Destructoid

As a reminder, Bethesda canned the physical release of Doom Eternal on Switch at this juncture. The same Doom Eternal port that's due out in a few days on the eShop. Now that everything is all set, a Switch eShop page just opened for the game, which showcases a few more bits of key information: namely, the file size.

As stated on the eShop, it's estimated at 17.5GB, base. But Bethesda's site says differently, noting that it's around 18.8GB (TBD), which could account for first-hand information of the day one patch. The first DLC campaign isn't arriving on time on Switch for the launch of the port (it's already available elsewhere), but that will pack even more on, not to mention all of the free updates Bethesda and id provide for Eternal as a whole.

It's getting to the point where even with a larger SD card, I'm constantly deleting games to make space. One of the biggest selling points of the Switch is that physical games do not require users to install the entire thing to the HDD/SSD from the disc: a great way to save a lot of space that Xbox and PlayStation games otherwise take up.

While I completely understand the logistical nightmare of launching a physical product right now, I hope it does enter production eventually.

Doom Eternal [Nintendo]

"Prime Gaming" is still chugging along, and I'm still struggling with not calling it "Twitch Prime." There's only so many years you can write that phrase out, and not have it stick in your mind permanently. "Prime" is even still in the name!

That's in part because not much has changed. The name is different, but the landing page and the concept is basically 99% the same. You're still getting access to free games and content drops each month, and all your old stuff is still there. They did a pretty great job with the transition, keeping everything intact in the backend. So anyway, on to the December offerings.

The new games are: Turmoil, Sigma Theory: Global Cold War, HyperDot, Close to the Sun, and Wizard of Legend. All you have to do today is go to that aforementioned landing page, and mass-click on them and you're good to go. From there, you could wait for some of the more enticing DLC to arrive.

Immortals Fenyx Rising content is pretty fresh given that it's not even out yet: that drop involves a "helmet, outfit, wings, and campaign horse." On December 9, a Star Wars: Squadrons drop will arrive, and award two helmets: Bold Approach and Vibrant Focus. All of the same promotions will be running from before too, like the Destiny 2 stuff.

It's not the most exciting December update, but given that most of you just happen to have this thing because you subscribe to Prime for two-day shipping, I'll take it. You can find a full rundown for December below.

NieR: Automata is pretty great. Great enough to still be relevant three and a half years after it came out? Absolutely. Great enough to be relevant...forever? Yes. Emphatically, yes. I hope Yoko Taro keeps making games for all time.

Naturally, I'll take any excuse to talk about Automata, especially given that NieR is about to go back in style soon with a new mobile game and a kinda-sorta-remake-kinda-not re-release of the original. The last we heard it was being called a "version up." You can keep that lingo in the vault along with transfarring, buddy!

Anyway, old Yoko Taro took to Twitter this week to update us on NieR: Automata, or rather, its streaming guidelines. As most folks know, certain publishers sometimes put heavy restrictions on what can be shown in certain games, even years down the line. Some of it is an ill-fated, PR-nightmare of an effort to restrict people from streaming in general; some of it is because of story spoilers.

Well, these guidelines are now updated, in English, for all to see, Taro says. It's pretty standard stuff, including the regular legal notices, and the ways in which you can use content from the game (Twitter and other microblogging platforms, sharing in-game audio and sharing gameplay videos). 

In case you haven't heard, people have been stretching the "developer mode" of the Xbox Series X/S to its limit. And it's only been a few weeks.

Amazingly, intrepid and plucky users have managed to get tons of old games running on the systems, most notably PS2 games. The below clip from the Modern Vintage Gamer (using the S, which is capable of the same things as the X) shows off the power of its emulation capabilities just fine, using the "dev mode" option in the new Xbox consoles: a 2016 Xbox One feature. The new horizon of PS2 games is due to developments within RetroArch, which just recently added PS2 support and is still in active development.

Modern Vintage Gamer assesses that the level of emulation offered in the Series S, for the $299.99 base price, is "unrivaled." Given that you don't really need all of that SSD space for emulation, nor would you need to build a PC capable of running these games; I'd agree. Just know that, like Modern Vintage Gamer suggests, this isn't a "set it and forget it" process. You do need to do a bit of diligence (and legally, own the games) to get this up and running.

This whole process is in its infancy, and proponents suggest that nearly anything is possible with Series X/S emulation. The only limitations right now are a 2GB ROM size maximum, which could change down the line. As a proponent of (legal) game preservation, it's a big step forward to keeping the classics alive without digging out old hardware that's prone to malfunctioning mishaps.

[Update: The very same intrepid user who found the logo also noted the "Wumpa League" banner in the background of a new Crash Bandicoot ad. A Crash Battle Royale is suggested as a possible spinoff/outcome from this cute little scavenger hunt. Again, bring on anything Crash. I'll try it once! They could even use the Crash Bash name again.]

So Crash 4: It's About Time is fairly manageable if you're a platforming hound, but if you want to get the full 106% completion rate: good luck!

The extra content and time trial/limited life requirements are among the hardest activities I've played in 2020, and it looks like all those efforts do pay off; to some small degree. Sharing their discovery on Twitter, Kevin Fagaragan managed to uncover a secret logo that appears on the first level's television set.

The kicker is that the logo only appears when you've reached the aforementioned percentage. Like all secrets that pop up out of nowhere the solution was crowdsourced, and it seems like it doesn't work for a mere 100% completion rate: only 106%. It explains why it hasn't been as widely known this far out from launch. It's also a "blink and you'll miss it" moment, as it only appears on the screen for a split-second after you cycle through all of the main entry logos.

So what is it? Well, a tease of a new game, some DLC, or a Super Smash Bros. appearance would all work for me. I'm just happy to see Crash back and actually relevant again with a good game.

[Update: Bethesda has posted an "everything you need to know" blowout post following the trailer below. It goes over everything from the main story, to shelters, to potential bundles.] 

Microsoft got in on Bethesda at a decent time. Fallout 76 was in the rear-view mirror.

Everyone is abuzz about  Ghostwire: Tokyo, Deathloop, Starfield, and the next Elder Scrolls. Right now, they have basically all of the hype behind them and none of Bethesda's failures too fresh in people's minds. I also wouldn't put it past Microsoft to allow Bethesda to delay some of the more broken games and bankroll that extra development time for the sake of their reputation. With a strong lack of exclusives for this new console generation, Microsoft needs that rep more than ever.

But before we get too ahead of ourselves, Bethesda did just launch the already-in-progress Steel Dawn update for Fallout 76; which improves the slightly-better-since-Wastelanders-but-still-partially-barren open world with new questlines. Although the DLC just launched, the below trailer just a decent job of spicing up the world of 76, while reminding us that NPCs do in fact now exist.

The main focus is on Paladin Leah Remini Leila Rahmani, as well as Knight Shin, and Scribe Valdez. Choices will be made! Faction loyalties will be tested! It is a Fallout game after all.

Look, so the good news is that John Mulaney is in a video game. The bad news is that it's Marvel Contest of Champions: a multi-currency free-to-play mobile game.

Look I'm just the messenger, don't sue me! Unless, as that messenger, I improperly serve you legal papers...then it's fair game!

Yes, the beloved writer, comedian and brief sitcom star (I'm SO sorry) is reprising his role from the universally liked Into the Spider-Verse film as Spider-Ham. There's even a quick clip below to get people hyped up about his appearance as Peter Porker.

The bad news (there's MORE bad news?!) is that he's only part of an Event Quest, called Framed by Fame. Pretty great title though! The update is out today and will run through December 31, which will grant players a "two-star Spider-Ham" if they participate. Gacha-like mechanics: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Oh, and you also get to fight against a team of super heroes and villains "hand-picked" by Mulaney. If that's real — and not a series of hasty choices by a highly-paid intern, I'm sure —I'm not gonna lie, I kind of want to experience that.

You totally read this entire post in Mulaney's signature voice, didn't you? That's no accident.

In today's contest, you can win Who Wants to be a Millionaire? for Switch, PS4, Xbox One, or Steam!

It's that time of year where sales are going on for everything you want. Also for everything everyone else wants. Essentially, people want things and you've only got a limited amount of money. Wouldn't it be nice to be rich?

Well, you can be, with a brand new copy of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?! I mean, not really, but you can pretend in video game form!

Six years after showing up on Kickstarter, the psychological horror RPG Omori has a release date that seems like it'll stick: December 25, 2020. It's going to make the end-of-year cutoff on Steam.

The production has stretched far enough that I forgot I covered this before on Destructoid. It's one of those games. No matter, though – the 2020 trailer is a nice reminder of how far Omori has come.

Even if I'm not entirely sold on the world-exploration gameplay, I like the color palette, and I'm sure it'll get the job done with Omocat's storytelling. The more elaborate battle-screen artwork looks fantastic.

According to the Steam listing, "themes of death and depression" await us. The trailer alone packs some emotional weight, so I'm generally hopeful. Console ports, including Nintendo Switch, are in the works.

@Omori_Game [Twitter]

Cyberpunk 2077 will be a very large game. We already figured as much -- this is the same developer that gave us Witcher 3 after all -- but reports have come out recently that it's certainly possible to squeeze a couple hundred hours out of it. Fortunately, anyone who's switching machines mid-playthrough won't have to start all over.

CD Projekt Red has confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will have cross-save functionality within the same family of consoles. So, PS4 saves can be transferred to PS5; likewise, Xbox One saves are compatible with Xbox Series S/X devices.

It's super easy on Xbox. Smart Delivery ensures that your machine will run the appropriate version of the game -- although next-gen upgrades aren't arriving until next year. Until then, your Series S/X is simply running a backward compatible version of Cyberpunk 2077. Regardless, saves will transfer via the cloud (or do a manual local network transfer). I upgraded my Assassin's Creed Valhalla save this way last week, and it worked flawlessly and instantly.

Exporting your save from PS4 to PS5 takes a little more initiative but it's not bad. CD Projekt Red says there are three ways to accomplish this. You can: Connect to your PlayStation Plus account and upload your saves to the cloud; transfer data via a wired or wireless connection; or use external storage to copy and transfer saves within the same PSN account.

Of course, switching platform families will require a full restart. So, if you're on PS5 before deciding you'd rather tackle it on PC, that (obviously) means starting a brand new save file. Choose wisely from the beginning because Cyberpunk 2077 is big enough that any lapse in judgement will probably cost you a whole lot of hours.

Demon's Souls fans have cracked the case of the Providential Ring. If you missed getting one, there's an alternate way to obtain the item beyond choosing it as your one-time-only starting gift. If you're way too deep in the New Game+ cycle, don't worry – you won't have to roll a new character after all.

Not only is the Providential Ring inherently useful – it raises your item discovery, which is helpful for farming – it's also needed for the King of Rings trophy. Without it, you're not getting that platinum.

I was fortunate enough to select it after weighing the other gifts, but if you didn't know better or you (understandably) assumed the ring could be earned another way, the community has come through.

As miraculously discovered by Reddit user Hawthorne64, the Providential Ring can be earned in a not-so-simple trade with Sparkly the Crow in level 4-1. You'll need to upgrade a Scimitar (there's one in level 1-1) to a Scimitar+8 with Blacksmith Ed, turn it into a Large Sword of Searching using the Hero Demon's Soul (from the Old Hero boss), and then trade it with the crow in the Shrine of Storms.

Man, look at that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands screenshot! I have enough of those to last the entire next year, and then some. It's a beautiful expansion, but a lot of you will probably want to enjoy it with alts. The good news is that Blizzard is easing the barriers of entry for those extra characters beyond your main.

As detailed on the official World of Warcraft blog, the "Threads of Fate" system is designed to help make the leveling process from 50-60 (the new cap) a little more enticing. After unlocking the ability to pledge to a covenant at 60 with one character, the process opens up at 50 for everyone else. You basically just need to finish the "Stand as One" quest from Anduin and you're good to go.

In other words, you can create four characters to enjoy all three covenants at the same time, and earn progress toward each as you level: so there's less wasted time. I 100% get that the team wanted you to explore all four regions for storyline reasons before you made a choice, but given that you can swap at will regardless, that sounds like a more desirable mechanic overall.

Yeah you read that right: you can swap with your main if you want and then swap back if you aren't feeling it. Covenants are one of the more lore-heavy and fun elements of Shadowlands, and the lack of a grind (there's a weekly cap on certain parameters) has made it more bearable than a few other endgame concepts in the past.

Level Anew with Threads of Fate [Battle.net]

Sony and Microsoft have taken wildly divergent paths in their approach to their new console's first system update. Earlier this month, PS5 got an 800MB update that was simply detailed as "improves system performance." Xbox Series S/X's first update has begun rolling out now, and we know everything about it.

In a very comprehensive post, Microsoft outlined everything that's new to Xbox Series S and X. The most exciting inclusion is dynamic backgrounds. The first smattering has six animated backgrounds that are mostly based off of various Xbox branding throughout the generations. This implementation opens the door for premium backgrounds based on various games. It's something PlayStation has had for a long while now.

The long road leading up to the release of The Good Life, the next game from Deadly Premonition director Swery, doesn't feel like it's getting any shorter – but it is. A bit. The game is now being published by The Irregular Corporation (Murder By Numbers) and it's aiming for a summer 2021 launch.

This latest footage looks further along than our last check-in, but the frame rate is struggling.

The Good Life is a slice-of-life adventure game about an American photographer caught up in a strange rural English town where people – the protagonist included – can transform into animals. If you're the type of player who enjoys really settling into a new place and poking around, you might be down.

As a game, I don't have high expectations for The Good Life. As an outlet for Swery's creative characters, worlds, and stories, I'm far more interested. I just don't want a repeat of Deadly Premonition 2. There's "forgivable" and "endearing" jank, and then there's "so busted it's nearly unplayable" jank.

I'm not sure what to make of this game, and I probably won't be until I'm literally playing it.

@Swery65 [Twitter]

Here's some housekeeping that will probably fall on deaf ears. Any committed Rock Band player took care of it long ago. Anyone who hasn't probably won't care enough to rush this through in the coming hours.

Alas, here goes anyway: It's the last day to export your Rock Band 3 songs into Rock Band 4/Rivals. The license expires on December 1, 2020.

For those who want make a last-second just-in-the-nick-of-time export, you'll need a copy of Rock Band 3 and $15. Harmonix's systems need to check that you're a "verified purchaser" of Rock Band 3 and then the export costs $15. The process is outlined on this very old blog post. 

You had five years to push this through, but now you only have a few more hours. If this PSA helps anyone out, you're a procrastinator to the max. Get it done now though. Without the export, the only way to play Rock Band 3 games will be inside actual Rock Band 3. Your library deserves better.

The latest UK Chart report sees most of the industry's biggest releases jostling within the Top Ten, as the UK's current COVID-19 lockdown legislation put the dampers on the lucrative Black Friday sales, (which Britain also adopted because Capitalism, yo).

Electronic Arts' football simulator FIFA 21 has once again returned to the number one spot, pushing out Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War after just one week. Nintendo saw its Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe climb to numbers three and four respectively, while Square Enix's stumbling Marvel's Avengers has managed to push back into the Top Ten at number seven. Rounding out the charts at number 10 is Ubisoft's perennial holiday seller Just Dance. 'Tis the season, after all.

The biggest single-week drop goes to Nintendo brawler Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which slipped from number six to number 20, with a 61% sales decline. Given the current state of the UK high street and the rapid decline in physical sales, these rise and falls are becoming ever more irrelevant as an expression of a title's success or failure - but it's still an achievement to see your title hit the coveted number one spot, only encouraging further sales.

Pokemon! Gotta catch 'em all. I have! Leave me alone!

I can't believe it's been 25 years since the first generation of Pokemon debuted. Okay, well it will be 25 years in February, 2021, in Japan. For me, the 25th anniversary will be September 2023, when I first went to Toys "R" Us and picked up a copy of Pokemon Red. One eight hour session later and I knew that it was something special. My link cable came in handy that year.

All of us have different memories for Pokemon (maybe it's going to the movie with a date and acting cool when you didn't get the Mewtwo trading card bonus). Or maybe you have none! Either way The Pokemon Company is celebrating next year. Teased during the broadcasted edition of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of all places (where Pikachu made his debut as a float in 2001), the firm has revealed the new logo: a giant Pikachu face with the numbers "2" and "5" as his red cheeks. Cute and effective.

While The Pokemon Company is mum on what to expect right now, they're calling it a "very special celebration." The release of Pokemon Unite could likely come on the anniversary in February (remember that one?), as well as any number of other announcements. An E3-timed tease of a new mainline entry (or more Sword/Shield DLC) wouldn't be out of the question either.

Pokemon Teases Upcoming 25th Anniversary Celebrations [Pokemon.com]

Bayonetta 3 is still a mystery, but today, we're getting a little more Bayonetta in our lives.

Platinum has announced that the demo for Wonderful 101 Remastered is out today, and it comes with a special tweak that allows folks to play as Wonder-Bayonetta from the start. The demo is available on PC, PS4, and Switch: the same platforms as the current remaster. In case you're wondering, it does allow save transferring from the demo to the full game.

As a reminder, Bayonetta was already a fixture in the original version of Wonderful 101 as a secret character. But this demo will have her unlocked already, ready to go. You can get a quick look at her in the trailer below if you haven't played with her yet.

So there's a few more things to cover here. Patch 1.03 allows players to use "Wonderful Codes," which are Platinum-provided in-game codes for goodies. You can use "UMBRANGIFT" and "ANGELSLAYERS" now to unlock Bayonetta and Jeanne/Rodin respectively.

Also, Platinum insists that there is "no news" coming for Bayoneta 3 today. We already asked! This is clearly just setting the table. Maybe we'll get a special Nintendo Direct before the end of the year?

A former high-ranking employee of Blizzard Entertainment, Jeremy Dela Rosa, has announced the founding of a new, non-profit charity platform known as "Leyline." Through this new venture, Dela Rosa hopes to encourage PC and mobile video game fans to get involved with various charitable causes in return for games and gift cards, donated by the many business partners Dela Rosa has made within the industry.

"We have always been passionate about trying to make a big positive impact in the world," said the 10-year Blizzard veteran. "We realize that everyone wants to contribute to making the world a better place, but it can be needlessly complex. Through Leyline, we want to create an online ecosystem that rewards doing good things in the real world."

Leyline currently has a staff of 50 volunteers and is looking for investment and funding via a GoFundMe campaign. Leyline plans to promote a wide variety of charitable causes online and worldwide, hoping to encourage donations from video game players in the form of time, money, "idle processing power," and other means, dependent on the given charity. Though based on the company's first promo video, Leyline seems heavily in favor of the latter, using processing power borrowed from idle PC and mobile devices to contribute toward medical research.

Final Fantasy XV came out four years ago almost to the day (November 29, 2016). I repeat: Final Fantasy XV came out four years ago.

And in the time you've pondered what that means to you, Square Enix just greenlit another spinoff.

Developer miHoYo has released a new trailer teasing the coming of Zhongli, the next character headed to phenomenally successful free-to-play gacha adventure Genshin Impact.

Zhongli - monikered here as "The Listener" - is a handsome and stoic young man contracted by the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Zhongli commands attention and respect with a calm and authoritative air, taking to the battlefield to casually dispatch his foes with his exquisite staff-wielding skills. The preview ends with a glimpse of an ultimate technique which sees Zhongli turn his enemies into literal dust, all without breaking a sweat or setting a hair out of place.

Good timing! I just recently re-bought the Complete Edition of The Record of Lodoss War OVA on Blu-ray. I mean, it's never a bad time to watch the Lodoss War OVA again: it's a masterpiece.

That's exactly why Team Ladybug is bringing this timeless classic back in game form. Titled Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-, this action adventure platformer is due out sometime in 2021. Right now it's in Early Access, and will remain there for a bit: as evidenced by a new update from the development team.

According to the studio, the new "Stage 3 and 4 update" will not hit its November target, and is instead aiming for a January 2021 deployment. In the meantime the team is looking at fixing numerous fan-requested issues, like additional language support, volume settings, controller rumble, a proper game manual, and additional status effects.

Having played a bit of the game thus far (it's $12.99 and worth a plunge if you're remotely interested in the IP or 2D action platformers), I'm really enjoying the fact that Lodoss War is back in some capacity. While the elf Deedlit is the perfect vessel for a game like this, I hope we eventually see the entire crew make an appearance in another project: Curse of the Moon style.

The release timing of the Stage 3+4 update has changed [Steam]

You can't really predict how Koei Tecmo or Nintendo will present DLC, but you can count on a Warriors game getting some form of paid add-ons.

That's currently the debate behind Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, as folks are wondering when the duo are going to announce the inevitable DLC to this highly successful Warriors entry: the most successful, in fact. We know DLC is coming, of all the games Koei Tecmo has ever released, this one is the most ripe for extra stories that are actually justified.

So who is coming? Well, according to datamining efforts, the first wave of choices seem pretty obvious. Minor spoilers below.

I don't think anyone was quite expecting Paramount Pictures' cinematic adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog to be one of the most successful movie releases of 2020, especially given its shaky start, and yet here we are - with The Blue Blur sitting on a bank of $320 million USD.

Unsurprisingly, Paramount couldn't get sequel plans in motion fast enough, but given the production woes brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cameras are yet to roll on another of Sonic's dynamic, high-energy adventures. However, as reported by Comic Book, Creative BC, (overseers of all film production in British Columbia), have a new listing for a production known as "Emerald Hill", a recognizable phrase to all Sonic fans I'm sure.

According to the Creative BC listing, Paramount's "Emerald Hill" has a shooting schedule of March 15, 2021 to May 10 in the same year, with the final film still tentatively set for release on April 8, 2022. Of course, all of this is subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic and any other hurdles that might also be placed in the production schedule's path.

It's still weird thinking about a Bethesda release being a "Microsoft" release. But this is one of the first major ports or game launches since the big publisher acquired the smaller one.

We were worried about Doom Eternal on Switch for a second! It never had a firm release date out of the gate, and it chucked its physical release into the sun. But Bethesda has confirmed this morning that Doom Eternal will arrive on Switch on December 8.

As a reminder, this pretty good Doom game (itself a sequel to Doom 2016) came out in March of this year on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Stadia (did you think I'd leave you out, Stadians?), and has received one DLC micro-campaign so far. It's due for another, but for now, Bethesda is poised to give us their Switch version.

Want the rundown? Bethesda stresses that it's still a digital-only release ("at this time?" So you're saying there's a chance). The exact launch time is midnight on December 8, ET, and the aforementioned Ancient Gods: Part One DLC will come "at a later date," so it's going to be behind the other versions. I'd put money on it coming alongside of the second part. You can read all about the other known issues and glitches here.

It's still strange to see violent games like this on the innocent Nintendo YouTube channel! It even has that little Mario head logo pop up while Doom Guy is ripping and tearing. Jarring!

If you've been slipping under the new Destiny 2: Beyond Light era, you aren't alone.

The "wow" factor and splendor of expansions has been missing since Forsaken, as Bungie is struggling to deliver content with a big impact ever since it went off on its own and jettisoned Activision. But if you're a Prime Gaming member, at least you can grab some free stuff in case you feel like logging in again. Or maybe you're enjoying Beyond Light, and even tried to snag that snazzy new jacket this past weekend! More power to you.

In that case, you can enjoy the new Prime Gaming rewards now. Here's the full list: An Unchained Exotic Emote, the Regal Howl Exotic Sparrow, a Transpose JT-24-X Exotic Ship, and the Arch Shell Legendary Ghost Shell.

As a reminder, Ghost Shells are now completely opened up by a new talent mechanic, so you can customize them to your heart's content without worrying. I'm really hoping the new transmogrification (transmog) cosmetic system gets here sooner than later though. The Ghost upgrade is a mere taste of it.

Bungie says there is another "12 months" of drops, so if you have an Amazon Prime account, log in and accumulate them even if you don't play Destiny 2 at the moment. If you ever pick it back up one day, you'll have a ton of free stuff.

Prime Gaming Rewards [Bungie.net]

The long-lost Pokemon Kadabra is set to return to the Pokedex after the end of a dispute that has lasted some two decades. The Psi Pokemon has been missing from the famous card game decks since 2003, when British-Israeli illusionist Uri Geller claimed that the spoon-carrying creature infringed upon his brand and likeness.

At the weekend, the "originator of spoon-bending" apologized for ever kicking up a fuss, and stated that it was now up to Nintendo whether it wanted to bring Kadabra - originally known in Japan as "Yungerer/Yungeller" - back into the fold.

"I am truly sorry for what I did 20 years ago," said Geller on Twitter. "Kids and grownups I am releasing the ban. It's now all up to Nintendo to bring my Kadabra Pokemon card back. It will probably be one of the rarest cards now! Much energy and love to all!"

Speaking with The Gamer, Geller cited the voluminous amount of emails he has received over the years, which encouraged him to contact Nintendo and give them "permission to relaunch the Uri Geller Kadabra/Yungeller worldwide." Nintendo is yet to comment on the situation, so we'll just have to wait and see whether Kadabra makes a mystical comeback.

Uri Geller gives permission to print Kadabra on Pokemon cards again [TheGamer]

A building-high mural, painted in England to celebrate the launch of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, has finally been removed after impressing city visitors for seven glorious years.

The painting of Revengeance protagonist Raiden has adorned the side of Aireside House in Leeds since 2013, when artist collective EndoftheLine was commissioned by Konami to create three separate works in Leeds, Liverpool, and London to promote the hack 'n' slash spin-off.

While the London and Liverpool murals were repainted years ago, this giant image of Raiden - in the style of the legendary Yoji Shinkawa - has continued to stand tall over the city's streets. That is until recent weeks when, as noted on Twitter by user @kraker2k, the building was finally repainted.

I personally stumbled across this mural quite by accident in 2017, while visiting Leeds for a fighting game tournament. Having decided to walk to the venue rather than take a cab, I was struck in awe upon turning a corner and immediately coming face-to-face, (or face-to-ankle) with the stories-high portrait, which hadn't weathered a day from its creation.

It's sad to see Raiden finally vanish back into the shadows, but congrats to EndoftheLine for creating such an impressive and enduring image. For more information on their work visit the official EndoftheLine website.

So uh, does anyone else love theme parks? Because this guy loves theme parks.

Among the many other things I've missed this year, riding rides with family is one of the things I've lamented the most, but we're all sort of hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel...eventually. Nintendo is banking on February 4, 2021.

That's the date of the grand opening of Super Nintendo World: which was originally supposed to debut during the Olympics in August of 2020. For obvious reasons it was pushed back to August 2021, but the theme park will open separately a bit earlier. In one word, it looks incredible.

Although we've had plenty of "over the fence" peeks at its construction, Universal Studios of Japan just put out an official video (below) that showcases it in all its splendor. While the outdoor zone is impressive on its own, the indoor areas are really where this park shines, like the giant red staircase leading to a Bowser statue for the "Koopa's Challenge" Mario Kart ride queue. As a reminder, the other ride is Yoshi-themed.

Eventually, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida (under the "Epic Universe" umbrella) will get their US versions, expected to launch in mid-2021 and 2024 respectively: minus any delays.

Since World of Warcraft's launch in 2004, I've seen pretty much every up and down you can imagine. Its highest points (Burning Crusade into Wrath of the Lich King), its lowest point (shades of Cataclysm, Pandaria, and most of Draenor), and everything in-between.

But however you choose to slice it, I've really been enjoying the upward trend in the game since Legion. While Shadowlands isn't quite Legion-level quality, it does keep the spirit of the game alive and well after nearly two decades of service. That's a feat.

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.

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.

A grown man probably shouldn't be so interested in a game where all you do is play with toy trains, but I never had a wooden train set growing up. We skipped over that staple of childhood in favor of Hot Wheels tracks. At the time, I didn't really mind much as those die-cast cars were way cooler than some blue plastic engine with a face on it. However, after spending two weeks with Tracks, I'm starting to think I might have missed out on something great.

Cblogs Recap: Week 48

-Kerrik52 writes about when he first learned to like M-rated games.

-Julc3 thinks that the proliferation of scalpers means that Sony and Microsoft failed to kick-off the new generation.

-Shoggoth2588 responds to this month's Band of Bloggers prompt regarding emergent gameplay with a focus on Dark Souls II.

-TheLimoMaker reviews Prey (2017) through a dive into his Backlog.

-Snukastyle looks back at the history of the Final Fantasy series.

-Nior continues his Legacy of Kain retrospective with this blog on Soul Reaver 2.

-Rabid Walrus writes about how the job system in Final Fantasy taught him about finding a job in real life.

-EnigmaticRanger discusses how frustration can be used as a successful game mechanic.

-Black Red Gaming continues ranking the games in the Yakuza series with Yakuza 3.

The second season pass for Soulcalibur VI is about to wrap up, and it's going out in a good way. Hwang, one of the characters who first appeared in franchise precursor Soul Edge, will finally be made playable when he's added next month as the 13th piece of DLC for the game.

But that's not all. Because on December 2, the game will be getting its 14th DLC pack as well that adds some paid and free goodies to the game. If you love customizing characters, get ready for more options that include new bits from the Tekken universe, as well as a new stage and new episodes with Nightmare and Mitsurugi.

One of the great things about being Square Enix is it has such a rich and diverse history of RPGs from the NES, SNES, and PlayStation eras it can pull from when it wants to remaster a classic. Case in point, SaGa Frontier. Originally released for the PlayStation back in 1997, the seventh game in the SaGa franchise will have a chance to find a brand new audience when SaGa Frontier Remastered hits Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam, iOS, and Android next summer. 

Not only will this remaster bring the original game into the HD era, but it's also adding some features, like new cutscenes and events and a new protagonist named Fuse. It's nice to see Square Enix really giving the SaGa series a second chance. As a reminder, the first three games in the series, Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend, come to Nintendo Switch next month.

Square Enix [Twitter]

Have you ever heard an idea that you knew just couldn’t fail? Something so spectacular and creative, and yet so blatantly obvious, that there would be no way it could possibly end up as anything other than an absolute triumph? Back in 2009, I was sure that Disney and Junction Point Studios had come up with a flawless formula as that was the year the world got its first substantial look at Disney Epic Mickey.

It was everything somebody like me could want at the time: a Wii exclusive from a third-party developer lead by an accomplished game producer that would offer us a new look at the classic cartoon character. Heading toward its 2010 debut, all signs pointed to this being, perhaps, one of the biggest new franchises in the industry. I pre-ordered the collector’s edition, fully expecting some sort of religious experience from the game.

Instead, what I got was a lesson in hype and how easy it is to set oneself up for eventual disappointment. I tore into Epic Mickey like a doctor had just given me a week to live, but by the time I reached Lonesome Manor, I had to put the controller down. The idea that I'd fall madly in love with this game gradually thinned away like many of the walls of the Wasteland. I was bewildered by the lot of it. After a year of buzz and excitation for a Mickey Mouse game that wasn’t aimed at the Elementary School crowd, I sat there staring at my television asking how could this have gone so wrong.

Ten years later, I’m still asking that question. How could the surefire idea of “Mickey Mouse in a world of forgotten Disney characters” result in two different studios ceasing to make video games? I wanted to find out what killed this franchise, and to do so, I dove back into the thinner-soaked Wasteland to see exactly what went wrong.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has somehow managed to basically get better with every expansion: I don't know how Naoki "Yoshi P" Yoshida and his team do it.

While many MMOs are content with braving severe ups and downs, XIV has remained consistently mesmerizing through its lengthy (seven years running) lifetime as A Realm Reborn. It'll probably stay that way as long as Yoshida is in charge. That includes the next expansion, which could be announced on February 5, 2021 at 5:30PM PT, according to a new tweet from Square Enix.

There's a lot to unpack here.

It's a shame that VR didn't catch on: it really is.

Although I perfectly understand that it doesn't demo well, and the buy-in, especially early on, was ludicrous; we've reached a point where the PSVR and the Oculus Quest have allowed a great deal of accessibility to the once-restrictive platform.

I've been fortunate enough to have tested every major device since the release of the original consumer version of the Oculus Rift, and so many games have redefined the medium it's hard to even keep track at this point. The recently released Until You Fall is one of those projects.

With so many popular video game franchises staying true to course, it's refreshing to see when a publisher lets a developer go wild with their ideas. The Yakuza series is long known for its brawler gameplay, but in Like a Dragon, it shifts things up with an RPG formula that really works well for the series.

That's just one of the topics on this episode of Podtoid. Chris, CJ, Dan and Occams gather around the proverbial fire to talk Yakuza, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, the Game Award nominations, and IOI's 007 game. All that, plus a comedy of errors for one street racer, on Podtoid Episode 468.