Monthly Archives: June 2016
Abzu Release Date Announced
505 Games and Giant Squid have announced Abzu will be coming out for PC and PlayStation 4 on August 2.
Abzu is the first game from Giant Squid. Matt Nava, formerly art director on Journey and Flower, is now creative director at the studio, and the game has been in development for a few years.
It's a third person adventure / exploration game where you play as The Diver. As IGN discovered at last year's E3, you'll be exploring underwater environments, meeting robotic buddies, and using the fish, turtles, and other creatures to your advantage.
No Kinect Support for Xbox One S Out of the Box
Microsoft's slimmed down Xbox One won't support Kinect out of the box, as the company has confirmed Xbox One S requires an adapter in order to use the motion-tracking peripheral.
"In order to make the Xbox One S as compact as possible and make all of these updates, we removed the dedicated Kinect port from the back," Xbox exec Matt Lapsen explained on Xbox Wire.
That said, the console will still support Kinect, but requires the "Xbox Kinect Adapter for USB connection," which Microsoft will be giving away for free to those who request one.
Xbox One S Will Reportedly Run Better Than Original Console
Microsoft's Xbox One S, the company's new, slimmer console, will reportedly have "additional raw GPU and CPU power compared to the Xbox One."
Speaking to Polygon, Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition boss Rod Fergusson said the studio is taking advantage of those features for Gears of War 4 to "reduce the frequency of frame rate or resolution penalties in more demanding sections of the game."
That means Gears of War 4—and, presumably, other upcoming Xbox One titles—will run better on the Xbox One S than on the original Xbox One. The 40 percent smaller console is also expected to support high dynamic range color and 4K video.
Watch Dogs 2 Feels So Much Better Than the First
Within 60 seconds, I realized that I was going to put a whole mess of time into Watch Dogs 2.
For one, its setting speaks to my heart. "Well this is weird," was my first thought as I opened up Watch Dogs 2's map of San Francisco, a city I've lived in for the past 8 years and know as well as any place on Earth. The topography was so incredibly familiar -- the bridges, North Bay, Cupertino, each individual neighborhood of SF itself.
As I bummed around places like Coit Tower, The Embarcadero, and Pier 39, I felt weird. I felt like I was at home; a stretched out, slightly rejiggered version of home, but still home. Hell, even the famous parrots of Telegraph Hill were there, chilling on a railing near the famous landmark. Tiny details like this made me appreciate the lengths Ubisoft goes to flesh out their settings.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands Is Tom Clancy Meets GTA
Ubisoft describes Ghost Recon: Wildlands as its largest action adventure ever and, perched in the cabin of a hovering chopper with the Bolivian landscape stretching out on all sides below me, I’m in no position to argue. There is certainly a grand sense of scale here.
Ubisoft’s own Far Cry games are perhaps the obvious comparison in this case (Bohemia Interactive’s ARMA series might be another, although Wildlands opts for accessible, mainstream action over unforgiving military simulation). As it turns out, however, I feel the more accurate comparison is actually Grand Theft Auto, or GTA Online and its suite of co-op missions for small teams of players, to be specific.
It definitely feels as if Wildlands is wearing its GTA Online inspiration on its spec ops sleeve. I don’t mean that in relation to the worlds represented in each; GTA Online is a mix of dense and vertical urban locations and stylised stretches of countryside, and the environment in that has little in common with the less-developed and more sparsely-populated world Ubisoft Paris is crafting as the foundation for Wildlands.
Final Fantasy XV: The Biggest Name in RPGs Is Making a Comeback
After nearly 10 years in development, Final Fantasy XV’s coming out party feels overdue. At a glance, the real-time action in trailers (so far) looks like a departure from the series’ roots, but don’t be fooled: the core themes of friendship, deep characterizations, party customization, and drama-filled storylines that have been a part of the 29 year-old franchise are all here. Each chapter in the blockbuster RPG series has taken a chance on key ideas. FFX discarded the popular Active-Time-Battle system for another turn-based system. FFXI changed up the formula again into a massively multiplayer-online RPG. Meanwhile, FFXII shook up the ebb and flow of its epic campaign with a more open quest format. Square has a reputation of altering the recipe of Final Fantasy’s infamous RPG sauce.
Tarzan: Skarsgard and Robbie Revive a Classic
Tarzan’s not messing around. The six-foot-something, golden-haired ape-man (played by Alexander Skarsgard) is making his way through a 19th century train car, back to front, taking down a dozen Belgian soldiers along the way. Clad in a tan safari-type suit rather than his traditional loincloth, Tarzan throws the soldiers, he hits them, he even tosses one up into the ceiling of the car, where the poor SOB just gets stuck, dangling from above while the Lord of the Apes fixes his hair.
This scene unfolded in front of me and a handful of other reporters when I visited the set of Warner Bros.’ upcoming The Legend of Tarzan at Leavesden Studios, just outside London. This is the same place where the Harry Potter films were shot (and where the permanent Potter studio tour can be found), and where Wonder Woman just wrapped and Justice League is currently underway. (Tarzan helmer David Yates also directed four Harry Potter films here, and has the Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the pipeline as well.) Leavesden is obviously a place for magical beings and superheroes, so where better to stage the latest incarnation of one of the original superheroes?
Daily Deals: Best Xbox One Deals, Last Guardian, Drones
Price Drop on Xbox One With Free Second Controller
If you'd rather get a great deal on the old Xbox One than fork over full price for the redesigned slim version, Dell will sell you the Name Your Game Bundle (choose from Forza Motorsport 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, or Rare Replay) with an extra controller for $280. Amazon has a similar price drop in effect, but with no bonus controller (it wants $338 for the system with two controllers).
New Mario Series Amiibo Announced
At E3 today, Nintendo revealed new amiibo from the Mario series.
Daisy, Waluigi, and Boo will receive amiibo for the first time, and new amiibo will be released Wario, Rosalina, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, featuring new poses separate from their Smash Bros. line counterparts.
Waluigi amiibo.
Nintendo also revealed that the Boo figure will glow in the dark.
The new figures will launch on November 4th.
Mario Party: Star Rush Announced
At E3 today, Nintendo announced Mario Party Star Rush, a new Mario Party game headed to 3DS on November 4, 2016.
Star Rush features new gameplay changes to make it more portable-friendly, including all players moving at once rather than having to wait for their turn.
Star Rush follows the previous Mario Party 3DS game, Mario Party: Island Tour, which launched in 2013. The most recent entry in the series was Mario Party 10, which was released on Wii U in 2015.
Stay tuned to IGN for more Nintendo news from E3.