March 2022

Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation 5

Nearly four and a half years ago, Gran Turismo Sport came onto the racing game scene to focus more on online multiplayer and esports instead of the classic single-player modes in past Gran Turismo titles. Speed up to the current day, and Gran Turismo 7 has taken the franchise around another hairpin turn back in the direction of single-player gameplay. This title features multiple single-player modes and numerous cars to choose from, all while being one of the most realistic and best-looking sim racers around.

A fantastic example of the revamped single-player in Gran Turismo 7 and arguably the best part of the game is the Cafe mode. The Cafe itself is a chill location that is the main hub for a single-player mode that’s focused on teaching you everything you need to know about enjoying the game to the fullest and car culture history, all while letting you collect some of the most iconic vehicles of all time.

Each group of tasks in Cafe mode is referred to as a Menu. There are specific menus that focus on teaching you how to tune cars with the multitude of different parts available in the game or how to do more mundane tasks like getting a car wash.

The car-specific menus feature a wide range of vehicles, from speedy Japanese sports cars to classic American muscle cars. As you win the races that the menu tells you to complete, more cars and more tracks unlock. Then when you return to the Cafe, your guide, Luca, treats you to a history lesson on the set of cars that you just unlocked. It’s a fantastic history lesson for car buffs and newbies alike.

Today Sony San Diego released a new trailer of the upcoming baseball game MLB The Show 22.

The trailer focuses on introducing Latin-American players and their impact on MLB. It showcases several known faces that will prove familiar to fans of the sport.

You can check it out below.

MLB The Show 22 releases on April 5 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. 

Below you can read an official description, and you can also watch the previous trailer.

The newly released Uncharted film takes viewers on a globe-trotting adventure with a young and somewhat innocent Nathan Drake. Unlike the Drake from Naughty Dog's games, Tom Holland's version of the treasure hunter is making his way through the world by working in a bar and pickpocketing his customers. That all changes, however, when he meets Mark Wahlberg's Victor "Sully" Sullivan, who reveals he knows Nate's older brother Sam. After forming a somewhat rocky alliance, the duo then set off together in search of Magellan's treasure. But this being Uncharted, there are of course others who are also after the treasure, and what ensues is a frantic race for the gold.

So, before I get into it, let's quickly address the elephant from the room: Uncharted is a video game adaptation. These have always been a bit of a weak point throughout cinema's history. They never really manage to hit the sweet spot that their game counterparts do so well. Be this because of poor pacing, some awkward dialogue, or a director's desire to suddenly take a massive U-turn away from the source material, they just never seem to deliver the goods.

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Developing a kart racer is hard.

It’s forgivable to forget that sometimes! Nintendo often makes it look easy. And… simple? Mario Kart games often feel basic and obvious, fun games for sure but ones that get there through apparent means.

But playing most of the franchise’s competitors makes you remember just how much craft and balance you need to make a kart racer work. It’s doable, for sure! We’ve seen that over the years, with releases like Blur and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed giving Nintendo a real run for its money. But more often, a game falls flat despite its best efforts.

So how does Chocobo GP fare?

Well it doesn’t start from scratch. A sequel to original PlayStation release Chocobo Racing, Chocobo GP builds on that game’s foundation. And that PS1-era Final Fantasy influence is clear. Its items are Magicite, with effects that grow if you collect more of the same type before firing. Its cast includes Vivi and Steiner, among mainstay creatures like Moogles. And the game’s first “season” additions, Cloud and Squall, show that they’re sticking to this time period for a while yet.

When I first heard about the Nintendo Switch, I didn't understand it. I am notoriously thick, so when a rumour went around that the next Nintendo would be like the Wii U but inside out, I couldn't even picture it. Would we have to stand inside the tablet somehow? I saw wires tangling everywhere. Not fun.

Then came the lifestyle adverts. I still didn't understand it. People playing with Nintendo's new console on rooftop gatherings and in trendy restaurants with exposed brick on the walls?

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Although 4K monitors have become more prevalent in recent years, it's still hard to find a good one that's on sale, especially as most high-end models keep packing the latest features. This amazing Samsung UR55 Series display is an ideal balance for most gamers without breaking the bank, and it's available for just £249 on Amazon right now.

The key feature is the fact that it's both 4K and an IPS panel. That means you'll get the most detail possible when using a powerful PC or the latest Series X and PS5 consoles, and the excellent viewing angles offered by IPS panels means greater sharpness compared to some TN displays.

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Modern graphics cards are a tricky landscape to navigate at the moment. On one hand, the current tech gives amazing results at both 1080p and 1440p, and at various framerates, so you'll be getting good performance in whatever you're doing.

On the other hand, stock of the newest cards is constantly coming and going, and it is still nearly impossible to find a new graphics card at retail price. Fortunately, we've spotted a budget-friendly AMD card that is low enough in price to just hold onto that description.

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Square Enix announced the Little Ladies Day event in Final Fantasy XIV will begin on March 14, 2022. However, the official Final Fantasy XIV website will update on March 7, 2022 with more information. This includes potential rewards for event participation, along with where users can begin the event. Previous events saw the addition of unique emotes, cosmetic outfits, and housing items.

Items that were previously available to obtain through the Little Ladies Day event tend to appear in the Final Fantasy XIV Online Store a year after their inclusion in the game. This means that users who initially missed out on obtaining rewards can usually purchase them through the cash shop. Items that were available to obtain through the event included the Songbird Attire and a handful of "cheer" emotes, which included glowsticks. Both items are available to obtain through the Final Fantasy XIV Online Store.

Square Enix will allow PlayStation 4 (PS4) users to upgrade their copy of Star Ocean: The Divine Force to PlayStation 5 (PS5) entirely for free. However, outside of this announcement, no further information about the game has been shared. [Thanks, ryokutya2089!]

Star Ocean: The Divine Force is an entirely new entry within the Star Ocean series. The title was announced during the October 2021 State of Play broadcast. This included a trailer, which showcased several major characters that will appear in the title. Additionally, it provided a first-hand look at various environments and combat. Few details of the overarching narrative have been revealed, but there are two protagonists, Raymond and Laeticia. Raymond's spaceship crash-lands on an alien world, and Laeticia decides to help him as the crown princess of the Kingdom of Aucerius.

A new Nier Reincarnation novel is set to appear on the Square Enix e-Store later this month. NieR Re[in]carnation: The Girl and the Monster will officially release on March 31, 2022. The novel is immediately available for pre-order on the Japanese Square Enix e-Store and costs ¥1,000 (about $8). There is no confirmed English release.

https://twitter.com/NieR_Rein/status/1499229325526245377?s=20&t=AeP-debtEKtLlHPeNEGU5A

The novelization is based on the main story of the mobile game Nier Reincarnation. The story follows the Girl of Light, Fio, and the Dark Monster Levania as they travel through the Cage. Both characters appear in the first story arc of the same name. Co-writing the novel is game director Yoko Taro and novelist Jun Eishima. The novel will come as a B6-size softcover book. Pre-orders of the novel from the Square Enix e-Store will also come with a limited-edition NieR Reincarnation postcard.

Novelist Jun Eishima has written several other video game novels in the past. Previously, Eishima wrote the novelization of Drakengard, as well as Nier Automata: Long Story Short and Short Story Long in 2017. Viz Media later released an English localization of the two novels in 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, Eishima also served as story advisor for Final Fantasy XIII-2 and wrote the official novels for both FFXIII and FFXIII-2.

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Publisher Coatsink has this week announced that The Ramp, a relaxed digital skating sandbox coming to Nintendo Switch later this month, March 17. A new teaser trailer showcases its chilled gameplay, which essentially offers players a playground to play and explore at their own pace, void of any special objectives or career beats in a typical skating sim.

In fact, The Ramp is described as a ‘digital toy,’ rather than a conventional video game; there are no scores, no missions, no unlockables. It has been ‘designed by skater Paul Schnepf as a pure skateboarding experience for those ‘wanting to relax, find a flow, and enjoy the act of skateboarding in its purest form,’ according to its latest press release.

The Ramp will launch on March 17 for $4.99.

You can check it out for yourself in the trailer below.

Here are some more screenshots that highlight some empty swimming pool action, straight out of Dogtown and -Boys!

Across its 30 year history, there's never really been a Kirby game like the Forgotten Land - a fully 3D adventure that's quite the departure for a series that's always revelled in its simplicity, this is a showstopping effort from HAL Laboratory that's come from leftfield. It's not quite the revelation that Super Mario was when it added the Y axis into its playbook, but for a series with as long a history as Kirby it's still quite the jolt.

Having played through the opening world of Kirby and the Forgotten Land - a short collection of five self-contained stages, plus a few bonus levels with tight time restrictions to boot - it's clear that HAL Laboratory has landed the transition. It's also clear that this is a Kirby game through and through - and given how Kirby and the Forgotten Land might have attracted the interest of players who've not touched a Kirby game before, it's worth running over exactly what that means.

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UPDATE 5pm UK: The Pokémon Company has announced its own $200k (£150k) donation, and called the crisis in Ukraine and Eastern Europe was "heartbreaking".

UPDATE 4pm UK: In the past few hours, more developers have announced donations to charitable causes in aid of Ukraine.

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Ahead of March's public test realm (PTR) rollout, the New World team has shared more information on upcoming update Heart of Madness.

This update will conclude the story of Isabella, and promises players an "epic final showdown" following their pursuit back to Shattered Mountain. In the aptly named Tempest's Heart, players will venture into a "corrupted dimension of reality" as they seek to uncover the secrets of Isabella's past within her "corrupted mind".

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FromSoftware's Souls games have a bit of a thing for holes.

They're everywhere, often hidden in the depths of caves or on the edge of boss arenas, and if not surrounded by red splodges of doom, then littered with messages from other players daring you to jump.

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DICE has revealed details on upcoming improvements and proposed changes to the core map design in Battlefield 2042.

In a hefty post, the EA developer identified five main areas of map design that needs improvement.

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UPDATE 14/3/22: Stalker developer GSC Game World appears to have subtly changed the name of its upcoming and now on-hold sequel.

Its full title, Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, has been altered on Steam to Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl - reflecting the Romanised Ukrainian version of the name, rather than its original (which is based on the Romanised Russian).

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UPDATE 07/03/22: Doom designer John Romero has raised over €25k for Ukraine humanitarian efforts with his Doom 2 level.

Released last week, the One Humanity level is available for a donation of €5. All proceeds are heading to the Red Cross in Ukraine and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, said Romero in a tweet.

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Kung-fu action game Sifu has sold over 1m copies in its first three weeks.

Sloclap's game has been criticised by some for its high difficulty, though it appears many players have stepped up to the challenge.

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The fan favourite Miis from the Nintendo Wii era are not done yet, as the bobble-headed avatars are now coming to Mario Kart Tour.

Nintendo released a new trailer for its latest Mario Kart Tour update which shows off the Miis in all their racing glory. Players will have a new selection of racing suits to choose from when this update goes live, including (but not limited to) Peach, Donkey Kong and Mario inspired outfits. But looking sharp is not all these suits are good for. Each outfit also comes with a special skill that can utilised while racing.

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Deus Ex and Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector is now working on "a completely new intellectual property" at his development studio OtherSide Entertainment.

Today's statement from OtherSide makes no mention of the long-awaited System Shock 3, which Spector had previously been building.

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Capcom and Promax will hold the Ace Attorney 20th Anniversary Orchestra Concert on Saturday, May 7, 2022. The concert will have a physical audience at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Promax will also set up a live stream for people in almost all countries and regions worldwide to follow the concert.

Capcom has been working with Promax to hold orchestra concerts based on its game franchises. The companies also hold Monster Hunter concerts yearly. The latest Monster Hunter concert took place in September 2021.

The Ace Attorney concert will have the same orchestra group as the Monster Hunter one. Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra will perform tracks from the video games, with Hirofumi Kurita as the conductor.

Capcom is currently selling early bird physical tickets to Japanese residents who have a Capcom ID. Public sales for other tickets, including the global streaming tickets, will open at a later date. The stream ticket will be available at 3,500 yen (~$30).

The Trails series's free-to-play gacha title, The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki, has been available on various platforms in Japan. They include PC, mobile devices, and consoles. However, Nihon Falcom and UserJoy Japan will soon remove Akatsuki no Kiseki from consoles. The companies will shut down the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch releases of the game by June 2022. They will keep the PC and mobile versions intact for the foreseeable future.

The Switch version of Akatsuki no Kiseki Mobile will disappear first on April 28, 2022. UserJoy encourages players on the platform to migrate their data to the Android or iOS version so that they can retain all of their collections. Afterward, they can also link their accounts with the PC version on DMM Games.

Square Enix has released another piece of CG artwork for Final Fantasy XIV, this time featuring Urianger Augurelt as he appears in the Endwalker and Shadowbringers expansions. Similar to previous CG artworks, it shows the featured character in a place of significance. This particular CG artwork of Urianger also features the character as an Astrologian. This is the Job Class that he uses throughout the Endwalker and Shadowbringers expansion. It is also the Job Class that he carries into the Trust system.

You can take a look at the Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker CG Urianger artwork below.

[embed]https://twitter.com/FF_XIV_EN/status/1499293533026471937[/embed]

However, Urianger isn't the only Final Fantasy XIV character to have received CG artwork. Leading up to the release of the Endwalker expansion, Square Enix shared CG renders of both Alphinaud and Alisaie Leveilleur. A CG render of Zeno yae Galvus in his Endwalker attire was also shared as part of the promotion for the expansion.

Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Release: March 25, 2022
Rating: Everyone 10+

Kirby returns to the Nintendo Switch later this month in the new 3D platforming adventure, Kirby and the Forgotten Land. In it, Kirby is transported to another world, far from his home on Popstar, to a location that looks a lot like Earth, at least in the early levels. There in the titular Forgotten Land, Kirby will have to use all of his valuable Copy Abilities and a few new tricks like the very meme-able Mouthful Mode to explore and survive this unfamiliar setting. This week, I was able to go hands-on with the first world of the game, similar to what Switch owners can play today in a new demo that’s now available through the Nintendo eShop.

Triangle Strategy on Nintendo Switch

The continent of Norzelia is in trouble. While the three great kingdoms of Norzelia have finally signed a peace treaty after ending the long Saltiron War, there’s still a sense of unease that permeates through this period of calm. The political climate is uncertain, even if Triangle Strategy tries to open the story with an uplifting, celebratory event: a wedding that will bind the kingdom of Glenbrook and the Grand Duchy of Aesfrost.

Triangle Strategy puts us in the shoes of Serenoa of House Wolffort, a high house of Glenbrook. Serenoa himself is to be wed to Frederica Aesfrost, half-sister of the Archduke of Aesfrost. In an attempt to bring all three kingdoms together, it is the hope of Glenbrook that this wedding and a joint mining venture will help bring peace to the entire continent.

Right off the bat, it’s clear that Triangle Strategy wants its sprawling story of complex characters and political machinations to be front and center. Each chapter is heavy on the cutscenes and dialogue, often jumping from place to place to give players an idea of what each kingdom is plotting, and how the citizens are reacting to the various developments. While the continent of Norzelia might seem awfully small at first — there are only three major kingdoms, after all — the more I played, the bigger the world started to feel.

Today Atlus made the upcoming JRPG Soul Hackers 2 available for pre-orders in Japan.

Alongside with the pre-orders we get a new batch of screenshots showcasing several aspects of the game, from dialogue scenes, characters, battle, and even a look at old friend Jack Frost.

We also get a better look at the Japanese box art for both PS5 and PS4.

You can check them all out in the gallery below.

Soul Hackers 2 releases for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC (Steam and Windows Store) on August 26, just one day after the Japanese launch on August 25.

Here’s how Atlus officially describes the game:

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia, PC
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: id Software
Release: March 20, 2020 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia), December 8, 2020 (Switch), June 29, 2021 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
Rating: Mature

Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Square Enix
Release: March 4, 2022

Triangle Strategy, a new tactical RPG led by Tomoya Asano, producer of the Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler games, makes its debut tomorrow. I’ve been playing through the political adventure, which centers on a young ruler named Serenoa who is thrust into intense power struggles and must decide what’s best for a new generation.

So far, I’m really digging Triangle Strategy, especially the interesting questions it poses about political strategies and how it involves the player in deciding those answers for themselves. Unfortunately, I haven’t finished the game, which has branching paths and multiple endings, so I’m not quite ready to deliver my final verdict. Until I complete the game, here are my impressions to give you an idea of what it has to offer. 

CD Projekt, developer of The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077, as well as the owner of the GOG PC store, will halt all game sales in Russia and Belarus.

This includes games it has made - including physical stock deliveries - as well as all games sold via GOG.

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A demo for the forthcoming adventure Kirby and the Forgotten Land is now available on Nintendo Switch.

The full game is set for release on 25th March, with the demo offering a taster of Mouthful Mode and more.

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UPDATE 16/3/22: BAFTA has now belatedly revealed its nominations for the best performer and best supporting performer in a video game.

The rest of the BAFTA Games Awards nominations were revealed two weeks ago. There's no word on why these last couple have taken longer.

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We've all experienced it: we get so involved in whatever gaming world we're exploring that our palms end up getting sweaty. There isn't much of a solution besides washing them and taking a break when it comes to console gaming with a controller. However, a few manufacturers of PC peripherals have tried making gaming mice that are light, without compromising on their quality.

In comes the SteelSeries Aerox 3 wireless gaming mouse. It's made exactly for these situations, when your hand may get too warm during lengthy gaming sessions, and it's down a huge 40 per cent for just £59.99 over at Amazon right now.

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Lost Ark had a bumper debut last month. In fact, it was so bumper that European players of the new MMO ARPG experienced long queue times before eventually getting into the game. This led Amazon to create an entirely new regional server in a bid to ease congestion.

But even with this new 'Europe West' server, queue times for Lost Ark are still huge. Speaking to IGN, Amazon Games franchise leader Soomin Park said Lost Ark's Europe Central region "continues to be filled to the brim" which as a result has led to "player queues and some instability in the region".

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The first time you meet him, Triangle Strategy's protagonist Serenoa Wolffort seems to be nothing less than a fairytale prince, riding in to save his betrothed from bandits. Frederica, the lady in question, is entering into a political marriage with Serenoa as part of a new peace treaty between the three nations of Glenbrook, Hyzante, and Aesfrost.

Thirty years after a war over salt, a resource held entirely by Hyzante, the treaty is meant to re-establish both diplomatic relations and trade between the regions, even as salt itself is still jealously guarded. Of course it all plays out very differently. The steadfast Serenoa, loyal to his crown and the people of the Wolffort region both, soon turns out to be less than perfect - and is actually just barely equipped for the many difficult decisions he has to make.

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Videos demonstrating emulation of Nintendo consoles on Valve's Steam Deck are being pulled from YouTube.

The videos show off the Yuzu and Dolphin emulators running on the Deck, which emulate Switch and Wii games respectively (thanks, Nintendo Life).

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Here's Dark Horse's official description for the book:

The Art of DEATHLOOP brings the mysterious island of Blackreef to life through never-before-seen concept art. Readers will get up close and personal with all the equipment, adversaries, and locations that assassin Colt will encounter while hunting his targets, breaking the island’s timeloop, and evading the deadly rival assassin, Julianna!

The Art of Deathloop is priced at $49.99. The book will release in bookstores on August 16, 2022 and comic shops on August 17 [note - we originally reported July release dates, but Dark Horse has since pushed the release back to August]. Based on previous releases, we wouldn't be surprised if Dark Horse also releases a Deluxe Edition version alongside the standard hardcover, but there's no word on that front yet.