Saturday, 30 September 2017

Play Pocket Mortys Tomorrow To Help With Hurricane Relief For Puerto Rico

Pocket Mortys, a mobile game based off of the animated series Rick and Morty, is donating all of tomorrow's proceeds to Puerto Rico to help with hurricane relief. 

Puerto Rico was recently hit by Hurricane Maria, which has caused widespread destruction throughout the island. The disaster has resulted in shortages of food, water, and power. Today, Rick and Morty's official Twitter urged fans to "do good" by playing Pocket Mortys tomorrow to help Puerto Rico. If you make any in-app purchases in the mobile game tomorrow, the proceeds will be donated towards the cause. You can view the tweet below.

For more on Rick and Morty, you can read our review for the VR game Rick and Morty Simulator: Virtual Rick-Ality by heading here.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/30/play-pocket-mortys-tomorrow-to-help-with-hurricane-relief-for-puerto-rico.aspx

Touchdown Is A New Football Mode Coming To Clash Royale

Supercell revealed during a livestream today that a new football-themed mode, called Touchdown, is coming to Clash Royale.

During the stream, the new mode was demoed by eight players who were divided into teams of two. This mode takes the form of a football stadium, where players attempt to get one of their troops over to the opponent's endzone, which is at the other end of the arena. Doing so has them score a touchdown, which grants you one crown.

If you missed the stream, you can watch the full video below:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

For more on Clash Royale, read our review.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/30/touchdown-is-a-new-football-mode-coming-to-clash-royale.aspx

Pokémon Go: Entei Now Available In North And South America

Three Legendary Pokémon (Entei, Raikou, Suicune) have been in rotation, appearing in Pokémon Go's raid battles around the world. Today is Raiku's final day, and Niantic announced that fire Pokémon Entei is the replacement. As of now, Entei is available in both North and South America.

As for the others, Raikou has moved to Asia and Australia, and Suicune is in Euopre and Africa. Entei will be available in the Americas until October 31.

For more on Pokémon Go, read about our round-up of bizarre news stories that occurred back when the game released last summer.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/30/pokemon-go-entei-now-available-in-north-and-south-america.aspx

Golf Story Review – Nothing Short Of Charming

Golf Story is a refreshing and unique role-playing experience that succeeds as a golf game and story. Spending quality time with dear old dad on the links as a child ends up being a passion that consumes your character 20 years later, so much so that he parts ways with his wife for one last shot at becoming a golf star. This surprisingly heavy narrative moment is the only part of Golf Story that isn’t wacky, fun, or flat-out insane. Everything that happens next is upbeat and strange – even the sinister doings of a money-hungry golf course owner made me smile. This is where Golf Story hits a hole-in-one; it doesn’t take itself seriously, yet still delivers a meaningful story that is a joy to watch unfold.

With a golf bag fastened to his back, your nameless character travels to Wellworn Grove, the place where dad taught him how to play. Time has not been kind to this course. Weeds are sprouting up, giant molerats and infest each hole, and the golfers in training are more likely to hit the parking lot than a green. Despite the Caddyshack-like atmosphere that hangs over Wellworn, your golfer intends to turn heads with his skills, and hopefully draw the attention of a coach. This “mission” immediately shows how much variety Golf Story offers, as you are tasked to complete smaller activities to earn enough cash for one lesson.



The entire area is open for exploration. As you move from hole to hole, you find people in need of help, or who are cocky enough to challenge you to a competition. These tasks range from seeing who can tee off the furthest to chipping out of the rough – brief golf exercises that bring you up to speed on the Golf Story’s excellent (and surprisingly deep) mechanics.

Much like Mario Golf, all shots are handled with a simple three-click swing meter. It’s so easy to use that you are likely to hit perfect shots most of the time. As empowering as it is to continually feel like you’re a great golfer, perfection doesn’t always lead to success; the course often fights back against you. Hit it in the vicinity of a cheekybeak bird, and it moves your ball to the nearest sand trap. Skill comes into play by threading the needle or making miraculous shots past the hazards. Wind becomes an issue as you progress through the game, forcing you to change the strike point on the ball to have it fly higher or wrap around an obstacle. Putting is a weak point in Golf Story, offering no real read on the terrain – and most greens are so small that you don’t need much skill at all.


Two-player skirmishes are offered outside of the story mode.

The meat of the Golf Story experience is divided into story missions and actual nine-hole golf competitions across eight different courses. The missions range from helping an archeologist dig up lost treasures (a feat of digging performed using a sand wedge) to waging war against the molerats, only to find these vermin are a part of an undead uprising. Most of the activities are fun and odd, tapping the basic golf gameplay in a variety of ways, such as driving to hit chicken wings into a lake where blood gators lie in wait. You also veer outside of stroke play to compete in disc golf and foot races. I enjoyed most of the activities, which deftly blend challenge with charm.



The only section of the game that is a little long in the tooth is the extensive trading quest in Bermuda Isles. This content has some humor to it, but is mainly busywork divorced from golfing: You just fetch an item and find out who needs it. Thankfully, the game rights itself after this, and once again dazzles by blending weird things (like using open graves as holes) with legitimate, skill-based tournaments.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Everything you do rewards you with money and experience points. Money buys new clubs, whereas experience improves your skills, such as driving and striking. These perks give you incentives to venture off of the critical path to take on amusing side activities. This is time well spent too, as the side stories and bonus objectives are just as engaging as the main story arc. I don’t want to spoil where this narrative goes, but you get to know the key characters well as they become your friends and enemies. The writing is good, and emotions are accented nicely through animated word bubbles and changing font sizes. Lara, a pink-haired rival who is jealous of your skills, is almost always funny, and is one of the more enjoyable characters I’ve encountered in a game this year.

Yes, this is just a golf game at its core, but Golf Story makes you care about the characters and their world just as much as sinking a do-or-die putt. Part of its charm is keeping you off kilter, forcing you to hit a 300-yard drive with pinpoint precision one second, then solve a murder mystery the next. A continual delight to play, Golf Story is a breath of fresh air for sports, and another fun story to follow for role-playing fanatics.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/games/golf_story/b/switch/archive/2017/09/30/nothing-short-of-charming.aspx

A Mini Version Of The Commodore 64 Is Coming In 2018

Retro Games Limited has announced that it's releasing a fully-licensed Commodore 64 Mini next year based on the original console from 1982. This is considered a "perfectly formed" replica, but is half the size of the original. 

Development for the tiny console was inspired by the success of both Nintendo's SNES Classic and the NES Classic.

The Commodore 64 Mini features an HDMI port and two USB ports. Similar to the original, it can be used as a home computer, allowing you to write programs and games if you plug in a keyboard. The console also comes with a "classic style" joystick and 64 preinstalled games, such as Chip’s Challenge, California Games, and Impossible Mission. You can check out the full list of games here.

The Commodore 64 Mini is expected to release in early 2018 with a suggested price tag of $69.99. For more, check out our reviews of the SNES Classic and the NES Classic.

 

Our Take
Resurrecting old consoles in tiny form is a popular trend right now, and Retro Games Limited is smart to hop on that considering the popularity of both the SNES and NES Classic editions. Retro Games Limited is the same group behind an upcoming Commodore 64 clone, which is a full-sized reimagining of the console for modern audiences. However, it hasn't been shipped out to its IndieGogo backers despite its promised release window of December 2016, and the team's focus is to first ship these out before the mini version releases. Time will tell as to whether the Commodore 64 Mini will hit its release window or not.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/30/a-mini-version-of-the-commodore-64-is-coming-in-2018.aspx

Star Wars Battlefront II Trailer Puts Focus On Story And Malevolent Messenger Droids

EA's Star Wars Battlefront II is making a lot of changes in comparison to its predecessor, such as introducing a single-player campaign. Recently, a new trailer released on the PlayStation Blog finally gives us a glimpse of what to expect from the story.

