Square Enix released a brand new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III almost a full four years after it was originally revealed at E3 2013. My original headline about the game’s announcement so many years ago told readers that “no you’re not dreaming, Kingdom Hearts 3 has been announced” and now this latest trailer opens with “Don’t assume your dreams are just fantasy” – for the entire series fan base and enthusiast press playing KH III has been relegated to the realm of dream or fantasy since the title has yet to appear at a major industry convention or conference in anything but pre-rendered trailer footage.
As for the details about what’s going on in this trailer… well, I haven’t the slightest gosh darn clue. My wife and I are slowly playing through the series and I’ve still got three games left (Dream Drop Distance, Birth By Sleep, 2.8 Prologue) before I am completely caught up. So far the series plot (to me) is slightly disjointed but still enjoyable, if not a little off the wall.
If you want to see pretty visuals of Sora pulling off cool combo moves, Pete and Maleficent rendered in crisp PS4 HD and for the first time four party members active at once – watch the trailer below.
While there’s no release date the end of this trailer, Square Enix does promise the reveal of a brand new world and another new trailer at D23 this coming July.
Come on Square – can we have a release date now? Don’t let our dreams be dreams and give us a release date.. JUST DO IT
EA dedicated a very lengthy section of their four hour livestream this afternoon to DICE’s sequel to 2015’s Star Wars Battlefront reboot. This included an on-stage presentation and featurette about the group of skilled players who helped provide input to developers about the type of changes needed to make Battlefront II’s multiplayer a success. We also got our first look at an actual full multiplayer battle thanks to their Battle on Theed promotion.
DICE has made a number of fundamental changes to how the gameplay systems work in Star Wars Battlefront II. The most obvious is that units, heroes, maps and technology from all three eras (A New Hope Era, Prequels Era, The Force Awakens Era) are all present within a single match. Want to have Rey fight alongside Han Solo? You can do that! Want the Emperor to electrocute Jar Jar Binks, GO FOR IT (okay.. even in my wildest fan dreams we don’t know if there is an actual playable Jar Jar.) Power-ups and ship combat have changed as well – instead of picking up a token on the battlefield to spawn a special weapon, vehicle or hero, players are provided “battlepoints” for almost every action they perform . Whether you’re shooting an enemy player, blowing up a ship with a tracked missile or capturing an objective you’ll earn battlepoints for all of them – at one point during the livestream we saw a ship simply spawn and then crash into a building, and that player still earned BP. The amount of MP to spawn with a different class, weapon, hero or vehicles differs – so we don’t have a clear sense as to how much each of the specific types of purchases cost.
During the livestreamed Assault on Theed multiplayer match, which takes place on the planet of Naboo the Separatists (which include clone troopers from Episode II, the Rebels from A New Hope era and The Resistance from The Force Awakens era) must defend the palace from a large mobile bomb being escorted by the forces of the Galatic Republic (Empire from A New Hope Era, The New Order from Force Awakens Era). Matches on Theed are divided into three distinct phases: a large open urban area where aerial dog fights happen alongside multi-unit battles in the streets of Theed. If the Galactic Republics continues their push the courtyard near the palace gate will unlock, funnels ground units into a narrower space. The final phase of Assault on Theed takes place in the Queen’s throne room and is designed for full on close-quarters combat. It is quite interesting to see Battlefront II adopt three distinctly different gameplay flows and map styles within a single match, very similar to what DICE tried to achieve with the Death Star DLC for the original Battlefront.
Other interesting tidbits included the inclusion of Episode I’s Battle Droids and Darth Maul as selectable units after accumulating enough battlepoints. It was also confirmed during the match that both Han Solo and Boba Fett will return from the first title as Hero Units alongside newcomer Rey. With EA promising 3 times as much content as the original title and free Hero, Mode and Map updates for all players without a season’s pass Battlefront II should have Star Wars fans excited. Star Wars Battlefront II will be out on November 17th 2017 on Xbox One, PS4, PS4 Pro, PC and Xbox Scorpio.
Sonic Mania finally has a release date after being delayed earlier this spring. Fans of rolling around at the speed of sound can pre-order Sonic Mania for PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch or PS4 through their system’s digital store for a suggested retail price of $25.99 Canadian (prices vary depending on region).
Originally revealed during the Sonic The Hedgehog 25th Anniversary Stream last winter, Sonic Mania is the first original 2D Sonic title since 2009’s Sonic Colors for the DS. Co-developed by Sonic Classics port master Christian Whitehead, HeadCannon, and PagodaWest Games, Sonic Mania reimagines classic zones while introducing powerful bosses and pixel perfect physics.
To celebrate the reveal of Mania’s release date SEGA has released a special animatic short featuring the three playable characters – Sonic, Tales and Knuckles. This short has quite a few hidden easter eggs: my favorite being the numbers/letters on the elevator. Is this SEGA acknowledging that Sonic 4 Episodes I & II are no longer considered canon?
Sonic Mania is available for digital pre-order right now but the game will release in a limited physical Collector’s Edition as well.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead: A New Frontier will see its conclusion with the release of episode 5 next Tuesday – May 30th and It will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, iOS and Android.
What will happen to the residents of Richmond as everything hangs on the edge of oblivion? You’ll have to play the game to find out when it releases next week. Our reviews editor Meghan Kass has been reviewing the episodes as they’ve been released so make sure to check out a couple of her reviews to catch up.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier serves as both a sequel to the excellent The Walking Dead Season 2 for existing players and a fresh start for newcomers. As a treat for players of the previous entries, Clementine (the protagonist from Season 2) makes an appearance in A New Frontier.
SEGA announced today that they will be making every early 2000s Sonic fan’s dream come true by allowing the creation of custom characters who will fight alongside the blue blur in the upcoming Sonic Forces. These new characters will use a “third gameplay style” which combines the behind the camera fast paced motion of Modern Sonic with the 2D gameplay of Classic Sonic and the added twist of equipable gadgets.
Players will be able to select a number of different base animal forms for their original character, each with their own unique bonuses. Here are the ones that SEGA has announced thus far:
Wolf – Automatically draws in rings when near them
Rabbit – Has longer invincible time after receiving damage
Cat – Keeps one ring after being hit
Dog – Restarts with five rings after the player dies
Bear – Blows away enemies with a homing attack
Bird – Flies high with double jump abilities
Hedgehog – Collects rings when getting damaged
A brand new trailer released today showcases the number of options available for these OCs.
Here is some raw gameplay featuring a custom character:
Also released were some new screens centered around the player character:
Sonic Forces will be released later this year on Xbox One, PS4, PS4 Pro, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC.
Today, SEGA revealed the third gameplay style in Sonic Forces is a powerful gadget touting customizable character. For the first time in the Sonic series, players can create their own original Hero Character, and customize how the character plays and how it looks. This newly revealed playstyle in Sonic Forces is in addition to the previously revealed fast-paced action of Modern Sonic and the thrilling platforming of Classic Sonic.
Players will be equipping their custom Hero Character with one of a variety of powerful unique gadgets called Wispons. Wispons are an evolution of the Color Powers from Sonic Colors and double as both offensive abilities and as a way to platform through levels quickly. Along with the Wispon, the Hero Character will have a grappling hook they can utilize to quickly traverse across zones. Players can also customize the Hero Character’s looks by choosing and swapping between hundreds of accessories and outfit options to change the character’s appearance as they play through the game.
There are seven base animal types that players can select from, each with varying special abilities:
Wolf – Automatically draws in rings when near them
Rabbit – Has longer invincible time after receiving damage
Cat – Keeps one ring after being hit
Dog – Restarts with five rings after the player dies
Bear – Blows away enemies with a homing attack
Bird – Flies high with double jump abilities
Hedgehog – Collects rings when getting damaged
The created character will also be a key part of the story, appearing not only in cut scenes, but by being a crucial element in the story.
Sonic Forces will be available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, & PC this holiday.
Developed by Saber Interactive, NBA Playgrounds is a new, high-flying, arcade-style basketball game. This classic 2-on-2 action experience will be available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC (Steam) as a digital-only release in May 2017. The digital release is slated to eTail for $19.99 USD.
“Basketball is such a pick-up-and-play sport at heart – we really wanted to bring that spirit into gaming,” said Saber’s CEO, Matt Karch. “NBA Playgrounds has a lot of depth for pros who’ve mastered their game, but it’s accessible enough that anyone can jump in, have fun and feel competitive.“
All 30 NBA teams are featured in NBA Playgrounds, as well an extensive roster of current and retired NBA players that you can level up over time. The game can be played solo, with friends in local and online multiplayer, or against the world in online tournaments. There are hundreds of over-the-top dunks and moves to unleash for show-stopping displays of acrobatic skill on lively playgrounds across the globe.
Telltale Games revealed the first ever trailer for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, which is set to premiere the first of five episodes on April 18th for $4.99 USD. The game will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC, and Mac, as well as available for download on the App Store and Google Play.
The series will also be available as a special ‘Season Pass Disc’ on May 2nd at retailers across North America for an MSRP of $29.99 USD, and on May 5th at retailers in the rest of the world.
The special ‘Season Pass Disc’ will include Episode One: Tangled Up in Blue, and will grant access to download the subsequent four episodes via online updates as they are released in the coming months of 2017.
Additional platforms for release are yet to be announced.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is a brand new story of the universe’s unlikeliest heroes: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. In the wake of an epic battle, the Guardians discover an artifact of unspeakable power. Each of them has a reason to desire this relic, as does a ruthless enemy who is the last of her kind, and who will stop at nothing to tear it from their hands.
From Earth to the Milano to Knowhere and beyond, and set to the beat of awesome music, you wear the rocket-powered boots of Star-Lord in an original Guardians adventure, where your decisions and actions drive the story you experience.
The series will feature a star-studded cast of voice talent, including Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights, The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series) as Star-Lord, Emily O’Brien (The Young and the Restless, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor) as Gamora, Nolan North (the Uncharted series, Pretty Little Liars) as Rocket, Brandon Paul Eells (Watch Dogs) as Drax, and Adam Harrington (The Wolf Among Us, League of Legends) as Groot.
It is no secret that Bungie & Activision are hard at work on a sequel to 2014’s Destiny, the loot-based shooter that launched 3 additional content heavy expansions that when combined with the base game have kept guardians busy for years. A set of new leaks, one comprised of promotional materials from an Italian retailer, and another from a shop listed from a German retailer point to Destiny 2 coming to Windows PC for the first time.
Originally appearing on the Italian website Leganetwork.it, the now removed poster showcases three helmet humanoid guardians – each brandishing a different type of weapon. Featured prominently on the poster in that familiar Destiny typeface is “Destiny 2 – September 8th“, adding further credence to speculation that the Destiny sequel will launch in the early Fall.
Via PCGamer here is a look at the Italian Destiny 2 Poster:
Yesterday according to this Reddit post on r/PCGamingDestiny 2 briefly appeared on GameStop Germany’s public facing website listed for Windows PC. The listing has since been taken down and clicking the provided GameStop.de will simply redirect you to the store’s homepage. The thread is still an interesting read, not for new information on the unannounced sequel, but rather to see just how polarizing a game like Destiny can be. Some in the thread enjoyed the original despite its’ lack of story content, some see the potential of an MMOFPS but feel Destiny 1.0’s approach got it all wrong and others deridde the genre hybrid all together.
None of this information is exactly new as industry veteran reporter Jason Schreier reported almost six months ago that Destiny 2 would indeed appear on PC. In his initial report, he stated that Bungie had decided that they wanted to shift the games’ multi-platform strategy to include PC in the full sequel even if that meant leaving behind all of the characters & content created for the first title.
In part his report said:
“Earlier this year, I’d also heard from a person familiar with Bungie’s plans that Destiny 2, which is currently slated for a late 2017 release, will be on PC…. Bungie’s leadership wants Destiny 2 to feel like a proper sequel, even if that means leaving old planets, characters, and activities behind. “
At the end of the day while we don’t have a lot of concrete details on the Destiny sequel these latest retail promotional material & listing leaks could point to an imminent reveal. Huge publishers do have a habit of sending promotional materials to specialty stores like GameStop ahead of product reveals, but these reveals are usually only days or at most a week separated from the shipment of said posters & promotional items. Remember how badly Ubisoft got burned a couple of years back when they shipped Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag posters early?
The Game Developers’ Conference lets independent game makers to show off their projects in a professional setting, while giving platform holders and publishers the chance to show off their lineup to budding talent. Amongst the sea of VR and game service companies, indies got their chance to shine at a few events at the show – in particular, Microsoft’s ID@Xbox showcase.
Held at a private loft in downtown San Francisco, the event gave us a look at upcoming indie games to grace Windows 10 and the Xbox One. Among these, some of the standouts included Ooblets, the adorable life sim/role-playing game developed by Glumberland, Church of Darkness, a top-down stealth game by Paranoid Productions that tasks the player with infiltrating a cult compound, and Etherborn, a dreamlike gravity-bending puzzle platformer by studio Altered Matter.
The developers behind Ooblets stated in our interview that they wished to make a game which combines the most compelling elements of Harvest Moon and Pokémon into a single experience, marrying the meditative slow-life farming of the former with the collection and companionship of the latter. The game is designed to evoke the same soft, safe, endearing, and feminine aesthetic that both series pride themselves in, touting a visual aesthetic very much in line with modern cartoon style trends. Ooblets is setting out to be the alternative to both series that emphasizes the strengths of both that often get ignored.
Church of Darkness, by contrast, takes a much darker and more tense turn into the stealth genre. The player must infiltrate a religious cult’s South American compound in the 1970s and rescue their sibling who has left home to join them. The game uses a top-down perspective to allow the player as much visual information as possible without using standard stealth conventions such as a radar. The setting alone does a great job of establishing unfamiliarity and unease in the player, something well-suited to a stealth game. Plus, the wealth of ways with which the player can interact with the environment allow for some rather creative puzzle solutions, leaving the player feeling unrestricted in ways other stealth games do not.
Finally, the last standout was Etherborn, a game that prides itself on its eerie, misty, dreamlike visual aesthetic, as well as using it to support its gravity-twisting movement mechanics. In the game, the player can move up walls when approaching them with a ramp. Manipulating the gravitational standards of whatever polarity to which they are currently oriented is the key to the game’s puzzles. Falling down holes in the ceiling and establishing a sense of continuity to abstract spaces are necessary in the demo’s later levels, and make Etherborn out to be a gorgeous-looking standout of the puzzle platformer genre.
Microsoft’s Xbox One still has a lot to prove if it wants to keep up with the current indie clout of Sony’s Vita and PlayStation 4, but it is putting up a very compelling show of confidence with this show. Giving developers cheaper access to development tools, cross-platform certification through the Windows Store, cheaper certification fees, and big industry-facing events such as this one are a good sign that Microsoft still believes in the importance of independent development for its platforms.
Ubisoft’s year old open world third person shooter set in a post-federal government Manhatten, Tom Clancy’s The Division now has a free trial available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC via Uplay. After downloading the client brand new agents are able to play for free until level 8 or after eight hours have elapsed. In terms of the character level cap this is the exact same level cap that was used during the games’ alpha & beta tests.
Players on Xbox One have had access to the trial since the end of last week while those on Sony’s console will have to wait a few more days from now, as The Division’s trial will not go live on the PlayStation Network until March 9th.
If you haven’t checked out last year’s mega-hit (and subsequent abandoned ghost town) The Division then now might be the perfect time. When Ubisoft released patch 1.6 in January they did a lot to address player criticism when it came to The Dark Zone, which has been a massive haven for hackers & cheaters.
If you are intended to play on PC, make sure your rig meets the recommended specs below. Regardless of what your platform of choice is you are in for a massive download.
Recommended PC System Requirements:
OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770, AMD FX-8350, or better.
North Californian developers Vector Unit has unleashed their latest fast-paced watercraft racing title Riptide GP: Renegade onto Windows 10 and Xbox One as an Xbox Play Anywhere title, allowing owners of the game to play the title on either Xbox One or Windows and take their save with them.
Featuring futuristic environments, improved water physics over other enhanced versions of the original Riptide GP, 12 courses, 3 modes and 7 vehicles – Riptide GP: Renegade might just fill the gap left behind with fans as other watercraft based franchises lack modern entries, like Nintendo’s neglected Wave Race series or Midway’s defunct Hydro Thunder series.
Speaking about the jump to Windows 10, co-founder of Vector Unit, Matt Small said:
“We really wanted to wait until we could take advantage of the Xbox Play Anywhere program and have the game be available across Microsoft platforms all at once. It’s been a labor of love getting Riptide GP: Renegadeout on all these different platforms and we’re excited to see the Xbox One and Windows 10 communities join the party.”
The Xbox One version of Riptide GP supports local multiplayer with up to 4 players at once, 2 – 4 player online multiplayer races and of course achievements. Riptide GP is also available on Steam, PlayStation 4, Android and Apple’s iOS platforms.
Capcom has released the latest the two Banned Footage DLC packs for Resident Evil 7 on both Xbox One and Windows via Steam the publisher has announced. All of this DLC was previously released on PlayStation 4 first. Both packs are also included with the Resident Evil 7 Season’s Pass. Banned Footage volume 1 is priced at $9.99 USD while volume 2 is priced a bit higher at $14.99 USD according to Capcom’s press release.
Each volume includes the following add-on content:
Banned Footage Volume 1
Nightmare
Bedroom
Ethan must die.
Banned Footage Volume 2
Daughters
21 & Over
Jack’s 55th Birthday
Resident Evil 7’s director, Koshi Nakanishi, explained how these add-on tapes allowed the team to experiment narratively and show players some of the motivation behind the actions of the Baker clan. Here is the full quote:
“We had more freedom in the DLC to let the team try different things. Each of the experiences lets us explore one concept in depth in a way, so for Nightmare it was pure combat. In Bedroom, I wanted to show Marguerite in detail and give players a chance to finally try the food she got so upset you didn’t eat in the dinner scene. You can literally eat it until it kills you.”
Seems that Noctis, Gladio, Prompto and Ignis succeeded in one particular mission the first day that Final Fantasy XV was available to the public – breaking even on its development costs. The game’s director Hajime Tabata stated to DualShockers during a recent visit to the company’s Japanese offices for their Business Development Division that the game was profitable right from the start.
Final Fantasy XV was a monumental success in the West with Square announcing that sales of the game had exceeded 5 million units on launch day so it is no surprise that Tabata & Co broke even right out of the gate. FFXV was the first entry in the franchise to have a simultaneous worldwide release, typically prior to this latest title FF games would come out in Japan first followed by localized releases as the translation was completed.
Additional content will be coming to Final Fantasy XV including single player episodes based around Gladio and Prompto as well as a PlayStation VR experience based around FFXV’s world.
The Kombat Cup an annual Mortal Kombat X tournament returns on February 12th offering casual and hardcore fans alike to take on professional players like the MKX EVO champion SonicFox. With $12,000 of cash prizes available to be one there is a lot of cash available for spilling a little bit of blood – or perhaps dismembering an opponent.
Everything kicks off on Feb 12th with a series of weekly events, called the qualifying rounds. The top eight players from the qualifying rounds will make their way into the quarter brackets for a chance to win up to $400 in weekly prizes.
Here is a breakdown of all of the weekly prizes that will be up for grabs until the weekly portions of Kombat Cup close on May 7th:
Weekly Prizes – Kombat Cup
First Place – $200 and 150 league points
Second Place – $100 and 125 league points
Third and Fourth Place – $50 and 75 league points
Fifth through Eighth Place – 50 league points
Ninth through Sixteenth Place – 25 league points
The finals for the Kombat Cup will take place during the week of May 14th and all of the weekly and final matches will be streamed at 60 FPS on streaming platform Stream.ME which also features content from the Kombat Cup in 4K, if your computer supports it.
Here are the prizes that will be available during the May 14th finale:
