Control Is Smart, Savage and Bats**t Crazy – IGN First
“Fair warning: This is gonna be weirder than usual.”
The first line spoken in Control isn’t a story introduction - it’s a mission statement. Remedy Entertainment has always trodden a shivering line between ordinary and outlandish, taking contemporary settings and distinctly human characters, then throwing them through an unnatural, often supernatural, wringer. Control is a little more bold.
Granted, it starts similarly - Jesse Faden visits the headquarters of the mysterious Federal Bureau of Control in search of answers about a childhood trauma. She meets a curious janitor, Ahti, who mistakes her for a job applicant and sends her into the bowels of the building. But then the director of the Bureau mysteriously dies, his magic gun binds itself to Jesse, we learn the building’s under lockdown because of the encroachment of a hostile resonance nicknamed The Hiss, and absolutely everything gets very strange indeed. Remember that short section of Max Payne when he was dosed with high-grade hallucinogens, got stuck in a world-warping nightmare and began realising he was in a video game? That’s the tone of Control, all the time.
The Division 2 Update Adds Raid Matchmaking
A new update for The Division 2 adds matchmaking for the Operation Dark Hours raid, alongside a range of other improvements and two new missions.
The D.C. Outskirts: Expeditions update adds a new ‘Discovery’ difficulty mode to the Operation Dark Hours raid, which allows matchmaking. Unfortunately Discovery mode does not allow players to pick up the Exotic loot available in the Normal mode version of the raid, but Ubisoft promises a “variety of great rewards” will be available in Discovery runs of the activity.
Ubisoft explains that the Discovery difficulty mode has been added to “allow more players to experience The Division 2 in its entirety”. Matchmaking will help players who don’t have a full raiding team quickly pull together enough players to enter the raid, rather than having to find people via chat or internet forums.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Square Enix Has “No Plans” For Xbox Release
Update 7/11: Square Enix has said that there are no plans for Final Fantasy VII Remake to release on any console aside from PS4. In a statement to IGN, Square Enix said "As previously announced, Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released for the PlayStation 4 on March 3rd 2020. We have no plans for other platforms." The statement seems to suggest, without going as far as to use the exact phrasing, that Final Fantasy VII Remake is a PS4 exclusive. Such a situation would mean that the Xbox One release date mistakenly shown by the Xbox Germany Facebook account is a complete mistake, rather than a mishandled date announcement.
Original story: A social media video which contained a release date for Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Xbox One is an "internal mistake", according to Microsoft. Earlier today, the Xbox Germany Facebook page posted a video that claimed Final Fantasy 7 Remake was coming to Xbox One on March 3, 2020; the same day as the PS4 version of the game. So far, Square Enix has only announced Final Fantasy 7 Remake for PS4, with no word on other consoles or PC, and so this video began to create a stir..
Lord of the Rings MMO in Development at Amazon
Amazon Game Studios has announced it will be leading the development on a new The Lord of the Rings MMORPG.
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMORPG will be a free-to-play adventure set in Middle-earth as “portrayed in The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy.” Meaning the MMO will be based on author J.R.R. Tolkien’s original books, rather than Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.
Amazon Game Studios is developing The Lord of the Rings MMO with Leylou Technologies and Middle-earth Enterprises, and it will be released on both PC and consoles.
Amazon’s upcoming MMORPG is the same Lord of the Rings project that was announced last year by Athlon Games, a Leylou subsidiary. Amazon Game Studios will now lead the project with a team comprised of veterans from popular MMOs like Everquest, Destiny, World of Warcraft, Planetside, and more. This is also the same development team behind Amazon’s upcoming original game, New World.
Nintendo Planning Data Transfer System For Switch Lite
Nintendo has plans to introduce a data transfer system to allow you to move your games and saves from a Nintendo Switch to the new Nintendo Switch Lite.
Talking to CNET, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser said "Yes, you will have the ability to transfer between devices, your gameplay experiences." Bowser offered no details on what kind of system Nintendo has planned or how it will work, but said that there is "More to come there, but that is the intention."
Nintendo's history of transfers is spotty to say the least, but this promise gives hope that the company has put thought into the idea of people changing from Switch to Switch Light, or even owning both consoles at the same time.
Pokemon Sword and Shield Special Edition Nintendo Switch Lite Revealed
Nintendo Switch Lite is only something we've known about for a few minutes, but it's already getting a special edition for the release of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.
The Switch Lite Zacian and Zamazenta Edition costs $199.99 and comes out on November 8, 2019. The new Nintendo Switch Lite, in its non-special forms, arrive on September 20 for the same price.
Preorder details are "coming soon" according to Nintendo.
The Nintendo Switch Lite features non-detachable Joy-cons and comes in three colors. Nintendo revealed it this morning, to the surprise and delight of Nintendo fans.
Nintendo Switch Lite Specs, Features Announced
Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch Lite, which releases September 20, 2019 in three different colors.
At a glance, the Nintendo Switch Lite features:
- Smaller 5.5 inch touch screen
- Lighter, all-in-one design (no detachable Joy-Con controllers)
- D-pad style control pad
- Improved 3-7 hour battery life
- No IR or HD rumble functions
- No ability to dock to TV or play in 'tabletop' mode
The Nintendo Switch Lite will be available in Yellow, Gray, and Turquoise for $199.99 USD.
“Adding Nintendo Switch Lite to the lineup gives gamers more color and price point options,” said Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser. “Now consumers can choose the system that best suits how they like to play their favorite Nintendo Switch games.”
Get Switch with £30 Nintendo E-Shop Credit and Super Mario Maker 2 Ltd Edition for £300
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New Super Monkey Ball Looks Like It’s Coming to Switch, PS4 and PC
An new filing from the Taiwan Games Ratings Board points to a new Super Monkey Ball for Switch, PS4 and PC.
It looks like beloved puzzle platformer/ frustration simulator Super Monkey Ball is coming back, as revealed by a post on the Taiwan Games Ratings Board. The post, which was spotted by Marigold News & Reviews blog (and later re-tweeted by Nibel) points to a new Super Monkey Ball game on PC, Switch and PS4.
At the moment it’s unclear if this rating is for a brand new game or some sort of remake, but the name of the game suggests a food theme. The rating includes both Chinese and Japanese titles for the game, which translate to Now Taste Good! Super Monkey Ball and The Food is Great! Super Monkey Ball, respectively. Does this mean we’re getting new, food-filled worlds to roll around in? Has Super Monkey Ball has gone all Micro Machines?
Microsoft Patent Reveals Detachable Joy-Con Style Controllers
A new patent filed by Microsoft details a new design for ‘removable game controllers’ that could function akin to Nintendo’s Joy-Con controllers.
As reported by Windows Latest, the patent was filed by Microsoft in 2017, but has only just been published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent itself is for a charging device, but the ‘removeable input modules’ the device charges are controllers that can be attached to a touch-screen mobile device.
Illustrations in the patent show the basic structure of a traditional Xbox controller that can be split into two halves. When in the charging device, they appear more like a traditional controller, akin to how Joy-Cons look when docked into the controller peripheral.