainment’s upcoming Star Wars IPs. Multiple titles are in the works, including the next chapter in the Jedi: Fallen Order universe, an FPS with Peter Hirschmann (executive producer on the original Battlefronts), and a strategy game via a publishing collaboration with Bit Reactor. 

The press release reads as follows:

There really is nothing better than pizza, and Epic Games has made it clear that this is true with a new Pizza Party box item that’s been scattered around the Fortnite island. 

Added with today’s v19.10 hotfix, Pizza Party boxes consist of eight “surprisingly nutritious” slices of hot and fresh Slurpshroom Pizza. These pizzas come courtesy of the new Pizza Pit in Tilted Towers, although who knows how their pizza ended up scattered across the entire island. 

“Find Pizza Party boxes scattered throughout the island, then throw one down for an instant feast with the squad – literally throw a party. These boxes of Slurpshroom Pizza contain eight surprisingly nutritious slices – eat them to restore Health and Shield simultaneously until you get 100 Health and 50 Shield.” 

You can also eat slices right from the boxes or save some to use later. This could be especially helpful for squadmates who are on their own or lone wolves ignoring the team play aspect of certain Fortnite modes. Pizza Party boxes can be found in chests, supply drops, loot llamas, and on the ground. You can also purchase some from Tomatohead using Bars.

Epic Games says these items are not currently in competitive playlists but could be after being subjected to an evaluation period, like most items introduced to the battle royale. 

History’s face-punchiest man, Adolf Hitler, is the star of a new sex game, fittingly titled Sex with Hitler. (Heads up, that link is very NSFW.) It’s currently riding high on Steam’s “New Releases” charts, but as Vice reports, some players are upset about a minor feature: The genocidal dictator has two testicles.…

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Wordle, the browser-based word-guessing game that has overtaken Twitter, is very good. It is so good, in fact, that it has spawned over half a dozen different variants (and some rip-offs) made by fans of the original. These range from the antagonistic Absurdle to the extremely difficult, two-word Dordle. Wordle is not…

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Who’s ready for the latest game starring Pokémon that’s not quite a traditional turn-based RPG? Pokémon Legends: Arceus arrives this week, the latest in a long line of side-stories and spinoffs that let us play with our pocket monsters in new and different ways.Pokémon Legends: Arceus, for example, mixes elements of…

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With EA’s Star Wars exclusivity deal about to expire next year, the publisher has finally announced a barrage of new games inspired by a galaxy far, far away. In addition to confirming that Respawn Entertainment has a sequel to 2019's excellent Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in the works, EA announced today the Apex…

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Don't expect Battlefield studio DICE to make a third entry in the Star Wars Battlefront series.

That's according to a new Venturebeat report, which has dug further into this afternoon's flurry of Star Wars details.

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Elgato, provider of streaming peripherals, has released the new Stream Deck Pedal for foot control of streams.

It consists of three pedal buttons that can be programmed - like the standard Stream Deck - to control software, hardware and more.

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New content based on the Saw film franchise is coming to Dead by Daylight.

Tome 10: SAW will be available in the Archives mode from 26th January - the first fully licensed Tome.

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Today is a good day, as we can finally talk about Intel's 12th-gen laptop processors and Nvidia's new RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti Laptop graphics cards. We've been testing the MSI GE76 Raider, a high-spec machine that includes each company's flagship parts for this generation, and the performance on tap is nothing short of incredible. The 12900K and RTX 3080 Ti remain some of the best gaming hardware available in desktop PCs - despite frustrating pricing and availability issues - so it's been fun to see how the mobile versions perform. In this first look, we put the GE76 through its paces against its 2021 counterpart, with both gaming tests and content creation benchmarks.

First, let's briefly introduce you to the star of today's show - the GE76 Raider. It's a tremendously powerful machine, especially in the top spec configuration we're testing today. As well as the Core i9 12900HK and RTX 3080 Ti 175W Laptop GPU, there's 32GB of dual-channel DDR5-4800 RAM, a 17.3-inch 360Hz display and two 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSDs. All of this hardware is housed inside a generously-sized chassis, allowing the components within to stay relatively cool without resorting to jet-grade fan noise. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this chonky machine retails for $4199 when paired with an even fancier 4K 120Hz screen - we presume that the 360Hz option we're testing isn't much cheaper.

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Bless you, The Pokémon Company. Despite widespread leaks which have splashed Pokémon Legends: Arceus' story and full Pokédex across the internet, today's new press release about the game pretends everything is fine.

With just a couple of days until launch, today brings one final trailer for Legends Arceus - which you can view below. There's not an awful lot in it we've not seen before.

