How Pokemon Go Made Me Care About Pokemon
This week I’ve only had to step outside to encounter college students, high schoolers, young adults, parents with their children, people of every race and creed hunting and catching Pokemon. I watched it happening in rural wine country and the streets of the big city, on the beach, at the zoo, in theme parks and at parties and in forests, in almost every place people’s day to day lives took them. Strangers talking, laughing with delight, cursing with frustration when the app crashes. People helping one another out one minute, battling for control of a gym the next, interacting with one another and their surroundings in a way that simply wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for the existence of this strange little app.
Rock Band 4 Adds New, Intentionally Cheesy Campaign
When Rock Band 4 released last year, developer Harmonix Music Systems promised it would be a long-tail platform that would continue to evolve over time, without the need for a Rock Band 5. And while the company has already delivered a few updates that have added new features, Rock Band Rivals (out in October) is the first paid expansion pack adding significant new contact in the form of two new modes: Rockudrama and Rivals.
The former is a new campaign mode for 1-4 players that bookends your band's career with intentionally cheesy VH1 Behind the Music-style live-action cutscenes that reflect on your performance, telling the story of how you went from the garage to the world's biggest stages. It's meant to be laughed at, which makes it a good fit for Rock Band's party-centric gameplay.
Six New Pokemon Revealed for Sun and Moon
The Pokemon Company has released a trailer featuring six more new Pokemon coming with Sun and Moon later this year.
Wimpod (sad-looking crustacean) is a Bug- and Water-type that can automatically flee upon taking damage, Bounsweet (maybe a berry in a diaper?) is a Grass-type, Comfey (a creature that camoflages itself as a Lei, presumably to terrify tourists) is a Fairy-type, and Mudsdale (scruffy horse with dreads) is a Ground type that can gain defense after being attacked.
Mimikyu is the Ghost- and Fairy-type internet sensation/staggeringly depressing monster that disguises itself as a hand-drawn Pikachu to get affection, and Bewear (literally just a big bear) is a Normal and Fighting-type with maybe the worst Pokemon pun name of all time.
Tomb Raider’s New Modes Feel Like Dark Souls, Gone Home
The year-long wait PS4 owners have had to endure for Rise of the Tomb Raider is finally nearing its end. On October 11, the game will hit Sony's console in the form of the 20 Year Celebration edition. This includes all of the previously-released DLC, plus a trio of brand new modes that all seem super cool.
We got a chance to visit Crystal Dynamics and spend a day with the game on PlayStation 4. Here’s what we thought.
Marty Sliva: While Endurance Mode certainly isn’t anything new to Rise of the Tomb Raider, the 20th anniversary edition introduces co-op to the tough-as-nails survival mode. Two players try to survive for as long as they can out in the wild as they forage for materials, raid tombs, battle the elements, and fight entire terrifying bears. At any point, players are able to end the mode and extract themselves from the wilderness, which gives them all of the rewards they stumbled upon during the session. However, if both players die before they can extract, they lose everything. In that way, it’s a bit like Dark Souls.
Star Trek: Boldly Go Is IDW’s Newest Trek Comic
Not only does this week see the debut of Star Trek Beyond, but now IGN has the exclusive announcement that IDW Publishing’s launching a new Star Trek comic called Star Trek: Boldly Go.
Star Trek: Boldly Go #1 debuts in October, and will follow the current ongoing Trek series by writer Mike Johnson and artist Tony Shasteen. That book will conclude with issue 60, but the creative team of Johnson/Shasteen will remain intact with Boldly Go, which takes place following the events of Star Trek Beyond. Here’s the official synopsis of the new comic:
Star Trek's 50th Anniversary Celebration continues with this all-new series following the adventures of Captain Kirk and the iconic crew! New worlds! New species! New ships! And a new danger unlike anything the Federation has encountered before! Boldly go into a new era of Star Trek!
Rise of the Tomb Raider PS4 Release Date Announced
Square Enix has announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider will come to PlayStation 4 on October 11.
Rise of the Tomb Raider will arrive on PS4 in a new 20 Year Celebration edition, which includes the full game and all content from the Rise of the Tomb Raider Season Pass, which means Baba Yaga: Temple of the Witch, Cold Darkness Awakened, and all DLC outfits, weapons, and Expedition Cards. An art book will also be included for anyone who pre-orders.
Grandia 3 Listed for PlayStation 4 by ESRB
Another classic PlayStation 2 JRPG may soon be coming to PS4, if a new listing for Grandia III by the ESRB is any indication.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board has rated (via Gematsu) Grandia III for Sony's current-gen console, suggesting the Square Enix role-playing game will soon join PlayStation 4's growing catalog of downloadable PS2 games.
Grandia III was developed by Game Arts and launched for PlayStation 2 back in February of 2006. For our thoughts on the Square-published role-playing game, check out IGN's Grandia III review.
2 Free Trials Coming for Star Wars Battlefront’s Latest DLC
The Live Events calendar for Star Wars Battlefront now includes two free trial periods for the Bespin DLC.
The first one begins on August 19 and runs through to August 21. The second will be longer, running from September 12 to September 18. Do note that you'll actually need the base game in order to play, and an Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus account if you're on console.
The calendar also includes a new Hutt Contract beginning today, and another one coming on August 30.
In addition, there's already a planned double-score weekend for the Death Star DLC, which was teased last week alongside a new offline skirmish mode. The dates, September 23 to September 25, suggest the DLC will be launching around that time for Season Pass owners.
Overwatch PS4 Bug Causes Players to Lose Progress and Items
A bug on the PS4 version of Overwatch appears to be causing players to lose significant progress in the game, including the loss of in-game currency paid for with real-world money.
IGN has been contacted by players who have reported losing levels, competitive ranks, skins, loot boxes and the Credits, the in-game currency. Similar reports have emerged on Reddit and the Overwatch forums.
Last week, Blizzard said that the root cause for this problem had been fixed, and asked affected players to supply their PSN usernames. While no new reports of the problem seem to have emerged since that time, affected players are still reporting that the issues have not been reversed.
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