Monthly Archives: September 2015

A Super Mario Maker Stage is Coming to Smash Bros.

A Super Mario Maker-themed level is coming to Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS.

The stage appears to be randomly generated in terms of where blocks are placed, and which Super Mario skin pack it uses. Also, if blocks are destroyed by the player, the Mario Maker hand can appear to re-draw them back into place.

The Super Mario Maker DLC stage is coming on September 30.

The Super Mario Maker DLC stage joins the already robust smattering of downloadable content released for Smash Bros., which includes numerous costume packs, and extra characters. If you’re an amiibo collector, don’t forget every Smash Bros. character will be getting their own plastic figurine.

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Destiny: First Impressions of The Taken King

Does The Taken King finally correct all of Destiny’s problems? The short answer is no, but it yet again improves many of the areas where players felt the shared world shooter was lacking. The story makes sense, the mission system is easy to follow, and the path to level 40 has been adjusted so it’s closer to a traditional MMO experience.

The story elements see the most important changes. Bungie clearly put a large emphasis on the overall arc told with the Taken King, which includes a cohesive narrative, gorgeous cutscenes, and a plot that will leave you wanting to continue the side quests to find answers the main campaign leaves lingering. This is a huge step in the right direction for Destiny’s future. When speaking with Mark Noseworthy the Executive producer of The Taken King he actually claimed to make it a personal goal to improve the story. "The narrative with Destiny has been 'I love playing Destiny, but I hate that it’s not better.' With the Taken King we wanted to change that narrative to 'I love playing Destiny, and the Taken King made it better.'That’s my personal goal." It would seem that year 2 has succeeded in that goal.  Unfortunately, the Year 1 campaign doesn’t benefit from any of the new storytelling or cutscene polish, and while the new voice of Nolan North as the Ghost adds a little bit to year 1, new players coming into the game are advised to use the auto-leveling Spark of Light consumable so they can jump into the good stuff.

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4 of Destiny’s New Strikes And How They Rank

Strikes are a rather important part of Destiny. While you'll usually play through them if you're a completionist like myself, sometimes they can be skipped altogether... unless you want to complete a weekly Nightfall or Weekly Strike for Strange Coins that is. For that very reason we've collected all four of the new strikes in The Taken King or your viewing pleasure. Get ready guardians. Some of these are going to be a challenge.

Easily one of my favorite new strike missions, the Echo Chamber strike in Destiny begins with your team deactivating a set of shields and portals as they make their way through Venus to the final boss. Once there you'll again have to deactivate a set of force fields so you can force the final boss out of his hiding spot where he'll be vulnerable. This was a lot of fun to do with a group of friends.

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Sony Reveals New PS4 Wireless Headset, Controllers, HDD Bay Covers

Nine new HDD base covers and four new controller colours for the PlayStation 4 were announced during Sony’s pre-TGS press conference in Japan today.

The four new controller colours include gold, silver, steel black and a transparent crystal. A limited number of the gold, silver and black will be available in a limited number on November 6 and the crystal variant will launch on December 3.

The nine new faceplate variations will launch on November 6 for ¥2,500 (roughly US$21) and will only be available through Sony stores. Colour variations include purple, red, yellow, pink, gold, silver and more. Seven of the colors, excluding gold and silver, are available for pre-order from today.

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Koei Tecmo’s PS4 Exclusive Nioh Showcased

Koei Tecmo has showcased a segment of gameplay for its upcoming slash ’em up Nioh during Sony's Tokyo Games press conference. Nioh will be released exclusively on PS4 in 2016.

Koei Tecmo producer Kou Shibusawa described Nioh as a game that would be “impossible to clear on the first try.”

nioh logo

Nioh, which began life at Koei over a decade ago as “Akira Kurosawa’s Oni”, was showcased back in 2005 when it was intended to become the first of a trio of PS3 launch-window games for the publisher.

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Sony Renames Project Morpheus

Project Morpheus is now PlayStation VR, Sony announced today at its TGS conference.

Sony's virtual reality device has yet to receive a consumer price point, but several virtual reality projects were shown off in a new trailer with the name announcement, including Cyber Danganronpa VR, Final Fantasy 14, a Hatsune Miku demo, RIGS, The Playroom VR, and more.

For every TGS announcement, head over to IGN’s Tokyo Game Show 2015 hub.

Miranda Sanchez is an Associate Editor and an IGN Anime Club host. You can check out her ramblings about anime, MOBAs, and cats on Twitter.

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PlayStation 4 Price Dropped in Japan

PlayStation 4 received a price drop in Japan today. Sony revealed the change during its PlayStation keynote ahead of this week's Tokyo Game Show. Currently priced at ¥39,980, the PS4's new price of ¥34,980 equates to $292.79 USD -- about the equivalent of a $50 reduction.

Sony also announced that Project Morpheus has been formally renamed PlayStation VR.

For all the news from Tokyo Game Show, check out IGN's TGS 2015 Hub.

Developing...

Mitch Dyer is an Editor at IGN. Talk to him about Dota 2, movies, books, and other stuff on Twitter at @MitchyD and subscribe to MitchyD on Twitch.

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