IGN

PlatinumGames has announced a new Tokyo studio that will develop live service games, unlike its usual single-player experiences. This news arrives as the third of four planned announcements from the developer. The studio launch was teased in Wednesday's Project G.G. announcement without much information until today. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/project-gg-teaser-trailer"] Executive Vice President and Studio Head of PlatinumGames, Atsushi Inaba, explained the developer's goal is to develop games that continue to evolve past a released version: "So far, the name PlatinumGames has been nearly synonymous with single-player action games. But going forward, we’re looking to expand into new genres and styles of play. One of these new challenges for us is console live ops game development. These aren’t games we’d work on until they were done, and that’s all – rather, we’d continue working on them to provide new content long after release. We want to explore this ongoing development pattern in the home console space. "Our new Tokyo office will play a major role as we expand into live ops game development. The starting core members of our future live ops team who’ll be working there are already a part of PlatinumGames." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=project-gg-new-platinum-game-first-images&captions=true"] Platinum's first announced game out of the Tokyo studio will be Hideki Kamiya's Project G.G, which was announced yesterday.

Details of Supermassive Games' next game in the Dark Pictures Anthology, Little Hope, have been revealed alongside a release window. The first Dark Pictures Anthology game, Man of Medan, came out in August last year, and players that made it to the end were treated to a small teaser of Little Hope. That teaser ended with the release year of 2020 and that was the last we heard of this next game in the anthology series. Supermassive Games has now released more info about the upcoming title, and it seems players can expect to traverse an abandoned town this summer. "Trapped and isolated in the abandoned town of Little Hope, four college students and their professor must escape the nightmarish visions that relentlessly pursue them through an impenetrable fog," Supermassive Games CEO Pete Samuels said in an update. "As they journey through the town looking for a means of escape, they must understand the meaning of these events, the root of evil, and how it is directly connected to them." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/the-dark-pictures-anthology-from-man-of-medan-to-little-hope-trailer"] As you can see in the trailer, Little Hope appears to lean more toward Until Dawn than it does Man of Medan. Little Hope will launch Summer 2020 as the second entry in the Dark Pictures Anthology, which Supermassive Games describes as a series of "intense, standalone, branching cinematic horror games" that combine "atmospheric environments with powerful storytelling to create a terrifying new gaming experience." Little Hope will feature the same two multiplayer modes that Man of Medan did: Shared Story and Movie Night.

Plague Inc. has been removed from sale in China at the instructions of the Chinese government, just weeks after the game skyrocketed in popularity in the country following the outbreak of COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus). In a statement on developer Ndemic's website, a spokesperson wrote: "We have some very sad news to share with our China based players. We've just been informed that Plague Inc. “includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China” and has been removed from the China App Store.

Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have revealed Zarude the rogue monkey, a new mythical Pokemon coming to Pokemon Sword and Shield. A short trailer has shown Zarude in action. This new mythical is a dark/grass type Pokemon, who can use the Leaf Guard ability. The video description on YouTube claims that “When fighting, it swings around using trees and their branches, attacking relentlessly with its sharp claws or any other means it has. Its quick wit helps it excel in battles.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=pokemon-home-price-and-features&captions=true"] Zarude lives up to its dark type by looking a little less like a monkey and more like a gremlin, with red markings around his eyes, fang-like teeth and pointed fur making him appear particularly aggressive. The trailer demonstrates him dealing a great amount of damage to a Rillaboom and a Drednaw. In other news, you can now get access to Pokemon Home and transfer monsters from Pokemon Bank to the new system. Also, why not watch this adorable little girl win a major Pokemon championship. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

While I’ve never fantasized about being a woodsman on a murderous rampage against the gang who left him for dead, Bloodroots sure makes that specific scenario a bloody great time. With a well-written revenge story as its wrapper, developer Paper Cult delivers a fast, furious, and fun action game that consistently finds new ways to surprisingly take advantage of its simple setup. Bloodroots follows in the shoes of Hotline Miami and Ape Out by presenting a seemingly straightforward premise – you, as Mr. Wolf, go through each level killing enemies with one hit while trying not to be killed yourself, also with one hit. Kills can be chained together, with grades awarded at the end of each level that frequently convinced me to give them another try in the hopes of bumping that C+ up to at least a B. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/21/bloodroots-gameplay-party-level"] What sets Bloodroots apart from similar score-chasing action games, and what Paper Cult makes great use of in each level’s design, is the weapon arsenal Mr. Wolf has at his disposal – and it includes pretty much everything. An axe with a heavy slice? Obviously a murder weapon. A light-but-deadly fence post that whacks an enemy? Murder weapon. A chain-chomp homage that slingshots Mr. Wolf through the air from one enemy to the next? Definitely a murder weapon. A flimsy carrot? The deadliest of vegetables in town. This arsenal is put to consistently wacky use level after level during Bloodroots’ three-act, roughly eight-hour campaign – that length will likely depend on how often you’re dying. Playing out like a Jackie Chan action film mixed with an art style reminiscent of Samurai Jack, Bloodroots is an unrelenting assault on the poor souls standing in Mr. Wolf’s way.

The Xbox Series X's quick resume feature was confirmed earlier this week but it's now been revealed that it even lets you resume games after rebooting the console.

Microsoft's Larry Hryb discussed the feature on the February 26 episode of his Major Nelson podcast with Jason Ronald, the director of program management at Xbox. Ronald explained that the Xbox One already lets you quick resume games you're playing, but says that the SSD of the Xbox Series X lets you do that with multiple titles, instantly jumping between them to pick up right where you left each one.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/24/xbox-series-x-has-12-teraflops-new-technical-specs-revealed-ign-news"]

Hryb then recounts a time that he admits he'll "probably get in trouble for talking about," during which he discovered how far the quick resume feature goes. "One of the things that I was noticing when I was in the lab when I was playing it, I was switching back and forth just real quickly and seamlessly between games, but then I had to reboot because I had a system update. And then I went back to the game and went right back to it. So it survives a reboot. That's amazing."

Ronald confirms that this is the case and remarks that it's hard to go back to older consoles after using the quick resume of the Xbox Series X. "If I just want to have a quick gaming experience, I can instantly jump in have a great time, and then know that the next time I come back I'll be right where I was," Ronald said.

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A set of Baldur’s Gate 3 screenshots have leaked, revealing not just what the game looks like, but also a much more graphically impressive project than first expected. The screenshots, posted to Imgur just hours ahead of the Baldur’s Gate 3 first gameplay reveal at PAX East, shows an isometric RPG in a similar style to developer Larian Studios’ previous project, Divinity: Original Sin 2. Naturally, this perspective also links it to the original two Baldur’s Gate games, which were both isometric in perspective. However, it appears that the game also has third-person perspective segments. Dialogue with other characters is shown at a scale akin to The Witcher or Dragon Age, with very impressively drawn character models that are notably more detailed than what we'd expect from an isometric game. There are also what appear to be stills taken from cutscenes, also shown from a similar third-person perspective. While Divinity: Original Sin 2 was graphically impressive for an isometric RPG, it appears that Larian has striven for something more ‘AAA’ in appearance for Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s unclear if the Divinity engine is being used, but small indicators such as the same fonts suggest that it may be a heavily upgraded version of that tech. Beyond being graphically impressive, the screenshots also provides hints to the gameplay design, which seems very much within the lineage of the Divinity: Original Sin games.

If you were around for SkiFree, a Microsoft-created video game released in 1991 for the company’s Entertainment Pack 3, you probably enjoyed the surfing Easter egg the company hid in its Edge browser last year. Microsoft has now made the SkiFree-like surfing game an offline Edge browser game. Last year to promote the unveiling of a new Edge browser logo Microsoft developers hid a surfing game heavily reminiscent of SkiFree. Microsoft employees hid the game and only users who deciphered their clues via puzzles and secret images were able to play the game. But now that game will be available to anyone on the Edge browser. Edge users can find the game at edge://surf. The new version now supports three new modes including a time trial, support for keyboard, mouse, touch, or gamepad, and local high scores. Check out the game in action in the tweet below.

The edge://surf game is now available as the offline game in Microsoft Edge! We've made a ton of improvements based on your feedback. Here's what's new in Canary/Dev:

Diablo 4's quarterly update introduces the Cannibals and a long-awaited feature, rebinding the left-click button. Blizzard revealed the information as part of a developer blog. The new group of enemies known as the Cannibals is one of many labeled "families" in the Diablo 4 universe. The developers of Diablo 4 previously announced that enemy groups will be classified first by family type and then genre, so within the Canibal group there will be some enemies that are ranged, melee, etc. Check out the trailer below showing a brief look at the Cannibals. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/diablo-4-cannibal-family-turnaround-trailer"] Some of the current known families include the Cultists, the Drowned, and the returning Fallen. Blizzard Developer, Candace Thomas, Senior Encounter Designer, describes the Cannibals as melee bruisers that leap toward players. Thomas states in the developer blog that each of the four family enemies has a unique fighting style.

• The two-handed greatsword cleaver wielder that has a "slow sweeping frontal attack".
• A more mobile attacker with a lightweight halberd for leaping great distances.
• A bruiser that can stun players with a heavy spiked club attack.
• The dual axe-wielding swarmers that aim to be a pain if left alone.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=diablo-4-gameplay-reveal-images&captions=true"] A short message from an unknown character named, Liya Khal’tib, provides some lore to the Cannibals, "The few who have survived encounters with these butchers share the same stories. They tell of the mad fire that burns in the eyes of all Cannibals, of how eating the flesh of their victims in battle only fuels their hunger for more.

The upcoming Season 10 of Destiny 2 will see Bungie remove paid loot boxes from the game. Destiny 2 director Luke Smith announced in a lengthy "Director's Cut" blog post on Wednesday that Bungie is removing the ability for players to purchase Bright Engrams, which are essentially paid loot boxes. A Bright Engram can be purchased in the Eververse store using Silver, an in-game currency that can be purchased with real money, and decoded to reveal random shaders, emotes and more. "For Season 10, we're doing away with Bright Engrams as purchasable items," Smith wrote in the blog post. "We want players to know what something costs before they buy it. Bright Engrams don't live up to that principle so we will no longer be selling them on the Eververse Store, though they will still appear on the Free Track of the Season Pass." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=destiny-2-forsaken-screenshots&captions=true"] As Smith pointed out, Bright Engrams will still be in the game on the free track of the season pass but players will no longer be able to spend the premium currency of Silver on them.

Dreams, Media Molecule’s newest game-slash-creation tool, has been a hit with creatives looking to flex their game design prowess. But some say the discovery tool that’s meant to highlight up-and-coming projects tend to favor viral content over original creations, something Media Molecule says it’s looking to address. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/14/dreams-launch-trailer"] Dreams is a tool that lets creators work within the Dreams game engine and create all kinds of games, animations, and visual content. We’ve already seen wildly imaginative creations come out of Dreams already, and there’s even a Trending Dreams tab that’s meant to highlight some of the most popular Dreams creations. But one critique of the Trending system is how it places more weight on games based purely on plays and not necessarily likes. In practice, this floats remakes and “memes” up to the top over original creations that may not have gone viral. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20trending%20algorithm%20right%20now%20is%20rewarding%20clickbait%20and%20it%20is%20suffocating%20high-quality%20content"]In one thread on the r/PS4Dreams subreddit with over 1.2 thousand upvotes, players are discussing ways this system can be improved. “I understand that trending games are the most played games of the day but...

Yacht Club Games has announced a new Shovel Knight spin-off, titled Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. Revealed during a Yacht Club Games livestream, Pocket Dungeon is a puzzle-adventure crossover that combines elements from traditional falling block puzzle games and dungeon crawlers. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=shovel-knight-pocket-dungeon-screenshots&captions=true"] In addition to blocks, enemies and bosses will also fall into the puzzle. Yacht Club Games said that old bosses from the Shovel Knight franchise will appear, as well as new foes. To play, you'll simply move in four directions around the puzzle, trading damage with any enemies you bump into. Yacht Club Games is bringing a Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon demo to PAX East this weekend. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/28/shovel-knight-dig-trailer"] Pocket Dungeon also adds the appropriately named Puzzle Knight into the mix, who will show you the ropes so you can make your way through the game's story mode or two player versus mode. No release window was mentioned, and Yacht Club Games has not said what platforms Pocket Dungeon will release on. Yacht Club Games recently completed Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove after the release of King of Cards and Showdown, but the studio is still using the character for new projects.

Sony has announced that Shadow of the Colossus and Sonic Forces are the PlayStation Plus games for the month of March. Revealed through the PlayStation Blog, both titles will be available to download from Tuesday, March 3 until Monday, April 6. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/01/30/shadow-of-the-colossus-for-ps4-review"] The Shadow of the Colossus PS4 remake, which launched in 2018, was a faithful retelling of the original PS2 classic. In our Shadow of the Colossus for PS4 review, we called the game amazing, saying, "this emotional monster-slayer remains one of the best PlayStation games ever made." The remake made its way onto our list of the best PlayStation 4 games, as well as the top 25 games that deserve a sequel. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-playstation-4-games&captions=true"] 2017's Sonic Forces is the latest 3D Sonic platformer from Sonic Team.

Predator: Hunting Grounds is going to have a trial weekend next month so you can give it a go yourself. It starts on March 27 at 4pm in the UK, 5pm in Europe, while North America players can join in at 5pm PST. You'll be able to play all the way through to March 29, 2020.

The trial will be available to those PlayStation Plus on PS4 as well as PC players, and they'll be able to play together with cross-play support. You can choose to play solo as the Predator, or you can team up against the alien menace as a human fireteam with three other players.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/01/predator-hunting-grounds-hands-on-impressions"]

This is an asymmetrical multiplayer game like developer Illfonic's previous game, Friday the 13th. That means the Predator will have an advantage when it comes to one-on-one fights due to its arsenal and mobility, able to ambush its prey from all directions. However, the fireteam can come out on top if the squad is able to work together and cover each other's backs.

IGN got to preview Predator: Hunting Grounds last year and found it to be "a blast." Especially when playing as the Predator, using the plasmacaster, arm blades, cloaking ability, infrared vision, and more of the iconic tools from the films. Illfonic says that it's built upon the feedback that demo got after taking it to events last year and so the trial version should be further refined.

