Don't Leave Your Furnace Unattended - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 12

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/j5fwpFqoSEg

Quality Life - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 11

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/AhiMjcWUcTQ

Diamonds Are A Fox's Best Friend - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 10

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/DyX-8ef51Fc

Am I Wrong? - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 9

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/WAXpo2hf-HI

Fishing For Lava - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 8

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uA2jMZsRA9U

Not Today Thank You - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 7

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/b8OXqiYYh9w

Traders - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 6

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/FRl1qq-VnGo

Mad Advancements - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 5

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Siig3PMHTv0

I Am A Monster Hunter - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 4

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/HzuLTUj_xt4

All Sorts Of Set Up - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 3

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/SvQZuafkd8A

Unbelievable Start - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 2

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/2gUIi2DPwsM

Getting Gooder At Minecraft - #HCMC100 Challenge - Minecraft 1.15.1 - Attempt 4 Part 1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/CfezE6pEaYM

Waiting For Night - #HCMC100 Challenge Attempt 3 Part 7 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/83rlq9gjOvk

Did You Know? - #HCMC100 Challenge Attempt 3 Part 6 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Ut5q8FppK0I

Gone Fishing - #HCMC100 Challenge Attempt 3 Part 5 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/fUGv_Bo6DhA

My Name Is.. - #HCMC100 Challenge Attempt 3 Part 4 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/F1NGE4tlLxs

A Rare Village - #HCMC100 Challenge Attempt 3 Part 3 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/V_Ju7iY1dtk

Hi PETA - #HCMC100 Challenge Attempt 3 Part 2 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/iwswSaHNMcg

Time To Get Serious - #HCMC100 Challenge Attempt 3 Part 1 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/6ZMgeS3LGTk

Spoopy Scary Skeletons - #HCMC100 Challenge Part 9 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/yYiMcqmmj8g

This Cave Is Scary AF - #HCMC100 Challenge Part 8 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/gWuKUte1Rzk

Save Your Diorite - #HCMC100 Challenge Part 7 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/acoYYIVO_0k

Suit Up - #HCMC100 Challenge Part 6 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/9BxB4ZghmDQ

All The Scary Noises - #HCMC100 Challenge Part 5 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/9LwBl98YDhs

All The Progress - #HCMC100 Challenge Part 3 - Minecraft 1.15.1

Watch video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/s5W8B26_LZE

PS4’s Back Button Attachment Is Impressive, Comfortable, and May Tease the PS5

Sony made a surprising announcement before the end of 2019 — an official $29 add-on for the DualShock 4, the Back Button Attachment. A somewhat cumbersome addition to the controller that adds backtouch paddles, making the DualShock more akin to the Xbox Elite Controller or various other third-party gamepads. I’ve been using it for a little over a week, and while it took some getting used to after 20-something years of the familiar DualShock form, I’ve actually grown to love using the extra buttons, and hope that it indicates what we might expect with the PS5’s controller.

What Is the PS4 Back-Button Attachment?

Sony’s newest peripheral is an attachment that plugs into the DualShock 4’s EXT port and headphone jack (it includes a passthrough if you still want to plug in a mic and/or headphones). It includes two additional buttons, which fan out from the center of the controller and rest against the handles of the DualShock, meeting in the middle at a circular OLED screen, which can be pressed in to program or view which buttons these two new ones represent. And those two buttons can be programmed to pretty much replicate every button on the DualShock 4, whether they be face buttons, triggers, or directional pad...directions.

A Cumbersome, But Comfortable, Attachment

I didn’t have the best first impression of the attachment — it’s meant to snugly fit onto the DualShock as if it were originally part of the controller (more on that in a bit), which means a bit of finesse is required when plugging it in. I found myself worried I’d even break it as I tried to piece it together the first handful of times, but once I got the hang of it, I admired how durable the attachment feels when plugged in. It adds only a little weight to the controller and quickly and naturally felt right in my grip of the DualShock. Programming it is a breeze once it’s properly synced to your controller, as the OLED screen showcases the programmed inputs and can quickly cycle through the possible inputs when in its programming state. The buttons themselves have a welcome click, and have never felt mushy at all. Being so used to the DualShock as originally designed, I gripped the attachment loosely at first, worried I’d be accidentally clicking those buttons all the time. But the new buttons are smartly balanced — they have a good click to them, but they also don’t depress at the slightest touch. You won’t be able to grip your controller in tight frustration at a Bloodborne boss battle, per se, but the attachment allows for a much more comfortable grip than I initially expected to have. Despite my initial concerns about snapping off its connector, I’ve really appreciated the build quality of the attachment. Obviously built to mesh with PlayStation’s original design for the DualShock 4, the Back Button Attachment is sturdy and perfectly lined up to fit with the DualShock. [poilib element="commerceCta" json="%7B%22image%22%3A%7B%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fassets1.ignimgs.com%2F2020%2F01%2F14%2FBackButton1579032719000.jpg%22%2C%22styleUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fassets1.ignimgs.com%2F2020%2F01%2F14%2FBackButton1579032719000_%7Bsize%7D.jpg%22%2C%22id%22%3A%225e1e2091e4b0e6d43845df53%22%7D%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fr.zdbb.net%2Fu%2Fbjvt%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22DualShock%204%20Back%20Button%20Attachment%22%2C%22store%22%3A%22Amazon%22%2C%22additionalInfo%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ourPick%22%3Afalse%7D"]

Playing With the Back Button Attachment

I’ve primarily chosen to use the back buttons as analogs for L1 and R1, so my trigger fingers never have to leave L2 and R2, while my naturally resting middle fingers can tap these new inputs. And so far it’s worked great, letting me swap weapons on the fly in Fortnite, or for quick taps of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s light R1 attacks. The other best solution, in my personal experience, has been to assign two of the directional buttons to the new inputs to minimize having to move my hand off the left thumbstick. There are some buttons I’d personally never change them to, but allowing the back button to take on any of those inputs is a great accessibility move, and one I’m glad Sony is finally considering more. It did take a minute to get used to, though. I’ve been playing games on a DualShock largely the same way for decades, and so having to retrain my brain suddenly to ignore buttons I’ve used day after day for years was not an overnight switch. I’m still occasionally pressing the original L1 or R1 instead of these new buttons, but have enjoyed their convenience as, over time, I use them more and more. Battery is a major consideration with this attachment. The DualShock 4 already has notoriously low battery life, especially compared to other consoles’ controllers, and this new attachment doesn’t help, obviously. It is definitely more of a drain, maybe an hour or so less on average, but I’ve learned to always have a spare DualShock 4 charged lying around after six years, so it hasn’t been much of a hurdle to overcome.

Preparation for the PS5?