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With 2022 firmly underway, we're already starting to see some decent price drops on gaming peripherals like keyboards and mice. Whether you've finally finished building that new PC over the holidays or recently purchased a pre-built PC or gaming laptop, you might be looking for those all-important finishing touches for your setup. Or as the saying goes: new year, new... PC accessories?

If you're looking for a new mouse to both improve your aim in-game and brighten up your desk, then the SteelSeries Rival 5 Gaming Mouse is a great addition. It is currently at its lowest price on Amazon for £39.99- a saving of £20.

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As usual, SNK Character Designer Tomohiro Nakata offered new KOF XV commentary on Elisabeth Blanctorche, the most recently revealed fighter. Each one of these installments goes over details about the person in the game. This time, it’s more of a brief overview. Nakata talked about how her look changed. Her Coup De Vent attack came up too.

Elisabeth first appeared in The King of Fighters with KOF XI. Back then, she wasn’t on Ash Crimson’s team like she is now. Rather, she appeared on the Rivals team alongside Benimaru Nikaido and Duo Lon. However, her Coup De Vent attack last appeared in KOF XIII.

Here are Nakata’s thoughts on Elisabeth.

I’m sure a lot of folks were pining for her return, and not only is she back, but she’s also been reunited with Ash Crimson and they’re on the same team! Her overall design hasn’t been drastically changed, but she’s now sporting a leather corset and the length of her sleeves have been altered a bit. So her silhouette may look different.

Elisabeth is known for her excellent specials like Coup De Vent, which can launch enemies up after a combo, as well as her Grele, which has great recovery. She has a ton of other moves, so be sure to pick her up and experiment a bit.

There’s a new update on which worlds are considered congested in FFXIV. When Square Enix opened up the new Oceanic data center, it also mentioned worlds that are now too full. In total, 24 worlds spread across the European, Japanese, and North American data centers are now congested.

Europe is the region with the fewest FFXIV worlds newly dubbed congested. On Chaos, Cerberus, Moogle, and Ragnarok are full. On Light, Odin, Phoenix, and Shiva are affected. Eight are out in Japan. Asura (Mana), Bahamut (Gaia), Chocobo (Mana), Gungnir (Elemental), Titan (Mana), Tonberry (Elemental), and Typhon (Elemental) are all full. North America’s got 11 new congested worlds now. Aether is most affected. Adamantoise, Cactaur, Faerie, Gilgamesh, Jenova, Midgardsormr, Sargatanas, and Siren are all there and congested. Primal’s Behemoth and Leviathan and Crystal’s Balmung are too.

The English version of the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 has a release date in the USA and Canada. People will be able to catch it in theaters starting on March 18, 2022. 1,500 movie theaters in North America will show it. It will also head to Europe, though the exact release date there isn’t available yet.

Crunchyroll offered details on the showings. First, people can get a ticket for one starting on February 25, 2022. Next, they will have a choice when it comes to its presentation. Folks who attend could pick a showing in Japanese with English subtitles or with its English dub. It is part of the company's Movie Night series. (In the past, that included Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown and Konosuba: Legend of Crimson.)

Here’s the latest trailer released alongside the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 release date for the USA and Canada.

The announcement also included a confirmation of other countries where Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will appear. Here’s the list.

There’s a hint of things to come in the last Pokemon Legends: Arceus trailer, as it teases the final evolutions for the three Hisuian starters. People can pick between Cyndaquil, Oshawott, and Rowlet. The video hints at Hisuian forms for Typhlosion, Samurott, and Decidueye. It also shows off more gameplay and points of interest in the Hisui region.

The last Pokemon Legends: Arceus trailer doesn't fully show the final evolutions for the Hisuian versions of Decidueye, Samurott, and Typhlosion. Rather, it vaguely teases what comes after Dartrix, Dewott, and Quilava. The focus is more on the three characters' eyes, while the rest of them is a black silhouette.

The official website for the game ended up updated too. However, it only shows the initial form and first evolution. It doesn't show any of the characters' final evolutions yet.

As a reminder, there are already leaks for the game. Some people ended up already getting copies of the game. This means that spoilers for the Pokemon Legends: Arceus final evolutions are online. Which means people who don't want to see them yet should take care when on social media or online.

Today Sega and Creative Assembly released another brand new trailer about the upcoming Warhammer strategy game Total War: Warhammer III.

One of the elements that have remained mysterious until now is the campaign mechanics created for Kislev, and that’s exactly what today’s trailer is all about.

The faction certainly seems to be interesting to play, with plenty of differences compared to their Imperial brethren to the south.

You can watch the trailer below and read our brand new hands-on preview.

If you’re unfamiliar with Total War: Warhammer III, which is coming for PC (including Game Pass) on Feb. 17, 2022.

Earlier this week, the GameChanger Charity revealed that they would be teaming up with The Aileen Sherman Memorial Fund to host “Game For Change.” This five-day virtual fundraiser is set to bring together voice actors and gamers from Genshin Impact who will be participating in live autograph signings and a 24-hour livestream to raise money for the charity.

The event starts this week, with dozens of voice actors from Genshin Impact signing autographs of their respective characters all the way until Jan 31. A signed print of each item purchased will also go to a child in the hospital alongside all of the money that is raised.

While fundraising is happening throughout this five-day event, Genshin Impact streamers will also take part in a 24-hour livestream to help raise funds for GameChanger Charity. The event is set to start at 12 PM PST.

When discussing the eve, GameChanger Charity cofounder Jim Carol had the following to say:

“We are extremely grateful for the Sherman Family who have been so supportive of GameChanger’s mission of bringing hope and happiness to sick and isolated children. It’s humbling to see the gaming community come out and make this wonderful event a reality, from the voice actors to the gamers and creators who will be participating in our 24-hour streamathon. This event is so important especially now since the pandemic continues to further isolate children while also negatively impacting their mental health.”

If you’ve been hoping to see more video games set in that galaxy far, far away, then your prayers may’ve just been answered. Yes, developer Respawn Entertainment and mega publishers Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm Games have today announced a new partnership to bring three new Star Wars video games to fruition.

Firstly, 2019’s critically acclaimed and best-selling action-adventure, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, will officially be receiving a sequel. Development on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 will be spearheaded by Stig Asmussen who will oversee the project as game director. Asmussen will be well known to many gamers out there as a former Sony Santa Monica Studio developer who worked on the God of War series (for those unaware, he personally directed God of War 3).

Next up, we have a mysterious Star Wars first-person shooter project, though no official name was given at the time of writing. Whether this title will be set in the same universe as Battlefront, or will be a completely different IP remains to be seen, but it’s likely that it will be a brand new Star Wars IP.

This first-person shooter project will be helmed by Peter Hirschmann “who has a long and accomplished history with Star Wars,” and has numerous video game credits including 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and the original Star Wars: Battlefront games from 2004 and 2005.

Earlier today on The Official Pokemon YouTube Channel, a new trailer for Pokemon Legends Arceus was released. This short two-minute-long video showed off some new gameplay of features that had already been revealed. But what’s more intriguing is the brief tease of the final starter evolution forms in Pokemon Legends Arceus.

Typhlosion, Decidueye, Samurott are the three forms we already know about from past generations. And thanks to recent leaks, we already know what the full models of the Hisuian final evolutions look like. But if you’re the type of Pokemon fan who likes to be surprised, then don’t worry. We’re not going to spoil the reveal for you.

The new trailer featuring the Hisuian starter Pokemon begins with multiple shots of Jubilife Village. It seems like a peaceful place with a few villagers roaming around the buildings there. We even get a glimpse at the scene where you’ll get to choose your starter Pokemon. But just like the final evolution reveal, the clip is fleeting.

Next, we see multiple shots from around Hisui starting with a snowy shrine with statues of Wyrdeer and Kleavor as well as a mysterious symbol that looks extremely similar to the rings that wrap around the body of Arceus. There are open fields where Pikachu, Growlithe, and other Pokemon roam free. There are even close-up looks of the main character gliding through the skies with Hisuian Braviary and cutting through the water on the back of a Basculegion.

We also get a few more looks at a handful of the main character running and rolling away from the attacks of different Alpha Pokemon.

Earlier today, Crunchyroll announced that Jujutsu Kaisen 0 finally has a United States and Canadian theatrical release date. The prequel movie, which was released in Japan in late December 2021, is set to arrive in the U.S. and Canada on March 18.

This news came by way of a press release, which also included a brand new trailer. You can check out the official teaser theatrical teaser trailer and synopsis below:

When they were children, Rika Orimoto was killed in a traffic accident right before the eyes of her close friend, Yuta Okkotsu.

“It’s a promise. When we both grow up, we’ll get married.”

Rika became an apparition, and Yuta longed for his own death after suffering under her curse,

but the greatest Jujutsu sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, welcomed him into Jujutsu High.

There Yuta meets his classmates, Maki Zen’in, Toge Inumaki, and Panda, and finally finds his own determination.

“I want the confidence to say it’s okay that I’m alive!”

“While I’m at Jujutsu High, I’ll break Rika-chan’s curse.”

