Monthly Archives: August 2017
The Crew 2 Release Date, Pre-order Bonuses Announced
The Crew 2 will be released on March 16, 2018 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Ubisoft's announcement comes alongside a new trailer that showcases the game's "Fast Fav" feature, intended to allow you to jump seamlessly between your favorite vehicles (land, sea or air) as you travel through the game picking up challenges.
In addition, Ubisoft provided some details on the various pre-order bonuses for the game. Those who pre-order The Crew 2 receive the Legendary Motors Pack, including the Mercedes-AMG Touring Car 2016 and the Harley-Davidson Iron 883 2017.
In addition, pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition, priced at $69.99/£54.99, also bags you the Motorsports Deluxe Pack, which includes the Pilatus PC-21 Aerobatics Plane, unique racing outfits for your avatar, and more.
State of Decay 2 is All About Brutal Choices
“So we’re looking at a community that’s just been through a nasty rough patch”, said designer Richard Foge, as we looked at State of Decay’s brand new community tab, featuring a group of very sickly looking survivors. “They started building a facility and they made a lot of noise and brought zombie siege. One of them took on a juggernaut but not before the juggernaut took out a few of the survivors - you can see their tombstones there. And she’s taken some damage herself, cracked ribs, concussion.”
This was the beginning of the Gamescom demo of State of Decay 2, a slicker, larger, more polished version of its predecessor (running on Unreal Engine 4) but with exactly the same central hook: making difficult choices. Undead Labs’ Jeff Strain and Foge plunged us straight into the aftermath of a brutal zombie attack, where the decision was, basically, die along with your two unwell comrades, or fight to keep your community alive.
New Splatoon 2 Stages, Arms Character Announced
Nintendo has announced new additions to two of its Switch exclusives.
Paint-em-up Splatoon 2 is getting two new stages. Manta Maria launches this weekend, and consists of an enormous sailing boat which will play host to battles in both Turf War and Ranked Battle stages. Meanwhile, Lost Outpost—a heavily-walled area abandoned due to rising seawater—will become available as a Salmon Run stage both in local multiplayer and online later today.
In addition, a new weapon has been announced—the Bubble Blower, which can produce up to three huge bubbles which can be used either defensively, absorbing enemy fire, or offensively, by dousing in your own team's ink and triggering an explosion. The Bubble Blower will be available first in a set with the Forge Splattershot Pro, starting September 1.
Nintendo Reveals Super Nintendo-Themed New 3DS XL
Nintendo has revealed the (deep breath) New Nintendo 3DS XL - Super Nintendo Entertainment System Edition. It's prettier to look at than it is to read.
Announced during Gamescom, the new console edition will launch in Europe on October 13. Here's a look at the packaging and the model itself:
Introducing the New Nintendo #3DS XL – Super Nintendo Entertainment System Edition, coming to store shelves on 13/10! #NintendoGC pic.twitter.com/xUgyPfjWaU
— Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) August 22, 2017
Star Wars Battlefront 2’s Space Battles Are Faster than Ever
It’s easy to die in Star Wars Battlefront 2’s Starfighter Assault mode. In a few hands-on sessions, I succumbed to enemy fire multiple times, but also managed to crash into debris, explode against the side of enemy cruisers, and occasionally even collide with my own teammates.
Thankfully, even for someone terrible at dogfighting like me, Battlefront 2’s transitions between matches are now even faster, letting you pick your ship and see its abilities at a glance and jump right back into the action.
We only had a chance to try one map set above the planet Fondor, but tried out both the Rebel side (controlling X-Wings, A-Wings, and Y-Wings) and Empire (controlling TIE Fighters, Interceptors, and Bombers). Like in Battlefront, ships have different abilities like afterburner speed boosts and target locks that help make it feel like you can pick the ship that’s right for you.
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition Puts the Full Game on Mobile
Final Fantasy XV is expanding its horizons once again, with the announcement of Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition for iOS, Android and Windows 10 devices, launching later this year.
The news follows hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement that Final Fantasy XV is receiving a PC version.
Revealed at Gamescom by Square Enix, the Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition "retells the story" of the original game over ten downloadable episodes, with all episodes launching simultaneously and, as a bonus, the first episode will be free of charge.
The trailer - which you can see above - showcases a selection of scenes from the original game, in new adorable chibi form. It seems from the trailer that gameplay and combat will remain broadly the same, although tweaked and simplified for mobile play. Square Enix want this to be a version of Final Fantasy XV which gives players the freedom to journey through Eos "whenever and wherever they want."
Stranger Things Creators Say Series Will End With Season 4
Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers plan to conclude the hit Netflix series with four seasons.
In an interview with Vulture, Matt and Ross Duffer Season 3 is coming, and spoke about how long they see their 80s nostalgia-fest running. "We think it will be a four season thing and then out," Ross said.
Matt chimed in to say, "We just have to keep adjusting the story," but noted that he's not sure if they "can justify something bad happening to them once a year.”
Season 2 of Stranger Things will debut on October 27 on Netflix. A new trailer for the upcoming season was revealed last month at Comic-Con. Check out this gallery of 31 screenshots from the trailer for a peek at what lies ahead.
Conjuring Universe Passes $1 Billion at the Global Box Office
Following Annabelle: Creation's strong start at the box office, James Wan and producer Peter Safran’s Conjuring universe has now grossed over $1 billion USD globally, Warner Bros. Pictures announced.
The cinematic universe is comprised of four movies: The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle, and Annabelle: Creation. Three additional films—The Conjuring 3, The Nun, and The Crooked Man—are currently in the works.
According to Warner Bros., The Conjuring 2's $320.4 million is the largest global gross of the connected films, followed by The Conjuring's $319.5 million and Annabelle's $257 million. Since its theatrical release earlier this month, Annabelle: Creation has brought in well over $100 million worldwide.
Overwatch: ‘Significant Changes’ Could Be Coming to D.Va
Overwatch hero D.Va is currently being tested with a brand new offensive ability as well as major changes to both her mobility and defense matrix.
Fan favorite tank, D.Va may be getting a new ability and a serious overhaul according to a recent post on the official Overwatch forums. Principle designer Geoff Goodman said they've been testing the changes internally and laid out changes that include being able to shoot in-flight, as well as a never-before-seen micro missiles ability to "allow her to play more aggressively and deal more damage than before." However this comes at a cost with her defense matrix taking a serious on hit on energy which means, according to Goodman, "D.Va won't be able to use it nearly as often overall." The full list of changes can be found below: