Monthly Archives: July 2016
‘Xboy’ Handheld Was Considered, Says Former Xbox Exec
During the early days of Xbox, Microsoft considered competing in the portable space with a dedicated gaming handheld of its own, but ultimately scrapped the project.
Former Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach recently stopped by the IGN office and discussed the company's early plans for a handheld (often referred to as "Xboy") on the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered (airing next Tuesday), saying that while he doesn't remember it ever getting to the prototype stage, "there were definitely drawings."
Happy Dungeons is a Curious Mix of Charming Loot and Button Mashing
Much like its predecessor Happy Wars, Happy Dungeons' strength lies in its ridiculous closet of accessories and its button mashing fun. It still needs a few tweaks before it makes its full launch later this year, but the Xbox One Game Preview build I got my hands on shows a lot of promise.
Happy Dungeons is the follow up RPG to Happy Wars, one of the Xbox 360’s first free-to-play games, and it has some cute ties to the original. When your character falls off one of the floating islands in Happy Wars, they find themselves in the land of Happy Dungeons. Here, you’ll travel through different dungeons and fight through various enemies for loot.
It’s nice that Happy Dungeons features a split-screen mode, but it also reminded me why playing with three other people on one screen is problematic. As an RPG, every player screen is loaded with teammates health and mana bars, three rows of skills, and other information. Factor in the other players in your game, three minions that follow each player, and friendly NPCs that sometimes join your battle and you’ve gone one incredibly busy screen. I sometimes had a hard time finding enemies when we weren’t up against goblins. Those guys are pretty recognizable, but the bandits were not. Many of these issues do subside if you’ve got the screen to yourself, however.
Official No Man’s Sky Music Soundtrack Available to Pre-Order
The band behind the soundtrack to No Man's Sky, 65daysofstatic, has made the game's official album available for digital pre-order on all major online music services.
Those who pre-order No Man's Sky: Music for an Infinite Universe via iTunes will get a bonus instant-download of the track Supermoon, while the band's new track "Red Parallax" is available to stream now on their official soundcloud page.
Fans can get their hands on the 2-hour record when it launches on August 5 2016, whose official album artwork was created by Caspar Newbolt from Version Industries.
Next Battleborn DLC Information Revealed
Gearbox has revealed when we can expect the newest Battleborn character, what we can expect during the summer months, and an extension for the "Lootpocalypse."
The 27th Battleborn character will be a snake called Pendles, who was revealed back in May. He'll become available in early access if you have the Season Pass on July 28 at 9am PT, and his official release will be a week later on August 4.
Yesterday saw the release of the Battleborn July update, and the characters have decided they're going to the beach. There are now "Summer Fun" skins and taunts available in the in-game Marketplace.
Free Umbrella Corps Demo Comes to PlayStation 4
Capcom has released a new demo for Umbrella Corps on PlayStation 4.
In a blog post on the official site, Capcom announced the demo is available from the PlayStation Store now until 11.59 PT on July 23, 2016.
While there's no cap to how much of the game you can play, after 48 hours of game time you'll be prompted to pay to keep playing.
"The feature-rich demo includes access to online modes and maps set on the streets of Raccoon City, the derelict RPD building, and even the iconic Spencer mansion," states Capcom.
"In Umbrella Corps, players face off in intense, fast-paced 3 vs. 3 online battles in maps inspired by iconic locations from the Resident Evil universe. Zombies, undead canines, and other abominations also wander the battlefield. These idle creatures will leave players alone as long as their Zombie Jammers are intact, but if it takes damage they’ll swarm without mercy."
Pokemon Sun and Moon Announcement Coming in Early August
The Pokemon Company is expected to release more information about Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon on August 1 at 9 am ET / 6 am PT.
An update on the Pokemon Sun and Moon website confirmed when the next official information will arrive, according to Siliconera. There are no details as to what could be coming — but as with other updates, we're likely to hear about new Pokemon and new features available in the upcoming games.
Earlier this week, The Pokemon Company released a trailer showcasing six new Pokemon coming to Pokemon Sun and Moon when it launches in November. Haven't been keeping up with the new Pokemon? So far, there are 25 new Pokemon, though that number is expected to keep growing as game's release date draws nearer.
IGN UK Podcast #341 – We Ran 5k in the Name of Pokemon GO
Podcasts. The final pig's ear. These are the ramblings of the IGN UK team. Its hour long mission: to talk about Star Wars Celebration, to preview the new Star Trek and XXX films, to boldly go where no podcast has gone before.
Your Captain this week is Gav Murphy, while Joe Skrebels and Alysia Judge polish their first officer badges.
Of course, Star Trek Beyond is in cinemas this week - hence these strained allusions - but we've also been running 5K with strangers playing Pokemon Go, sitting in replica sets of Endor and playing a heated game of Keyword countdown.
You can listen to the full episode below - just open a hailing frequency by clicking on the link.
IGN UK Podcast #341: Hailing Frequencies Open on Star Wars Celebration
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SDCC Day 1 Cosplay Features Mad Max, Fallout 4
It's that time of year, when fans from virtually every aspect of geekdom meet together in San Diego, CA for Comic-Con, one of the largest conventions in the world. Intersecting fandoms means we see a pretty diverse array of cosplay, and we're going to highlight our favorites for each day of the show.
Today, our cosplay highlight includes some really impressive versions of Nick Valentine from Fallout 4, some War Boys from Mad Max: Fury Road, and lots of X-Men. Check them out in the gallery below, and visit IGN's SDCC hub for all things Comic-Con!
Australian Boomers Added to NBA 2K17
In a first for the series, Australian national basketball team the Boomers will be included in NBA 2K17.
2K Games and Basketball Australia announced via press release this morning that the Australian Boomers will be the first international team to be added to the NBA 2K franchise. The Boomers join Team USA as the only non-NBA teams in the game.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be part of NBA 2K17,” said Anthony Moore, CEO of Basketball Australia. “We jumped at the chance to have our Australian Boomers in the game, and now Australian gamers can take on the world with Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova and Andrew Bogut together in the green and gold.”
Boomers player Patty Mills is excited about the inclusion, “It’s great to see 2K recognizing our nation’s growing impact on the sport with the inclusion of Team Australia in NBA 2K17.”