After six long weeks, Final Fantasy XIV is back on sale. That's after Square Enix stopped selling the MMORPG after the critically acclaimed life-hog overwhelmed its servers, causing massive server queues and network errors. Thankfully, those days are behind the game now. So yes, if you've been longing to check out its excellent Endwalker expansion or famous smooth grapes, you can! And from a new Oceania server too, because Squeenix now have room for those down under to sample Eorzea's delicacies.

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The release of Valve's highly-anticipated handheld device, the Steam Deck, is right around the corner. Slated to be a formidable rival to the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck boasts powerful technology, including an AMD processor, LCD screen, and a dock that allows it to connect to monitors, controllers, and mouse and keyboards. Moreover, Valve is adding a "Dynamic Cloud Sync" – a component that enables seamless save transfers.

According to Eurogamer, the Dynamic Cloud Sync means that players won't necessarily need to exit their favorite PC game on the Steam Deck to play it on other devices. An official blog post elaborates on this with more detail:

It’s no surprise when a video game developer says they want to make a Marvel game. Marvel is chock full of exciting super villains and heroes to explore in video games, and the different abilities and powers of each make for some exciting gameplay. One only needs to look at titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man to see that. 

However, No More Heroes creator Suda51 recently told Japanese publication Automaton that he’s met with Marvel to talk about working on a game, as reported by Video Games Chronicle. Of course, this doesn’t mean Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, which NetEase recently acquired, are working on a Marvel game, so don’t get too excited just yet. 

When asked about Grasshopper Manufacture’s plans to release three original IP games over the next ten years, Suda51 reiterated this desire but also mentioned the idea of maybe making a Marvel game. 

Following a fairly significant delay last September, Life is Strange: Remastered Collection is finally almost upon us, and, in preparation for its February release, publisher Square Enix has shared the first significant gameplay footage of its freshly spruced-up Life is Strange 1.

Square Enix's Life is Strange: Remastered Collection bundles up the original Life is Strange alongside its prequel Before the Storm, with both games set to receive enhanced visuals for characters and environments, alongside engine and lighting upgrades, as part of the release.

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While the final Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin trailer focused on the story, the new Battle Basics one is all about gameplay. Square Enix released a new look at how the game works. This is a more informational one focused on Jack’s capabilities. It also helps explains how to deal with enemies and use different jobs.

Things kick off by introducing Jack. He’s fighting with Ash, Jed, Neon, and Sophia. It shows off the action-RPG gameplay first. It shows how Jack might be fighting alongside two allies and deal with monsters twice as large as they are. As they attack, an enemy’s break gauge will wear down. When it does, they can combine that with a Soul Burst to shatter them. There will also be Command Ability special skills that can deal additional damage or offer various perks. After that, the video shows how Jack can use a Soul Shield to defend. The segment specifically shows how the move lets him steal enemy magic to use against them.

After general gameplay, the video focuses on Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin jobs work. The Swordsman, Lancer, Ronin, Duelist, Mage, Swordfighter, Marauder, and Pugilist all get highlighted here. When you choose a job, you can also set your combo abilities for it to customize your attacks and moveset.

The newest Yu-Gi-Oh booster packs might not be out when people expect, as there could be a The Grand Creators cards delay. The official Twitter account for the game announced people might not find the packs as expected in North America. They are supposed to appear in stores on January 28, 2022. However, winter storms could keep them from arriving on time.

Here’s the official announcement. For reference, winter storms hit multiple areas across the country.

As a result of severe weather conditions across North America, shipments for The Grand Creators may be delayed for some distributors and retailers.

We are working with all of our partners to ensure product becomes available as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.

— Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG (@YuGiOh_TCG) January 25, 2022

As noted by Konami, there are 60 cards in this new Yu-Gi-Oh booster set. There will be 35 rares, 15 collector’s rares, 15 super rares, and 10 ultra rares. The 2020 Create-A-Card Project winner Zektrike Kou-ou will also be a part of this set.

In the meantime, a new Yu-Gi-Oh game launched on multiple platforms. The free-to-play Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is live.

The Life Is Strange: Remastered Collection is quickly approaching its February release date, and while the Switch port has been pushed back yet again, Square Enix and Dontnod have provided a quick look at some of the improvements we can expect from the release.

Aside from the graphics, which obviously make the games look better than their original releases, the most impressive bit has to be the improved facial animations. One key criticism of the original games was that Max would often have a blank look on her face, unable to capture any sort of emotion that was being reflected in the story. The lipsync issues could also break immersion, as the dialogue wouldn’t actually match up with the characters’ mouth movements.

Textures and other little details have been brushed up as well, giving the game a much more immersive feel overall, and this could very well be a great chance to dive back into the Life Is Strange universe to re-experience those stories with better graphics.

You can check out some screenshots in the gallery down below: