Game Informer

Today, Microsoft released a long-form video detailing the latest innovations that come with the Series X/S consoles. Harrison Hoffman, a principal program manager that worked on the next-gen Microsoft consoles, co-facilitated the Series X demo. Hoffman provided some insight on a variety of topics that ranged from new, dynamic backgrounds to the much-needed share button that was added to the Series X/S controller. 

The Series X/S look to prioritize faster load times, higher framerates, and richer, evolving gameworlds. But in addition to these expectations, other features will bolster the overall experience. Players can link their consoles to the mobile Xbox app to download games on the fly but, more importantly, they can also connect their Xbox Series X wireless controller to their phones and play games remotely. This is called – you guessed it! – remote play. Additionally, some titles will have incredible framerate settings. Hoffman noted that Gears 5's multiplayer will be optimized for a whopping 120 fps!

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is scheduled to arrive on November 13, coming to Xbox One X, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. The game offers a single-player campaign that takes place after the original Black Ops title, a new zombies experience, and of course traditional multiplayer. The campaign offers multiple endings, scenarios with choices and consequences, and of course some of our old favorite characters like Mason, Woods, and Hudson. 

Traditional multiplayer is loaded with vehicles for both transport and assault this time around, allowing players to cruise on the sea, drive around dunes, and even take to the sky. Check out some of our thoughts on multiplayer here and here. Warzone is also going to be infused by Cold War, but to what extent and how we have yet to truly see.

Today, we have a new trailer for the game. What's in it? Ronald Reagan. Super spy Russell Adler. Lots of guns and explosions. Yep, that's a Call of Duty trailer alright. Check out the trailer below for a taste of the action that's getting closer every day.

World of Tanks has a special Halloween event beginning today that features work from Silent Hill art director and monster designer Masahiro Ito and composer Akira Yamaoka. While it's been a long, long time since we've seen anything out of the Silent Hill universe, perhaps this weird PVE event can give a taste of the strange and scary.

Starting today on October 26 and running to November 9, players can group up in teams of five to take on the dangerous denizens of the mysterious town of Mirny-13. Bizarre events have transpired that make the town a terror to navigate, and perhaps intrepid groups can solve the riddles as they make their way through the haunted town.

Players can unlock special crew members, styles, expereince and credits in the event that they can carry over to the core game even after the event ends. These include special skins designed my Masahiro Ito!

We shipped off a few quick questions via email to Akira Yamaoka about his involvement in the project, which you can check out below. Check out the trailer for the event as well!

GI: Have you ever played World of Tanks?

AY: Of course. It must be a game I really like to work with.

What's your favorite soundtrack that you've ever worked on?

The soundtrack for Silent Hill was very well-received, and I was personally happy with the final product as well.

What are your favorite composing techniques to build spooky/creepy and suspenseful feelings in your music?

While it seems like we've got some time before we'll get a new Final Fantasy VII Remake update for the next part of the impressive re-imagining, we do at least have another awesome way to celebrate a fan favorite. FFVII Remake's Aerith voice actress Briana White recently brought her character to life in a whole new way, with her donning the classic look of Aerith fully equipped with flowers and her innocent smile. 

White took to her Twitter to share two shots of her Aerith cosplay, courtesy of famed photographer Martin Wong. While there are more pictures on the horizon for her to share, the below three images were far too perfect for us not to share: 

#3 pic.twitter.com/viblRIaQFd

— Briana White (@ItsBrianaWhite) October 26, 2020

She opted into the classic Aerith look, sans sword, and she looks beyond incredible. The yellow flowers from the game are a perfect touch, and that stylization from @helloiamkate is just the cherry on top. 

Among Us is an older game that randomly saw a massive surge of popularity this month and that popularity? Well deserved. This "sus" driven adventure is hilariously deceptive and is basically this gen's Monopoly and Halo MP regarding ruined friendships. Currently, it's only available on PC and mobile, but thanks to one fan it's also now a VR experience. 

The Among Us VR experience comes by way of a new map creation in VRChat, a popular social experience in VR that allows players to create their own avatars and basically dive all-in on the weirdness that the Internet provides. Sometimes, though, it comes out with gems like this and it surprisingly works! 

The VRChat creation even features the dreaded Admin card swipe, which only adds to the true-to-source nature of this particular fan nod. Players can even equip toons that look like those adorable jelly bean astronauts while murdering all of those crewmates like souls aren't a thing. 

Harsh. 

Don't have a VR headset? No problem! You can actually play VRChat outside of virtual reality and given that this map is 3D-rendered, it'll still be a unique spin on Among Us even when playing on a simple PC monitor. Even better? VRChat is free, so download it on Steam, VR headset or not, and get to betraying. 

Apex Legends is still going strong. A new "Stories From The Outlands" trailer places the spotlight on the next legend: Dr. Mary Somers or, as she's known in the Apex games: Horizon.

Horizon used to be one of the galaxy's leading energy scientists. Tasked with preventing a energy crisis on her home plant of Olympus, she was sent on a mission to find energy crystals – a key to preventing catastrophe. Before Horizon left, she promised her son that she would return to him, safe and sound. However, she was ultimately betrayed and abandoned in the far reaches of space. Horizon survives with the help of the energy crystals that she collected on the mission, but she returns home too late: 87 years have passed and her home planet of Olympus was never saved. 

The team over at Microsoft has expressed interest in the past regarding Xbox games on the Nintendo Switch platform, but it looks like that interest may have evolved since those initial comments. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently sat down to talk about acquisitions, renewed first-party focus, and more, but he also opened up on why the company's stance has changed despite its positive working relationship with the Big N. 

In a recent interview with GameReactor, Spencer went into more detail about where the company is currently at regarding their titles on Nintendo Switch platforms. While we've already seen some bleed-over between systems, it was assumed that there would be a bigger presence than there is now. 

Destruction AllStars was originally revealed as a launch title on PlayStation 5, scheduled to hit on November 12 – the same day as the system itself. However, the destruction derby title from developer Lucid Games isn't going to make the launch window after all, according to a recent post on the PlayStation Blog.

The game will now release in February, but the delay isn't the only bit of Destruction AllStars news. It will also be offered as a PlayStation Plus game for two months at no additional charge.

Product development director Pete Smith writes in the blog post: "Destruction AllStars is a multiplayer game that’s at its best when you’re competing with gamers online from all around the world. We want as many people as possible to experience the mayhem on PS5, and what better way to do that than to provide the game to our PlayStation Plus members?"

The Xbox One launch was rough with a limited library, confusion around the initial reveal of backwards compatibility, and a shifted focus away from games. Then Phil Spencer came into play and took back the Xbox brand and put it back in the hands of gamers. While a full 180 takes time, the team has been making headway in making right by the Team Green name with amazing services, continued talks with Japan's gaming space, and tons of studio acquisitions to beef up their party lineup. Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently sat down to talk more about future goals for the new generation of gaming. 

In an interview with GameReactor, Spencer opened up more on the many acquitions of the past and the hope for the future. "If I think back during the early Xbox One years and even late in the 360 years, at this time we as a company didn't invest enough in our creative capabilities with our studios, and it showed," he told the site. "Now, the thing with game production is that it takes a lot of time, so if you underinvest it actually doesn't show up next year or even in the next two years. It's maybe three, four, or five years down the road."

Xbox Game Pass continues to evolve with games leaving and joining the library for a constantly rotating lineup of adventures to dive right into. Each game is free to play outside of the membership cost itself, including day one first-party launch titles, DLC, and even demos. October itself saw a ton of new additions and it looks like November will be continuing on that gaming dump.

With new additions to console, PC, and Android devices, here is what Xbox Game Pass members can expect to get their hands on for the tailend of this month going into November (so far): 

LittleBigPlanet has been a PlayStation mainstay ever since it debuted near the beginning of the PS3’s lifespan. Since then, it’s seen several sequels and spinoffs, but one thing has remained a constant presence: the immeasurably cute Sackboy. A few months back, Sony revealed the character’s latest outing, Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Sumo Digital’s new game may not offer the world-creating tools that much of the series is known for, but its focus on co-op platforming doesn’t appear to be short on surprises. 

Facebook, like other social media platforms, can often feel like some intangible, antagonistic force. And, because of this, people may choose to go off the social media grid and deactivate their account temporarily. In more extreme cases, one might even decide to completely delete their Facebook account if they have no intention of returning. Be warned: if you've purchased an Oculus Quest 2 – and some VR titles to go along with it – you will lose all of your games if you permanently delete your Facebook account.

When you first purchase an Oculus Quest 2, it requires you to link your VR account to Facebook. If your Facebook account has been suspended, this will definitely restrict your access. If you deactivate your Facebook account, simply reactivate it if you want to be able to play VR games again. However, if you outright delete your Facebook account, say goodbye to any VR titles you might have purchased. If you make a new account, you'll have to buy your favorite VR games all over again.

Breaking away from the Facebook Oculus Quest 2 news for a bit, the social media giant is stepping into a different area of the community: Cloud-based gaming. Both Google and Amazon have individual Cloud services, so what does Facebook hope to achieve? Well, the leg-up starts with its already existing space and app alongside Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin leading the charge. 

“We’re doing free-to-play games, we’re doing games that are latency-tolerant, at least to start,” says Jason Rubin, Facebook’s VP of Play. “We’re not promising 4K, 60fps, so you pay us $6.99 per month. We’re not trying to get you to buy a piece of hardware, like a controller.”

Unlike Google Stadia, Rubin alleges that Facebook will be tackling many games in addition to complex titles to make their service worth it. Within the Facebook social media app, FB users can not only play the usual browser-based games that have been available for years, but also fully integrated videogames as well. 

Rubin adds that this new initiative will allow for over 300 million players to jump right into the adventures they love while also having the chance to explore "more complex games as well." 

The Coalition announced a slew of big changes coming to Gears 5 when it arrives on Xbox Series X. On top of performance enhancements and new modes, the campaign gets a lot more animalistic with the inclusion of ex-WWE world champ and guardian of the galaxy, Dave Bautista.

After appearing as a multiplayer skin in the original version, players can now swap Marcus Fenix with Big Dave for the entire campaign. More than just a palette swap, Bautista even recorded new dialogue for the story. It should be stressed again that Bautista is not replacing Marcus Fenix in the campaign permanently. The switch is 100% optional. 

The news should serve as a fun treat to Dave’s fanbase, as well as the big guy himself. The actor lobbied hard on social media last summer to portray Marcus Fenix in a Gears of War film, garnering a groundswell of support. That didn’t pan out (unfortunately) but this is arguably better. At least he gets to be Fenix in the medium the character originated from. 

The Destiny 2: Beyond Light expansion is almost here and a ton of changes are making their way into the Bungie shooter to make room. From vaulted content to new stories, there's a lot of shakeups happening soon and unfortunately, that means nerfs. The Falling Guillotine sword is among the weapons getting nerfed with a new update dropping soon. Here's what you need to know about what's getting nerfed in Destiny 2. 

Mountaintop, Falling Guillotine, and Ruinous Effigy are getting that nerf action and as a big fan of the very powerful sword, I'm a little sad. But changes, they are necessary, so here's what you need to know about how these three weapons are getting nerfed down, and which ones are just going through a few little evolutionary changes: 

Mountaintop  

During this summer’s EA Play event, EA announced that Apex Legends was headed to Steam and Nintendo Switch, the latter of which this fall. Well, developer Respawn has some good news and some bad news. On the positive side, Apex Legends arrives on Steam next month. Bad news: the Switch version has been delayed out of 2020. 

In a blog post, Respawn updated fans on what’s going on in the world of Apex Legends. The game officially arrives on Steam November 4. If that’s not exciting enough, that just happens to be the same day that the still-mysterious Season 7 will go live. But wait, there’s more! Origin players will also have their account progression and unlocks carried over the Steam version. That bit is unsurprising given how EA partnered with Valve almost a year ago to bring their titles to Steam. That’s an awesome gesture nonetheless.   

This week's Mod Corner we're doing things a little bit differently to celebrate a massive overhaul project I've been covering for years, much like Fallout 4: New Vegas and Skyblivion. Fallout: Miami is among the most impressive Fallout overhaul mods out there and while the team continues to prepare this project for its final form (don't know why I said it like that, but we are rolling with it), these ambitious fans took to the mod's site with a new video and their latest update. 

In the latest dev diary video, the mod's creative director gives a sneak peek at yet another track from the project's music, coconut masks, and the slavers of Sunshine Cove as a faction. Check out the video below to learn more: 

From the Center School all the way down to the different flora players will encounter, their latest blog post is one of the most in-depth ones to-date. This incredibly ambitious project takes the Fallout franchise where it has never gone before. Even better? Bethesda has sanctioned it, so no worries on an abrupt shutdown. 

Horror game Visage has been in early access for a long time. Now, it's coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 30 — just a week away! Hell, we talked about the first pieces of the game years ago around this time. You can check out that video right here, though lots has happened since then!

Visage is an atmospheric trek through a haunted house that tasks the player with discovering the tragic circumstances around each family member, for a total of four "tales". In early access, two tales were available, this 1.0 release brings the total to four with around fifteen hours of content.

If the rest of the game is like Lucy's Early Access tale, brace yourself for some serious scares and challenges as you struggle to keep the lights on and your sanity stable. While the game was previously playable on PC in the Steam Early Access program, this full release is also coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Be prepared to wander in the dark as the game taps into classic haunted house fare and then gets absolutely absurd as you enter the darkest recesses of the mind. Sounds pretty wild doesn't it? Yeah. Well, we can't wait to give it a try either, just in time for Halloween! Check out the new release date trailer right here, and a much older gameplay trailer as well. The gameplay trailer gives a much better idea of what kind of terrifying things to expect!

Assassin's Creed is officially returning back to the world of manga following Awakening with a special crossover between Valhalla and Makoto Yukimura's Vinland Saga. Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be crossing over into the Vinland Saga universe with a special manga that will blend the best of both worlds. 

For those not familiar with Vinland Saga, it is a historical anime and manga series from Makoto Yukimura that had a stellar first season debut back in 2019. The story follows Young Thorfinn, a boy that grew up on stories of old sailors that went on limitless adventures in an effort to reach the legendary location of Vinland. As the war between England and the Danes grows more dangerous, and the Viking mercenaries grow more ruthless, Thorfinn takes revenge into his own hands to avenge his murdered father. 

With the Viking tie-in being a major focus, the Vikings of Valhalla come into play. The news was revealed via Ubisoft Japan, alongside a sneak peek at some of the pages from the short story: 

Rapper Travis Scott dominated Fortnite earlier this year with an in-game concert, now he's bleeding over into a larger gaming pool by becoming PlayStation's latest strategic creative partner. 

As revealed in the latest PlayStation Blog post, Senior Vice President of PlayStation Worldwide Marketing Eric Lempel revealed their collaboration with Scott. "Through our mutual passion for gaming and creativity, we plan on collaborating with Travis and his Cactus Jack brand to produce innovative projects that we hope will delight our collective fans." 

The PlayStation team says they chose Scott because he is "constantly surprising" and "incredibly innovative," which is something they are looking for when going into a new generation of gaming. 

Many of Marvel’s iconic superheroes are relics from another age.

Captain America debuted in 1941 as a beacon of American pride leading into World War II. Under the creative guidance of Stan Lee, the 1960s delivered the wall-crawling Spider-Man, tech-savvy Iron Man, rampaging Hulk, as well as the super teams X-Men and Fantastic Four. Time has not hurt any of these juggernauts. They all have eternal flames that burn brighter as the years fly by.

These heroes are so popular that the spotlight rarely moves off of them to highlight newcomers. Every week, when the latest comic books hit store shelves, Marvel introduces new characters that could be the next heroes that define a generation. In most cases, however, these spandex-laden figures don’t capture readers’ imaginations, and disappear as quickly as they appear.

Read more...

Click image thumbnails to view larger version

The Red Lantern is available now on Nintendo Switch and this story-driven rogue-lite adventure features all of the best puppers in one game. That being said, the most important question in any title is can we protect those goodest of good boys and can we pet them? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding yes. 

The Red Lantern is a gorgeous indie title that allows players to explore an incredibly dynamic world that evolves as the story progresses. With over 100 different encounters thanks to the choice-driven narrative, the story is tailored and stunning and encourages rewards through exploration. 

Scorn left many gamers scratching their heads when its mysterious (and, frankly, gross) trailer dropped during Microsoft’s Xbox Series X showcase back in May. Developer Ebb Software gave intrigued gamers a good look at the game’s H.R. Giger-style world and the horrors it contains. 

The lengthy demo (an expanded version of a level shown in 2017 now running on Xbox Series X) takes players on a methodical trek through one of Scorn’s labyrinthine levels. One of the main visual takeaways is that everything has a bio-mechanical feel. Pulsating roots of flesh cover the metallic walls and gadgets feel as alive as the player. Even your weapon is just a shell covering a network of living muscle. At one point, the character impales a creature by firing a retractable rod from their gun’s barrel–reminiscent of the Xenomorph’s second mouth in Alien. Gross as the weapons are, you’ll need them to battle all manner of disturbing creatures, best described as “fleshy, toothy, whatchamacallits”.  

