Monthly Archives: August 2015
I Raided a Tomb in Rise of the Tomb Raider
One of the few complaints people had with the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot is that it lacked its namesake. Lara spent a lot of time exploring the island of Yamatai and killing its residents, but not a lot of time raiding tombs. This fall’s sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider, is about Lara becoming more than just a survivor and, yes, there is a greater emphasis on breaking into underground boneyards. I got to play through a tomb today at Gamescom and am happy to report it was a lot of fun.
We begin in Syria, where voice recordings left by Lara’s father guess a great treasure is waiting to be discovered. At E3 we got to see Lara fending off enemies in Syberia and now we’re in an arid desert land. It will be interesting to see how all this globetrotting affects the feel of Tomb Raider considering the entire first game took place on one island.
Producer Says He’s Working on Sherlock Holmes 3 Script
Lionel Wigram – producer of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies – has been talking about the potential for a third film in the series.
Wigram and Ritchie have been busy promoting their new collaboration – a film version of 1960s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. – and while IGN was quizzing them on that subject, we asked about the super-sleuth series.
“We’re working on a Sherlock Holmes 3 script” Wigram explained. “I think we would all love to do one if we could come up with something that really was really going to knock it out of the park and was going to be the best of the three. So we’re working on that – it’s quite hard to do.”
As for whether Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law would be game for reprising their roles as Holmes and Watson, Wigram simply said “Very. Very.”
Mighty No. 9 Suffers Delay
Mighty No. 9 has been delayed.
In a forum post to backers, via NeoGAF, the message states that a delay announcement is to be made publicly at Gamescom 2015.
No specific details regarding when customers or backers can expect a final release of the game were revealed, other than the team “will be aiming for a release in Q1 2016.”
“Once a solid release date is set, we will announce it immediately to our backers and fans,” reads the post. “Of course, it is important to explain why exactly the game is being delayed. As we have communicated in the updates to our backers, all of the core content for the game is developed and in a complete state.
Vote For Your Favourite Game of Gamescom 2015 Now
Gamescom 2015 has officially kicked off, and we want you guys to help us decide the cream of the crop at this year's show.
VOTE NOW
This is the seventh year Gamescom opens its doors in Cologne and with so many hugely-anticipated titles hitting the show floor, you know competition is going to be fierce and every single vote counts.
Previous winners include Valve's Dota 2, which took home the title in 2011, followed by ArenaNet's MMO Guild Wars 2 in 2012, DayZ in 2013 and last year's winner, Destiny. It's now up to you to decide who's the winner it this year.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Release Date Slips
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4’s release date has been moved to February 5, 2016 in Europe and Australasia.
Originally, Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 was due for release at some point in 2015. That, it appears, is now longer the case. According to Bandai Namco, the delay allows the team at CyberConnect2 the chance to fine tune the game more before it’s ready for public consumption.
If you’re looking to pre-purchase, pre-order offers include exclusive skins, extra characters, and early access.
LEGO Mario and Bowser Are Impressively Crafted
Brick-builders Tiago Catarino and David Pickett have pieced together highly detailed builds of Mario and Bowser out of LEGO.
Andrew Becraft, a former Nintendo of America employee, highlighted these impressive Nintendo-themed LEGO figures on The Brothers Brick, beginning with Tiago Catarino from Portugal. Catarino uploaded his LEGO creations to Flickr, which includes LEGO variants of Mario, a question block, a super mushroom, and a green pipe. Clearly, each one was carefully crafted, capturing Mario's 8-bit essence in glorious LEGO brick style.
Mafia 3 Exposes The Dirty New Face of Organized Crime
Organized crime has always had its go-to goons. The wise guys with slicked back hair, wingtipped shoes, and suits impeccably pinstriped. That romanticized imagery has been the well-tread territory of the Mafia series so far, but that’s changing with the arrival of Mafia 3.
Set in 1968, Mafia 3 stars a brand new protagonist, Lincoln Clay. He’s half-black, half-white, which matters since his story unfolds in the deep south of New Orleans, where outward, violent racism was a part of everyday life at the time. Clay’s got it tough, because he also grew up an orphan, constantly looking for family, which he found in the army during the Vietnam War. Suffice it to say, he’s seen some things.
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void Gets New Co-op Mode
At Gamescom today, Blizzard unveiled a new cooperative mode for StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void called Allied Commanders. The emphasis is on cooperative play, as Blizzard said completing some missions is not possible alone.
Allied Commanders allows you to play as "one of the many heroic leaders" of the StarCraft universe, according to Blizzard in a post on battle.net, including Raynor, Kerrigan and Artanis.
Raynor "commands infantry and strategic support units" and "calls down the Hyperion and Banshee Airstrikes," according to Blizzard, while Kerrigan is a "controllable hero with psionic abilities" who commands powerful Zerg units. Artanis warps units instantly into battle and "harnesses offensive and defensive Spear of Adun abilities."
Overwatch Adds New Hero, Two New Maps
During its Gamescom 2015 Press Conference, Blizzard opened up on some brand-new Overwatch details, including a character reveal and a pair of new maps.
The newest playable character in Blizzard's competitive shooter is Lucio, a DJ from Rio de Janeiro. Lucio is much more mobile than most characters we've seen so far, partially due to the fact that he rides on skates and can run along walls.
Lucio has a pair of songs that he's always playing -- one that heals himself and teammates, and another that boosts your movement speed. He can also release a sound barrier that acts as a protective healing shield to those around him.
Apart from Lucio's reveal, Blizzard showed footage of a pair of new maps, one called Volskaya Industries and the other Numbani.
Xenoblade Chronicles X Gets Two Limited Edition Bundles
Xenoblade Chronicles X is getting two limited edition bundles due for release alongside the game this coming December.
First up, a Wii U bundle, which comes with the black Wii U console, a copy of the game, an artbook, and a world map poster.
If you already own the console, then there’s also a limited edition Xenoblade pack which contains the game, a steelbook cover, the above-mentioned world map poster and artbook, and a cover art poster.
If you’re not at gamescom, Nintendo has pointed out a sneak peak of Xenoblade Chronicles X will broadcast on Twitch on Saturday August 8 at 16:00 CEST.
If you’ve never played Xenoblade before, the original Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii is available as of right now on the Wii U eShop in Europe. Anyone who purchases the original version will be eligible for a discount should they wish to purchase Xenoblade Chronicles X digitally on Wii U within two-weeks of the game’s launch.