The creator of the Konami Code, Kazuhisa Hashimoto, has died. The news was announced by composer and former Konami collaborator Yuji Takenouchi. Takenouchi shared a message on Twitter that states that Hashimoto died last night (February 25), and that the composer hopes the legendary programmer and developer continues to “keep making games in heaven”. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/08/08/history-of-awesome-contra"] Hashimoto worked at Konami in the 80s and 90s on classic games such as Snatcher, Gradius, Life Force, and ISS, but he is best known for the creation of the Konami Code; a combination of button inputs used to activate powerful cheats. The code - up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start - was first implemented by Hashimoto into the NES version of Gradius as it was found to be too difficult during playtesting. The code would give players a complete set of power ups. The code was subsequently added to dozens of other games over the years. It is perhaps best known for its use in Contra, where it would grant players 30 lives. The Konami code can be found outside of Konami games, too, thanks to its evolution into a pop-culture icon. Fortnite, League of Legends, and Rocket League all have a Konami code, and even Netflix has a secret settings menu that can be accessed by inputting an almost identical code.

PlatinumGames has announced The Wonderful 101: Remastered will be released for Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Steam on May 19 in North America and May 22 in Europe (no Australian release date available at time of writing). This is being referred to as a "general" release date and, to our knowledge, backers of the game's Kickstarter that paid to receive a copy of the game will still be receiving it in April as stated on the crowd-funding campaign's page. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/the-wonderful-101-remastered-release-date-clip"] In a message to fans, the original version's director, Hideki Kamiya, thanked fans for supporting the game after its commercial failure on Wii U, saying, "I’m considering this a chance to show it to the world again. I’m looking forward to seeing how it measures up." He adds: "This isn’t just a simple port, either. We’ve tuned the controls for each new platform and made several adjustments that should make it easier to grasp and play. On top of that, we’ve improved the image quality and frame rate to suit modern hardware. On the whole, I’d say The Wonderful 101: Remastered is the definitive edition of the game!" The Wonderful 101: Remastered has seen a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, asking for just under £38,000 ($50,000 USD) and receiving £1.4 million ($1.8 million USD) with 9 days still to go.

PlatinumGames has officially announced its first self-published game, Project G.G. Directed by Hideki Kamiya, it will be a spiritual follow-up to Viewtiful Joe and The Wonderful 101. Project G.G. (a working title) will be a 'giant hero' game in the vein of Ultraman. No platforms or release date have been announced – in fact, Kamiya says "the finish line is still a long way away". The initial teaser trailer, below, shows a man (from the viewpoint of an excellent dog) transforming to fight a kaiju amid a cityscape: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/project-gg-teaser-trailer"] Project G.G. is a major step for Platinum, which has always partnered with publishers for its work until recently. While the Kickstarter for The Wonderful 101 on Switch was a start, this is the developer's first fully self-published title, and it will be developed at a new 100-person studio in Tokyo that Platinum is currently staffing up. In a message to fans, Hideki Kamiya said: "In the fourteen years since we founded this company, we’ve worked towards the dream of making and releasing a game based on a Platinum intellectual property. Now, we’re finally stepping up to that starting line." He explains that because of restrictions based on other companies owning Platinum's work, sequels and new platform releases have historically been hard or impossible for the developer to push through. "Project G.G. is different", he goes on. "Unlike any of the games we’ve made so far, it’s going to be a 100% PlatinumGames title. For everything from its setting and characters, to its game design and story, to how it’s promoted – PlatinumGames is in full control." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=project-gg-new-platinum-game-first-images&captions=true"] Project G.G.

Harmonix, which kicked off the music gaming renaissance via Guitar Hero and Rock Band that filled our homes with rock music, and our closets with plastic instruments, is back with another appealing attempt at keeping the beat alive. Fuser, set for launch on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch this fall, shows the clear DNA of the studio’s older games like the original Guitar Hero, while blending in some of the music mixing innovation of its recent board game DropMix, for a unique experience that looks to emphasize player choice in every aspect. Fuser’s campaign will put players in the position of a DJ headlining a series of rocking festivals, but this is not about Harmonix finally offering up a competitor to Activision’s DJ Hero. Instead, Fuser is about, well, players fusing together tracks from the promised library of over 100 songs to keep the crowd entertained, satisfy mid-set requests, and achieve new high scores. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/26/fuser-announcement-trailer-from-the-makers-of-rock-band"] You do that by mixing together different strands of each particular track on four different disc plates. Start off by choosing, say, the drumline to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” mix in the bassline to Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” throw in the guitar line of Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper,” and layer on top the vocals of….Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” if you’re me at least.

We Got the Beat

Each track featured in the game has four different stems (some mix of vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard, percussion, etc.) you can choose from, and outside of early tutorial-lite suggestions and requests (which I’ll get to in a bit), it’s up to you to mix and match to taste. Harmonix’s music mixing tech – something it showed off so well in the board game DropMix – is kind enough to all the artists involved to make everything sound cohesive, even in a weird mix like the one I described above.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently talked about where he thinks Microsoft will take gaming in the future, beyond the next-gen Xbox Series X, specifically when it comes to business models, monetisation, and cloud streaming services.

Spencer joined Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price for an hour-long episode of the AIAS Game Maker's Notebook podcast to discuss "what lies ahead for Xbox and Project xCloud, thoughts on monetization," among other topics.

One major topic centred around whether he thinks the industry will move from console wars to cloud wars in the future. "I hope not," was his immediate reply. "I think I'm going to have a game console plugged into my television for the next decade plus," he added. "I think the best way for me to play on my television is going to be having a device that downloads the games I want to play, but sometimes I'm not going to be in front of my television, sometimes I'm not in front of a device that has a native capability to play. That's our bet on cloud."

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/31/ps5-xbox-series-x-power-increase-is-substantial"]

Microsoft, Google, PlayStation, Nvidia, and the rest of the competitors moving towards game streaming services still have a lot to learn when it comes to monetisation and input, according to Spencer. But his hope is that it will encourage game developers to be more creative with their games in the future.

Square Enix has revealed that its games currently in development will be available on both current and next generation consoles, and games exclusively made and released for next-gen consoles will be "somewhat farther down the road". The company, which develops Final Fantasy and will publish Marvel's Avengers, made the announcement in an investor Q&A. President Yosuke Matsuda said: "The next-generation consoles will have backward compatibility, so we plan for the time being to make our new titles available for both current and next-generation consoles. It will therefore be somewhat farther down the road that we release titles exclusively for the next-generation consoles." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-over-100-screenshots&captions=true"] What's interesting here is that mention of backwards compatibility. It may be that Square Enix is only working on current-generation versions of its games right now, because Xbox Series X and PS5 will both play them out of the box. It's not entirely clear from the text - we asked for clarification from Square Enix, but received a no-comment response. Microsoft's new Smart Delivery policy, which allows players to buy a current-gen game and get access to its next-gen version for no extra cost (already adopted by the likes of CD Projekt Red for Cyberpunk 2077), could also be an option.

On this episode of IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Max Scoville fills in for Jonathon (who's off at the rodent park again) and is joined by Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and IGN UK's special operative and international man of mystery, Simon Cardy. We discuss some new patents for a DualShock 5 attachment that suggest a heart rate and sweat sensor, Sony not being the only company pulling out of conventions due to Coronavirus concerns, some awesome-sounding Resident Evil 3 Remake impressions, our problems with vomit and arctic levels, Simon's hands-on time with Persona 5 Royal, that new Samurai Jack game, and of course, Bloodborne. Have a question, comment, Memory Card story, or That One Thing submission? Write in to beyond@ign.com! Want to buy a Beyond shirt? Check out the recently opened IGN store! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-3-leak-screenshot-gallery-images&captions=true"] Download or listen to the show on these platforms:

• Direct Download

• YouTube

Imagine: Ori… but with a sword. Weapons are one of the many new features in Ori and the Will Wisps, a sequel designed to cater to multiple playstyles. But when I first started swinging my light sword (officially called Spirit Edge) I felt powerful and a little concerned that Ori and the Will of the Wisps may have strayed too far from the first game’s light. Fortunately, as I unlocked more abilities, experimented with this new combat, and strategically leapt across the forest, all those fears vanished. After two hours of hands-on gameplay, it’s clear Ori and the Will of the Wisps is aiming to improve on its established formula with more freedom, experimentation, and a fun new set of weapons and abilities. But in the process, it’s picked up a few new weaknesses as well.

From a story perspective, Ori and the Will of the Wisps continues where Ori and the Blind Forest left off: with a new family member. As we’ve come to expect from Moon Studios, the animations, music, and dynamic lighting evoke a sense of wonder as we’re re-introduced to these adorable characters and their obvious kinship. By the end of the opening scene I was immediately protective of them.

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The charm from the first game is there but the catalyst of this story isn’t nearly as sad. Instead, it’s a childish misstep – an Icarus-like moment of recklessness. But instead of demise, this blunder leads straight into an adventure. Don’t worry though,  “You’ve got to get your tissues ready,” says Daniel Smith, Senior Producer at Xbox Game Studios. “It’s a sad story once again [but] a joyful story as well.” After all, tragedy is nothing without catharsis.

Every so often, anime series will get a spinoff movie that takes place outside of the events of the main series. They can be fun and entertaining, but they’ll almost certainly never bring up the main story, and you may end up wondering if these extra adventures ever really happened at all. The Fire Emblem: Three Houses Expansion Pass DLC feels very similar to those movies. While most of the seven new missions that make up its modestly-sized side story are engaging and fairly challenging in their own right, the way they are woven into the original plot doesn’t feel fully thought out, even if the new characters it brings along are a welcome addition to the cast.

The Expansion Pass is made up of a bunch of scattered elements – extra items and new costumes for Byleth (so you can finally run around the Monastery without your sleeves flapping about), a few new auxiliary missions, a recruitable fan favorite merchant named Anna, and the ability to invite other characters to join you in a sauna (which is thankfully way less creepy than it could be). None of these features are really must-haves, but they do sprinkle in some fun variety, especially for those in New Game+ looking to try out another route.

We are EXCITED about the new Xbox Series X technical details, including the whopping 12 teraflops of computing power that the next-gen Xbox is packing. Plus: EA canceled another Star Wars project, March's Games With Gold have been announced, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with DOOM Eternal director Hugo Martin and executive producer Marty Stratton: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/dooms-long-road-back-to-greatness-with-doom-eternal-director-hugo-martin-and-marty-stratton-ign-unfiltered-48"] It's already an incredibly fun year of Xbox coverage, and the best is yet to come. Join us! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Australia’s eccentric car culture is well documented. Falcons, Commodores, utes and fast four-doors. Brabham, Brock, and 351 Cleveland blocks. From Summernats and Mad Max, a love of everything from Bathurst cookouts to gender reveal burnouts runs deep down under. It’s no surprise, then, that – despite its geographical isolation – Australia plays host to a variety of big ticket international motor racing events, from the F1 curtain-raiser at Albert Park to the final round of the WRC, as well as the iconic Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama, the World Time Attack Challenge at Sydney Motorsport Park, and the MotoGP at Phillip Island. However, another international racing event came to Australia for the first time this month, drawing competitors from all over the globe. But the venue for this high speed showdown isn’t one of the renowned race circuits mentioned above. In fact, the venue isn’t a race circuit at all. This racing championship doesn’t require a race track. It doesn’t even require real roads. Where these drivers are going, they don’t need roads. [poilib element="accentDivider"] The Gran Turismo Championships (GTC) is a series of professional virtual racing tournaments that developer Polyphony Digital has been hosting in various cities around the world since 2018.

I’m not sure how long it will take for the words “Amazon Game Studios” to stop sounding weird when put together as a proper noun. Yet despite the on-paper oddness that is the world’s largest online retailer entering the gaming market, Amazon has quietly amassed a formidable team of industry veterans that have all been hard at work on New World, a big-budget MMORPG that could rival the genre’s biggest powerhouses.

That the company means business was evident from the moment I set foot in Amazon Game Studios for a small New World preview session with a handful of other journalists. We had to turn in our IDs, sign NDAs, and get scanned through entry doors before we even saw an elevator, let alone an actual employee. The walls were lined with portraits of influential developers like Shigeru Miyamoto, waist-high cubicle walls were ordained with nerdy bric-a-brac, and there was a general buzz of excitement one would expect from a studio facing an impending launch.

It felt like the real deal, in other words. People may not associate Amazon with the creation of games just yet, but that might change soon with the power of the underlying tech it has built.

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Most online games are primarily powered and run locally on a user’s computer, known as client-based processing. But in the case of Amazon, due to its significant server resources via the AWS (Amazon Web Services) branch, most of its simulations are server-based. This frees up a lot of resources and computing power in terms of enabling New World’s real-time physics-based combat, as well as the sheer size of its battles.

See when to expect new Temtem, gameplay features, and more with this handy Temtem update schedule.

Xbox Games with Gold have been revealed for March with Telltale's Batman: The Enemy Within and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 leading the way. Batman and Castlevania will be available on Sunday while Shantae: Half-Genie Hero and Sonic Generations will be free on March 16. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/xbox-march-2020-games-with-gold-trailer"] Batman: The Enemy Within was released throughout 2017 and early 2018. It's a sequel to Telltale's 2016 Batman series, which was one of the free Games with Gold in January. IGN's review of the final episode said, "Telltale’s take on Batman has been nothing if not full of fun twists over its first two seasons, and it sets up an intriguing jumping-off point if there is to be a third." This would ultimately be the last Telltale game fully released before the studio faced closure during the release of their next game. One of IGN's sources familiar with Telltale said, "15 [million] people watched Batman on YouTube – 250k bought it." However, Telltale jumped back with the re-announcement of The Wolf Among Us Season 2 in December. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 came out in 2014. The first Lords of Shadow and the Mirrors of Fate spinoff were both released in Games with Gold throughout 2019. Lords of Shadow 2 is still the last new Castlevania game that has been released.

A Resident Evil 3 demo is on the way, according to a tweet made by the Resident Evil Twitter account Tuesday. The tweet doesn't mention anything beyond that a demo is on the way so it's not clear which point in the game that this demo takes place. The tweet does, however, say that more details will be announced soon so it's likely that we will learn more about what this demo consists of soon.

It was written in the STARS... A Resident Evil 3 Demo is on the way. We'll have more details in the near future! pic.twitter.com/wqN2AwI3pH

Ubisoft delayed Ghost Recon Breakpoint's February update very late in the day, and fans aren't happy. The update, which is set to include the new Immersive Mode and Engineer class, was delayed until Spring – revealed via a blog post. Based on previous updates, many in the community had expected it to be released on the final Tuesday of the month (February 25), and that blog post arrived on Monday.

We've updated our Rune Factory 4 review with details about Rune Factory 4 Special for Nintendo Switch.

This week in Red Dead Online, claim double Role XP for Collector role activities, save up to 50% on Collector items, and get 5 Ranks of Club XP.

Today we're looking at something really cool, the very first walkthrough of Hardspace: Shipbreaker. Shipbreaker is an upcoming physics-based strategy/puzzle/demolition/don't-get-sucked-into-space game heading to early access on PC later this summer and coming to consoles in the future. Join Blackbird Interactive creative director Trey Smith as he floats us through the trials and tribulations of everyday life as a space scrapper – a blue-collar person of danger who reclaims valuable material from lost and decommissioned vessels. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/19/hardspace-shipbreaker-early-access-reveal-trailer-pax-east-2020"] In Hardspace: Shipbreaker, you play one such person, desperate to leave earth behind you sign a contract with a salvage corporation, and incur a debt, that you'll pay off through hard labor. In this case, the strategic cutting and dismantling of hulking spacefaring vehicles, all the while keeping an eye on your oxygen and thruster fuel gauges. But that's the least of your concerns. Shipbreaking seems like a dangerous job. For one, you're in space, which, in the context of workplace safety is just never really ideal. And the tool of the shipbreaking trade is a multi-angle laser cutting device a la Dead Space called the Bonesaw. It effortlessly slices through space-grade alloys which is, again, not an ideal thing to be using anywhere near a delicate closed system of breathable air. Honestly, just red flags all over the place here. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hardspace-shipbreaker-screen-gallery&captions=true"] But with your scanner you can see through the ship's exterior to spot key structural points, vital systems, and valuable materials that make up each ship, giving you some degree of precision and safety. However, ships are also full of things that react very poorly to being nicked with a laser: electrical material, combusting reactors, and pressurized atmosphere.

Here's everything you need to know about Amiibo compatibility and functionality.

Adult Swim Games and Japanese developer Soleil Games have announced a brand new video game based on the hit animated series, Samurai Jack. IGN has the exclusive first trailer for Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time which is coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch this summer. You can watch the trailer below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/samurai-jack-battle-through-time-video-game-announced"] Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is set before Jack’s final fight with Aku, an evil entity that trapped Jack in alternate timelines throughout human history. Jack will have to fight through several different timelines in order to reach Aku and defeat him. The script for the Samurai Jack game is written by series head writer Darrick Bachman. The gameplay will combine hack-and-slash gameplay and allow players to wield a variety of different melee and ranged weapons. The 3D art style still retains the stylized look of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Emmy Award-winning animated series, which is a huge plus. The developers, Soleil Games, are a small studio from Japan comprised of ex-Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive developers so they have some background in 3D hack-and-slash games. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=samurai-jack-battle-through-time-screenshots&captions=true"] Samurai Jack series creator Genndy Tartakovsky and head writer Darrick Bachman will be at PAX East for Adult Swim Games’ panel on Friday, February 28 where they will reveal more details about the project. Samurai Jack originally aired for four seasons on Cartoon Network from 2001 to 2004 where it received critical acclaim. The series was brought back for a final season in 2017 by Adult Swim.

Resident Evil 3 Remake comes so hot on the heels of the massively successful Resident Evil 2, that it was hard not to be a little skeptical of its quality before sitting down to play it. I’m happy to report however that not only does Resident Evil 3 feel as fresh and clever as its predecessor, it adds enough to potentially exceed it. Resident Evil 3 takes place both just before and after the events of Resident Evil 2, and from what I played appears to very closely follow in the footsteps laid out by the 1999 original, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Much like the RE 2 Remake, RE 3 retraces these moments faithfully, but adds enough modern flair and -with the aid of hindsight and modern technology- re-organises events and adapts characters to draw the most out of the narrative. Carlos for example, now feels more like an actual human being and not a Jill leering, machine gun toting caricature. In the few cutscenes I did experience, the story was well produced and far more engaging than the original. Although Nikolai’s Russian accent was definitely still leaning on the cartoon-y side. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Somehow%2C%20the%20city%20felt%20huge%20and%20alive%2C%20but%20at%20the%20same%20time%20claustrophobic."] I was dropped in just after meeting Carlos for the first time and played for around 2 hours from there. Despite Racoon City being in a state of chaos, something that immediately stood out to me was how vibrant and alive it felt. I was constantly stopping to take in the details and it almost felt like every building was explorable and every item interactable - the returning explosive red barrels and electric boxes definitely were! Stopping to take in the scenery was often impossible though, and almost entirely misguided. Not only did I have to deal with what felt like nimbler and greater quantities of zombies than in RE 2, but I also had to make my way through tighter, winding paths and a maze-like collection of vehicles and barricades.

Capcom revealed a whole bunch of new details about Resident Evil 3 remake this morning. IGN was able to get a full hands-on preview from the event, as well as an interview with Capcom producer Peter Fabiano where we talked about the inspirations for Jill Valentine’s redesign, the changes in the remake from the original, and how to make Nemesis scary after Mr. X. Resident Evil 3 remake reimagines and remixes the characters and events of the 1999 PlayStation survival-horror game. Jill Valentine, a protagonist from the first Resident Evil game, once again takes center stage as she tries to escape Raccoon City during a T-Virus outbreak. Like the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom has gone back to the drawing board to redesign Jill Valentine for 2020 and we asked Fabiano what that process was like. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-3&captions=true"] “So when you look at the original, right? [Jill Valentine] needed to kind of pop in the graphics of the day. So when we were looking at [the remake] and rebuilding Raccoon City and the world, overall, in Resident Evil 3, you’ll notice that we use photogrammetry and photo-real [graphics],” Fabiano said. “We wanted to make sure that Jill fit in that environment. So that’s why you’ll see that come to fruition in the design that we have with Jill and in the reimagining we have here. As well as the fact that you still see the Jill you know and love. That comes out a lot more in the performances and mocap.” It wasn’t just Jill’s look that got a redesign either. Resident Evil 3 expands on the storytelling and dialogue, which means Jill’s character has been expanded upon through story and writing as well.

Red Dead Online players are being suspended and, in some cases, permanently banned after opening treasure chests spawned into the game by hackers. Unfortunately, it seems it's not just hackers that are getting caught out, as even players who have never used a cheat in Red Dead Online are being suspended if they interact with these treasure chests.

The treasure chest spawner was released on January 22, 2020 as an update to a mod menu created by an Austrian hacker called zJanny. Mod menus allow players to use cheats inside Red Dead Online, such as god mode, teleportation, and spawning objects - and breach the game's terms of service.

When zJanny released the treasure chest spawner into a hacker's forum, it came with the message "IDK if detected or not," meaning they weren't sure if using the cheat would be detected by Rockstar's anti-cheat software and lead to an account suspension.

Around February 15, hackers from the same forum in which zJanny released the cheat started to report that they had been banned for using zJanny's mod menu, specifically for using a treasure chest spawning function. The number of bans reported by the hackers due to using the treasure chest spawner have increased since.

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Rainbow Six Siege's development team would like the competitive shooter to go free-to-play one day.

That's according to game director Leroy Athanassoff who spoke to PC Gamer at the Six Invitational 2020. "It’s a company decision. I think on the development team we want that at some point. We want the game to be accessible to everyone,” Athanassoff said.

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However, he added that while the desire is there to make Siege free-to-play, Athanassoff reckons the game isn't ready for it yet. “You need certain features ready to be a good and successful free-to-play game,” he said.

One of these features according to the game director is a solution to smurfing in Siege. Smurfing is when an experienced player creates a new account in order to play against players of lesser skill. "What’s important for us is that we find out as soon as possible that a player is highly skilled in the things that matter,” Athanassoff said. “The problem right now is that you can play a certain amount of matches with Copper players while you’re a Diamond.”

Ubisoft has a team dedicated to making smurfing less of a problem in Rainbow Six Siege. If that team is able to lessen its impact then Siege will be a little closer to going free-to-play. One of the ways to do this is to change how a player's skill is worked out.

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Currently, Siege's ranking system looks at a player's win rate, but Athanasoff's team is looking to bring in more stats so smurfs aren't matched with lower-skilled players as often.

With ongoing concerns about the spread of COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus), games companies are increasingly pulling out of major events for the protection of their employees and the public. Below is a list of dropouts, changes and cancellations at game shows across the world, forced by the current health crisis. We'll update this story as and when more news emerges. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/07/the-outer-worlds-switch-version-delayed-due-to-coronavirus"]

Taipei Game Show (February 6-9)

January 31: The organisers of Taipei Game Show – who had previously announced temperature checks and mandatory masks for attendees – announce that the show has been postponed to an unspecified date later this year.  “We are deeply sorry to announce the difference decision from our committee,” said the organizers in a statement. “However, due to the serious outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus, we have decided to postpone the event to this summer.”

PAX East (February 27-March 1)

February 19: Sony announces that it will no longer attend PAX East in any capacity, including canceling the first public hands-on of The Last of Us Part 2. February 20: Capcom cancels any developer involvement in the Monster Hunter Festa event, due to take place during PAX East.