And I’m definitely taking the time to get used to the buttons. Not only because I have enjoyed their convenience, but because of my sneaking suspicion about the attachment itself. Sony has not officially said anything about the attachment’s implications for the PS5’s new, still unnamed controller, but it feels like a safe bet that at least some version of the controller will feature these same back buttons. Consider the mounting evidence — PS5 controller patents have revealed a version that includes very similar buttons. The same year as a new console’s launch is also a very peculiar time to introduce an official, first-party peripheral — an extremely rare thing this generation — that introduces something Xbox Elite controllers have had for years now. Maybe it’s just PlayStation wanting to offer some parity with competitors and third-party controller makers. Maybe I’m just Charlie Kelly trying to uncover Pepe Silvia. But introducing this peripheral now feels like a great way to ensure players can not only become familiar with the layout but possibly even use their DualShock 4’s with the PS5. After all, it’s a move Xbox is planning with Xbox One controllers on Series X, and to allow the 106 million PS4 owners to use their DualShocks in a full capacity next-gen is not a bad reason to introduce the peripheral. Whether the Back Button Attachment is a sign of a PS5 future to come, or just a neat, additional offering from Sony, I’m very glad to have it. Its arrival may be as odd as first trying to plug in the attachment, but after a few days playing with it, it already feels like an integral part of my PlayStation playtime. And if it’s here to stay, I’d welcome a world where it’s built into the controller.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/ps4s-back-button-attachment-is-impressive-comfortable-and-may-tease-the-ps5
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Temtem Hands-On: How it Is (and Isn't) Like Pokemon

The first time I saw Temtem, I, like probably everyone else in the world, thought “Wow, this looks… exactly like Pokemon.” After playing the alpha for about six hours, I’m still pretty confident in describing it as about 85 percent similar to classic Pokemon. And before I go any further, no, this is not a review - this is just first impressions of Temtem, an MMORPG obviously inspired by Pokemon.

In Temtem, you start off as a young person whom you’ll customize with a plethora of options – options that will only increase as you play. It’s your Apprentice's Eve in which you (and your jerk rival, Max) celebrate with the town’s Temtem professor. Professor Konstantinos gives you your first Temtem, which is chosen from three starter Temtem: The Mental-type Houchic, the Crystal-type Crystle, or the Melee-type Smazee.

From there, it’s up to you to go to Accademia (yes, it's spelled like that) to learn more about Temtem (but you don’t actually attend classes), catch and tame Temtem, challenge eight Dojos, and possibly thwart an evil organization. The Temtem even show up as random encounters when wading through tall grass or exploring dark caves or ruins, and are caught by throwing an object - in this case a Temcard. Temtem are certain types, like Nature or Crystal, and can be two types at the same time. They can have up to four moves slotted at once, and their stats and type affect how they perform. Temtem can evolve, and sometimes their types change with the evolution. NPC Tamers will stop you to fight as soon as you cross their line of sight, and there are special buildings to go to in order to heal your Temtem and purchase Temtem-related items.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Nearly%20all%20of%20Temtem's%20battles%20are%20two%20on%20two."]

Yeah, it all sounds so eerily familiar. But there are some key differences, too, the most obvious being Temtem’s PC accessibility and its MMO-style, player populated world. While exploring, Temtem trailing behind you, you’ll see other tamers out and about as well. You can’t interact with them like an NPC, but you can go into a menu to do so. To facilitate the ease of cooperative play, it seems as though nearly all of Temtem’s battles are two on two - making it perfect for continuous co-op. Each Tamer, using separate accounts, bring their own Temtem into the battle, and this never feels unfair for the NPC opponents. On the contrary, playing strategically in a double battle is even more difficult with a partner unless constant communication is kept up, assuming both have Temtem around the same level.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=temtem-species&captions=true"]

Making Temtem double-battle focused is a neat solution to make co-op viable, and simultaneously, makes the entirety of Temtem more difficult, too - a welcome change for those clamoring for more challenge in the genre. It is too early for me to say how difficult Temtem really is, but double battles are inherently more complex than single battles. In addition, the classic treatment is kind of old-school in the inconvenient game-design sort of way, which forces you to backtrack through Temtem-infested dungeons if you can’t handle its back-to-back boss battles at the end. Some may love the extra challenge and punishment, others may lament the loss of time.

To be clear, I went into Temtem blind without researching the unique Temtem Type-chart, so I didn’t know things like how Melee-type Temtem were weak against Digital-type attacks, and it made me realize how much I rely on my ingrained Pokemon knowledge when playing those games, and how much more challenging they’d be if I didn’t know my opponent’s Pokemon was especially weak to Electric-type moves with weak Special Defense and high Attack. It’s difficult to play strategically when you know nothing about your opponent, but I'm glad I went in without studying to be able to gain the fresh experience of being a complete newb again.

There are a few more similarities and differences, like how Temtem's answer to Pokemon's Individual Values (SVs in Temtem) and Effort Values (TVs in Temtem) are present in different numerical capacities and can be seen whenever you want in a Temtem's summary. But, I wanted to specifically call out Temtem’s  stamina system, the only monster stat that truly differs from any of Pokemon’s. Instead of each move having a generous number of times it can be used, each Temtem has a pool of Stamina. Think of it like a mana bar. Each move uses a certain amount of points, and once the pool is used up, the Temtem will hurt itself if it tries to attack, and will be unable to act the next turn. Stamina is recovered between battles, but this system prevents Tamers from being able to rely on a single overpowered Temtem, and forces them to switch out to others or else be punished.

Another added spice to Temtem's combat is Synergy. Sometimes, a Temtem will have a move that gets a boost when its teammate on the field is a certain type. As you can see in the screenshot above, Crystle's Crystal Dust move gets a boost in both damage and priority when a friendly Nature-type Temtem is on the field with it. Traits--like Pokemon's Abilities--also encourage teammate combos. For example, Tateru can have a trait that won't wake up sleeping Temtem, so pairing it with a Temtem with Hypnosis is a cool combo.

For those looking for an MMO-style Pokemon, perhaps with some extra flavor in the form of challenge, a more thought out online-competitive system, and co-op, Temtem will probably scratch that itch, especially for those who prefer old-school Pokemon over more recent iterations’ quality-of-life improvements and time-saving updates. Temtem will enter Early Access on Steam on January 21, and will release on consoles sometime next year.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/07/the-first-17-minutes-of-temtem-pokemon-like-mmo-alpha-gameplay"]

For more on Temtem, make sure to watch the first 17 Minutes of Temtem Alpha Gameplay above. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Casey DeFreitas is an Editor at IGN who loves monster hunting, slaying, and catching. Catch her on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD. [Disclosure: Humble Bundle (which is owned by Ziff Davis, the parent company of IGN) is either the publisher or financier of this game and may receive a commission or fee in connection with sales. Humble Bundle and IGN operate completely independently, and no special consideration is given to Humble Bundle-published or financed games for coverage or scoring.]

