Psychonauts 2 – Tony Wilson’s Most Anticipated Game Of 2020

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/

Psychonauts 2 – Tony Wilson’s Most Anticipated Game Of 2020

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/

Watch Loadout Episode 3: How Warhammer 40k’s Bolter Was Created

Whether it’s video games, movies, or TV shows, entertainment is filled with iconic tools of warfare, and much of the stories we love are defined by them; the Pulse Rifle is synonymous with the Aliens franchise; the Man With No Name’s mystique and effortless cool is heightened by the revolver he whips out in the squint of an eye; and the sound of a bullet from the Intervention hitting an enemy immediately conjures up Call of Duty-flavoured nostalgia.

These weapons are the focus of Loadout, a new show that will identify some of pop culture’s most influential armaments and explore them in-depth. Each week, host Dave Jewitt will tackle a different weapon, delve into its origins, examine how it has been used, and lay out the impact it has had on pop culture.

In Episode 1, Loadout takes hold of the revolver, a legendary weapon that has been present from the earliest days of cinema to the current era of video games. Why is it so popular? For Episode 2, Dave takes a look at The Intervention, a weapon that Call of Duty players will be intimately familiar with and, given its status as arguably the most meme-able video game weapon, you may know it even if you haven’t played the shooter series. For Episode 3, Dave delves into the world of Warhammer 40k to explore the history of an iconic sci-fi weapon.

New episodes of Loadout will air every Saturday and you can find them on GameSpot’s YouTube channel–make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

Episode 3: The Bolter

Episode 2: The Intervention

Episode 1: Revolvers

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-loadout-episode-3-how-warhammer-40ks-bolter-/1100-6471998/

Resident Evil 3 Remake – Mat Paget’s Most Anticipated Game Of 2020

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/

Xbox Game Pass: Microsoft Wants To Cut Down On Long Download Times

Microsoft is pleased with the success of Xbox Game Pass but is looking to improve the service going into the next console generation. As Microsoft transitions from Xbox One to Xbox Series X–the official name for Project Scarlett–it wants to make it easier for subscribers to try new games without having to wait through long download times.

“We now have a generation where our customers have access to hundreds and hundreds of games in their portfolio and we’ve never really had that,” Xbox head Phil Spencer told GameSpot in an exclusive interview. “[Previously] my portfolio of games is usually down to what discs do I happen to own right now and what games have I purchased digitally. But if you’re a Game Pass subscriber, you have access to hundreds of games and your friends list has access to that same shared library of games.”

Spencer continued: “And we think that community opportunity–as we bring the community of our players together with a really creative community of developers [who are] building some immersive games and creative games that land on Game Pass–there’s some things that we wanted to work on to make it easy to try your next game.” Spencer admits there’s too much waiting when it comes to trying new games. After seeing a screenshot of a cool-looking game in the Xbox Live store, it’s not like you can then start playing right then and there.

“Download times are an issue, time to get into the game, load times, these things,” Spencer said. “And when you have such a broad portfolio of games that you have on Game Pass and the community of people who are in Game Pass, where somebody might literally drop you a line on Xbox Live saying, ‘Hey, you should go try Minit it’s a really cool game,’ we want you to be able to browse games the way you browse other forms of media.”

In this regard, with Xbox Series X, Microsoft is focusing on cutting down on the overall load times of the platform–even to the point where you’ll be able to keep multiple games suspended at once and load back into whatever you want to play next.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-game-pass-microsoft-wants-to-cut-down-on-long/1100-6472347/

Watch Dogs Legion – Phil Hornshaw’s Most Anticipated Game Of 2020

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.

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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/

These Xbox One Games Are Free To Play All Weekend

Video game winter sales are live all over the place, including Steam and Green Man Gaming, but if you want to try a game before you buy it, then Microsoft has a selection of titles that are available to play for free all weekend. The free-play weekend is available to all Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers–Ultimate includes Gold in its subscription.

Gold subscribers can play Valkyria Chronicles 4, Goat Simulator, and Puyo Puyo Champions for free until December 22 at 11:59 PM PT / December 23 at 2:59 AM PT. If you want to keep playing these games after the weekend, Microsoft is offering special discounts for Gold subscribers, which you can see below.

If you want to become a Gold subscriber, Microsoft has an offer that gets you your first three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1. The offer comes with three months of Discord Nitro, one month of EA Access, and six months of Spotify Premium. Unfortunately, the latter is only for new Spotify Premium subscribers. However, if you’re already subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can extend your subscription with an awesome deal: 6 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $40.

In addition to the free-play weekend, there’s currently an Xbox One winter sale that features quite a few of the best games that released in 2019. The discounted games include A Plague Tale: Innocence, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as well as The Division 2, Borderlands 3, and Resident Evil 2. In some cases, Gold subscribers get even greater discounts.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/these-xbox-one-games-are-free-to-play-all-weekend/1100-6472404/

Pokemon Go Ho-Oh / Lugia Raid Weekend Event Now Live

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/

THQ Nordic Acquires Another Game Developer

In an unexpected move today, THQ Nordic’s parent company, Embracer Group, has purchased the Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios. The acquisition includes the studio, all 65 current employees, and intellectual property rights.

Embracer/THQ Nordic announced that it had bought Tarsier for an estimated $9.3 million in cash and $1.2 million in shares. Tarsier’s buyout also includes “a conditional earn-out, payable over 10-years to certain sellers who will remain with Tarsier.”

Tarsier was founded in 2004 and has developed several puzzle-platformers since then, including DLC for both LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, and Tearaway Unfolded. The studio is best known for the 2017 horror puzzle-platformer Little Nightmares, which received an 8/10 in our review. Tarsier is currently working on Little Nightmares II, expected to launch on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One sometime next year.

Tarsier said it’s looking forward to the newly-established partnership with Embracer and that it can continue to develop its potential as a studio with Embracer’s support. “It feels exciting to, after a 15-year long journey with Tarsier, partner up with Embracer to continue [to] develop the potential that our Studio has,” said studio head Andreas Johnsson. “We look forward to the opportunity to continue making exceptionally great games together with Embracer Group.”

Embracer shared a similar sentiment, saying it’s impressed with Tarsier’s output as a developer and plans to invest in the studio’s projects. “Together with Tarsier, we want to invest in developing new projects, in the same manner they have done successfully in the past,” said co-founder and group CEO Lars Wingefors. “We look forward to, together with management and all of Tarsier’s employees, embrace the quality and creativity the Studio has, and take the Studio to the next level.”

2019 was filled with a plethora of acquisitions, from Microsoft buying Rad developer Double Fine to Epic Games picking up Rocket League maker Psyonix. Alongside Tarsier Studios, THQ Nordic also bought Warhorse Studios earlier this year, the Czech team behind the 2018 action-RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/thq-nordic-acquires-another-game-developer/1100-6472402/

The Witcher Author And CD Projekt Red Resolve Legal Dispute

The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski and game series developer CD Projekt Red have announced they’ve reached an agreement regarding a legal case filed in 2018, in which Sapkowski was seeking additional compensation for the games’ sales.

The statement, released by CDPR, did not disclose the details of the agreement, but it did state that it’s intended to resolve the current legal case and set a clearer path forward. It also says that the agreement “confers new rights” upon CDPR while retaining its existing title rights for The Witcher games, graphic novels, board games, and merchandise.

“[T]he agreement satisfies and fully clarifies the requirements and expectations of both parties in light of previously concluded agreements, and establishes a framework for future cooperation between the parties,” it reads.

“We’ve always admired Mr. Andrzej Sapkowski’s works–a great inspiration for the team here at CD Projekt Red,” said CEO Adam Kiciński, in a statement. “I believe today marks a new stage in our continued relationship.”

Sapkowski had previously filed a legal demand for $16 million (£12.4 million), citing a Polish Act on Copyright and Related Rights that allows extra compensation when the original sum was too low based on “benefits obtained in association with the use of that author’s work.” Essentially, since the Witcher series took off, Sapkowski’s lawyers contended he deserved a bigger cut. CDPR said it “will go to great lengths to ensure amicable resolution” but suggested that $16 million was simply too much.

The popularity of the Witcher video game series may have helped lead to the live-action Netflix series starring Henry Cavill, which premieres today. In GameSpot’s review, Michael Rougeau found the casting and production top-notch, but said the story was out-of-sequence and difficult to track.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-witcher-author-and-cd-projekt-red-resolve-lega/1100-6472401/