Battlefront II's campaign takes place between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Although Emperor Palpatine has been defeated, he lives on through Messenger droids. These Messengers bear the face of the dead Palpatine through a hologram. In the trailer, we see a Messenger droid giving foreboding instructions to enact the Emperor's plans of revenge.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

"Early in Star Wars Battlefront II, a Messenger tasks Iden and her father, Garrick Versio, with terrifying instructions," EA writes on the PlayStation Blog. "We don’t want to reveal much more about this critical sequence, but its pretty clear that Iden’s “unusual” mission will place her on a collision course with the last wishes of the fallen Emperor."

Star Wars Battlefront launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC as of November 17. If you're eager to try out the game sooner, a multiplayer beta is coming October 6, or October 4 if you pre-order the game. For more on Battlefront II, check out the recently revealed Arcade mode.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/games/star_wars_battlefront_ii/b/playstation4/archive/2017/09/30/trailer-puts-focus-on-story-and-malevolent-messenger-droids.aspx

What To Watch This Weekend: World Of WarCraft, League of Legends, And Rivals Of Aether

This weekend hosts a number of big tournaments. We have some WoW raiding fun, the Fall Classic, a big StarCraft tournament, and the continuing adventures of the Rocket League of Legends. Those scamps!

The League of Legends World championship continues! Matches take place in the early hours of the morning, but you can still catch up on all the action when you wake up, and probably catch a few matches if you're an early riser. (Stream / Schedule)

You can watch the world's best World of WarCraft raiders make exciting runs through harrowing dungeons. Teams from various regions will be competing right up through October 1. (Stream and Schedule)

In other Blizzard news, the StarCraft II GSL Super Tournament is also this weekend. The event brings together the best StarCraft II players from around the world and has them fight it out for a ₩30 Million (About $26,000) prize. (Stream and Schedule)

This week's big fighting game event is The Fall Classic, which will host events for Tekken 7, Street Fighter V, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite, and more. (Streams / Schedule)

For your dose of Super Smash Bros. action, you can catch both Melee and For Wii U at the GameTyrant Expo, along with Rivals of Aether and a few other fighters. (Stream 1 / Stream 2Schedule)

The Rocket League championship series is unstoppable, and you sure as heck can't stop it. There'll be more matches between regions this weekend as teams fight for their spot in the playoffs. (Stream / Schedule)

That's it for this weekend! Let us know if we missed an event, or if there's a scene you'd like us to cover, in the comments below.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/30/what-to-watch-this-weekend-world-of-warcraft-league-of-legends-and-rivals-of-aether.aspx

Friday, 29 September 2017

Replay – Nanobreaker

At some point in your gaming life, you lost your cool playing a game that seemed unfair, broken, or downright difficult. Nanobreaker was one of those games for me. This PlayStation 2 atrocity from Konami nearly broke me as a game critic. Join me in a fearful look back at this game, as we explore Nanotechnology Island (not kidding) for just a few minutes. My frustration in the game once again bubbles to the surface, and we shift gears to another game that doesn't withstand the test of time. We repeat our actions and end up playing a game that we really need to spend more time with.

We're also coming up on the eve of the Super Replay Showdow...wait...Replay Civil War. Yeah, that's what we're calling it this year. Civil War. Two Game Informer teams locked in war. Should be fun. It should be hitting in the next week or two. Keep an eye out for it, and place your bets now on who will win!

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from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/09/29/replay-nanobreaker.aspx

Weekend Warrior – Destiny 2, Cup Head, And The Recipe For A Perfect Sandwich

Another week is in the books, and the Game Informer staff is ready to dive into some games before Monday. From new releases like Cuphead to games that have been sitting on their list for a while now, everyone has something they want to carve out some time for. There are also some celebratory playthroughs to be had, and a cryptic recipe for a tasty meal.

Javy Gwaltney (@HurdyIV) – I'm going to be wrapping up Uncharted: Lost Legacy and continuing my dive into XCOM: War Of The Chosen.

Imran Khan (@imranzomg) – I’ll be banging my head against Cuphead this weekend and also trying to make progress in Danganronpa V3. So basically a weekend of being murdered and then solving murders, an American tradition.

Brian Shea (@BrianPShea) – I finally finished my playthroughs of Yakuza 0 and Injustice 2, so I’m able to focus more on Metroid: Samus Returns and Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. I really want to finish those before the heavy hitters I’m really looking forward to like Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Super Mario Odyssey hit.

Dan Tack (@DanTack) – Pastrami and corned beef with spicy stone ground coarse mustard.

Andrew Reiner (@Andrew_Reiner) – I’m plugging away at review games, but hope to have time to get back into Destiny 2. My friends didn’t stop playing, so I have plenty of catching up to do to reach their power levels. Outside of games, I am looking forward to watching Kumail Nanjiani’s The Big Sick this weekend.

Joe Juba (@JoeJuba) –  I’ll be bouncing between a bunch of different games this weekend. I have both Cuphead and Golf Story to play, so I’m not sure how I’m going to prioritize those yet. I also managed to snag an SNES Classic Edition, so the odds of me jumping in to play some F-Zero and Super Metroid are pretty high.

Ben Hanson (@yozetty) – Hey everybody! This weekend I might be playing some old Super Nintendo games on a legendary piece of hardware? Other than that, I’m hoping to cross some games that I’ve been meaning to play more of off of my list. There’s Mario + Rabbids, Destiny 2, Xenoverse 2 on Switch, and even ol’ Nier: Automata. Then there’s always Golf Story on Switch. Oh, and Harmonix’s DropMix! I’m curious about that whole thing. I can’t leave the house now, I guess. Well, have a good weekend!

George Ash (@GeorgeEAsh) – For $20 I think I’ll jump into Cuphead and hopefully play a little better than I did earlier this week. In honor of Halo 3’s anniversary I already finished the fight this week with one of my old high school Halo buddies, but we may hop into another one of the Halo games because we had such a good time reminiscing about years past.

Cody Mello-Klein (@Proelectioneer) – The grind is real. Destiny 2 is starting to wear on me a bit, so this weekend I’ll be diving back into the Witcher 3 for my 300th hour. I also picked up Nex Machina earlier this week, and its perfect arcade action and stellar soundtrack are already burning themselves into my psyche. I’m jones-ing for some cyberpunk in my life in anticipation of Blade Runner 2049 next week (finally!), so I’ll be picking up Observer as well. Sweet, sweet cyberpunk.

Keenan McCall (@KEeNanMcCall525) – I didn’t quite pull off my 100 percent run of Metroid: Samus Returns yet, so I’ll be trying to buckle down and complete that. Otherwise, Sly Cooper’s 15th anniversary just passed, so I’ll probably pick up my PS2 controller for old time’s sake.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/weekend-warrior-_1320_-destiny-2-cup-head-and-the-recipe-for-a-perfect-sandwich.aspx

Xbox One Alpha Update Adds Game Gifting

The current Xbox One preview program rolled out game gifting, which allows purchasing games on Xbox Live to send them to other accounts.

The news comes from the Xbox One subreddit, where user liamcurtis1718 simply posted the title "game gifting is here" with a picture of Titanfall 2 Ultimate Edition including a "Buy as a gift" option.

For whatever reason, gifting on consoles has only ever appeared on the Wii, but disappeared in later Nintendo shops, having never appeared on PSN and Xbox Live. Steam has had gifting as a fundamental part of its storefront, but changed its policy recently to make gifting only possible at the point of purchase for VAC-enabled games.

Xbox corporate vice president Mike Ybarra announced the feature in vague terms on Twitter last July, but this is the first indication that it is coming anytime soon. It is a welcome feature and hopefully Nintendo and Sony also follow suit.

[Source: Reddit]



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/xbox-one-alpha-update-adds-game-gifting.aspx

Watch Us Play Jackbox Party Pack 4 With Devs

The Jackbox Party Pack series is beloved around the GI office. It's unique hook of using a smartphone web browser to play made it a staple of parties with friends and family since the first Party Pack released in 2014.

Now, a few weeks before the release of Jackbox Party Pack 4, we're joined by two directors from Jackbox Games, Arnie Niekamp and Ryan DiGiorgi to run through every game in the new package. Watch them, Ben Hanson, Joe Juba, Ben Reeves, and me try to outwit each other in a variety of hilarious new challenges.

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Jackbox Party Pack 4 releases the week of October 17th on Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, 4th generation Apple TV, and Nvidia Shield. For more Jackbox with Arnie and Ryan, check out last year's Test Chamber of Jackbox Party Pack 3.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/09/29/watch-us-play-jackbox-party-pack-4-with-devs.aspx

Injustice 2 Latest Patch Fixes The Patch Before It

Injustice 2's newest patch, released today, is designed to fix September 26's patch that had a nasty habit of deleting players shaders, virtual currency, and unlocked gear.

The September 26 patch, updating the game to version 1.10, immediately resulted in players reporting missing items from their save files. This can be especially annoying for players as the gear is not easily obtained again, as it is randomly doled out through loot crates. After the patch, those items just simply disappeared.

NetherRealm acknowledged the problem, but did not have many solutions beyond rebooting the game until this patch. While the patch seemingly puts an end to the item deletion problems, it does not restore anything for some players who have lost their items already. Strangely, it has helped some, making it harder to determine the problem or for players to figure out what works. 

If you never updated to last week's 1.10 patch, you're totally fine to update now. If you did, hopefully you're not one of the affected players, or that NetherRealm has a solution in the pipeline.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/injustice-2-latest-patch-fixes-the-patch-before-it.aspx

Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 Producer Hints At December Surprise

Mega Man fans, forget the many awesome releases coming this October and November. Those no longer matter, as Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya hints something will be coming in December for Mega Man’s 30th anniversary.

"I want to say that Capcom has not forgotten about Rockman,” Tsuchiya says at a Tokyo Game Show panel. “This here [Mega Man 30th Anniversary Logo] is being put to good use. Rockman's 30th anniversary is coming in December – December, please remember that date!”

Rockman, known outside of Japan as Mega Man, originally appeared as the title character of Mega Man, released December 17, 1987. Perhaps that’s the exact date in December Tsuchiya is referring to.

What do you think Capcom has up their sleeve for December, reader? Let me know your wildest dreams and your realistic expectations in the comments below.

[Source: Rockman-Corner]

 

Our Take
I’m not a huge Mega Man fan, so I’ll stay excited for the next few months of releases. But I am legitimately interested in hearing what true fans of the series think Capcom will give us in December.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/mega-man-legacy-collection-2-producer-hints-at-december-surprise.aspx

Funny To A Point – Turns Out I'm Obsessed With Destiny 2 Now

No, you aren't experiencing a glitch in the Matrix, and you haven't stumbled through a time rift to two weeks ago (at least as far as I know). I did indeed devote last column to Destiny 2, which outlined my impressions (and late-night narcolepsy) in meticulous detail. But a lot can change in two weeks. An adorable puppy can grow into a ferocious adult wolf.* A bag of organic compost can dissolve and leak horrendously putrid garbage juice all over your kitchen counter.** And a game like Destiny 2 can go from being a fun-if-somewhat-forgettable romp to a full-blown, loot-driven obsession. I won't say Destiny 2 has ruined my life yet, but I'm standing on the precipice of a dark abyss and intently staring in.

Before you accuse me of money-hat shenanigans, I still stand by everything I said in my last column, which was mostly focused on Destiny 2's story because I'm just a normal guy with a full-time job and that's all I could get through before deadline. The small collection of story missions features some interesting locations and engaging battles, but you can really only do so much when your main protagonist is essentially an undead mime and your supervillain can be aptly summed up by the term "Bane-Hulk." I'm now playing through the story for the second time (more on that later), and while my familiarity with the gameplay has allowed me to focus on and appreciate the pretty scenery more, Destiny 2's story is still a rather underwhelming side salad to the main course. I was mid-salad when I wrote my last column, but since then I have been gorging myself nightly like a banquet attendee in a George R.R. Martin novel, albeit with less throat-slitting (though it feels like it sometimes when I'm playing PvP).

Anywho, the point is that once I gave 'ole Inferiority-Complex Ghaul the boot*** after my last column, Destiny 2 became an open-world playground with a singular goal: to keep me playing forever and ever, like some kind of fiendish siren. By all accounts, the first Destiny was singing a similar song, but something about it never clicked with me. I can't put my finger on a single tweak or addition in Destiny 2 that has me rubbernecking like that stupid meme guy I'm sick to death of, but I figured it's worth a second examination, so here goes.

Loot is one of the most obvious driving forces in Destiny, and appeals to my Smaug-like desire to horde every shiny object I can get my hands on, regardless of whether I'm ever going to use it (I've even kept my ratty starting armor which serves no point whatsoever – I'm running out of vault space and I still can't bring myself to dismantle it!). The best loot drops are weapons, which are divided among three intuitive slots: Kinetic (normal), Energy (elemental), and Power (big booms). Quickly comparing new weapons is a breeze – green bars go up, red go down – so you don't have to forsake your dying friends while you stand around crunching the numbers on your new gun in the middle of a battle (I suppose you could also wait until AFTER the battle to check out your loot, but where's the fun in that?).


Destiny 2's biggest drawback so far is that your vault is basically the world's largest junk drawer. I think that's my fusion rifle next to the half-unraveled ball of twine and 15 dead AA batteries.

I'm pretty sure Bungie has programmed actual wizards into the loot code this time around, because drops provide a steady and satisfying climb in power, and no longer give you items your class can't use. At least that's been my experience. Andy, on the other hand, has been complaining for days about how terrible his drops have been, so maybe the system isn't perfect – or maybe he just pissed off the wizards. Either way, I don't know if I'll suffer the same fate when I get to the absurdly high light levels Andy's at, but so far it's been smooth sailing.

Speaking of light level – I actually understand how the hell light levels work this time! Once you max out your character level at 20, the focus shifts to your overall light level, which is determined by the levels of your most powerful gear. This means your progress no longer boils down to watching a bar slowly and predictably fill up – each shiny engram you pop out of a treasure chest/opponent's head could give you a boost (provided you've kept the loot wizards happy). I didn't really need another reason to get excited about engrams (have you seen how shiny they are?!), but boosting your level in addition to giving you a sweet new piece of gear is a great way to make rewards seem more...well, rewarding.

And unlike the original Destiny, you don't even need to equip the new gear to have it boost future loot drops, so if you snag a high-level gun that you don't want to use (i.e. every sidearm ever), keeping it in your inventory still has value. What all this means is there really is no such thing as a "worthless" piece of loot in Destiny 2. If you're not going to use it, you can infuse it to boost the power of a gun you do like. If its power is too low, you can dismantle it to gain shards for future infusions, or parts to trade for free weapons from the gunsmith. Even lowly blue drops are worth abandoning your cover and blindly running across the battlefield to pick up (well, maybe that's not the smartest strategy, but it's my modus operandi for sure).

And boy oh boy are the weapons worth collecting! Unlike the continual and forgettable churn of a procedurally generated arsenal like Borderlands, Destiny's guns have all been carefully crafted to feel and perform differently. And thanks to the aforementioned infusion system, when you do find a legendary or exotic weapon that you like, you can just keep upgrading it for as long as you want, until you've forged an unhealthy Full Metal Jacket-style bond with it.

That said, Destiny's combat is so good that I find myself frequently switching up weapons anyway. That even includes guns I don't usually bother with in games, like pulse rifles, which fire in three-round bursts (I always thought that was called "hellfire," but apparently that's not a thing). My favorite so far is the Graviton Lance, which does extra damage on the third shot, and also makes enemies explode when they die.


It also has glowing purple tubes. COOOL!

Hand cannons are also usually a hard pass for me; when you're going up against auto rifles and SMGs and rocket launchers, bringing a revolver to a gun fight is like bringing a knife to a completely different gun fight****. As it turns out, though, hand cannons are actually the best weapons in the game! Landing a headshot with a hand cannon is almost always a guaranteed kill on regular enemies, and provides an immediate, visceral satisfaction that never gets old, like the watermelon lady.

In fact, Destiny 2 might as well be called Headshot: The Game, because whatever subtle aim-assist algorithm Bungie employed (I'm guessing more wizards) makes them easy to line up without feeling like you didn't earn it. In most games I have the sharpshooting accuracy of Mr. Magoo, but in Destiny 2, I can fly around the battlefield injecting hot lead into the brainpans of foes with surgical precision. I've played enough shooters to know that there's NO WAY I'm this good, but the assistance is subtle enough to not throw a heaping bucket of cold water on the fantasy.

Armor makes up the other half of Destiny's loot, though it admittedly doesn't have the same draw for me; a lot of players seem to enjoy tracking down and equipping full armor sets (and have very strong feelings about shaders, apparently), but at this point I'd run around the battlefield in a giant banana suit if it gave me a few more light levels. I can see armor being more of a draw once I start to max out my light level, but for now all I really care about is if my hood looks appropriately roguish.

Class abilities also provide plenty to get excited about. I'm still rocking my Hunter, which Miller recently told me is the hardest class to play, but also attracts the best players. I am definitely not one of the best players, but I'm still having a ton of fun with my mohawked monstrosity. Hunters have access to a triple jump, which by my calculations is a 50% improvement over the double jump (though a double jump is only 33% worse than a triple jump, because math is evil like that). I still favor the Hunter's Gunslinger subclass, in large part because of its golden gun (not that one) that shoots three super-powerful bullets, which makes me feel like some kind of cowboy demigod.


If there's one thing Bungie knows, it's how to fulfill a power fantasy.

You know what's even better than a flame-spewing golden gun, though? A knife! Holy lord, the Hunter's throwing knife – forget whatever stupid thing I said about not bringing one to a gun fight, because nothing is more satisfying than running out of ammo and desperately flinging your knife straight into the noggin (or glowing Vex abdomen) of a powerful enemy to finish them off. Even better, the Gunslinger has an ability that makes precision kills with the knife instantly wipe out its lengthy cooldown. I once scored three knife shots in a row thanks to this ability, and I still get goosebumps just thinking about it.

All the loot and abilities in the world wouldn't matter if you didn't have something to do with them, and this is another area where Destiny 2 delivers well beyond the campaign. Bungie's sequel goes full Diablo with its activities: You've got patrols and world challenges and flashpoints and side missions and hidden chests and all sorts of other rewarding crap vying for your attention. Having a million different things to do and not enough time to do them is a known exploit in my programming, and a big reason I love games like Stardew Valley and Diablo III so darn much. So far Destiny 2 scratches all the same itches, and oh god I want to keep scratching.

I don't have enough time to go into all of Destiny 2's activities (well, I guess I technically do, but I'd rather just go home and play more), but a few are worth calling out. Lost Sectors are sprinkled across the map, and are basically hidden mini-dungeons that you can discover and fight your way through as many times as you desire. Lost Sectors don't outstay their welcome: You go in, blast your way through a bunch of pleb enemies and a more substantial boss, then nab a treasure – all in about 10 minutes. Now that I think about it, you're essentially committing a home invasion, but you don't garner much sympathy when you look like a space cricket/The Mummy extra/evil robot/Miyazaki spirit/rejected Ninja Turtle.


Click to enlarge the picture and then just TRY to tell me I'm wrong about any of those descriptors!

Public events also frequently pop up on the map (oh yeah, there's also a map this time around, which turns out is pretty useful!), and are basically impossible to pass up: "Yes, I know I'm the only one who can save the Traveler, but that spider tank isn't going to blow itself up!" Public events pull in guardians from across the zone, and provide a light, social-friendly activity that ends with a big Glimmer-spewing treasure chest. Each one also has a secret optional objective that will trigger a "heroic" public event, leading to tougher enemies and better loot. How cool is that?!

When Miller told me about the heroic triggers, I had a Usual Suspects-esque realization – all this time I thought I was kicking ass in public encounters by tearing into the bosses, but in reality I was screwing up everyone else's attempt to complete the secret objective first. Miller also informed me that there's a term for well-meaning but uninformed players like me: Kindergaurdian. Ah well – at least it sounds cooler than "newbie."

Strikes offer more focused co-op fun, requiring a trio of Guardians to navigate a full-fledged dungeon – but unlike the Lost Sectors, I'm pretty sure these goons have it coming to them. Bungie didn't offer matchmaking for Strikes in the original Destiny, but after playing three matches in a row with randos, I can say with 100-percent certainty that they totally could have. All three Strikes went fine; the only setback was that I got same Strike (fighting a giant robot in a laser pyramid) three times in a row. In fact, I thought the game only had one Strike, until Miller told me there were actually six. Awesome! I hope the RNG wizards let me try the others some day!


Seriously, imagine showing up to a blind date with this guy. Blink, Zavala!

After a few more successful Strikes, Captain Daniels (A.K.A. Zavala) took me aside and told me that I'm one of the greatest Guardians he's ever seen – the video game equivalent of your grandpa declaring you the best little leaguer or imaginary cowboy or in-the-lines colorer. Zavala also told me that I was ready to take on Nightfall Strikes, which are the hardest and most dangerous Strikes in all of Destinyland. I hopped right in, only to find out the game doesn't offer matchmaking for them – what Bungie giveth, Bungie taketh away. That didn't stop me from stubbornly trying to fight my way through the stupidly tough enemies all by myself (I am the best Guardian ever, after all – I can't let the Captain down!), repeatedly dying until the 15-minute timer ran out.

A few days later I tackled the Strike again with Miller and Andy, and I now totally get why Bungie nixed the matchmaking. Passing the Nightfall didn't just require constant communication and cooperation to best our alien enemies – we also had to hunt down and shoot glowing boxes to increase the time limit, and coordinate our supers for the final bullet-sponge of a boss (who was also invisible half the time!). We passed on our second try, and while Andy got boned on the rewards again, I walked away with a greatly upgraded scout rifle and a spiffy new pair of boots (my takeaway from the experience is to always play with someone who has worse RNG luck than you). Bungie has added a guided games option for finding partners to tackle Nightfall and the Raid with, but by the sounds of it you have to sign some kind of long-winded 50 Shades sex contract and then wait half an hour just to play. I think I'll stick with my clan members.


Being in a clan in Destiny 2 gives you some sweet rewards. It doesn't make it any less awkward to declare that you're in a clan, however.

All of Destiny 2's content is surfaced through the game's new Milestones tab, which doles out big rewards for various activities each week. Milestones become vital for progressing beyond level 265, but more importantly they motivate you to branch out and try new activities. Some of the Milestones are downright dastardly; I had been avoiding Destiny 2's PvP like a dog would avoid veterinarians if he knew what neutering was. But then the game made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "Just play two Crucible matches, and I'll give you some sweet gear. You don't even have to win! Just participate!"

I resigned myself to suffering through two matches for the reward and then never touching PvP again, but lo and behold, even the multiplayer is fun! Bungie has placed a greater emphasis on squad play in Destiny 2, so as long as you stick with your fellow teammates (the game could seriously use a "group the f--- up!" emote), you've got a decent shot of coming out on top. I've had a couple of demoralizing blowouts in the Crucible while pursuing subsequent Milestone rewards, but all in all I've won more than I've lost, and had enough fun to include PvP in my growing list of weekly activities. You win again, Bungie!

And finally, there's Destiny 2's mighty Leviathan Raid. Miller and Andy have been raving about how awesome Destiny's raids are for years, but I never understood why – it's ultimately just a series of enemy waves and bosses, right? What's the big deal?

I hopped into the raid last night with Miller, Suriel, and a couple other G.I. clan members, and the experience was a bit like getting pulled off the street by a crazy guy in a lab coat and told, "Hey, you're in charge of this nuclear reactor now – here's the 10-step process you need to flawlessly nail to keep it from exploding and killing us all. The clock started five minutes ago." It was all a crazy and confusing blur: There were moving pedestals and glowing power balls and targets that we needed to shoot simultaneously and literal hoops that we needed to jump through. Over the course of an hour or so, we slowly honed our ragtag crew (actually, I think I was the only rag) into a finely tuned machine of mass destruction, coordinating all of our actions throughout the multiple phases like an Olympic synchronized swimming team, only with way more shooting and explosions and fewer noseplugs. 


An actual screenshot of yesterday's G.I. raid team. Just kidding – we were more like these guys.

It wasn't easy, but through ceaseless dedication, teamwork, and a whole lot of patience on Miller's part, we finally beat the Leviathan Raid...'s FIRST ENCOUNTER?!?! And that was apparently the easy one! Unfazed, we threw ourselves into the next challenge: purging the Cabal's opulent bathhouses from more weird alien scum. The new encounter required even more intricate planning, and after another hour or so of steady gains, we had to call it a night; we may be fearless guardians, but we all have day jobs, too!

Despite not even coming close to finishing the raid (there are FOUR challenges in total), it was still a blast to play, in no small part due to it being a shared experience – even if there were more commiserations than congratulations at the end of the night.

I ended my last column by stating that I was enjoying Destiny 2, but that I didn't think I'd become one of those crazy super fans who can't stop playing. Since then, I've played the game almost every single night for the past two weeks. I completed the story, unlocked all of my subclasses and abilities, plowed through all my weekly Milestones, and have done attempted every activity except for the Trials of the Nine (which still sounds absurdly hardcore to me – so check back next column when I rave about how completely awesome it is). I've also maxed out my Glimmer reserves multiple times over, amassed a pile of legendary shards for the next Xur visit, and given the annoyingly emo Dead Orbit faction a big boost towards their goal of running off and writing bad poetry in deep space (they're wieners for sure, but they also had the best reward this week). I even started my first alt character, so I can do it all over again.

In other words, I was wrong. After years of not getting what the big freakin' deal was, I've officially been indoctrinated into the Destiny cult, and now all I want to do is play and write and talk and think about Destiny 2 until the end of time. Or until Destiny 3 comes out. Whichever happens first.

Need a few more laughs Destinies? Click the banner below to visit Funny Destiny 2 A Point's fancy-pants hub!

*I'm not 100-percent certain how canine physiology works, but I'm pretty sure that's right. (back to top)
**Unfortunately, I'm speaking from experience here. (back to top)
***I know this is technically a spoiler, but what did you really expect? That you and Ghaul were going to set aside your differences and become BFFs? (back to top)
****I'm aware that the number of gunfights in this analogy makes it confusing, and I apologize. (back to top)



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/09/29/funny-to-a-point-turns-out-i-m-obsessed-with-destiny-2-now.aspx

Project Cars 2 Review – Pursuing Its Own Racing Line

Some sim-racing developers are in love with cars, but whether they love video games and the people who play them is unclear. I don't get that feeling from Project Cars 2 developer Slightly Mad Studios. The series is designed around the premise of making things fun, flexible, and easy for the player, and that focus comes out in the product.

Like the first Project Cars, the sequel's main focus is giving players a slew of customization options to affect and set up races as they see fit. It adds a weather slot (bringing the total to four), which means you can have a single race include various types of snow, rain, and visibility, as well as the option to speed up the time of day. Running this kind of meteorological gamut is fantastical, and the game looks great no matter the weather or time of day. These and the seasonal temperatures can have a big effect on the track, your tire temps, and thus your grip. HUD information can be customized, including where you want it on the screen, and cars' assists can be modeled automatically after those of the real-life car. You can even tweak the viewing angle of the different cameras from narrow to wide and points between. All this adds considerable flavor to your race schedule – very welcome since racing cars in and of itself is nothing new under the sun.

One small-but-interesting custom aspect is how different racing series adhere to different rules. Some race durations are by lap and others by time (which can be shortened or lengthened, of course). This exemplifies the minor-but-necessary step forward for its career mode in the name of adding flavor to each series above and beyond them being another date on the calendar. Project Cars 2 also adds manufacturer and invitational events to break things up. The former unlock the more you race cars of the same manufacturer, and the latter unlock via milestones. Overall, the career mode pales in comparison to the more fleshed-out ones from recent Codemasters' titles (which admittedly embrace a different philosophy), but Project Cars 2's career mode is better than the series' first entry. Also different is the fact that higher-end series are locked, which gives you something to strive for while still giving you lots of lower- and mid-level disciplines to choose from.

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The overall race weekend schedule (optional, of course) and its importance is the same as the last entry. Use the practice session to feel how different cold tires are from warm ones before you qualify, as well as get used to the track. Even though the game includes many familiar, well-known tracks, putting in the work to improve yourself as a driver through concentrated seat time is what this franchise is about. It can be a grind, for sure, but it also makes a podium finish or even a good time on a particular section of the track feel like an earned accomplishment.

Getting used to how a car performs is made easier through the race engineer, who tweaks your car by running you through a series of questions – though you can also use the regular setup editor. I like (but don't love) the cars' handling when using a controller. The controller's rumble lacks nuance for those situations when you're right on the edge of losing control, and I tended to pussyfoot around corners because I often wasn't sure where the edge of my cars' capabilities where. I was more fearful than daring, when I'd rather it be the reverse.

Project Cars 2's incremental progress in most areas stands in contrast to the series continuing technical problems. The A.I. cars (which are optional in multiplayer) tend to comically bunch and crash on busy corners, and yet players are penalized and told to give positions back for ticky-tack or sometimes phantom infractions. You can lay down a good qualifying time only to be mysteriously beat by several seconds by the end of the round by the rest of the A.I. field.

Multiplayer races also give you myriad options, but at launch on PS4 it was hard to get into a race. I was either being disconnected while in the online lobbies, waiting forever for a race to start, or both. Your online rating is a form of incentive, but apart from this and being able to post times on a variety of time attack leaderboards, at launch there isn't a larger structure to your multiplayer achievements.

With all its customization options, racing demands, and copious track configurations (140-plus at over 60 locations), Project Cars 2 has a lot to dive into. However, it's more than just a scattershot of content – it's a title that rewards players for exploring all of its nooks and crannies. It could still use a good coat of polish, but it has a charm and daring that is often missing in the sub-genre.

This review pertains to the PS4 version. The game is also available on PC and Xbox One.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/games/project_cars_2/b/playstation4/archive/2017/09/29/game-informer-review-project-cars-2.aspx

Is Middle-earth: Shadow Of War The End Of Talion's Story?

We're nearing the end of our month of coverage on Middle-earth: Shadow of War, so now we want to look toward the future. While visiting Monolith Productions, we spoke with VP of creative Michael de Plater about the future of the Middle-earth series. He emphasized that this game will slot into The Lord of the Rings films and that there are still some surprises left in this game.

Watch the interview with de Plater below to learn what the team is saying about the future of Talion and Middle-earth. 

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from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/09/29/the-end-of-talion-story.aspx

Nintendo Updates Youtube Partners Program To Restrict Live Streaming

Last night, Nintendo sent out an email to participants of its Youtube monetization program, Nintendo Creators. The email outlined Nintendo's new policy on live streaming their games on Youtube, banning it for monetization, and perhaps banning it outright.

Nintendo Creators Program was created as a response to Nintendo demonetizing all videos for Nintendo-published games on Youtube. The program enrolls Youtubers to share their ad revenue with Nintendo, providing that they comply with Nintendo's content guidelines, which demands restrictions on profanity, among other things. This is not just for Let's Plays of Nintendo games, but also things like footage used in video reviews or analysis. By and large, it is not a popular program.

The new policy reads like this:

"Live streaming on YouTube falls outside the scope of the Nintendo Creators Program. This means that you cannot broadcast content on YouTube Live from the account you have registered to the Nintendo Creators Program."

Nintendo advises that channels registered with the program and want to stream Nintendo games should either make a new account that isn't part of the program, or to leave the program as a channel and individually re-register every video for manual review before they can be monetized again.

The wording also seems to indicate that live streaming Nintendo games as a whole, monetized or not, is subject to action from Nintendo.

To join Nintendo's Creators Program, a channel must also be part of Youtube's partners program, which we reported on yesterday takes 10,000 views and a content review by Youtube. New accounts that want to monetize or stream Nintendo games have a long uphill battle ahead of them.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/nintendo-updates-youtube-partners-program-to-restrict-live-streaming.aspx

The Wii Shop Channel To Close In 2019

The Wii Shop channel, the digital storefront for the Wii, will be closing in 2019. Nintendo made the announcement today, revealing that users will no longer be able to add Wii Points to their accounts starting March 27, 2018.

The shop has been open since 2006 and introduced the world to Nintendo's popular Virtual Console initiative. However, by 2011 the Wii Shop was largely overtaken by Nintendo's eshop, which is also functioning as the Switch's storefront for digital purchases as well as 3DS.

According to the press release, users will still be able to redownload purchases and use the Wii System Transfer to transfer date between the Wii and Wii U for the foreseeable future.

 

Our Take
It was bound to happen eventually but it's still a bummer to see the Wii Shop channel go under. We'll miss that frustratingly delightful earworm that is its music.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/the-wii-shop-channel-to-close-in-2019.aspx

Maddening RPG Darkest Dungeon Teased For Switch

Looks like you should get ready to lose your mind on the god. Red Hook Studios took to Twitter today to tease the Switch port of its popular and difficult RPG Darkest Dungeon:

There is no word on a release date or if Darkest Dungeon's expansion pack, The Crimson Court will be included with the port.

For more on the game, you can read our review of Darkest Dungeon, which received a score of 9.25.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/darkest-dungeon-teased-for-switch.aspx

Bluehole Forms PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Subsidiary

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is doing pretty well these days. It's doing so well, in fact, that Bluehole, the game's publisher, has announced that it has created a subsidiary focused solely on the Battle Royale-style shooter.

The new company, which is called PUBG Corp, is being led by newly appointed CEO Chang Han Kim. Under his leadership, PUBG Corp. will continue to work on the Early Access game's development and expanding its presence worldwide.

“Given PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' global success, we want to ensure that we have the operational efficiency that is required to support the game globally,” Kim said in a statement. “This new structure allows us to be nimble as we look towards the expansion of strategic business opportunities that include the game’s potential in the esports sector and the growth of PUBG as a true global IP franchise.”

 

Our Take
This seems like a smart play, since PUBG is likely consuming much of Bluehole's attention. Now it's just a matter of getting PUBG merch to share shelf space next to all the Five Nights at Freddy's stuff at your local big-box retailer.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/bluehole-forms-playerunknown-39-s-battlegrounds-subsidiary.aspx

Opinion: Why It’s Okay That You Can’t Find An SNES Classic

I feel like a chump. Nintendo’s SNES Classic system released this morning and I spent the better part of my morning driving between Targets and Walmarts looking for a small plastic box that resembles one of my favorite childhood toys. I didn’t get one, but I did waste a lot of gas.

I feel like a fool, because I really don’t need an SNES Classic for the games. I’ve already played most of the titles collected on the system, and if I want to play them again, I still own most of them (a couple times over in some cases). Hell, I still have my original SNES system.

So, I really don’t need an SNES Classic…but I want one.

I’ve been mulling over this dilemma for several months, because, at first blush, the SNES Classic seems like an incredible deal (read our review). For only $80 you get these games:

Contra III: The Alien Wars, Donkey Kong Country, EarthBound, Final Fantasy III, F-Zero, Kirby Super Star, Kirby's Dream Course, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Mega Man X, Secret of Mana, Star Fox, Star Fox 2, Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Super Castlevania IV, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Super Punch-Out!!, and Yoshi's Island.

That’s 18 SNES Classics, 1 never released Star Fox title, and 2 Kirby games. Seriously, that list is not filled with fluff. Those are all great games, and many of them hold up decades later. Games like Final Fantasy III, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Super Metroid aren’t just some of the best games on the SNES, they are some of the best games of all time.

And that’s part of the problem. These games are so good that they’ve been repackaged and resold several times over. If you’re anything like me, you’ve already bought most of the games on that list when they came to Nintendo’s Virtual Console. If you want to play some amazing SNES games, you don’t need to spend $80.

To gather some actual data, I turned to the online price charting resource PriceCharting to get a picture for what these games would cost you if you bought them all today in cartridge form. Here is the approximate resale value for each game these days:

  • Contra III: The Alien Wars – ≈ $36
  • Donkey Kong Country – ≈ $17
  • EarthBound – ≈ $135
  • Final Fantasy III – ≈ $46
  • F-Zero – ≈ $8
  • Kirby Super Star – ≈ $42
  • Kirby's Dream Course – ≈ $26
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – ≈ $28
  • Mega Man X – ≈ $27
  • Secret of Mana – ≈ $50
  • Star Fox – ≈ $12
  • Star Fox 2 – Doesn’t exist, but I’m willing to sell you something.
  • Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting – ≈ $18
  • Super Castlevania IV – ≈ $38
  • Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts – ≈ $22
  • Super Mario Kart – ≈ $25
  • Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars – ≈ $48
  • Super Mario World – ≈ $18
  • Super Metroid – ≈ $47
  • Super Punch-Out!! – ≈ $25
  • Yoshi's Island – ≈ $29

Grand total: $697

For comparison’s sake, here are the prices for all of the games featured on virtual console.

  • Contra 3: The Alien Wars – NA
  • Donkey Kong Country – $7.99
  • EarthBound – $9.99
  • Final Fantasy III – Not on Wii U virtual console, but you can buy it for about $20 for the DS
  • F-Zero – NA
  • Kirby Super Star – $7.99
  • Kirby's Dream Course – $7.99
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – $7.99
  • Mega Man X – $7.99
  • Secret of Mana – ON wii
  • Star Fox – NA
  • Star Fox 2 – You Wish
  • Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting – NA
  • Super Castlevania IV – $7.99
  • Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts – Wii
  • Super Mario Kart – $7.99
  • Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars – $7.99
  • Super Mario World – $7.99
  • Super Metroid – $7.99
  • Super Punch-Out!! – $7.99
  • Yoshi's Island – $9.99 (DS version)

Grand total: About $110

Note: I’ve listed the Wii U virtual console price, but you might be able to find some of these on the original Wii or 3DS as well.

As you can see, if you want to go out and buy the original versions of all the games featured on the SNES Classic, you’ll need to spend almost $700. When you look at it that way, the SNES Classic seems like a pretty good deal. But don’t pull out your wallet and rush off to the store just yet. How much time are you really going to spend with all the games on that list? If you simply cherry pick the 2-5 games you really want, you’ll probably be out some money. In fact, unless you know you’re going to spend a lot of time with more than 10 games on that list, you’re better off buying each game individually from the virtual console.

Of course, the real reason that people want the SNES Classic in the first place, isn’t the games – it’s the nostalgia. Nintendo has built a tiny piece of plastic that feels like a long summer afternoon at my cousin’s cabin (the good ones). I’m sure a lot of people are hoping to relive the happy times they had with their original SNES by setting this small SNES-shaped console next to their TV. But, if that’s all you want, why not buy an actual SNES console, because you can find those online for around $50. Or, you could just put a cardboard picture of the SNES next to your TV, because how much do you look at the machine after you’ve started playing games anyway?

On the other hand, maybe you’re looking forward to holding that rounded SNES controller in your hand one more time. You don’t need to spend $80 to do that either. There are cheap SNES knockoffs for modern consoles for as little as six bucks. I’m partial to 8Bitdo’s SN30, which looks and feels like the original thing and works with the PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Wii U, and the Switch. I found SN30s for sale on eBay for less than $30.

If you still want an SNES Classic after all this, that’s fine. If you’re happy to spend $80 for a few hours of warm nostalgia, that’s great. If you’re excited to give Nintendo $80 because all you want to do is play Star Fox 2, more power to you. I won’t stop you. It’s your money.

However, if the SNES Classic comes out with limited supply, and you’re not able to get one, maybe that’s not the end of the world (it doesn’t have Chrono Trigger anyway). There are plenty of ways to experience Nintendo’s classic games, and myriad ways to relive the 16-bit glory days. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go get in line to pick up my SNES classic.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/09/29/opinion-why-its-okay-that-you-cant-find-an-snes-classic.aspx

8bitdo Unveils Wireless SNES Classic Controllers

Players unhappy with their short SNES Classic controller cords might want to check out a new line of wireless controllers by 8bitdo.

The SN30 2.4G wireless controller boasts wireless play along with the same build as traditional SNES and Super Famicom mini controllers. Each controller includes a 2.4G wireless adapter for the SNES Classic and a lithium ion rechargeable battery, as well as a choice between the SNES and SFC color schemes. The controller also allows players to access the console's main menu by pressing the down and select buttons simultaneously.

The controller is open for preorder for $24.99, but won't start shipping until December 10.

 

Our Take
Aside from availability issues, the shortness of the NES Classic's wired controller was a major detractor from people's experiences with the console. While it's not as bad for the SNES' controllers, the freedom to play at a range that's comfortable for the player would be a big plus, even if it does mean paying a little more for additional hardware. These might be more expensive than other options on the market, but 8bitdo has a reputation for high quality work.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/8bitdo-unveils-new-wireless-snes-classic-controllers.aspx

We Spend 38 Minutes With Battle Chasers: Nightwar

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is the new turn-based RPG from a group of ex-Darksiders developers now calling themselves Airship Syndicate. The game continues the exploits of a group of heroes from the beloved comic series of the same name, but can these adventures make the jump from page to pixel?

Join Jeff Cork, Leo Vader, and Ben Reeves as they check out this gorgeous looking game and give you the full rundown. You're welcome.

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from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/09/29/we-spend-38-minutes-with-battle-chasers-nightwar.aspx

Where's Our Cuphead Review?

Cuphead is out later today, after enduring several delays that came in part from Studio MDHR's decision to expand the game beyond its original boss-rush concept. The fact that all of the visuals are hand-drawn didn't exactly speed things up, either. If you're looking for our final thoughts on the game before you download it, you're going to have to be patient for a little while longer. In short, we're not done playing yet.

The game is an homage to arcade-style, run-and-gun games, and its creators didn't scrimp on the difficulty. It's hard, and I want to be sure I'm seeing everything the game has to offer. However, even if I can't issue a final verdict yet, I can offer some preliminary thoughts:

 

  • It's hard, but (mostly) fair. You have to be patient and persistent if you want to succeed – each new phase of the boss battles feature new attacks and gimmicks that will likely catch you by surprise the first time. Be prepared to play through the beginning of a lot of these fights over and over again.
  • I'm not having a great time with the platforming sections. They don't seem nearly as inspired or interesting as the lengthy and imaginative boss fights. The lack of checkpoints is certainly faithful to those older games, but it's made finishing several of these stages a frustrating slog.
  • This should come as no surprise, but the game looks great. After all, that's the reason it's been on so many of our radars. Fortunately, there's a game behind it all, too. Is it a good game? Yeah, mostly. Is it great? No.

 

At this point in my time with the game, I've completed nearly all of the game's boss battles and all but one of the platforming stages. This is where it gets tricky. The game offers simple and regular versions of the boss battles, which do more than dial down the difficulty. If you play the simple versions, you'll miss out on several of the most interesting phases of each boss encounter. For instance, a battle against a rat in a tin can features a creepy set of animated eyes in the background. In the simple version, the battle ends on with the rat flailing around in defeat. If you want to see who those eyes belong to, you need to beat the boss at the more challenging difficulty level.

Further, you have to complete these battles on the regular setting to face off against the game's final boss, so my review will have to wait until then. 

In the meantime, you can watch footage of our recent hands-on session with the game here



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/29/where-39-s-our-cuphead-review.aspx

Thursday, 28 September 2017

GI Show – SNES Classic, Project Cars 2, Cuphead Interview

Welcome back to The Game Informer Show! We have a mountain of games to cover on this episode. Ben Hanson is joined by Joe Juba, Kimberley Wallace, and Andrew Reiner share their final thoughts on the SNES Classic and what it's like to finally play Star Fox 2. We're then joined by Matt Miller and Matt Kato to talk about our reviews for FIFA 18, Project Cars 2, and the curious music toy from Harmonix called DropMix. After some great community emails, Cuphead's producer and artist Marija Moldenhauer Skypes in to explain why the game's beautiful art style was such a pain to make.

You can watch the video below, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Play, or listen to episode 366 on SoundCloud. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show and win a prize by becoming Email of the Week!

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Our thanks to the talented Super Marcato Bros. for The Game Informer Show's intro song. You can hear more of their original tunes and awesome video game music podcast at their website.

To jump to a particular point in the discussion, check out the time stamps below...

1:53 - The Super Nintendo Classic
9:32 - Star Fox 2
17:25 - Tokyo Game Show 2017, 
Monster Hunter World, Code Vein, Fortune Street
30:00 - FIFA 18
36:15 - Project Cars 2
38:45 - Harmonix's DropMix
55:15 - Heat Signature
57:22 - SteamWorld Dig 2
1:00:05 - Community emails
1:37:40 - 
StudioMDHR's Marija Moldenhauer on creating Cuphead



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2017/09/28/gi-show-snes-classic-project-cars-2-cuphead-interview.aspx

Explore Inside-Out Planets At Your Leisure With InnerSpace

“We wanted to take the mood that Proteus presents the player, that open vibe, that feel, and we wanted to pair that with more arcade like tactility in the actual gameplay,” says 3D artist Steve Zapata. “One of the biggest things for me is that we wanted those moments where it’s a lean-back experience, where you can explore and really appreciate just being in that space, but if you want to, you can lean forward and there’s something to lean into.”