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/temtem-hands-on-how-it-is-and-isnt-like-pokemon
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PS4 Tool Shows All Your 2019 Gaming Stats

PlayStation is giving its players a way to look back on their PS4 statistics from 2019. In a post on the PlayStation blog, Sony announced the PlayStation 2019 Wrap-Up, which shows statistics like the number of games played, hours spent in your top three games, and more. If you have an active PSN account and played at least 10 hours on PS4 last year, you're eligible to see your statistics on PlayStation's website. In addition to hour-based statistics, players can also see how many trophies they earned last year and how many days out of the year they logged on. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-playstation-4-games&captions=true"] The data also shows your most-played genre of 2019. To pair with that, PlayStation is giving all players a free dynamic theme and seven avatars to match the most popular video game genres, including themes based on action-adventure games, sports titles, fighters, and more. After reflecting on 2019, PlayStation fans can start to look ahead to this year, which promises the start of the next generation with PlayStation 5 and anticipated PS4 titles like The Last of Us Part II and Final Fantasy VII, which was just delayed from March to April. In other Sony news, the company recently announced that PlayStation is skipping E3 for the second year in a row. While you wait for more PS5 news, check out these PS5 concepts that were built in Dreams. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/08/ps5-news-rumors-and-predictions-beyond-episode-625"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/ps4-tool-shows-all-your-2019-gaming-stats
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Here's Why Fans Think Dante Is the Next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC Character

A new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter is on the way, but there’s a chance we already know who it is. Thanks to some mysterious dates Capcom announced earlier this month, fans think Dante from Devil May Cry is coming to the Smash Bros. Nintendo announced that there will be a special Super Smash Bros. Ultimate video presentation hosted by director Masahiro Sakurai on January 16, 6 am PT/9 am ET. The 35-minute livestream will feature an “in-depth look at an upcoming DLC fighter.” Naturally, this means speculation has already begun on who the next Smash Bros. fighter might be. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=even-more-characters-we-want-in-super-smash-bros-ultimate-pt-1&captions=true"] Coincidentally, Capcom producer Matt Walker posted a Tweet earlier this month announcing an update for Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition for Nintendo Switch. In a short online video, Walker told fans to keep an eye out on some upcoming dates for special Devil May Cry news. One of those dates is January 16, the same day as the Nintendo Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter reveal livestream.

A SSSpecial mini developer update on #DevilMayCry 3 Special Edition for #NintendoSwitch from producer Matt Walker (@retrootoko) pic.twitter.com/FgqY38swgn

— Devil May Cry (@DevilMayCry) January 7, 2020

While the dates could be a coincidence, this was enough for Smash Bros. fans to believe that Dante has a pretty good chance at becoming the next DLC fighter. If true, Dante would join other Capcom characters like Mega Man on the main fighting roster. But Smash Bros. DLC speculation is rampant, and it can still be anyone. We’ll find out on January 16 who the next DLC fighter is, but Dante would make a good fit for the roster. For more, check out our Devil May Cry 5 review and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate review to see how the two properties might mix. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/heres-why-fans-think-dante-is-the-next-super-smash-bros-ultimate-dlc-character
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All 2020 Video Game Release Dates We Know of

2020 is shaping up to be one of the biggest years in video game history, with heavy hitters on the way like Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy VII Remake, The Last of Us Part II, Marvel’s Avengers, and more. As the final year in the current generation of consoles comes to a close, it’s worth noting we haven’t seen such a stacked lineup since 2013 - the previous generation’s final year. Click through the gallery below to explore every game confirmed for release in 2020 that we know of, or scroll down to see the entire list. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-2020-video-game-release&captions=true"]

January

• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (PC) - January 9
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - January 17
• Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore - January 17
• The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners - January 23
• Journey to the Savage Planet - January 28
• Warcraft III: Reforged - January 28

February

• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics - February 4
• Zombie Army 4: Dead War - February 4
• Granblue Fantasy: Versus - February 6 (Japan - Worldwide release date TBD)
• Yakuza 5 - February 11
• Darksiders Genesis - February 14
• Dreams - February 14
• Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl - Gold - February 14
• Street Fighter V: Champion Edition - February 14
• Bayonette and Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle - February 18
• Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition - February 20
• Persona 5 Scramble - February 20
• Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] - February 20
• Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection - February 25
• Two Point Hospital - February 25
• Iron Man VR - February 28
• One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows - February 28
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV - February 28

[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/12/15-uncut-minutes-of-final-fantasy-7-remake-gameplay-in-4k]

March

• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX - March 6
• Langrisser I & II - March 10
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps - March 11
• My Hero: One's Justice 2 - March 13
• Nioh 2 - March 13
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons - March 20
• Doom 64 - March 20
• Doom: Eternal - March 20
• Bleeding Edge - March 24
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 - March 27
• Persona 5: Royal - March 31
• Half-Life: Alyx - March TBA

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/24/7-cyberpunk-games-to-play-before-cyberpunk-2077"]

April

• Resident Evil 3 Remake (includes Project Resistance) - April 3
• Final Fantasy VII Remake - April 10
• Cyberpunk 2077 - April 16
• Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto - April 24
• Trials of Mana - April 24
• Predator: Hunting Grounds - April 24
• Gear Tactics - April 28
• Minecraft Dungeons - April TBA

May

• Fast & Furious Crossroads - May 9
• Wasteland 3 - May 19
• Maneater - May 22
• Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris - May 22
• The Last of Us Part II - May 29
• New World - May TBA

[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/28/the-last-of-us-part-2-how-the-world-and-gameplay-have-evolved]

September

• Marvel’s Avengers - September 4

Q1

• Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories
• Eastward
• Heart of the Woods
• Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha and Bravo
• Session
• System Shock
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York

Q2

• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition - Summer
• Battletoads
• Disintegration
• Dying Light 2
• Empire of Sin
• Grounded
• Kerbal Space Program 2
• Roller Champions
• Sports Story
• Streets of Rage 4

[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/21/marvels-avengers-how-gear-works]

Q3

• Axiom Verge 2
• Death Stranding (PC)
• Griftlands
• Outriders
• Planet Coaster: Console Edition
• Tell Me Why
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood

Q4

• Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
• Guilty Gear -Strive-
• Halo Infinite

[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/04/animal-crossing-new-horizons-deserted-island-visual-tour]

No Official Window

• 12 Minutes
• A Total War Saga: Troy
• Crusader Kings III
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
• Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise
• Death March Club
• Destroy All Humans!
• Digimon Survive
• Doom Eternal (Switch)
• Gods & Monsters
• Gridiron Champions
• Humankind
• Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• Little Nightmares II
• Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• No More Heroes III
• Oddworld: Soulstorm
• Pokémon Sleep
• Psychonauts 2
• Robotics;Notes Elite
• Rust
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated
• Tales of Arise
• The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti
• The Settlers
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Quarantine
• Twin Mirror
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
• Watch Dogs: Legion
• Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon

[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/22/watch-dogs-legion-is-unlike-any-other-ubisoft-game-gamescom-demo-impressions] While many release dates are likely to change, this is what we’re aware of currently. Some of 2020’s biggest release dates are still a mystery, though, including some recently delayed games from Ubisoft. Watch Dogs Legion, Rainbow Six Siege Quarantine, and Gods and Monsters, for instance, are now slated to release sometime during Ubisoft’s next fiscal year which begins April 2020. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on next year’s biggest games and beyond. Which games are you looking forward to most? Let us know your top picks in the comments below! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features and News writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @matthewadler and watch him on Twitch.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/all-2020-video-game-release-dates-we-know-of
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RDO: Participate in Frontier Pursuit Free Roam Events This Week

This week in Red Dead Online you can get 25% Character and Role XP Boosts in Prontier Pursuit Free Roam Events.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/wikis/red-dead-redemption-2/Red_Dead_Online_Updates
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New Doom Eternal Trailer Reveals Big Enemies and Gory Kills

Bethesda and id Software have released a new trailer for Doom Eternal. The new footage gives the first real glimpse at the story, but this being Doom the main attractions are all the new demons and the gruesome ways you can kill them. Doom Eternal is a sequel to 2016’s Doom reboot and it brings hell to Earth. Id Software looks to be going bigger and badder with Doom Eternal, showing off towering new monsters that dwarf the Doomslayer. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/14/doom-eternal-gameplay-trailer-2"] Some of the new features in Doom Eternal include new weapons, a grappling ability for both traversal and enemies, as well as, of course, new glory kills to rip and tear the bad guys. Doom Eternal was originally slated to be released in 2019 but was delayed to 2020. IGN was able to get hands-on with Doom Eternal on Stadia, and while the jury is still out on Google’s streaming service, Doom Eternal looks to deliver the mayhem. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-big-xbox-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] For more, check out IGN’s list of the biggest games coming out in 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/new-doom-eternal-trailer-reveals-big-enemies-and-gory-kills
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Disintegration's Black Shuck Is A Menacing Robotic Hannibal Lecter

In the far-future setting of V1 Interactive’s Disintegration, humanity is circling the drain. Forced to transplant themselves out of these fleshy bodies we all know and love into robotic alloy armatures in order to survive a worldwide epidemic that has decimated the global population, you’d think that would be its biggest problem. Well, it’s not. It’s been decades since this process of Integration was first discovered, generations even, and in that time there’s a common theme amongst those who made the switch -- they want to return to their bodies. Integration was to be a temporary solution, just something to help humanity get by until a cure was found, but as time marches on, the possibility of reversal is seeming more myth than reality. In that disillusionment, the Rayonne rose to power. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/disintegration-hands-on-preview-ign-first"] Twisting the once noble idea of using technology to better humanity, this militaristic faction of Integrated preach post-humanism. To the Rayonne, technology's the answer, humanity is the problem. Anyone who won’t willingly integrate are hunted, captured, and reconditioned to… see things their way. Often this means becoming a mindless shock trooper in the massive civil war raging all over the world, or worse. To the Rayonne, individuality is something to be stamped out. In their perfect world, the planet is inherited by black-clad Integrated that serve these greater post-human ideals, no longer hampered by the burden of free thought. And so they hunt humans and free-thinking Integrated, secure in their absolutely massive floating fortress ships called Iron Clouds. In a way, it’s symbolic. These Iron Clouds themselves represent not just the incredible might of the Rayonne, but their disdain for humanity. They don't want to be with the primates that live on the ground. As twisted as it sounds, it makes sense in a distorted, pragmatic way. We’re fleshly and frail, they are not. We can transmit and pass disease, they don’t. To the Rayonne, humans are a flawed origin story. And so they are literally elevated above what they see as a lesser species.

The Dog of War

But for as perfectly sterile and uniform the Rayonne appear to be, they’re in the business of hunting humans. And as the saying goes, it takes one to know one. Which brings us to the Disintegration’s chief antagonist, the Rayonne commander known as Black Shuck. In folklore, The Black Shuck was a demonic black dog that would prowl the countryside, stalking and killing and generally being a terribly bad omen. It’s a fitting name for this particular commander because due to some earlier mishaps, Black Shuck has fallen out of favor with the Rayonne leadership. He’s been relegated to the old, stagnant battlefields of North America and tasked with hunting down and eliminating the dwindling resistance while the real war is raged on other continents. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=disintegration-45-new-behind-the-scenes-images-ign-first&captions=true"] Suffice it to say, Black Shuck sees this as a slight, but he’s uniquely suited to the task since he’s a free thinker and not as indoctrinated as the rest of the Rayonne. He can still think like a human. He's manipulative and relies on tricks, capturing outlaws and using them to lead him to more valuable pockets of the resistance. In this role, Shuck represents the dirty work that’s beneath the proper Rayonne forces, and so he operates as a sort of Gestapo. Black Shuck is devious in his ways. And though he’s equipped with jet-black angular armor and a pair of sharpened claws, it’s his Hannibal Lecter-like menacing calmness that’s so off-putting. And now that he's been pulled out to the middle of nowhere as far, as he's concerned, he sees cleaning up the rest of the human resistance as his one shot to get back in favor with the Rayonne. But that's also what makes Black Shuck so interesting. He still relies on his own human cleverness which makes him more than a one-dimensional, robotic menace. He's got a foot in both camps essentially. His ideals align with that post-humanist regime, but he's not afraid to think or act like his enemy.

The Ties That Bind

But there’s another knot in this story. Disintegration tells the tale of protagonist Romer Shoal who leads a small band of free-thinking outlaws in North America with the hope of uniting the resistance and, ultimately, the common goal most free-thinking integrated pursue, getting their bodies back. However, Romer and Black Shuck share a history. Romer actually used to work with Shuck, or for him, as a kind of repo man in the days when Romer was a little conflicted with himself and what had become of his celebrity. He used to be something of a host for a Top Gear-style automotive show centered around Gravcycles -- the dangerous, single-seat flying vehicles that are at the core of Disintegration -- and everything that was cool about them. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/08/disintegration-32-minutes-of-story-mission-gameplay-ign-first"] When Romer became integrated he thought it was a kind of publicity stunt at first when integration was optional. But then everything started going south around the world. His notoriety and fame plummeted and he ended up doing whatever he could to make ends meet. Shuck who wasn't a commander of the Rayonne forces at that time but Romer was capturing gravcycles for him because they were becoming outlawed by the rising Rayonne forces. Romer would go take them and he'd sell them on the black market to the resistance forces. But Romer slipped up, got caught, and Black Shuck imprisoned him. Fortunately for Romer, he caught a break and escaped, which brings us to the beginning of Disintegration's playable story. So now there's a personal relationship between the two of them and Romer's glad to be free at this moment. But the trajectory Romer and his group of outlaws are on has put him on a collision course back toward Black Shuck. And he’s understandably reluctant to cross paths again. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Brandin Tyrrel is a Senior Editor at IGN. You can find him on Unlocked, or chat over on Twitter at @BrandinTyrrel.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/disintegrations-black-shuck-is-a-menacing-robotic-hannibal-lecter-a-ign-first
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Check Out 23 Brand New Resident Evil 3 Remake Screenshots

Get another look at the Nemesis, a first look at Hunters, and some of your fellow humans.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/slideshows/resident-evil-3-remake-23-new-screenshots
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BioShock Collection for Switch May Be on the Way

The Taiwanese ratings board may have outed a Switch release for BioShocks 1, 2, Infinite, and the collection comprising all three. Reported by Lootpots, BioShock Remastered, BioShock 2 Remastered, BioShock Infinite: The Complete Edition and BioShock: The Collection have all been rated for Switch. That implies that each game in the series may be sold separately, as well as in a full series pack. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/09/14/bioshock-the-collection-review"] While not an official confirmation, ratings like these often pop up when a publisher is about to announce a new game release. We've contacted 2K Games for a statement. When it first arrived in 2017, we gave BioShock: The Collection an 8.2 review, saying it was "a great introduction for newcomers, but returning vets will find little new here." [poilib element="accentDivider"]

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/bioshock-the-collection-for-nintendo-switch-may-be-on-the-way
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Skies of Arcadia Developer Wants to Start a 'Movement' to Push for a Sequel

A Skies of Arcadia developer has asked fans to start a movement that aims to convince Sega to make a sequel to the game.

Kenji Hiruta, one of the programmers on the Dreamcast RPG classic, is pushing fans to join him in urging Sega to greenlight a sequel to the RPG.

-Ms.Itsuki Hoshi is the illustrator of Skies of Arcadia. (and is sooo elegant!) -She agreed to give this autograph to an oversea fan. -I'll pay the fee to send it. -I believe that if this kind of movement expands a lot, SEGA may consider to develop the sequel.