Buying new Joy-Cons, even just one of them has always been a steep investment since you could only buy them in pairs at $79.99. That will finally change, over 3 years after the Switch’s launch. Nintendo announced that individual Joy-Cons will be available for purchase in the very near future.  

Beginning November 9, Nintendo will offer the Neon Red and Blue controllers separately for a still-relatively expensive $39.99. Unfortunately, the colors remain locked to specific orientations. By that I mean you can only get Red left Joy-Cons and Blue right ones. While that’s been the standard layout since launch, it would have been nice to have the colors on the opposite side. That way pairs of Red/Blue Joy-Cons can be made more easily. On the bright side, my Switch can finally rock a pair of Grey/Red controllers. Yes, I’m weird – speaking of which, hopefully, Nintendo will offer single packs of the more exotic controller colors sooner than later. 

Starting on 11/9, single #NintendoSwitch Joy-Con controllers will be available for purchase for $39.99. Choose from the left Joy-Con controller in Neon Blue, and the right Joy-Con controller in Neon Red. pic.twitter.com/wXW8BEssS7

Gears 5 is getting story-based DLC called "Hivebusters" sometime in December, developer The Coalition recently told IGN. While no specific release date was given, Zoe Curnoe, the principle lead producer on Gears 5, did tell the outlet the DLC will focus on the Hivebusters squad, who made their first appearance in the Gears of War: Hivebusters comic series in May 2019, and in Gears 5 last September in the cooperative game mode Escape. Hivebusters will be released on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. 

"All I can say is December and the title is Hivebusters, so it might give you a little hint as to what that content might contain," Curnoe told IGN. "That'll be available on the new consoles as well, so it'll be optimized for those two."

According to The Coalition, Hivebusters will take players between three and four hours to complete. The studio also pointed out that it's the first piece of Gears content "reviewed, tuned, and polished" during development for the Xbox Series X/S, rather than upgraded after the fact. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is almost here and Activision is sharing yet another mode for players to enjoy with Zombies Onslaught. Zombies is a Black Ops staple and that legacy continues on with Cold War. That being said, we've got some good news and some bad news about this particular mode. 

It should be of no surprise to anyone given previous PlayStation exclusive deals regarding the Call of Duty franchise, but the new Zombies Onslaught mode will be a timed exclusive for PlayStation players. This particular gameplay experience will be dropping on other platforms after November 1 of next year as well as next gen consoles. 

Lead writer for Activision Editorial James Mattone took to the PlayStation Blog to detail the new mode while showing off a nifty new trailer showing off what it will offer Call of Duty players: 

Ad victoriam, Fallout 76 players, because Bethesda is finally adding the Brotherhood of Steel into the online Fallout experience. While the launch was beyond rough for this game, the last several major content drops have seemingly done a 180 for those that gave it a chance. Now, Fallout 76 feels like a true Fallout game and that's going to feel even more apparent with the arrival of the Brotherhood. 

While we can't (Paladin) Danse if we want to because we left that friend behind, we can at least enjoy the fact that the Brotherhood of Steel is making its long-awaited return. Bethesda has released a new video to mimic a recruitment advert for the Brotherhood for Steel. Why hunt Mothman and blast off nukes when you can join a tech cult instead? 

In the beginning, Bethesda did some ret-con with the lore which was meant to setup that the Brotherhood wouldn't fit in with Fallout 76's timeline, despite the in-game clues that seemingly referenced this faction. That changed several hundred updates ago, and now they are back in full force. 

If you ask any gamer, they have plenty of retired video games that they'd love to see return. The Dead Space series is usually chief among them and it's easy to see why after even the briefest of playthroughs. The now-closed Visceral Games (RIP) had a knack for distilling down what made movies such as Alien and Event Horizon terrifying and ramping it up to pants-soiling proportions.

Join Andrew Reiner, Marcus Stewart, Blake Hester, and me as we brave Dead Space 2 and attempt to not blow our mics out from screaming. 

We'll be going live at 2 p.m. CT, so be sure to end your week the right way and join us in the chat! If you can't get enough of our live shows, remember to subscribe on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and Facebook to get notified when we go live each week!

