Metal Gear Survive: Road to E3 2017
It's that time of year again: E3 2017 is just on the horizon. From June 10-15, we'll be covering the biggest games and hardware announcements of 2017 and beyond. While you can check out our continually-updated Games of E3 List, we're now going to start diving deeper.
Every day leading up to the show, we'll be highlight the stuff we want to see and play at E3 2017. Today's game: Metal Gear Survive.
One game we’re hoping to see more of at E3 is Metal Gear Survive, a side-story to Metal Gear Solid V that follows four Diamond Dog soldiers who’ve been sucked out of the mainline Metal Gear universe via wormhole and stranded in a desolate alternate dimension filled with crystalized zombie-like creatures, where, as you might’ve guessed, they have to figure out how to survive.
The Dark Tower: Stephen King’s Favorite Easter Egg
After a long and winding road, we're finally nearing the finish line on our long journey to The Dark Tower film. The magnum opus of renowned author Stephen King, The Dark Tower tells the story of Roland the Gunslinger (Idris Elba), and his quest to stop The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) from destroying existence. In such, The Dark Tower acts as a nexus of King's works -- it pulls in elements of everything from The Stand and Insomnia, to Salem's Lot and The Shining.
We recently sat down with Stephen King and discussed everything from his love of the casting choices, to his thoughts on the recent rise of cinematic universes. You can check out that larger interview here. But there were still a few things we talked about that related to the past, present, and future of The Dark Tower.
Why Tom Holland in Uncharted Is an Inspired Choice
Sony Pictures is once again moving forward on a new attempt to adapt the Uncharted video game franchise to the big screen, and their casting choice for Nathan Drake isn't exactly who we expected.
Differing from previously attached actor Mark Wahlberg and shifting gears from adapting the story of adult Nathan Drake, it's been revealed that Spider-Man: Homecoming's Tom Holland will star in the Shawn Levy-directed adaptation as a younger version of the character. This take on the story, which still needs a script, will be based on the flashback sequence in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception where Nate meets his mentor Sullivan for the first time.
Get Ahead of Virtual Console on Switch With 8Bitdo Controllers
If you're looking to play Nintendo Switch with a certain flair of retro-futurism, controller maker 8Bitdo released a firmware update to its controllers, making them compatible with Nintendo's latest console.
The controllers come in a variety of retro-styles, evoking the design of the NES, Famicom, Super Nintendo, and more, including an N64-inspired controller.
Not every controller works with every game, 8bitdo says. It's not a matter of software but rather some controllers don't have enough buttons for certain Switch games. However, the
and
both "offer a fully mapped button set for Nintendo Switch."
The controllers still have Android and Steam compatibility on both PC and Mac, so they're multifunctional if you still haven't snagged yourself a Switch yet.
Cult Game El Shaddai to Get Spiritual Sequel
Game director Takeyasu Sawaki and Kadokawa Games have announced The Lost Child, a spiritual sequel to 2011's El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.
The game - which swaps the first's precision brawling to become a turn-based RPG - is due out in Japan later this year on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.
Announced in Famitsu (via Gematsu), The Lost Child takes place in the same world as El Shaddai and will feature the return of the archangel Lucifel, who was voiced by Harry Potter actor Jason Isaacs in the English version of El Shaddai. Development on the spiritual sequel is reportedly 90 percent complete.
The Third James Bond, Roger Moore Has Died
Sir Roger Moore, the actor most famous for being the third person to play James Bond in the mainline film series, has died at 89.
Announced by his children on Twitter, Moore passed away after a "short but brave battle with cancer".
With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated. pic.twitter.com/6dhiA6dnVg
— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) May 23, 2017
Moore played the world's most famous spy in seven films, including Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun. He brought the most outright humour to the Bond series of any of the mainline actors, and remains a favourite of many for that reason.
Hitman Developer Announces Layoffs
Hitman developer, Io Interactive has announced layoffs, following its enforced split with publisher/owner Square Enix.
Announced in a short statement on Twitter (below), the details are vague, simply saying that "we're sad that great talent and good friends will be leaving the studio."
An update from the studio: pic.twitter.com/k0aoms5cOQ
— Io-Interactive (@IOInteractive) May 23, 2017
It follows the announcement that Square Enix had decided to focus on "key franchises and studios" - of which Io and Hitman are apparently not a part - and had withdrawn from the business.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2: First Hands-On
The Lego video games by British developer Traveller's Tales are, consistently, a near-cosmic impossibility. Most if not all of them have managed to be appealing to both kids and adults simultaneously, charming and/or funny, packed with good gameplay, and based off of a big and established IP to boot. Usually, games with that kind of recipe are mediocre at best and terrible at worst, owing to a deficiency in time, development talent, or both.
But here comes TT Games once again, out to continue their hot streak with Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. It starts with an absurdly large roster. While I only got to see the Guardians of the Galaxy, the roster screen had so many locked characters on it that it was almost intimidating.
PlayStation Network Now Has 70 Million Active Users
Sony has announced that its online PlayStation Network now has 70 million monthly active users.
This information was released in a slideshow going over the review of Sony's 2016 financial year, and some of the strategy for the upcoming year.
By the end of 2016, PSN had reached over 70 million active users across all Sony consoles, and the plan for this year is to expand the number of hardware units sold to 78 million.
In addition, by the end of last year there were over a third of that number, 26.4 million paying PlayStation Plus subscribers.
Sony is also looking to expand the appeal of PSVR, bring improvements to PlayStation Vue, and develop a new audience by creating "a new mobile content opportunity in Japan / Asia region."
Game Developers Begin to Agree to Voice Actors’ Strike Terms
Some game developers are starting to agree to terms that state voice actors will be paid royalties in accordance with sales from games.
In October last year, the Screen Actor's Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) commenced a strike after negotiations between the group and a selection of game companies fell through.
The companies involved include Activision, Blindlight, Corps of Discovery Films, Disney Character Voices, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Interactive Associates, Take 2, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games, Inc.
Today the SAG-AFTRA magazine (via gamesindustry.biz) reported that some companies have begun to agree to the guild's terms of a residual payment plan, offering a full day's wage per two million units of sales, capping at four payments.