— 蛭田健司 Kenji Hiruta (@k_h00) January 13, 2020

Hiruta took to Twitter on January 13, 2020 to give away an illustration based on the game created by Skies of Arcadia illustrator Itsuki Hoshi. In the same tweet, he also said that “if this kind of movement expands a lot, SEGA may consider to develop the sequel.”

Later on that same day, Hiruta responded to a tweet by a fan pointing out that he was pushing for people to ask for Skies of Arcadia to return. “Strongly,” he tweeted, “I really really want to develop the sequel.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/09/12/7-underrated-gamecube-games-we-want-on-switch-up-at-noon"]

The possibility of this happening doesn’t seem completely out of the question given that fans helped Shenmue III happen - another series once owned by Sega.

However, Skies of Arcadia producer Rieko Kadama doesn’t think the game needs a sequel. She spoke to Kotaku on the topic last year while also dismissing the chance of the game being ported to PC or Nintendo Switch.

“I personally feel that [the GameCube’s] Skies of Arcadia Legends completed the “director’s cut” of the title,” Kadama said.

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The GameCube version, titled Skies of Arcadia Legends, came out in 2002. In our Skies of Arcadia Legends review we called it the “best GameCube RPG yet.”

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/skies-of-arcadia-developer-wants-to-start-a-movement-to-push-for-a-sequel
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Marvel's Avengers Has Been Delayed

Crystal Dynamics has announced that Marvel’s Avengers has been delayed.

The developer made the announcement today that the game’s release date has been pushed back to September 4, 2020.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/30/marvels-avengers-game-overview-trailer"]

“When we set out to bring you our vision for Marvel’s Avengers, we committed to delivering an original story-driven campaign, engaging co-op, and compelling content for years to come,” reads the announcement.

“To that end, we will spend this additional development time focusing on fine tuning and polishing the game to the high standards our fans expect and deserve.”

It seems the reason for this delay is nothing more than to ensure that Marvel’s Avengers is the best game it can be when it’s released. It was previously slated to come out on May 15, 2020 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-avengers-a-day-gameplay-trailer-screenshots&captions=true"]

“We apologize for the delay. We’re confident it will be worth the wait,” reads the end of the announcement.

Fans still looking to get a taste of Crystal Dynamics’ take on the Avengers can still, presumably, look forward to the prequel novel due to come out in March 2020.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/marvels-avengers-game-has-been-delayed
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New Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Character to Be Revealed on Thursday

Nintendo has announced that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game director Masahiro Sakurai will be unveiling and giving an in-depth look at a new DLC fighter on Thursday, January 16, 2020, at 6am PT/9am ET/2pm GMT. Nintendo promises roughly 35-minutes of footage for this mysterious new character which, if Nintendo keeps to its original promise, will be released by February 2020. Developing...

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/new-super-smash-bros-ultimate-dlc-fighter-to-be-revealed-on-thursday
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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Gets a (Short) Delay

Final Fantasy 7 Remake has been delayed to April 10. In a press release, producer Yoshinori Kitase provided a statement:

“We know that so many of you are looking forward to the release of FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE and have been waiting patiently to experience what we have been working on. In order to ensure we deliver a game that is in-line with our vision, and the quality that our fans who have been waiting for deserve, we have decided to move the release date to April 10, 2020.

"We are making this tough decision in order to give ourselves a few extra weeks to apply final polish to the game and to deliver you with the best possible experience. I, on behalf of the whole team, want to apologize to everyone, as I know this means waiting for the game just a little bit longer.

"Thank you for your patience and continued support”

Developing...

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/final-fantasy-7-remake-gets-a-short-delay
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The 25 Year-Old Japanese Game Getting an Improbable French Sequel

In 2020, a group of French developers are launching a sequel to Windjammers, a Japanese arcade game first released in 1994. It’s an improbable story, even before you get to the fact that this obscure title nearly faded from history - with what seemed like little chance of a re-release, let alone a follow-up - before a small, fanatical community of players nurtured it back to health, and helped raise it to new heights of popularity. But, for the uninitiated, what even is Windjammers? I’ll let a panel of (French) experts answer that for you.

Cyrille Imbert - CEO, DotEmu: “Windjammers is a mixture between Pong and Street Fighter.”

Kévin ‘Keikun’ Creff - Windjammers Pro: “It really is the Street Fighter 2 Turbo of Pong.”

Arnaud de Sousa - Head of Marketing, DotEmu: “The game is crazy. It’s like muscular dudes throwing frisbees with fire, and it’s crazy fun.”

Romain ‘Pyrotek’ Godart - Windjammers Pro: “It’s crazy.”

Édouard Ardan - Musician and Windjammers Fanatic: “It’s a crossover between a Street Fighter game - with Kamehameha, Hadouken, things like that - but the game, it’s a Pong game. But with dynamic fire!”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/08/a-full-match-of-windjammers"] Windjammers (or Flying Power Disc in Japan) was released for Neo Geo MVS in February of 1994. Described as a Battle Sports Game, it took an easy-to-learn, hard-to-master approach, adopting the fundamentals of Pong, adding the technicality of Street Fighter 2, and slapping on the looks of some kind of California spandex muscle beach fever nightmare. Because of the sheer cost of the Neo Geo home console and its cartridges, you’d find it most commonly in arcades, its clean neon looks contrasting with the explosions and gunmetal on neighbouring attract screens. It went down… just fine. No one really went crazy for it, but (and I may be editorialising here) no one could truly dislike a game this vibrant, silly, and easy to pick up. The exception to that relative disinterest came in France, where a community of players began to take notice of this arcade oddity.

Édouard Ardan: “25 years ago [on] the arcade game, the Neo Geo MVS. You know, the big one? And I remember there was Metal Slug 1, Metal Slug 2, and I saw the Windjammers game with, again, the cool powers, visual effects. That was amazing when you were a child. And 10 years after, I worked for 6 months to save a lot of money to buy a Neo Geo AES with Windjammers. That was a crazy thing to do. But now I’m cool, I have the game. I’m a big fan of this game.”

Romain ‘Pyrotek’ Godart: “I think I was 12 or 13 with a friend on the Neo Geo CD.”

Arnaud de Sousa: “[At] every tournament there was Windjammers. It’s like, yeah, it’s the game in the corner you look at it: ‘Oh looks nice, but I have my tournaments to do, so maybe another time’. And [then] you see people get excited and you say, ‘OK, I need to play that game.’”

Such was its popularity, that some I talked to weren’t fully aware that it was such a French phenomenon. When I start to tell Ardan that it never really made an impact in England, he interrupts me:

Édouard Ardan: “What? No, I can’t believe that.”

 [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=windjammers-2-concept-art&captions=true"] Uncaring of the rest of the world, that little French fanbase kept growing, and getting more and more fervent. Kévin ‘Keikun’ Creff - who’d go onto become one of the world’s highest-ranked Windjammers pros - tells me he bought a Neo Geo cabinet, and hired vans to drive it to fighting game tournaments across the country. He didn’t do it for any reward other than introducing people to the game. Eventually, some of those fans organised - Windjammers France was born, a community with the sole, virtuous purpose of helping people learn and play the game, long after Neo Geos had disappeared from shop shelves.

Cyrille Imbert: “There was this association called Windjammers France, they started to gather people around, because the game is really cool to play. So it was, kind of, I would not say easy, but it was not that hard to gather people around. And then [...] the founders of the association just decided to go all the way into the game, and because of that people saw the level of complexity and depth that Windjammers could bring. Basically, because of a small team of French players, they started to really nail the game and understand all its core mechanics and show people the possibilities behind it - and other people gathered around it and developed a whole culture around this game.”

Kévin ‘Keikun’ Creff: “Yeah, we’re a big part of the coming back of Windjammers, and what Windjammers is today, and it’s part of that French love.

The community only kept growing from there, to the point where it became as much a talking point as the game itself - the first time I was ever told about Windjammers, it was introduced to me as an amazing game with a weirdly big following in France. If you want to know how much some people like Windjammers, Édouard Ardan is a founding member of Powerdisc, a band inspired by and named after the game. Seriously: [youtube clip_id="jpmCx6g5H7w"] All of this leaves me with a major question. Why is this odd little game quite so popular with French players?

Cyrille Imbert: “It’s a very good question. I think it’s a bit random. Video games are really big in France, particularly video games from Japan. France is one of the biggest markets for Nintendo in Europe, contrary to other consoles. So, I think there was a fertile background for Windjammers, I would say.”

Édouard Ardan: “It’s cool in France because we love the California vision from the '80s - you know, the frisbee, the dog, the girl, the sunshine. That’s cool, that’s a cool vision.”

Arnaud de Sousa: “Maybe we’re super-competitive, so that’s why, maybe, French people really thought it was cool to build a community around it. For me it’s more like a fighting game than a sports game - there's a lot of debate around the office about that - but for me it’s more like a fighting game, so there’s a lot of mind games, stuff like that. And we love our fighting games in France, there’s a huge community.”

Édouard Ardan: “Windjammers, it’s magic. I don’t know why. Because, again, the frisbee.”

[ignvideo url="https://uk.ign.com/videos/2016/12/03/windjammers-psx-reveal-trailer"] But no matter how much some people liked the game, a true revival for Windjammers seemed highly unlikely up until recently. Developer Data East ran into financial troubles not long after the game’s release, stopped making games in 1999 and, by 2003, had filed for bankruptcy. Its properties and trademarks were systematically sold off, primarily to mobile game company G-Mode. But not Windjammers. Aside from a Japanese-only Wii Virtual Console release, France’s favourite power disc game seemingly disappeared altogether, with emulation the only meaningful way of playing the game on modern machines. That is, until French retro gaming experts DotEmu went looking:

Arnaud de Sousa: “Bringing back the first one was a big surprise, because everybody thought the rights were lost. And it kind of was, actually - they were a bit lost. The game was released in '94, and wasn’t released until the release on PlayStation 4 which was in 2017, so it’s almost 25 years. The rights holder never thought about bringing it back [...] But we thought differently.”

Cyrille Imbert: “So I said, ‘OK, let’s find who has the license and let’s try to do something with it.’ I don’t remember exactly how we tracked it down but usually what we do is we do some research on the internet - very basic research - and then with our contacts in Japan we try to ask around: And basically we narrowed it down to Paon DP, which is the actual owner of the license, because former employees of Data East joined this company at some point. And so we met Paon DP four years ago I think.

“We explained that there was a huge community in France, that we were ourselves playing a lot of Windjammers in the office, so they kind of felt that we were the right people to take care of that. They really saw that we had passion for it. Because it’s not a super-famous game, right? It’s famous within the fighting game community, it’s famous within the Neo Geo fans, but it’s not that famous, so they kind of knew that we were not there to have an easy cash grab, you know? It was more about something that we were passionate about, and that we wanted to spread a bit more because the game really deserved it. And especially because we had this long-term strategy of not saying, like, we’re just going to do a simple port of the game and that’s it.”

Windjammers, somehow, was back. In its 2017 port for PS4, PS Vita and, later, Switch, DotEmu created a game that looked and ran exactly as the original did in ‘94, primarily by digging into Data East’s code to perform digital archeology. The only major addition came in the form of online play, finally allowing people to play Windjammers across continents without emulation. It played perfectly into DotEmu’s goal to spread the game to more people. Across the world, people began to talk about the game - helped massively, it must be noted, by some tireless campaigning by the team at Giant Bomb. Some even began suggesting it deserved a place among the great and the good of the fighting game community. In 2017, Windjammers unexpectedly broke into the upper echelons of the Player’s Choice poll for games at Evo, the world’s biggest fighting game tournament. The next year, it would do even better.

Cyrille Imbert: “So of course it got into the loop because we were relaunching it and people were hearing more about it. So were like, OK, we need to push for that. We did a full campaign called ‘Road to Evo’, where we tried to kind of spam Evo with, like, ‘Hey, let’s have Windjammers at Evo!’ and everything. And then AnimEvo, which is like a side tournament for fans and smaller games, they were super interested in it, until we got in basically.

“The whole idea behind it was to first get people more familiar with the license, with the original games, with the exact same game, but with online multiplayer so that people can compete online and the community can grow around this competition. And the second step was Windjammers 2.”

[widget path="global/page/imagecomparison" parameters="comparisons=%7B%22comparisons%22%3A%5B%7B%22caption%22%3A%22%22%2C%22images%22%3A%5B%7B%22id%22%3A%225e15baa2e4b065e1d37b54ae%22%2C%22label%22%3A%22Windjammers%22%7D%2C%7B%22id%22%3A%225e15baa4e4b065e1d37b54af%22%2C%22label%22%3A%22Windjammers%202%22%7D%5D%7D%5D%7D"] Part of DotEmu’s pitch to the license holder was that, after it recreated Windjammers, it would get to create a sequel too. Windjammers 2 - which arrives on Switch later this year - is aiming to add extra complexity to the game, without ever losing the core formula. Its biggest change is in its looks, which swap pixel graphics for a '90s cartoon style that aims to emulate the original game’s boxart. And who better to test whether those changes worked than Windjammers France, the community that helped keep the game alive for all these years?

Arnaud de Sousa: “The first time I heard about maybe bringing Windjammers [back] at the office, I was like ‘Yeah I know the guys at Windjammers France, that little community that are really into the game, so it could be nice to have them try the game, tell us if it’s good and just help us bring the best Windjammers possible.’”

Cyrille Imbert: “So right from the port of Windjammers, the first one on console, we included people from Windjammers France. It’s super practical because they’re around - they’re not all in Paris, but they’re in France, and it’s easy to make them come. And they’ve been super nice, and given us a lot of feedback. So we’re making sure that the emulation was pixel-perfect on console. That was the first step. And then, little by little, we kind of revealed that we were working on a sequel - because we didn’t tell them from the beginning.”

Arnaud de Sousa: “Of course there’s pressure. There’s a lot of nostalgia for it. So of course they’re waiting for something - they want something new but also something that is close to the original.”

Kévin ‘Keikun’ Creff: “We’re kind of patriotic, so yeah, we’re really happy. And for us it’s also reassuring to be able to talk to the devs to give ideas on how we see the game.”

Cyrille Imbert: “So we do a lot of playtests with [Windjammers France] because, for us, they’re the best players in the world, and they’re the ones that would be able to break Windjammers 2 [...] The developers of Windjammers 2 here at DotEmu are really good at Windjammers, but they’re not the same level - these guys have being playing for years, they, like, read The Matrix in the game. So that’s what we really want to do, and it's super exciting to see them playing with this new toy, trying new strategies and trying to exploit new stuff. So that gives us a really good idea of what’s the right way of doing it.”