Hearthstone's next big expansion is Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, and it's scheduled to arrive on November 17. The set features old gods doing all kinds of evil cosmic horror things admidst the colorful carnival backdrop of the Darkmoon Faire. If you've ever played World of Warcraft, chances are you've hit up the Faire before in a quest to score some cool tickets, yummy treats, or to play some of those fun carnival games. Here in Hearthstone, the Faire is loaded with new toys to play with!

Giant old god cards are back, with fresh styles and abilities. N'zoth, C'thun, Y'shaarj and more are going to be spreading their cosmic corruption all over the denizens of Azeroth as they attempt to enjoy giant turkey legs and flagons of ale at the Faire. These old gods are expensive to cast and come with flashy skills, but the corruption mechanic may be the most interesting thing about the expansion.

The Last of Us is one of the many videogames getting a TV series adaptation and it looks like the man behind Joel himself is wanting in on that action. Voice actor Troy Baker, who voices the lead in the first Naughty Dog game, has expressed interest in being a part of the upcoming The Last of Us TV series under one condition: he doesn't play Joel. 

In a recent episode of the podcast 'Relater in Real Time,' Baker expressed his interested in the Last of Us TV show following a discussion about the upcoming Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland as a much younger Nathan Drake. The interest in the show came from the question as to whether or not he would ever be interested in becoming the voice of Joel once more for the games. While Baker didn't seem interested in that notion, he did add that he would be interested in playing a small role in the upcoming show adaptation. More than that, he said "I wanna be blown up by Joel," which, would of course, put a damper on playing Joel himelf. But who knows, there have been weirder plotlines (looking at you, Lost). 

If you haven’t been able to secure a PlayStation 5 preorder, or aren’t lucky enough to snag one during release, at least you’ll be able to play the PS4 version of Insomniac’s newest Spider-Man game. However, if you absolutely need the best Spider-Man experience, you’ll want to play on a PlayStation 5. The PlayStation 5's extra power allowed Insomniac to create a bigger, better game. To analyze this further, we asked the development team to detail five big reasons that Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the PlayStation 5 will be the definitive version.

One: No loading screens

“The PS5's SSD obviously allows us to load the game faster. If you die or if you fast travel there are near-instant loads. It just fades down and then fades up. You just keep playing. We have no loading screens. It’s really impressive. In the PS4 version, we have loading screens and the subway transitions from the last game.” – creative director Brian Horton

Two: The world features a higher level of graphical fidelity

“We were able to take full advantage of all the features of the PlayStation 5, and one of those things was graphical fidelity. You're going to see ray-traced reflections everywhere in the game on the PlayStation 5.” – creative director Brian Horton

I was a big fan of Tarsier Studios' Little Nightmares when it came out a few years ago. It was an atmospheric creep-fest that contained moments that have stuck with me to this day. In this episode of New Gameplay Today, we take a look at the sequel, the appropriately named Little Nightmares II. Join Alex Stadnik, Blake Hester, and me as we go through a recent demo playthrough. Even though it's only a small look at the game, it's a clear indicator that the developers haven't lost their edge.

While I still don't think the games are necessarily scary, they're definitely unsettling in ways that many games strive to achieve. If you're averse to hands (disembodied or otherwise) and getting grabbed, you may want to sit this one out. Otherwise, enjoy!

While Marvel's Spider-Man brought Yuri Lowenthal into the spotlight for his brilliant work as Peter Parker, it's now time for another web-slinger's to shine. That's where actor Nadji Jeter comes into play. After voicing the character in not only Marvel's Spider-Man but the Disney XD TV show as well, Nadji knows the importance of the character and what it takes to bring him to life for his own game.

Join us as we sit down with the voice behind Miles Morales and discuss his preparation for the role, how they were able to complete production during quarantine, and what it means to be playing such an iconic character as his star continues to rise in pop culture.

When I was younger, exclusive games were the sole factor I considered when purchasing a new console. I loved my NES, but when it came time to upgrade to the 16-bit era, I switched teams to the Genesis for one reason: Taz-Mania. Even though a game with the same name appeared on SNES (a practice that wasn’t unheard of in that era), the Genesis version – a 2D platformer – is the one I wanted to play. I don’t know what to tell you, except that I was a very cool kid who loved Taz. Unfortunately, Taz-Mania was actually not good, so I jumped ship again; I traded in my Genesis months later so I could a play Final Fantasy II on SNES.

I continued shifting my loyalty like this for years, chasing Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, Metroid, and Metal Gear – whatever system had the exclusive lineup that excited me most. Even after I started buying multiple consoles, my most-played system of each generation usually boiled down to which one had the most exclusive titles I enjoyed. But as we move forward in a new generation, it’s becoming clearer to me that the role of exclusive games is getting smaller and smaller. I’m not saying they don’t (or won't) continue to exist, but they are no longer the only important differentiating factor between systems.

Bethesda is now being sued for allegedly sabotaging Rune 2 in an effort to protect The Elder Scrolls franchise. This information comes on the heels of a lawsuit last year where Rune 2's publisher, Ragnarok Games, sued Human Head Studios, the developer for the game, for deliberately ruining Rune 2's launch by failure to transfer source code to continue support for the game after the studio all by left the title out to dry on launch day. Now, that lawsuit has grown even more complicated as it now includes Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax. 

The day that Rune 2 launched, Human Head Studios announced that it was shutting down for good. This was a move that surprised players and while the publisher promised continued support, this ultimately led to a very dark path for the game. While the publisher went after the developer studio first, now they are citing that ZeniMax and Bethesda Softworks tried to sabotage the launch further by reforming the dissociated studio under the Bethesda umbrella to form Roadhouse. The publisher wasn't aware of these moves, and that restructuring blindsided the company as the news made headlines. 

It feels like every month we're learning of a different game being flipped into some form of TV show or movie. From animated takes to live-action adaptations, gaming has never had a bigger spotlight on it than it does right now. In light of the recent onslaught of game adaptation news and years of talks about an alleged Mass Effect vision, here's why we don't need the beloved BioWare RPG series to leave the scope of gaming. 

As someone who has a whopping 30 playthroughs of the original Mass Effect trilogy and every collectible you can imagine, believe me when I say I always want more Mass Effect. That being said, looking at the patterns of previous adaptations and what it looks like the coming years will be like, I just don't think Mass Effect has any shot at survival, at least in this particular medium. This failure is especially true if that vision is meant to be a re-telling of the initial Mass Effect trilogy. Why, you may ask? Let's break it down. 

Hideo Kojima's creative storytelling and revolutionary game design makes him one of the most beloved and well-known auteurs in the industry. His most recent IP, Death Stranding, showcased undead monsters and mailman-simulation mechanics in a divided, rainy America. Today, Kojima Productions announced that it's working on a new project. 

#KojimaProductions confirms a new project is in development and is looking to hire the best-in-class talent to work out of our Tokyo studio. For more information on the openings and requirements, please visit our website at https://t.co/jeTGnnwLAW pic.twitter.com/StLOrxTlhg

— KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) October 22, 2020

The the tweet above confirms that Kojima Productions is hiring "best-in-class talent" to work on its next title. The posted job listing includes writing, art, and programming positions with an emphasis on Japanese fluency. In the past, Kojima mentioned a willingness to create a sequel to Death Stranding. But who knows what imaginative plans he has in store?

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of the games we've been playing recently, including: Amnesia: Rebirth, NHL 21, and COD: Warzone's The Haunting of Verdansk event. Then we get really spooky and try to pick the five scariest games of this generation. Next, we put together another fantastic round of community emails. Finally, we close the show with an interview with Yakuza: Like a Dragon's senior localization producer Scott Strichart, who gets us excited for the next entry in the famed Yakuza series. So please join Blake Hester, Kim Wallace, Dan Tack, Liana Ruppert, Marcus Stewart, Alex Stadnik, and myself for another wild and ever-entertaining episode!

Detroit: Become Human challenged players to dive into an existential narrative about what it means to be human in a world that seems to be losing its humanity by the day. To celebrate the PC version of the game, Quantic is offering a limited-edition collector's edition for Detroit fans to enjoy. 

The new Detroit: Become Human collector's edition is limited to just 2,500 units, which makes it very limited in quantity. It offers a Kara statue as well as pins themed after the game and a CyberLife ID card with a game code attached. 

You can see the full glory of the new collector's edition in the video at the top of the article with a first glance look below: 

The statue itself stands just over 10.5 inches tall on a base that is illuminated by LED right lights. With over five million units sold worldwide, this is just another excuse for those that haven't jumped in yet to do so and experience this game for themselves. 

The Detroit: Become Human collector's edition runs for $349.99 and is available in the Quantic Dream Shop as well as selected retailers worldwide.