A Great Gaming Story: How My Team Won the 24hrs Le Mans
Being known as “one of those gamer people” (actual quote) around the office of my non-video games related day job often means that, first thing Monday morning, someone will seek me out to excitedly tell me about what they played on the weekend. It’s one of the best parts of my week. Their eyes brighten and their voices jump as they passionately break down to me the best - and worst - moments of their weekend’s play, be it their progress towards gaining a platinum trophy in Horizon: Zero Dawn, or the moment they lost their favourite sniper in XCOM 2 to “some snake-like bastard”. Telling stories is just inherently a part of what people like to do, and video game stories are no different.
American Horror Story: Cult Is a Strong New Direction for Series
Putting dangerous witches, sexy vampires and demonic nuns on hold, American Horror Story: Cult pulls back the curtain to explore the psychological aftermath from the 2016 presidential campaign.
Fear and anxiety take center stage here, pitting Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters against each other in a perverse tale of progress and paranoia. Season 7 puts the cult of personality directly in the spotlight, revealing that the real monster in this horror story is us. After viewing the first three episodes of Cult -- titled “Election Night,” “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” and “Neighbors from Hell” -- at an advance press screening, it’s safe to say that this move is a welcome change for the series.
Skyrim on Switch is Everything You Hoped it Would Be
Nintendo’s behind-closed-doors appointments at PAX West always happen in the same tiny room. Well above the bustling show floor, down a very clinical hallway, tucked behind a door that simply reads “Nintendo”, we get to spend about an hour here each year, and get a sneak peak at the Nintendo games that are just over the horizon.
This year, we waited in that beige hallway for an extra 10 minutes before we were allowed entry. Our Nintendo rep opened the door just enough to pop his head out.
“Give us a minute,” he said, “Skyrim is broken.”
There it was. All my fears for this game realized in a brief update. You see, I love Skyrim. Like, 300+ hours, multiple completions, different character classes on different systems, love it. And I love my Nintendo Switch, but since Skyrim was announced for Switch, I’ve been perplexed. How? How could I take this entire sprawling kingdom with me in my back pocket?
Fire Emblem Warriors Mixes Strategy with Hack and Slash
If you’ve ever played a Dynasty Warriors-style Musou game, you know the drill: hundreds of enemies rush toward you, and you mow them down in gigantic, sweeping combos that take out dozens at once. Nintendo entered the fray with Hyrule Warriors a few years ago and injected Zelda into the formula, and now they’re inserting Fire Emblem into the mix.
But Fire Emblem Warriors does more than simply tack on a few familiar characters and sound effects. In a demo at PAX West, we got to see a section of combat that included some smart nods to the main franchise.
At any point, it’s possible to switch between a selection of different party members to control, each with their own style of movement and attacks. We switched between Takumi wielding a bow and arrow, Xander on horseback, and Hinoka on a Pegasus, and each had a completely different style. Hinoka could fly, for example, lifting vertically to come crashing down on enemies.
Amazon Gaming Preorder Deals: Destiny 2 for £41, FIFA 18 for £43, Call of Duty: WWII for £43, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 for £43
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Is the Hardcore RPG Switch Needs
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is not for inexperienced RPG players. The battle system at its most intense is a tremendously complicated ballet of patience and timing that will take dozens of hours to master, and for RPG fans waiting for their fix on Switch, this should come as great news.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 follows a protagonist named Rex as he searches for a world called Elysium. Rex and his companions are known as “drivers,” and the weapons they carry have manifested into personalities called “blades.” In battle, a driver can cycle between multiple different blades to perform different types of elemental damage.
A separate meter will show whether your blade’s attacks (or “arts”) are ready to use or whether they’re currently charging between uses. Arts can be various types of attacks, HP potions, or other actions you’ll want to perform in battle, and can be selected using the Switch’s face buttons.
Star Wars Rebels’ Final Season Premiere Date Revealed
Star Wars Rebels' fourth and final season will premiere on Monday, October 16, Disney XD has announced.
The one-hour debut episode of Season 4 will be available on Disney XD and the Disney XD app, and kicks off the "most important mission yet for the Ghost crew." For an early look at Star Wars Rebels' long-awaited introduction of X-Wings, as well as a fresh glimpse at Grand Admiral Thrawn, check out the new trailer below:
Season 4 of the Emmy-nominated series sees Ezra leading his crew back to Lothal, as a new threat from the Empire, led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, strikes his home planet. According to executive producer Dave Filoni, Star Wars Rebels will be much more serialized in this final season.
Swery Announces The Good Life Crowd Funding Campaign
Hidetaka Suehiro, better known as Swery, revealed his latest game at PAX West, The Good Life, will be partially funded by a Fig campaign.
The Good Life is described as a "debt repayment life simulation RPG." Set in a bucolic English village, the residents of the town take to the streets at night, where they turn into cats. It's also equal parts life-sim and murder mystery, according to developer White Owls.
So, pretty par for the course for Swery, who last month said the The Good Life inherits "the spirit of Deadly Premonition," which he describes as his "most representative work."
The Fig campaign aims to raise $1.5 million USD to "achieve Swery-level greatness." Interested fans can invest in shares, or "traditional reward-based backing."
FIFA 18 Dev Explains Why Switch Version Has Cut Modes
FIFA 18 producer Andrei Lazarescu has come forward explain why the EA's upcoming Switch port is lacking several noteworthy features found in the Xbox One, PS4 and PC versions.
With regard to Ultimate Team, Lazarescu told Eurogamer the team feared the large amount of content might overwhelm Switch players who haven't grown accustomed to all of the features that have been progressively added over the years.
"If you look at the history of Ultimate Team on the likes of Sony or Microsoft—I think it's a seven year history if I recall correctly," said Lazarescu, "If you throw everything from the get go to a completely new player base, you might not get the desired result."
Borderlands-Themed Skins Coming to Battleborn
Battleborn will soon feature Borderlands-themed skins, Gearbox Software announced today at PAX West 2017.
The character skins, featuring familiar faces like Siren and Claptrap, were revealed during the "Inside Gearbox" panel at this year's Seattle-based convention. Check out the gallery below for a look the six character skins that were shown.
Battleborn players will have access to the Borderlands skins sometime later this year. Those who attended the panel at PAX West were given a code to unlock the bundle of upcoming character skins.
Gearbox Software's team-based hero shooter was released in May of last year for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. A little more than a year after its launch, a free-to-play version of the game, featuring unlimited access to all of Battleborn's competitive multiplayer modes, was made available for players.