[ignvideo url="https://uk.ign.com/videos/2019/08/22/windjammers-2-10-minutes-of-gameplay-gamescom-2019"] It’s not just behind-closed-doors testing - DotEmu recently held the world’s first Windjammers 2 tournament at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2019 in Paris, with two-time Evo champion Romain ‘Pyrotek’ Godart taking home this crown too. The developers probably couldn’t have wished for a better confirmation that they’re on the right track.

Romain ‘Pyrotek’ Godart: “It has a lot of options, it forces you to be more aggressive because if you stay at the back you’re going to lose. You really feel it’s Windjammers just like the first one, but there’s more - just more dynamism to it.”

Arnaud de Sousa: “It’s the community that help make a game, you know? If the people don’t play the game it won’t go to Evo, so it’s like we all have our part to play in bringing back Windjammers and making it really crazy.”

So the pros are happy, and the devs are happy. But surely the most important group are those regular French fans, the people who quietly loved this odd little game for a quarter of a century. How do they feel about getting a sequel - a French sequel no less - after all this time? I ask Édouard Ardan, the man who saved up for a console to play Windjammers, made a band based on it, and smiles literally every time he talks about it. He drums his hands on the table, a sheer physical reaction to his happiness: “Yeah! I am so happy with that! It’s amazing.” After 25 years of simmering delight, it feels like sheer French enthusiasm has helped summon a new Windjammers game out of nothing - some kind of emotional alchemy. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK Deputy Editor, and he will jam at a moment's notice. Follow him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/the-25-year-old-japanese-game-getting-an-improbable-french-sequel
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CDPR Employee Gifted Cyberpunk 2077 Guitar Signed by Keanu Reeves

CD Projekt Red has revealed the anniversary gifts given to some of its employees recently, including a guitar signed by Keanu Reeves.

The gifts were shown off in a tweet from the Cyberpunk 2077 developer that celebrated the past year of work anniversaries within the company. “This time we had 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th (!) work anniversaries to award,” reads the tweet.

Each year we celebrate with the Rebels who hit some serious milestones at CD PROJEKT RED. This time we had 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th (!) work anniversaries to award – take a look at the unique gifts designed for that occasion! #insideRED pic.twitter.com/Breb6VWAqv

— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) January 13, 2020

The images included with the tweet reveal four of the anniversary gifts including a black briefcase with “killing it since 2009” written across it in red.

For 10 years at CD Projekt Red, employees receive a custom jacket with the Cyberpunk 2077 band Samurai’s logo on the back. This was gifted to quest designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz in 2018 for his 10th anniversary at the studio.

For 20 years a custom guitar with ‘20’ and the CD Projekt Red logo is gifted to the employee.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/28/cyberpunk-2077-53-gameplay-details"]

The big prize awarded to one employee who’s been there for 25 years is a custom Johnny Silverhand guitar signed by Keanu Reeves, who plays the character in Cyberpunk 2077.

The guitar was made by Polish studio Guitar Service, originally to be showcased at events like E3, but is now in the hands of a long-serving employee.

If you want a piece of Cyberpunk 2077 for yourself then you can try grabbing one of the Keanu Reeves figures. Make sure to check out the Cyberpunk 2077 PS1 demake made entirely in Dreams, too.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cyberpunk-2077-deep-dive-video-screenshots&captions=true"]

Luckily, it’s not long until Cyberpunk 2077 comes out on April 16, 2020. Have a deep dive into the gameplay to keep you satiated until then.

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/cdpr-employee-gifted-cyberpunk-2077-guitar-signed-by-keanu-reeves
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It's Football Day: Episode 5

It's a new year, a new decade, and a new age for It's Football Day, the IGN UK Podcast's Football Manager spin-off.

Cardy begins his traitorous new exploits with Newcastle, Joe's experiencing rocky times with his Betis buddies, and Dale. Well, Dale's still Coventry through-and-through, and always will be. But he is going to Mexico, and has a special mission while he's there.

It's Football Day: Episode 5

To see why we care quite so much, check out our review of Football Manager 2020, which we call "a fine excuse to delve back into a perennially addictive series." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=21-football-manager-2020-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"]

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/its-football-day-episode-5
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Phil Spencer Confirms Xbox Will Be at E3 2020

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has confirmed that Xbox will be at E3 2020 following the news that Sony would be sitting out for the second year in a row. Spencer took to Twitter to confirm that the Xbox team is "hard at work on E3" and that they "look forward to sharing with all who love to play what's ahead for us." With Sony opting for "hundreds" of other consumer events across the globe, this year's E3 could be Xbox's chance to prove that the Xbox Series X is the best choice for this holiday season. Xbox will continue building on The Game Awards 2019 reveal of the Xbox Series X hardware and announcements of such games as Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and Halo: Infinite. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/13/xbox-series-x-console-announcement-trailer"] Spencer, who is already using an Xbox Series X as his primary console at home, will also surely discuss the future of xCloud and its game streaming service that will one day allow players to stream games they own and even Xbox Game Pass games. For more on Xbox Series X, be sure to check out everything we know about Microsoft's newest next-gen console, how it compares to the PlayStation 5, and read Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty's comments on how Xbox won't have Series X exclusives for at least a year. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=xbox-series-x-reveal-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/phil-spencer-confirms-xbox-will-be-at-e3-2020-sony-playstation
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New Super Nintendo World Details Revealed WIth a Charli XCX Music Video

Nintendo fans will soon be able to live out their dreams as the Super Nintendo World theme park is opening at Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan this summer. To celebrate, Galantis and Charli XCX have collaborated on a brand-new music video that gives fans a CGI look at this new world. Announced by Nintendo, the new video for We Are Born to Play doesn't show any actual footage of the much-anticipated theme park, but it does give fans an idea of what to expect, including that guests will have Disney MagicBand-like wrist bands that will allow them and their smartphones to interact with this "life-size, living video game."

Here is a special music video collaboration between @wearegalantis, @charli_xcx and @USJ_official celebrating #SUPERNINTENDOWORLD! The #Nintendo theme park experience will open in Japan this summer. #USJ https://t.co/2w1DR2nqhJ

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 14, 2020

Kurumi Mori of Bloomberg reported on the Super Nintendo World presentation in Japan and provided more info on the park that is scheduled to open before the Summer Olympics, which begins on July 24, 2020. The presentation showed more of these "Power Up Bands," which include designs inspired by Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Mario, Toad, and Daisy. Also shown were images of the smartphone app that includes a map of the park and will allow guests to collect digital coins, compete with others, and earn achievements. It was previously reported that Super Nintendo World will include a Super Mario Kart Ride and one called Yoshi's Adventures. There will also reportedly be integration with the Nintendo Switch, with rides that interface with Nintendo's latest console. While we know Super Nintendo World will also open at Universal Studios Hollywood, Orlando, and Singapore, no opening date or time frame was mentioned in this presentation. For more on Super Nintendo World, check out photos of the under-construction theme park and Shigeru Miyamoto's comments on the park that will soon make many Nintendo fans around the world very happy. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/17/the-biggest-nintendo-games-coming-in-2020"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who can't wait and is so excited he just can't hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/new-super-nintendo-world-theme-park-details-revealed-with-a-galantis-and-charli-xcx-music-video
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Unboxing Return to Dark Tower and Its Massive Mechanical Tower

When a reboot of the hit 1981 board game Dark Tower (no relation to the books or movie) was announced in 2018, the big question was how developer Restoration Games would handle the iconic electronic tower that sat at the center of its game board. Well, that big question has a big answer.

Ahead of Return to Dark Tower’s Kickstarter launch on January 14, designer Rob Daviau (who joined us previously for a look at Betrayal Legacy and has partnered with Gloomhaven creator Isaac Childres for this) came by to give us a look inside this spiritual successor’s box. That includes its massive, one-foot tall plastic tower with Bluetooth, spinning chambers, lights, and ominous sound effects galore.

Watch the video above to see me and Daviau show it off, and read on to hear my thoughts after playing Return to Dark Tower myself:

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Starting with the basics, Return to Dark Tower is a cooperative board game for 1-4 players. You and your allies have to fight monsters, grab loot, and complete quests to eventually lure out and defeat a powerful adversary hiding in the looming tower at the center of the map.

And, boy, does that tower loom. This thing is truly enormous, almost entirely blocking the opposite half of the map opposite from your view – actually a net positive, as it encouraged me and my allies to talk more and prevented anyone player from effectively quarterbacking the whole experience.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20tower%20is%20a%20showpiece%20meant%20to%20wow%20and%20intimidate%20as%20it%20continuously%20threatens%20the%20success%20of%20your%20mission."]

This big hunk of plastic is, of course, important to actually playing the game, but it’s also just a presence in itself. A showpiece meant to wow and intimidate as it continuously threatens the success of your mission. Also, it’s got Bluetooth, so that’s neat.

You’ll move your hero minis around Return to Dark Tower’s lovely circular board while managing item cards, plastic skulls, and other physical pieces, but many other aspects of the game are handled by a mobile app. Quest tracking, turn counters, and combat to name a few, but the digital and physical sides are balanced in a way that never makes the other feel superfluous.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/06/return-to-dark-tower-teaser-trailer"]

And, perhaps most important of all, the tower itself feels as important as it should. Daviau told me they wanted to make sure players couldn’t just leave it in the box, and the suite of showy actions it can perform is full of both flavor and substance. Its built-in Bluetooth connects to your phone, essentially acting as a gamemaster for your adventure when paired.

A player ends their turn by dropping a tiny plastic skull into the top of the tower. A sensor detects the skull, signals to the app that a turn is over, and triggers all sorts of dastardly events depending on the combination of quests, monsters, and main villain you are using for that session. The inner chambers of the tower shift and turn, sigils appear and light up to impose penalties on whoever they are facing, and occasionally you’ll need to open trap doors on its foreboding exterior.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=It's%20terrifying%20when%20you%20drop%20a%20skull%20in%20the%20tower%20and%20it%20doesn't%20roll%20out%20again%2C%20instead%20gathering%20in%20some%20unknown%20nook%20inside%20waiting%20to%20rush%20out%20unexpectedly%20later."]

That last bit is often the scariest. When a skull is dropped into the tower it will usually roll out of one of its many openings at random. The player it rolls toward then has to place that skull on one of the buildings in their section of the map, which makes gathering the benefits of that building more expensive. That’s rough on its own, but it’s even more terrifying when a skull doesn’t appear at all, instead gathering in some unknown nook or behind a door yet to be opened within the tower itself.

As the game goes on and more openings are unlocked, it not only makes getting skulls or sigils more likely, it also increases the odds that you’ll stumble upon a latent cache of doom waiting to roll out. At one point during our playthrough, the tower instructed us to open a door and four skulls clattered onto a single player’s kingdom, throwing all their plans into chaos. It’s delightfully devilish and makes interacting with this evil monolith wonderfully tense.

Return to Dark Tower is split into six “months,” each of which begins by giving you two quests: one that will help you complete your overall quest of luring out and defeating your adversary more easily when finished, and another that will instead empower your enemies if you don’t complete it.

Since you only have that month to complete them (each month is generally between seven and nine turns long), the puzzle here is in figuring out how best to divide tasks and time between each player – and to determine what will likely have to fall under the umbrella of “acceptable losses.” This makes each month a little mini-game inside of your final quest, full of tough choices and tiny victories of their own.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Killing%20an%20enemy%20is%20generally%20as%20easy%20as%20using%20the%20combat%20action%20on%20them%2C%20but%20be%20ready%20to%20take%20massive%20losses%20alongside%20your%20victory%20if%20you%20aren%E2%80%99t%20properly%20prepared."] Many of those choices involve the monsters that inevitably fill the map, and specifically whether you’re going to fight them or spend your time elsewhere while quietly praying they don’t find you cowering in the corner… which they will. See, killing an enemy is as easy as using the combat action on them (apart from some special big bads), but be ready to take massive losses alongside your victory if you aren’t properly prepared.

Combat is handled entirely through Return to Dark Tower’s app, which we were using a prototype version of. Instead of rolling dice or pitting combat power against one another, you instead draw a set number of digital cards from that monster’s deck while using “advantages” you gather through items and character abilities to make those cards less awful.

For example, many enemy cards cause you to lose a resource called warriors, and you could use an advantage on one that makes you lose four warrior tokens to reduce it to two, and then another to make it zero. Go even further and you’ll actually start getting resources back as a reward, but don’t have enough to sacrifice and you’ll gather debuffs called corruptions that will lose you the game once you reach three.

If you don’t have many advantages to spend you’ll still be able to win the fight, just not mitigate the damage you take as a result, and having only a few advantages forces you to pick which poisons you most want to neutralize. Some advantages are only effective against certain enemy types too, like beasts or the undead, encouraging players to specialize and prepare the right tool for the right job.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Its%20combat%20system%20is%20unique%20and%20strategically%20interesting%2C%20if%20one%20that%20felt%20just%20a%20little%20bit%20odd%20thematically."]

It’s a unique and strategically interesting system, if one that felt just a little bit odd thematically in practice. Most enemies – whether it’s a wolf or an ogre – can be killed in a single combat, and it seems odd that you amass warrior not to improve your combat power but instead to have them be taken away to avoid real damage. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a system I enjoyed using and planning around, but one that’s likely in need of a finished app with actual card graphics and more clear flavor to really click for me.

That said, it’s one of the few parts of Return to Dark Tower that didn’t so far. The slight variations between each character are significant enough to give each player a distinct role without making everyone learn a whole new ruleset, the items and treasures offer significant effects that my group was constantly getting excited about, and the prospect of replayability as you (and the app) swap between sets of quests, adversaries, and more is highly appealing for a box as big as this.

Return to Dark Tower is launching a Kickstarter on Tuesday, January 14 at 9am ET. It’s by no means a cheap or small game, and there’s still lots of questions left unanswered after my one (nearly victorious) prototype playthrough, but the unique spectacle and interesting puzzle it offered already left me wanting to have another go right away.

If you’re looking for more great board games, you can watch our spoiler-free unboxing of Betrayal Legacy with Daviau, or check out our list of the best cooperative board games. We’ve also rounded up some of the best fantasy board games around, and if you’re new to the hobby, here’s our picks for the best board games for beginners. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Tom Marks is IGN's Deputy Reviews Editor and resident pie maker. You can follow him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/return-to-dark-tower-first-impressions-and-unboxing-its-massive-mechanical-tower
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