2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.

When the original Psychonauts launched in 2005, the platformer’s heyday was already fizzling out–contemporary action games like God of War, Resident Evil 4, and Gears of War saw to that. Fortunately, platformers are far more common again these days thanks to indie developers, which has once again saturated the genre. Still, I look to Psychonauts 2 to remind me why I love the platformers, but in new ways.

In Psychonauts 2, I am most excited about the level design. The original game’s stages were created around the psyche of various characters whom our hero Raz is trying to help. Physical education teacher Coach Oleander sees the world as a Normandy-esque battlefield; conspiracy-theory loving security guard Boyd Cooper is plagued with anxieties of undercover milkmen secretly spying on suburban households. This reflexive level design is the embodiment of “show, don’t tell,” a narrative concept that lets the player discover more about characters without overlong cutscenes or expository text boxes. And the ideas are ridiculous enough that you can laugh at each stage you’re leaping through–there’s a circus made of meat in there for Crueller’s sake.

I’m excited to see what level design concepts the sequel explores, especially since we’ll be meeting a whole new cast of characters. The adventure picks up right where VR spin-off Rhombus of Ruin left off, with Raz and company arriving at Psychonauts HQ. Apparently, the organization has been up to no good, and at least one agent has been dabbling in necromancy. I can’t even imagine what mental gymnastics they did to justify that–or what literal gymnastics I’ll do in the level based on this necromancer’s mind.

It’s been a long journey for Psychonauts 2, one that started with a super successful Kickstarter campaign in January 2016. We didn’t end up seeing an official first trailer until The Game Awards 2018. Despite the surprise reveal, the sequel was later pushed back until at least 2019–the first of two delays. The second came after Microsoft acquired developer Double Fine, who, despite announcing it’ll be publishing Psychonauts 2, will still be releasing the game on PS4 and PC as well. However, just a few weeks after that announcement, the game was delayed again, this time into 2020. I genuinely hope that’s the last one because I want to get my telekinetic hands around Psychonauts 2 soon.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/psychonauts-2-tony-wilsons-most-anticipated-game-o/1100-6472379/

2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.

There isn’t a video game series I love more than Resident Evil. We’ve had our ups and downs, but like any good relationship, we’ve stuck it out through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad (I’m looking at you, Resident Evil 6). Lately, things have been going well. Resident Evil 7 proved that Capcom can still make an excellent, scary Resident Evil game, and this year’s Resident Evil 2 proved that Capcom understands what’s good about the classics and how to modernize them properly. That’s why I’m particularly excited about Resident Evil 3 next year.

We’re still fresh off the announcement of Resident Evil 3’s remake, but from what we know, it’s going to be similar in style to Resident Evil 2. Producer Masachika Kawata–also the producer of Resident Evil 7–noted that the original Resident Evil 3 edged further into action than Resident Evil 2, but despite the bigger methods of firepower, it still wasn’t an action game in the same vein as Gears of War. It’ll be interesting to see how far they take the remake in the action direction, and I hope they’re able to strike the same balance the original had. We’ve already seen a new dodge move Jill has, which I’m sure will be extremely handy when face-to-face with Nemesis.

I’m also curious how they’ll follow-up on Mr. X with Nemesis. The thing about Mr. X in the original was that he was a much more scripted enemy and only appeared in the B-side of each character’s campaign–if you played Leon’s A campaign, then he’d appear in Clarie’s B campaign and vice-versa. In the remake, however, Mr. X is a much more persistent threat and can show up almost anywhere in that whole dang police station. I worry this could make Nemesis less impactful since that’s basically his whole M.O. (except with a rocket launcher in tow). I’m hopeful Capcom can evolve that character in a meaningful way, as they did with Mr. X.

The Resident Evil 2 remake also changed up some events, characters, and story beats. Like your typical movie remake, it shares similarities with the original but draws its own path with a different take on its events–and in some cases, different locations and events entirely. We know how the story is going to play out, but exactly how it happens will be new and interesting. I would play through Resident Evil 3’s remake if it was the exact same game, beat-for-beat, but the chance of some new surprises has me clambering to get my hands on it.

It’s a rarity to be treated to a remake like Resident Evil 2’s, and while it’s not guaranteed Capcom will strike gold twice with Resident Evil 3, I feel the developer has earned my trust with the direction it’s taking the series. It’s funny; Resident Evil 2 released in 1998 and 3 released one year later. Never would I have expected the same release timing for the remakes, a full 20 years later. If Resident Evil 3’s remake can refine the formula like the original did in 1999, then we’re in for another great nightmare.

PS4:

Xbox One:

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/resident-evil-3-remake-mat-pagets-most-anticipated/1100-6472338/

2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.

Though the first Watch Dogs never grabbed me, I was delighted by Ubisoft’s tack with the second. It centers on a young, diverse, and mostly well-drawn group of characters, it’s a smart send-up of tech culture, and it has a lot of interesting things to say–while being a fun open-world game that utilizes Watch Dogs’ interesting hacking gameplay ideas in a story that’s actually engaging. After playing Watch Dogs Legion at E3 2019, I’m even more excited for the third entry in the series, which appears to be expanding on all the good things of its predecessor, while adding some truly engaging and innovative gameplay mechanics and story conceits.