Players assume the role of the Cartographer, a sentient exploration drone reanimated by an archeologist, and then fly and swim through a series of inverted planets long abandoned by their rulers, awash in subterranean seas, craggy stone faces and shining beacon lights filled with cosmic colors. As players guide, maneuver, and crash their plane through these planets, they collect Relics and bits of exchangeable energy called Wind, and start to piece together where the planets’ inhabitants went, and why. Though the underground take on flight-sim gameplay can be disorientating at first, it becomes easier as you get into the groove of each plane’s speed and responsiveness.

Collecting these items also unlocks new frames for the player’s plane, allowing for faster flight, underwater traversal, and more health. In the game’s demo, for example, the wooden plane allows for tighter turns and faster movements, but can’t access underwater segments. The piano plane, on the other hand, is slower and feels stiff when trying to fly through tight spaces, but can transform into a submarine to explore underwater passages.

There are seven different planes to unlock in all, and one is only available to backers of the game’s Kickstarter. Two other frames were designed by backers who reached a high enough donation tier.

“We really wanted our backers that put their trust in us to be able to be able to leave their thumb print on the game,” Zapata says. “So instead of having backer content be something that’s off to the side that they can unlock with cheat codes or something like that, we actually made some of the more critical or important planes that you unlock, with really unique feeling, something that we worked with backers to get into the game, and we really make belong in this space but still has their signature about it.”

Boss encounters, meanwhile, act more as exploration puzzles than conflict-driven encounters. Throughout the game, players encounter demigods, beings of great power who hold vast amounts of the world’s remaining Wind. Players encounter and communicate with these demigods by exploring the world’s hidden passages, and each encounter will teach them more about what happened to the planets they inhabited. The game’s earliest boss, the sun fish, forces players to explore the environment, searching for subtle clues as to how they can penetrate a wall of light surrounding the glowing sea god. Because of the subtlety of where the clues are hidden in the environment, the encounters can take a while to figure out what you need to do, but serve for some great “Ah-ha!” moments once you do put the last piece of the puzzle in place and guide the plane through that last obstacle.

Sound serves as a key element of the game’s style and presentation. In addition to melodic bell and chime music matched by electronic mixes created by in-house composer Chris Miller, the sound effects for each plane are custom made with digital instruments, creating unique stalling and diving sounds as well as the noises each frame makes while turning.

“Each of the worlds have their own sound to them and each of the planes are connected to a world,” says PolyKnight’s studio director and engineer Tyler Tomaseski. “We wanted those planes to be attached to the soundscapes of those spaces so you could take those sounds from those worlds and play them in worlds where they don’t belong.”

This thoughtful approach to sound design most certainly pays off. Going through the demo, it was hard not to be at ease as the notes from banking the plane melted into the chime and bell based melodies of the planet’s main track. Throw in the serene aquatic ambient sound during the Sunfish encounter, and it’s hard not to praise the effort put into making the game’s sound work memorable.

While the flight sim elements could still use some polish, the title’s twist on traditional flight sim gameplay and sound-based style help it stand out from the pack. Players can set off to uncover the secrets of the past when InnerSpace releases this winter on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/games/innerspace/b/pc/archive/2017/09/28/explore-inside_2D00_out-planets-at-your-leisure-with-innerspace.aspx

Shenmue 3 Faces Move Now

Back at Gamescom in August, Yu Suzuki released a trailer for the Kickstarted Shenmue III, which drew criticism for the facial animation, or the lack thereof. Now, the developers have released another video to show it's no longer a problem, depending on your definition of problem.

The criticism prompted director Yu Suzuki to explain that the trailer had the facial animation was actually removed from the trailer. The dev update shows it being utilized on a scary (their words) grandmother, and a short look at a young girl who also emotes through facial expressions.

The update has been controversial on the game's update post, with some backers expressing cynicism about the way the animations look and many others happy for the improvement.

You can check out the update below. The game is scheduled for release in 2018 on PC and PlayStation 4.

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from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2017/09/28/shenmue-3-faces-move-now.aspx

SteamWorld Dig 2 Review – Digging Even Deeper

The original SteamWorld Dig was defined by its rewarding progression loop, fun exploration, and steam-powered cast. As a mining robot, your job was to excavate resources, then spend the money on items and abilities to make you even better at excavating resources. That simple, addictive formula still applies to SteamWorld Dig 2, but developer Image & Form Games has tightened the screws and polished the chassis, resulting in a sequel that feels like an upgrade in every way.

You control Dot (formerly a side character), who is searching for Rusty (formerly the hero) in a machine-populated version of the Old West. You don’t need experience with the original to enjoy this sequel; though a story plays out in scattered scenes, SteamWorld Dig 2’s narrative serves primarily as an excuse to send you into the mine near the desert town of El Machino. The characters are fun and their dialogue is entertaining, but the loop of digging, upgrading, and more digging is what makes the experience so engaging.

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Like other games that follow in Metroid’s footsteps, SteamWorld Dig 2 limits your power and mobility at the beginning. Dot can basically only jump and swing her pickaxe, but that’s good enough to start hacking through the dirt. You fill up your limited bag space with the valuables you find by digging (fighting enemies along the way), then take a trip back to town to cash in and buy better gear. Hold more resources with a bigger bag, function underground longer with more lantern fuel, or chop the ground quicker with an improved pickaxe. I had trouble choosing among the array of available upgrades, because each one has a noticeable effect on your efficiency and profit. This cycle had me hooked, and I would often take “just one more trip” down into the mine to hit the next tier on a piece of equipment.

Once you buy basic upgrades with your earnings, you also open up additional augmentations that you invest in with cogs. This is a brilliant and flexible system that introduces a new world of experimentation. Since cogs are refundable, I enjoyed toying around with abilities in different situations. For instance, when I was dying frequently in one section, I put cogs into an ability that allowed me to keep some resources I had collected (rather than losing them completely) upon death.

The cog mechanic also puts some great aspirational upgrades on the horizon for players; I couldn’t wait until I upgraded my bomb enough that I could fire it in mid-air, since I knew of several hidden areas that ability would open up. Depending on how you allocate your cogs, you might be able to hover indefinitely in mid air, walk across lava, and automatically identify secret blocks. Beyond the simple thrill of getting stronger and stronger, I enjoy how this extra layer of upgrading gradually removes the barriers that prevent you from exploring every nook and cranny of the large map.

Your expanding arsenal is good for more than just digging deeper. You encounter various puzzle caves during your expedition, and these often require you to use tools like your grappling hook and bombs in unexpected ways. Sometimes success is a matter of problem-solving, and other times it’s more about whether or not you have the right upgrades. The puzzle caves are usually brief but clever, with cogs and/or collectibles as your typical reward, which made me systematically seek out and clear these fun diversions.

My biggest criticism of SteamWorld Dig 2 is the combat. Exploration and mining have lots of depth, but when you throw bad guys into the mix, the experience gets shallow. Your damage-dealing options are limited, and most enemies have predictable patterns and too little health. Fighting feels more like a nuisance, since it slows you down without being challenging or interesting. The same holds true for the handful of boss fights; even though they function just fine, the encounters feel perfunctory. Dodging waves of fireballs while you wait to hit an exposed weak spot doesn’t fit naturally with the rest of the gameplay framework.

SteamWorld Dig 2 is impeccably paced, with new powers and options opening up just when you were getting comfortable with your current loadout. The world is fun to move around, the characters are charming, and the process of gradually increasing your efficiency is airtight. Even with some lackluster combat, more intuitive controls and focus on mobility make it even better than the original. For a series all about digging down, SteamWorld Dig 2 is a clear step up.



from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/games/steamworld_dig_2/b/switch/archive/2017/09/28/steamworld-dig-2-review.aspx