Monthly Archives: December 2016
43 Big Games Coming in 2017
With another excellent year of gaming in the books, it's time to look forward to what's in store for us next year. Everything from long-awaited sequels to fresh takes on familiar genres, there are a ton of interesting games headed our way. Here are 43 big games coming in 2017, with the caveat being that some of these might be delayed.
Agents of Mayhem was the featured game for our June IGN First, and we got some fairly extensive hands-on time with it. Though it technically exists in the same storytelling universe as Volition’s Saints Row series, it’s a new IP that plays quite differently from its sister series, or from any sandbox action game really. You choose three squad members from a larger pool of diverse heroes, all of whom have customizable passive and active abilities, and by swapping between them on the fly, you can put together some impressive pyrotechnic displays. The core combat is already a good time, and if the open world elements wind up matching it, Agents of Mayhem could be the sandbox action game to beat in 2017. -- Vince Ingenito, Editor
Which TV Show That Ended in 2016 Will You Miss the Most?
Another year done, another lengthy list of TV casualties. Cancelations are part of the natural selection of the business, along with shows coming to an end because the creators decided it was time, and some great shows took their final bow in 2016 - but which one will you miss the most?
Now, you may notice that not ALL the canceled shows are on the poll because we're only counting established series that were on for at least two seasons. That being the case, you won't find The Grinder, Damien, Braindead, Limitless, Heartbeat, or any of the other shows that came and went after only a single season. You also won't find shows whose final run may have started this fall, but won't actually air their final episode until 2017 (Teen Wolf, Salem, The Vampire Diaries, we'll see you on next year's poll).
Artificial Intelligence Imagines How Scenes Will Play Out
A new form of artificial intelligence (AI) can create its own films by simulating possible outcomes based on a picture.
As reported by Scientific American, humans are able to look at a picture of, say, two other beings interacting, and imagine different ways the scene could play out, and new technology could allow machines to do something similar.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) put this technology to the test, pitting two AI systems against each other. One AI system would create short videos realistic enough that they tricked the other, which was tasked with trying to pick out real videos from machine-created. When the videos were shown to workers at Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, 20 percent of the time they picked the AI created videos over the real ones.
Super Mario Run: Android Pre-Registration Now Available
Nintendo has announced that Android users can now pre-register to download Super Mario Run.
As announced on Nintendo of America’s Twitter account, Android users can pre-register on Google Play and will receive a notification as soon as Mario’s auto-runner becomes available for download.
The Google Play listing confirms that, just like on iOS, players will be able to download the first few levels of Super Mario Run for free, then have the option to purchase the remaining levels for a set price. Also just like on iOS, internet connectivity is required to play Super Mario Run.
Ranking the Final Fantasy Games
Vikings Creator on This Week’s Shocking Turn of Events
Warning: The following interview with Vikings creator/showrunner Michael Hirst contains massive spoilers from this week's episode, "All His Angels."
This week, Vikings star Travis Fimmel exited the show in epic fashion as Ragnar, traded over to King Ælla, fell to a series of burnings, beatings and poisonous snake bites. Doomed to the vengeful king's viper pit, Ragnar sacrificed himself for the sake of his own legacy and for the future of his people, knowing that Ivar and his brothers would swear revenge and come calling on England for blood.
I spoke to Vikings creator Michael Hirst about the game-changing episode, "All His Angels," and what Ragnar's demise means for the rest of the series. Plus, I got Hirst's thoughts about the death itself, Ragnar's relationship with Ecbert, and why Ivar was, ultimately, Ragnar's choice to succeed him.
For Honor Collector’s Edition Revealed
A listing on GameStop's website has revealed a For Honor Collector's Edition, called the 'For Honor Apollyon Collector's Edition'.
The listing says the CE includes:
- For Honor Gold Edition
- 14" Apollyon Statue, made by Project TriForce: "Standing at over a foot tall, this highly-detailed statue features an accurate reproduction of Apollyon, For Honor's main Warlord."
- Exclusive Apollyon Lithograph: "The Warlord of the Blackstone Legion seeks to bring war to her enemies in this exclusive Limited Edition Lithograph."
Final Fantasy III: A Retrospective
When I first started my daunting journey through the Final Fantasy series for IGN at the start of 2016, I did so opting for the most convenient and cost-effective methods available to me. For the earliest games in this beloved franchise, that meant resorting to remasters, the trade-off being that I could easily carry the first ten Final Fantasy games around with me on my Vita, grind a few levels whenever I had spare time throughout the day and speed up my playthroughs massively.
As I half-expected, when the first piece in this series landed on IGN’s homepage back in January, I drew some criticism in the comments for not playing the original NES version of the first Final Fantasy. I get it: long-term fans of classic franchises tend to want others to experience what they experienced and in the way they experienced it. It is, of course, not only unrealistic to expect that everyone has had the same formative experiences as you, it’s simply impossible, and is what makes your fellow human beings so damn interesting.
Iron Man’s Fate Revealed in Civil War II Finale
The final chapter of Civil War II reveals the ultimate fate of Tony Stark.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Civil War II #8!
Several post-Civil War II comics have strongly hinted that Tony Stark died in his final battle with Captain Marvel. The truth, as it turns out, is a little more complicated than that. Carol did defeat Tony in one-on-one combat, destroying his massive armor and leaving Tony in a severely injured and comatose state.
What Persona 5’s Main Characters Look Like as Food
While we ever so patiently await the worldwide release of Persona 5 (the game has been out in Japan since September), we couldn't resist a chance to sample an array of food and drinks based on the Atlus title when we had the chance.
A recent trip to Japan happened to coincide with a month-long Persona 5 pop up cafe that featured eight meals and eight drinks modeled after the game's characters and their Personas. While two people couldn't justifiably order all 16 items (maybe next time...) we did order one item per character for a sampling of what the cafe had to offer. Click right to view the photo gallery of our culinary adventure.