The crux of Watch Dogs Legion is that you can play as any character in the game: all the NPCs are recruitable to your ever-growing underground hacker insurgency, and each character has a unique backstory and set of perks and drawbacks. It sounds like a pie-in-the-sky idea about the capabilities of procedural generation that will immediately collapse under close scrutiny, but after playing Legion, I was blown away by how well the game actually does integrate the idea of pulling characters from its future London into your group, and how well-realized they feel. You add characters to your group by helping them deal with the problems in their lives, almost all of which are caused by the draconian, fascist surveillance state (one that’s an outgrowth of our real-world political climate) in which they find themselves. So Watch Dogs Legion feels like you’re completing a series of loyalty missions specific to the characters.

Once they’re on your team, you can switch between your characters on the fly, making use of different people’s particular skills to complete your missions. When you get into trouble and the authorities are closing in on you, it’s the other characters you’ve recruited that come to your aid with special passive abilities, like setting up roadblocks to divert police that give you time to escape. While “any NPC is playable” sounds like a gimmick, the complex systems at work in Legion do well to make all those characters feel distinct, rather than just a series of random attributes attached to a random character model. Legion sees the return of Watch Dogs’ long-running scanning ability that lets you see into the lives of people on the street, but for the first time in the series, that ability is essential to the game as you recruit characters, and helps create a London that feels populous and alive.

The character recruiting system goes beyond gameplay, though. Legion’s random NPCs actually feel like bespoke characters created for the story as you play through its campaign, and each has their own voice actors and dialogue pieces that slot seamlessly into cutscenes. Ubisoft didn’t hire thousands of actors, obviously, but there are enough that, at least in our preview and in gameplay footage, we haven’t yet heard the same voice repeated on two characters. It all works together to create a feeling that you’re creating a unique take on the game’s story through the people you choose to bring into Ded Sec, and who you choose to take on missions. What’s more, you find yourself caring about these characters because of the history you have with them and the time you’ve put into them–which makes it all the more devastating when they’re arrested or killed.

Though we got hands-on with Watch Dogs Legion at E3, Ubisoft recently delayed the game from its original March 6, 2020 release date. As of now, Ubisoft is expecting to launch Watch Dogs Legion in the second half of the year. Given the level of complexity in the game (not to mention its politically charged story, which deals with the repercussions of Brexit), the development team using that extra time is probably for the best. We also know that Legion will be one of the first Ubisoft games to appear on the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, so it’ll be interesting to see how Legion will leverage the capabilities of new hardware.

For a brief rundown on everything you need to know about Watch Dogs Legion, be on the lookout for our explainer highlighting all the essential details.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-legion-phil-hornshaws-most-anticipated-/1100-6472377/

Virizion has arrived in Pokemon Go, but that’s not the only Legendary Pokemon you can encounter right now in Niantic’s hit mobile game. The Gen 2 mascots Ho-Oh and Lugia have both returned for a special Raid weekend event, giving you another chance to capture the fan-favorite Legendaries.

Until 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on Monday, December 23, players around the world will be able to encounter Ho-Oh and Lugia in five-star Raids. Each Legendary is part-Flying, so Rock and Electric Pokemon will prove to be effective regardless of which one you face. Water Pokemon will also be helpful against Ho-Oh, while Dark and Ghost types have an advantage over Lugia.

During the Raid weekend, you’ll also still be able to encounter Virizion, Pokemon Go’s newest Legendary, in five-star Raids. Virizion is the third member of the Swords of Justice trio from Pokemon Black and White and is a dual Grass/Fighting Pokemon, so you’ll want to bring along Flying, Fire, Psychic, Ice, Poison, or Fairy Pokemon when challenging it. Both Ho-Oh and Lugia will be especially effective against it if you can capture one of them before they leave Raids again.

Shortly after the Raid weekend ends, Niantic will kick off Pokemon Go’s annual holiday celebration. This year’s event runs from December 24 to January 1. During that time, you’ll be able to encounter holiday versions of Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu, and Stantler, as well as two new Gen 5 Ice Pokemon: Cubchoo and Cryogonal. You’ll also have your first chance to catch a Shiny version of Snover.

In other Pokemon Go news, Niantic recently rolled out a new Buddy Adventure feature, which gives you new ways to interact with your Buddy Pokemon. Once you’ve fed your Buddy enough berries, it will follow you around on the game’s world map. You can also raise your friendship level with your Buddy Pokemon the more you interact with it, which in turn will unlock other bonuses.

Niantic has also announced the date of Pokemon Go’s January 2020 Community Day. The event takes place on Sunday, January 19, and runs from 11 AM-2 PM local time in the Northern Hemisphere and from 3 PM-6 PM local time in the Southern Hemisphere. However, the featured Pokemon for next month’s event has not been revealed yet.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-go-ho-oh-lugia-raid-weekend-event-now-live/1100-6472400/