Hands-On With Outlast 2’s Violent Rural Horror
With the handful of changes and additions apparent from its opening hour, Outlast 2 already feels more ambitious than its predecessor, even if the core remains faithfully similar.
While the first Outlast was set within the grimy confines of a psychiatric hospital, Outlast 2 sets you loose in a rural Arizona desert overrun by a dangerous cult. The fact that you cover more ground than you did in Mount Massive Asylum gives the illusion of being on a long journey. I say illusion because, at least in the opening hour, that journey still feels relatively linear. I never had to backtrack or problem-solve my way out of a tough spot, since the story kept propelling me onward.
In a run-and-hide horror game like Outlast, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A higher quantity of key story moments prevented the pace from feeling sluggish, including a couple mysterious flashbacks set in a high school. Outlast 2 is also a gorgeous looking game and its new rural setting pairs nicely with the eerie green tint of your camcorder’s night vision.
How a Drunken Email Led to Molyneux’s Parting With EA
Before founding Lionhead Studios, Peter Molyneux was the head of Populous developer Bullfrog Productions, a studio he co-founded with Les Edgar. The studio was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1995, and two years later, Molyneux left the company because of a drunken email he sent to EA announcing his resignation.
Molyneux shared the "real story" behind his departure on the latest episode our interview show IGN Unfiltered. While mulling over whether or not he should resign from Bullfrog, he invited his friend (and soon to be Lionhead co-founder) Tim Rance over.
After they got "very drunk," Molyneux said Rance suggested he leave the company, which prompted Molyneux to draft up an email to EA CEO Larry Probst that roughly said, "Dear Larry, thank you very much. This is my... I'm handing my note in officially. Thank you, Peter." While he didn't intend to actually send it, to Molyneux's "horror," Rance hit the send button.
Homecoming’s Unexpected Civil War Connection
Some spoilers for Spider-Man: Homecoming follow.
When I visited the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming last summer, co-producer Eric Carroll revealed that the film has a surprising if obscure connection to last year’s Captain America: Civil War.
While the main villain of the film is Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture, Tom Holland’s Spidey will be facing off against other threats from his rogues gallery as well. That includes the Tinkerer (played by Michael Chernus), and the Shocker (played by Bokeem Woodbine). But the interesting thing here is that the Shocker’s dangerous gauntlet was actually scavenged from Brock Rumlow/Crossbones’ weapon in Civil War. It’s one of the devices the Frank Grillo character used to power up with in order fight Cap in that film.*
Nier: Automata Shipments, Digital Sales Surpass One Million
Square Enix has announced that total sales for Nier: Automata have surpassed one million units.
According to the publisher, as reported by Gematsu, this figure includes both digital sales and units shipped for the PlatinumGames-developed action RPG.
Nier: Automata released first in Japan for PlayStation 4 on February 23. Shortly thereafter, the PS4 version launched in North America and Europe on March 7 and March 10, respectively. A PC version of the game released worldwide the following week, on March 17.
For our thoughts on Square Enix's new action role-playing game, read IGN's Nier: Automata review. While you're at it, check out our comprehensive wiki guide for loads of tips and tricks, including how to unlock all of Automata's endings.
Sega Launches Bayonetta Countdown
A Bayonetta announcement is being teased by Sega.
An official countdown has begun over on the Sega website. At first glance it’s difficult to make out what’s being teased, but once you see the image (pictured below) behind the countdown as a whole, the tease becomes clear.
Bayonetta? Totally.
At this point we don’t have much to go on. That said, on April Fool’s Day Sega released an 8-Bit version of Bayonetta on Steam, and while it’s easy to write off April Fool’s shenanigans as a joke, it’s more than plausible the jest could be a sly hint at a PC port.
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Why the Call of Duty World War 2 Leak Makes All the Sense
Around this time two years ago, I predicted that Treyarch’s 2015 Call of Duty game would go back to the trenches of World War II. I even labelled that prediction as “extremely likely”. Turns out I was on the wrong side of history with that one, and while I’m happy to eat humble pie, I firmly believe that Call of Duty 2017 will jump back to where the series began, in the trenches of World War II.
Naturally, it helps that recent leaks suggest that Sledgehammer Games’ 2017 series entry will be called Call of Duty: WW2. Obviously, it’s possible that these leaked images are fake – we do, after all, live in the Photoshop age – but it’s likely they’re on point. Here’s why.
Quake Champions Beta Will Have Aussie Servers
Rejoice! Australians will get to take part in the upcoming Quake Champions closed beta...just a few weeks after it goes live in other territories.
Speaking to IGN, id Software's Tim Willits said the Quake Champions team is working to get Australian servers live once North America and Europe are in the beta.
“I love my Australian fans, but y’all live on the other side of the world!' said Willits. "So we’re going to move into closed beta very soon, and we are working with a major server cloud company and so we are not spinning up Australian servers until a few weeks after we go into our closed beta, so don’t anyone get all upset down in Australia. We haven’t forgot about you, but we will send the invites to our Australian fans when we spin our servers up, but modern technology and modern cloud-based companies have made spinning up servers in Australia much easier, way more easier than South America, if you believe. So no-one panic in Australia, we got you guys covered, but we will get you in to the closed beta after we get our servers spun up in North America and Europe, but you guys are not far behind.”
Avatar 2: Filming Starts Late 2017
James Cameron's long-in-development Avatar 2 will reportedly begin filming later this year.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Avatar star Sigourney Weaver revealed production is starting soon and the cast will start training soon for the film.
“We’re starting training, and we’re starting — hm, I probably can’t say anything," Weaver said. "We will be actually shooting it by the fall.”
Weaver then went on to praise the scripts for all four Avatar sequels, promising fans that the long wait for these new movies will be worth it and that she's not worried at all about people being disappointed. However, she did express a slight concern over taking on such an ambitious project.
New South Park: The Fractured But Whole and TV Series Construction Sets From McFarlane
McFarlane Toys has three new South Park Construction Sets based on the hit TV series and the upcoming game, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, coming in September 2017.
The first is called "Check Your Privilege" and includes a buildable, articulate PC Principal figure with an accurately scaled principal's office setting. It contains approximately 101 pieces and has a buildable wall and desk based on authentic scenery from South Park.
